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In 1871, Minneapolis built the first public waterworks in Minnesota to pump water from the Mississippi River. The city's attempts to provide clean, safe water led to decades of efforts to improve and expand the waterworks.
In 1867, the Minnesota Legislature expanded the Minneapolis city limits. With a population of 17,000 Minneapolis was suddenly the largest city in the state. At the time Chicago was the model for modern cities. Other cities were copying Chicago's state-of-the-art water and sanitation systems. Minneapolis had no public utilities and the waterworks were needed to support its growth.
The main industries in Minneapolis were lumber, flour, and woolen mills. These all used hydropower from the Mississippi River. As a result, the banks of the river were densely covered by mills and housing for their workers. Owners and officials were worried that in these conditions a fire could consume entire neighborhoods if not controlled. Therefore, when Minneapolis built a pump house in 1867 to draw water for the Mississippi it was used only for firefighting. This system was small and could only draw enough water for emergency use, not for public consumption.
In 1871, Pump Station No. 1 was built as Minneapolis' first waterworks. The waterworks had multiple pumps that provided the city with drinking water. Water pressure from the Mississippi River was used to pump two and a half million gallons into the city daily. Public water was a source of pride for the city and the system grew with its population. In 1885, another pump station was added and forty three million gallons could be pumped daily.
However, the new waterworks was the first in the state and it was built crudely and quickly to modernize the city. By 1880, the city was receiving complaints about the color and taste of city water. Concerns grew when tests in 1882 found dangerous amounts of animal and vegetable matter in the water. Wealthy citizens began importing spring water at a high cost. However, most citizens were forced to continue to use public water since old city wells were destroyed when the waterworks was built.
Water contamination was a major concern in cities at the time since it led to epidemics. Minneapolis regularly had outbreaks of cholera, dysentery, typhoid and yellow fever. From 1870 to 1910, annual typhoid epidemics occurred throughout the city. During the largest of these in 1897, over 3000 cases were reported. Typhoid had a ten percent mortality rate in Minneapolis and citizens and newspapers blamed the deaths on the city's waterworks.
The origins of typhoid were unknown in the late 19th century, but citizens blamed public water because it was contaminated by sewage. Before the waterworks were built, water use was limited since it needed to be carried from its source. The waterworks increased water consumption from two gallons a day per person in Minneapolis to fifty gallons. Greater use increased waste, so the city used its storm sewers for sewage. This brought sewage into contact with water from the waterworks. Pump stations were also contaminated by sewage that upstream storm sewers dumped into rivers.
To ease concerns, the city closed pump stations where sewage was found and opened one upriver in 1888. To improve the entire system the city built settling basins in 1897. These basins allowed large particles to settle and increased water clarity. However, the basins did not remove bacteria or sewage so water remained contaminated.
After the 1897 epidemic and a wartime epidemic in 1898, the U.S. army studied typhoid in Minneapolis. Through the early 1900s, Minneapolis averaged 950 cases of typhoid a year. As late as 1909, city reports found fecal matter in every cubic centimeter of city water. Based on the army's earlier study it was known that human waste spreads typhoid and in 1910 editorials in the Star Tribune said the city should be sued.
Minneapolis responded in 1910 by building a sterilizing plant. The plant was successful, chlorinating public water and killing the bacteria in it. The only typhoid epidemic to occur after 1910 was due to low chlorine concentration. Chlorination became a standard for water quality in the state and is still used in Minneapolis. By 1910, the city's struggles with sanitation and epidemics had resulted in the most advanced public water system in the state.
Anfinson, John O.A Fickle Partner: Minneapolis and the Mississippi River. The City, the River, the Bridge: Before and After the Minneapolis Bridge Collapse. Edited by Patrick Nunnally. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2011.
Baldwin, Rufus. History of the City of Minneapolis, Minnesota, Volume II. Minneapolis: Munsell, 1893.
Minneapolis Water Works. The Water Works of the City of Minneapolis: A Brief Historical Sketch of the Present Water Works. Minneapolis: Water Works, 1919.
Report of Investigations of the Typhoid Fever Epidemic, Minneapolis, 1935, Minnesota Department of Health, Minneapolis, 1936.
Manuscript Collection, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul
Description: Catalog of the Department of Health's typhoid epidemic patients and statistics from 1888 to 1935.
Report of the Pure Water Commission: to the Common Council of the City of Minneapolis, 1909.
Manuscript Collections, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul
Description: Describes water quality in the city prior to 1909 and the city's attempts to improve it with filtration.
In 1909, water quality tests discover fecal matter in all tests of Minneapolis public water. The contaminated water is linked to decades of typhoid epidemics in the city and citizens consider action.
Minneapolis constructs a pump house to provide city water for firefighting.
Pump House No. 1 opens and makes Minneapolis the first Minnesota city with public drinking water.
Minneapolis residents begin to complain to public officials about the color and taste of public water.
Water quality test find large quantities of plant and animal contaminants in city water.
Pump Station No. 2 is built and allows Minneapolis to pump forty three million gallons of water a day.
A pump station is built four miles above St. Anthony Falls to avoid sewage from the city.
At least 3000 people fall ill from a typhoid epidemic in Minneapolis. The epidemic is the worst in Minneapolis history.
Fecal matter is found in Minneapolis public water samples and is tied to the spread of typhoid.
Minneapolis eliminates waterborne diseases and infections by chlorinating water.


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Waste Management Services
Recreation FUN Guide
Bus Route Map & Schedules
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Council Meeting Information
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Categories: Virology | Tree of life
A virus is a small particle that infects cells in biological organisms. Viruses are obligate intracellular parasites; they can only reproduce by invading and taking over other cells as they lack the cellular machinery for self reproduction. The term virus usually refers to those particles which infect eukaryotes (multi-celled organisms and many single-celled organisms), whilst the term bacteriophage or phage is used to describe those infecting prokaryotes (bacteria and bacteria-like organisms). Typically these particles carry a small amount of nucleic acid (either DNA or RNA) surrounded by some form of protective coat consisting of proteins, lipids, and glycoproteins. Importantly viral genomes code not only for the proteins needed to package its genetic material, but for proteins needed by the virus during lysogenic and lytic cycles, the reproductive cycles.
3.1 Viruses as tools for exploring basic cellular processes 3.2 Viruses as tools for genetic engineering
5.1 Steps associated with viral reproduction
7.1 Laboratory diagnosis of pathogenic viruses 7.2 Prevention and treatment of viral diseases
9.1 Numbered references
The original word comes from the Latin virus referring to poison and other noxious things. Today it is used to describe the biological viruses discussed above and also as a metaphor for other parasitically-reproducing things, such as memes or computer viruses. The word virion or viron is used to refer to a single infective viral particle.
The English plural form of virus is viruses. No reputable dictionary gives any other form, including such "reconstructed" Latin plural forms as viri (which actually means men). (No plural form appears in any extant Latin manuscript). (See plural of virus).
A virus makes use of existing enzymes and other molecules of a host cell to create more virus particles. Viruses are neither unicellular nor multicellular organisms; they are somewhere between being living and non-living. Viruses have genes and show inheritance, but are reliant on host cells to produce new generations of viruses. Many viruses have similarities to complex molecules. Like DNA, viruses undergo molecular replication and they can often be crystallized. Because viruses are dependent on host cells for their replication they are generally not classified as "living". Whether or not they are "alive", they are obligate parasites, and have no form which can reproduce independently of their host. Like most parasites, they have a specific host range, sometimes specific to one species (or even limited cell types of one species) and sometimes more general.
Viruses form when molecules are assembled from organic compounds providing complex, microscopic structures which have the potential for self-assembly, and thusly they have large implications in the study of the origin of life. In the debate of whether viruses are alive or not, if the requirement for autonomous self-reproduction is abandoned, it can be strongly argued that viruses are indeed alive. Some small viruses are more efficient than most cellular life forms as their ratio of functions to working parts is so high. If viruses are alive then the prospect of creating artificial life is enhanced or at least the standards required to call something artificially alive are reduced.
Viruses are important to the study of molecular and cellular biology because they provide simple systems that can be used to manipulate and investigate the functions of cell types. Below, this entry discusses how viral replication depends on the metabolism of the host. Therefore, the study of viruses can provide fundamental information about aspects of cell biology and metabolism. The rapid growth and small genome size of bacteria make them excellent tools for experiments in biology. Bacterial viruses have also further simplified the study of bacterial genetics and have deepened our understanding of the basic mechanisms of molecular genetics. Because of the complexity of an animal cell genome, viruses have been even more important in studies of animal cells than in studies of bacteria. Numerous studies have demonstrated the utility of animal viruses as probes for investigating different activities of eukaryotic cells. Other examples in which animal viruses have provided important models for biological research of their host cells include studies of DNA replication, transcription, RNA processing , and protein transport .
Geneticists regularly use viruses as vectors to introduce DNA into cells that they are studying. Attempts to treat human diseases through genetic engineering have also made use of viruses in similar ways. Deaths have occurred through virus infections caused by virus vectors used in gene therapy, so their application to human subjects is still nascent.
Virus particles comprise a nucleic acid genome, that may be either DNA or RNA, single or double stranded and positive or negative sense. This is surrounded (encapsidated) by a protective coat of protein called the capsid. The viral capsid may be either spherical or helical and is composed of proteins encoded by the viral genome. In helical viruses, the capsid protein (frequently called the nucleocapsid protein) binds directly to the viral genome, for example, in the case of the measles virus, one nucleocapsid protein binds every six bases of RNA to form a helix approximately 1.3 micrometres in length. This complex of protein and nucleic acid is called the nucleocapsid, and, in the case of measles virus, is enclosed in a lipid 'envelope' acquired from the host cell, in which are embedded virus-encoded glycoproteins. These are responsible for binding to and entering the host-cell at the start of a new infection. Spherical virus capsids completely enclose the viral genome and do not generally bind as tightly to the nucleic acid as helical capsid proteins do. These structures can range in size from less than 20 nanometers up to 400 nm and are composed of viral proteins arranged with icosahedral symmetry. Icosahedral architecture is the same principle employed by R. Buckminster-Fuller in his geodesic dome, and it is the most efficient way of creating an enclosed robust structure from multiple copies of a single protein. The number of proteins required to form a spherical virus capsid is denoted by the 'T-number' whereby 60t proteins are necessary. In the case of hepatitis B virus the T-number is 4, therefore 240 proteins assemble to form the capsid. As in the helical viruses, the spherical virus capsid may be enclosed in a lipid envelope, although frequently spherical viruses are not enveloped, and the capsid proteins, themselves, are directly involved in attachment and entry into the host-cell. The complete virus particle is referred to as a virion. A virion is little more than a gene transporter and components of the envelope and capsid provide the mechanism for injecting the viral genome into a host cell.
Because viruses are acellular and do not have their own metabolism, they must utilize the machinery and metabolism of the host to reproduce. For this reason, viruses are called obligate intracellular parasites. Before a virus has entered a host cell, it is called a virion — a package of viral genetic material. Virions can be passed from host to host either through direct contact or through a vector, or carrier. Inside the organism, the virus can enter a cell in various ways. Bacteriophages—bacterial viruses—attach to the cell wall surface in specific places. Once attached, enzymes make a small hole in the cell wall, and the virus injects its DNA into the cell. Other viruses (such as HIV) enter the host via endocytosis, the process whereby cells take in material from the external environment. After entering the cell, the virus's genetic material begins the destructive process of taking over the cell and forcing it to produce new viruses.
There are three different ways genetic information contained in a viral genome can be reproduced. The form of genetic material contained in the viral capsid, the protein coat that surrounds the nucleic acid, determines the exact replication process. Some viruses have DNA, which once inside the host cell is replicated by the host along with its own DNA. Then, there are two different replication processes for viruses containing RNA. In the first process, the viral RNA is directly copied using an enzyme called RNA replicase . This enzyme then uses that RNA copy as a template to make hundreds of duplicates of the original RNA. A second group of RNA-containing viruses, called the retroviruses, uses the enzyme reverse transcriptase to synthesize a complementary strand of DNA so that the virus's genetic information is contained in a molecule of DNA rather than RNA. The viral DNA can then be further replicated using the resources of the host cell.
When the virus has taken over the cell, it immediately directs the host to begin manufacturing the proteins necessary for virus reproduction. The host produces three kinds of proteins: early proteins , enzymes used in nucleic acid replication; late proteins , proteins used to construct the virus coat; and lytic proteins , enzymes used to break open the cell for viral exit. The final viral product is assembled spontaneously, that is, the parts are made separately by the host and are joined together by chance. This self-assembly is often aided by molecular chaperones, or proteins made by the host that help the capsid parts come together.
The new viruses then leave the cell either by exocytosis or by lysis. Envelope-bound animal viruses instruct the host's endoplasmic reticulum to make certain proteins, called glycoproteins, which then collect in clumps along the cell membrane. The virus is then discharged from the cell at these exit sites, referred to as exocytosis. On the other hand, bacteriophages must break open, or lyse, the cell to exit. To do this, the phages have a gene that codes for an enzyme called lysozyme. This enzyme breaks down the cell wall, causing the cell to swell and burst. The new viruses are released into the environment, killing the host cell in the process.
The origin of viruses is not entirely clear, but the currently favoured explanation is that they are derived from their host organisms, originating from transferrable elements like plasmids or transposons. It has also been suggested that they may represent extremely reduced microbes, appeared separately in the primordial soup that gave rise to the first cells, or that the different sorts of viruses appeared through different mechanisms.
Other infectious particles which are even simpler in structure than viruses include viroids, virusoids, and prions.
Examples of diseases caused by viruses include the common cold, which is caused by any one of a variety of related viruses; smallpox; AIDS, which is caused by HIV; and cold sores, which are caused by herpes simplex. Recently it has been shown that cervical cancer is caused at least partly by papillomavirus (which causes papillomas, or warts), representing the first significant evidence in humans for a link between cancer and an infective agent. There is current controversy over whether borna virus, previously thought of primarily as the causative agent of neurological disease in horses, could be responsible for psychiatric illness in humans. The relative ability of viruses to cause disease is described in terms of virulence.
The ability of viruses to cause devastating epidemics in human societies has led to concern that viruses will be weaponized for biological warfare. Further concern was raised by the successful recreation of a virus in a laboratory. Much concern revolves around the smallpox virus, which has devastated numerous societies throughout history, and today is extinct in the wild. In fact, smallpox has been used in a crude form of biological warfare by British colonists against a tribe of Native Americans.
This episode of biological warfare was part of a larger phenomenon of Native American populations being devastated by contagious diseases, particularly smallpox, brought to the Americas by European colonists. It is unclear how many Native Americans were killed by smallpox after the arrival of Columbus in the Americas, but it may have been very large. The damage done by this disease may have significantly aided European attempts to displace or conquer the native population. Jared Diamond argued in his book Guns, Germs, and Steel that highly contagious diseases develop in agricultural societies and regularly aid those societies when they expand into the territories of non-agricultural peoples.
Of all types of virus, the most deadly are known as filovirus. The Filovirus group consists of Marburg, first discovered in 1967 in Marburg Germany, and ebola. Filovirus are long, worm-like virus particles that, in large groups, resemble a plate of noodles. Marburg virus has infected humans in 35 documented cases, killing seven. There are four types of ebola: Ebola-Ivory coast, Ebola-Sudan, Ebola Zaire (index case nurse Mayinga N.), and Ebola-Reston.
Detection and subsequent isolation of viruses from patients is a very specialised laboratory subject. Normally it requires the use of large facilities, expensive equipment, and highly trained specialists such as technicians, molecular biologists, and virologists. Often, this effort is undertaken by state and national governments and shared internationally through organizations like WHO.
Because they use the machinery of their host cells, viruses are difficult to kill. The most effective medical approaches to viral diseases, thus far, are vaccination to provide resistance to infection, and drugs that treat the symptoms of viral infections. Patients often ask for antibiotics, which are useless against viruses, and their misuse against viral infections is one of the causes of antibiotic resistance in bacteria. That said, sometimes the prudent course of action is to begin a course of antibiotic treatment while waiting for test results to determine whether the patient's symptoms are caused by a virus or a bacterial infection.


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I love gathering travel tips and sharing them with our readers. Since we launched The Travel 100 five years ago, we've shared hundreds of our best tips in 100-word stories and in our story Top Travel Tips.
These include the best time to visit every national park, how to save money on flights and gas, what you're entitled to if a flight is delayed or cancelled, best apps for road trips and how to find free walking tours.
If you're heading to Portugal, (lucky you!) be sure to check out our 101 tips that include everything from currency to community.
– Staff report, The Travel 100


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After making these brownies a few weeks back, I couldn't stop thinking about them. That topping, like an extra chocolatey, peanut butter rice krispie treat, had wedged itself into the fissures of my brain.
Apparently there were some stray thoughts of ice cream floating around in there too, because it didn't take long for me to put the two together.
I don't know, something about the idea of a crunchy ice cream got me up off the couch and into the kitchen. Sometimes I sit and let an idea marinate for a few weeks (or at least a few hours while I finish that made-for-tv movie), but this was one of those ideas that needed to be executed post haste.
The ice cream on its own would be worth it, and why I've never done a straight-up peanut butter ice cream before I have no idea. But with the added element of crunch from the rice cereal, plus chocolate and even more peanut butter…
Well, let's just say it's worth tearing up your biceps to scoop it (literally the hardest-to-scoop ice cream I've ever made), since you're cutting through chunks of solid frozen chocolate as well as the ice cream. I, as usual, made a pretty weak attempt to scoop the stuff, gave up, and promptly summoned Taylor from upstairs. He groaned and grunted and scooped maybe a tablespoon into my bowl before declaring he had to up his game at the gym. Not to work OFF the ice cream, mind you, but just so he'd be able to scoop it more easily in the future.
That's my kind of guy.
After making the crunch concoction, you want to spread it out as thinly as you can on a baking sheet before freezing it. The thinner it is the easier it will be to break or chop into pieces after it has set. The smaller the pieces, the easier it will be to scoop. At the same time, you want to keep the rice krispies as whole as possible, as the chocolate covering the krispies is what keeps them crunchy even when surrounded by frozen cream. Ideally you'd have each individual krispie separated and completely surrounded by chocolate, but realistically that's not going to happen.
Just consider it a win-win… how many foods do you actually burn calories before and during the consumption process? Two, I believe: celery, and this ice cream.
Chocolate Peanut Butter Crunch Ice Cream
For Peanut Butter Ice Cream:
- 2 cups heavy cream, divided
- 1 cup whole milk
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon salt (increase to 1/4 teaspoon if using unsalted peanut butter)
- 4 large egg yolks
- 2/3 cup creamy salted peanut butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For Chocolate Peanut Butter Crunch:
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips (about 3 ounces)
- 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 1/2 cups crisp rice cereal
- To make the ice cream, pour 1 cup of the heavy cream into a heat-proof bowl and nest inside a larger bowl filled with ice water. Place a fine mesh sieve over the top of both bowls.
- In a saucepan, combine remaining cream, milk, sugar, and salt. Cook gently over medium heat, stirring regularly, until sugar is dissolved and mixture just starts to steam. Remove from heat.
- In a small bowl, whisk egg yolks. Slowly whisk in some of the warm cream mixture, 1/3 cup at a time, until about half of the cream mixture has been incorporated and yolk mixture is warm to the touch. You want to do this gradually; doing so will temper the egg yolks rather than cook them.
- Pour yolk mixture back into the saucepan and return to medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens slightly and coats the back of a spatula, about 5 to 7 minutes, or until it reaches approximately 165 to 170ºF. Do not allow it to boil.
- Remove from heat, then add peanut butter and stir until smooth. Pour mixture through sieve into cold cream, discarding any solids. Add vanilla extract and stir until cool. Cover mixture with plastic wrap, carefully pressing wrap down onto the surface of the cream mixture. This will prevent a skin from forming on top of the custard. Refrigerate until completely cool, at least 3 hours or overnight if possible.
- Meanwhile, combine chocolate and peanut butter in a large, microwave safe bowl. Microwave on medium speed for 60 to 90 seconds, stirring every 15 seconds, until melted and smooth. Fold in rice cereal until evenly coated. Spread mixture in a thin layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet, then freeze until firm. Just before using, coarsely chop into bite-sized pieces.
- Churn ice cream according to manufacturer's instructions. When ice cream is the consistency of soft serve, stir in the crunch pieces, then transfer to a freezer safe container and freeze overnight until firm.
"Crunch" portion inspired by this recipe from Peanut Butter Comfort.
All images and text ©Lindsay Landis / Love & Olive OilDid you make this recipe?
Let us know what you think!
Leave a Comment below or share a photo and tag me on Instagram with the hashtag #loveandoliveoil.


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Collection of Yuja Wang YouTube Videos
Gluck and Liszt
Interview with Yuja WangBehind the scenes shooting for Fantasia
Vivaldi - Four Seasons (Spring) - 4 pianos
Schubert Gretchen am Spinnrade and Liszt Erlk�nig
Chopin Waltz, Gluck Melody, Strauss Polka
Brahms - Hungarian Dance No. 1 (Duet)
Scarlatti - Sonata K.455
Scarlatti - Sonata K.427
Chopin - Waltz in C-sharp minor
Chopin - Polonaise Fantaisie Op. 61
Mendelssohn - Piano Concerto No. 1 (Excerpt)
Mendelssohn - Sextet
Mozart - Turkish March
Mozart - Turkish March (Radio)
Scriabin - Selections for Solo Piano
Vol du Bourdon - Flight of the Bumble-Bee
Stravinsky - Petrushka
Strauss - Polka
Gluck and Liszt
Ravel - La Valse
Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2, Movement 1
Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2, Movement 2
Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 2, Movement 1
Gretchen am Spinnrade
Yuja Wang at the Mariinsky
Interview with Yuja Wang (Philadelphia Orchestra)
Interview with Yuja Wang (Humor)
Yuja Wang is a Chinese classical pianist born in Beijing on February 10, 1987. She began studying piano at age six and entered Beijing's Central Conservatory of Music at age seven. At age 11, Wang was accepted as the youngest student in the Morningside Music Bridge International Music Festival at Mount Royal University in Calgary, Canada. After several summers of participating in the program, Wang moved to Canada at age 14 to continue her studies at the Mount Royal University Conservatory.
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America's 28th President, Woodrow Wilson, formed the National Park Service in 1916 to "protect the wild and wonderful landscapes" in the United States.
Today, the National Park Service protects over 400 parks and historical sites from coast to coast. Every week, VOA Learning English will profile one of the sites within the National Park Service.


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Individual Sports in Lithuania
Lithuania had some remarkable talents in several non-team sports over the time.
Recently Lithuania excelled in modern pentathlon and discus throwing. In the discus, 3 of the 4 men gold medals in 1992-2004 Olympic games were awarded to Lithuanians (Romas Ubartas and Virgilijus Alekna).
The strongmen of Lithuania excelled in most competitions, led by Žydrūnas Savickas, who won the title of World's Strongest Man on many occasions. The strongmen events in Lithuania are regarded as family-friendly sports entertainment, many have free entrance.
Winter sports are less popular partly due to a relatively warm climate and lack of mountains. Independent Lithuania failed to receive even a single medal in Winter Olympics. However, alpine skiing and skating are quite popular pastimes. Many travel to foreign ski resorts, but modern indoor rinks/arenas are available in Lithuania.
Other recently popularized pastimes are running an cycling, both having a multitude of regular amateur competitions. Swimming enjoys less participants, although it too gained popularity after the success of swimmer Rūta Meilutytė in 2012 Olympics.
Tennis attracts media attention, but the best players of Lithuania Ričardas Berankis and Laurynas Grigelis typically stay in some 100 - 200 places of the ATP rankings.
After the 1990 restoration of independence and the end of Soviet censorship, any foreign TV shows used to attract unbelievably large audiences. Lithuanian TV stations acquired broadcasting rights to Bushido and Rings puroresu promotions shows, turning their largely Japanese fighters into household names. "Bushido" became a generic name for MMA in Lithuania, and "Rings" trademark was even acquired by a Lithuanian company. Lithuania now has some good MMA fighters and regular shows.
Watching Formula 1 is popular among some automotive fans but Lithuania never had any world-famous racers. Aerobatics is a different case. Under the Soviet occupation, ethnic Lithuanians were barred from becoming commercial pilots, so many chose aerobatics instead. The entertainment/sports limit is arguable however with flights under bridges becoming such a popular publicity stunt ~2000 that pilot-politician Rolandas Paksas flew under one in his presidential campaign.


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Taoism Diploma Course
£325.00 Original price was: £325.00.£245.00Current price is: £245.00.
Course Overview (Sale Price)
Registered Open College Diploma Course
- SFTR Accredited Open College Diploma Certificate Course
- Upon completion of this course, you will be entitled to the use of these Designatory letters after your name: Taoism.dip which will be printed upon your final Diploma Certificate under your name.
Additionally, you will receive these 2 Certificates within your course package:
- A4 size Membership wall display certificate into the Open College. Allowing you the use of MOC after your name.
- A4 size Membership wall display certificate into the SFTR. Allowing you the use of MSFTR after your name.
This Certificate course is currently available for the temporary reduced low fee of only £245.00
Course Description
An in-depth exploration of Taoism (literally means "the way" or "path") is difficult, but at the same time, it might be said to be the easiest of all religions to understand.
The reason for this apparent contradiction is to be found in the fact that in its essence, Taoism is a recognition of our innate spirituality that is with us from the beginning.
Taoism is sometimes called the source or root or "uncarved block" of all Chinese religions and philosophies.
Taoism can be said to advocate the doing of nothing.
In regard to human activity, it says that our actions stemming from the natural, spontaneous impulses of the inborn spirituality will be in perfect harmony and accord with the workings of the universe.
Taoism belongs to that group of philosophies which use particular situations as symbols of the human condition. Taoist fables utilize the great order of the natural world to speak of the mysteries of human existence, and present their ideas dosed in metaphoric language and symbol.
Taoism, in its essentials, is a form of playful and ironical existentialism.
Regarding Yin and Yang. Yin represents the passive, positive, male, and female energy principle, while Yang represents the active, negative, male, and female energy principle.
Taoism also labels two secondary principles in addition to Yin and Yang. It goes so perfectly that Yin and Yang are generally in balance despite the fact that they could continue to act and oppose one another simultaneously.
As soon as we awaken to the feeling of unity with all individuals, other creatures, and the cosmos, we are conscious of the Tao that flows through us all.
This course is open to any new student with or without any previous knowledge, qualifications or training in Taoism. Anyone is welcome to book onto this course as complete beginners.
Course Provider:
Open College UK Ltd
This course is set in the English language and is entirely coursework based. All notes and reading materials, including text book/s are supplied by us direct in one complete package. There are no other required text or materials, books to purchase. We supply everything for you within your course package for the low fee shown. There are no hidden or additional fees to pay.
Method of Learning:
This is a home study, distance learning course. All of your course study materials are posted to you in one complete study package. All of your coursework is to be completed within the outlined period. This course is structured in an EASY LEARNING and user friendly way.
Upon completion of this home learning programme, students should be able to understand the basics of many key areas within this subject. Participants of the course will have acquired an overall basic understanding of the subject matter and will have achieved a sound basis to summarize important topics and be reasonably competent to make further progress and educational development in this field with a range of theoretical skills and insights to assist with any short or long term goals.
Grading Assessment:
This course is assessed upon the successful completion and submission of coursework with a Pass, Merit or Distinction. Distinction is 90%. All content is course work based, home study through the post or online, depending on the subject being studied. NO attendance or visits to any exam centre is required on this subject.
Entry Requirements:
There are NO entry requirements. No background training or qualifications are required. Anyone can enrol at any time, beginners, intermediates and experienced all year round. You are expected to be able to read and write or type/word process your coursework and be able to understand the English language.
Introduction to Taoism
Chinese culture
Ying and Yang
The dual nature of existence
The way of nature
Balancing the two
Action in daily life
Inner alchemy
Taoist philosophy
Better eating
Tea ceremonies
The journey
Cultivating inner energy
Holistic health
- In-depth practical course reading textbooks!
- Test papers presentation A4 size clamp folder.
- Detailed instructional study guide.
- Study time log of your hours undertaken for records/proof of study course hours undertaken.
- A4 size membership wall display certificate into the college. Allowing you the use of MOC after your name.
- 2nd A4 size membership wall display certificate into the SFTR. Allowing you the use of MSFTR after your name.
- FREE deep relaxation CD – as standard.
There are no high expectations or pressure on you to complete. Simply finish and submit your coursework in the time that is right for you and when you are ready. Some students complete their courses in a few months whilst others take the full 6 months duration. The choice is entirely your own.
Monthly extensions are available if required. Details are included within your course pack.
With our helpful service you will never be left in the dark. All our courses are self explanatory and very easy to follow teaching packs. You will have nothing to worry about with us.
Our promise to you
We will get you there – to the end of your course no matter what it takes.
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By ticking the tick box at the checkout, you are agreeing to all of the below Company Terms and Conditions of enrolment and as laid out in the full version located at the link far below.
By ticking the tick box at the checkout I fully understand and agree to the entire Open College UK Ltd Disclaimer/Terms & Conditions & Privacy Policy which I have fully read as displayed on the Open College UK Ltd website located here: www.opencollege.info
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I fully understand that any disputes about 'anything' relating to the said course/s or services that we offer shall be concluded by us only, the Company Open College UK Ltd, whose decision will be final and binding on both student & course provider at all times.
I understand the Open College UK Ltd reserves the right to refuse to accept/decline any applications for enrolment even after acceptance within the valid period at its sole discretion without offering any disclosure of reasons.
I understand that all unpaid cheques (bounced cheques carry a small bank & admin charge).
I understand that all Open College UK Ltd courses enrolled onto (unless stated otherwise) have an outlined set study period only (strict) and must be completed within this fixed time period unless an extension has been applied and paid for before the deadline/expiry dates. The duration of course completion times including deadlines is available on the website.
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I fully understand and agree with the entire Open College UK Ltd money back guarantee and returns procedure as outlined on the website. Please see below for information on the cancellation and returns procedure.
I fully understand that in the event of any dissatisfaction/disappointment or un-met expectations of course/s/materials that I will address and raise any issues or concerns immediately without any excuse, reason or delay within the outlined 14 days guarantee and returns period only and not at any time in the future after this period.
I understand that course material packs/goods cannot be returned or refunded after the outlined 14 days. (Strict). I fully abide by this rule. I am in full understanding and agreement of this.
Refunds will not be given outside of this 14 working day period for 'ANY reason', (No reason will be accepted) irrespective of personal circumstances or difficulties (Strict). We as a Company Open College UK Ltd abide by all UK DSR laws and expect all customers to also abide by the same rules and laws.
I understand that all course test papers/folder work must be submitted in one complete submission only as outlined for each course (not individually sent) anytime within the valid and set study period. Any test papers/folder work submitted after the deadline will be expired. This I fully understand.
In the light of course content improvements the Open College UK Ltd reserves the right (in very rare cases & only when it is essential) to alter and change all course fees & course contents as and when necessary without giving any prior notice.
I confirm that before my enrolment begins I have or I will personally take full and total responsibility to undertake proper in-depth and adequate research into the suitability of the course/s that I am purchasing and enroling onto and I personally ensure that any decision I make to enrol onto a course will be made by me alone who is of sound, clear and sober mind without coercion, persuasion or influence by what I read on the Open College UK Ltd website or in any literature or other external websites.
I take full and total responsibility for ensuring the course I am enroling onto is right for my needs. I also state that if I have enroled onto the wrong course or made a mistake or misjudgement in enroling for any reason whatsoever, I shall take full and total responsibility for this and not blame, criticise or accuse the Open College UK Ltd in any form whatsoever for any errors in my decision and judgment at the time of the enrolment.
I also understand that the Open College UK Ltd does not advice, assist or imply at any stage that I will or can gain professional malpractice insurance covers or enhance my career prospects or gain employment in any form whatsoever by undertaking a private home learning diploma course or obtaining the final Open College UK Ltd diploma certificate.
I am fully aware that I am either placing either my personal handwritten signature or ticking the tick box on this enrolment/application form via the checkout which will be kept on record by the Company for life and understand that this signature or tick box requirement is an agreed legal binding declaration that I have fully read and downloaded/printed off all Terms and Conditions from the website which I will keep a copy of.
This shows I fully understand and agree to the open learning diploma course status, (the status means the type of course/s and the level of credibility & recognition, rank and status), course material content, full money back/refund guarantee and cancellation period (strict), returns procedure and privacy policy and that I alone take full and total responsibility for my decision rightly or wrongly to enrol onto a course which has been displayed to me clearly without any misrepresentation or misleading statements.
I have made all the necessary enquires and checks for course suitability before enroling, both with the Open College UK Ltd, via email or telephone and or externally by consulting others for their opinions and or advice where required, that the course/s and services I am buying are right for me and my personal needs.
I also fully understand that in the event of any confusion, misunderstandings or errors in my judgement to enrol onto a course and or misunderstanding of any of these Terms and Conditions, the Open College UK Ltd will quote all these Terms & Conditions to me in writing so that I am made fully aware of any area that I may have overlooked or misunderstood or signed or ticked the tick box blindly without reading or understanding.
Cancellation & Returns Policy
Under the Consumer Protection (DSR's) Distance Selling Regulations 2000 you have a statutory right to cancel an order/the service (contract) for a course placement up to 14 working days in total starting from the day after your course package/goods are delivered to you. This is the day after you receive your course package and sign for it.
Statutory right of cancellation. Distance Selling Regulations
You may cancel an order/the service (contract) and obtain a full refund by notifying us in writing by post (not telephone) up to 14 working days starting the day after the delivery of the goods to you. This must be put in writing and posted to our Company address as displayed on this website. We will refund you the cost of the course/goods paid plus the cost of our delivery to you within the period of 14 days of the cancellation.
Open College UK Ltd 14 day money-back guarantee
In addition to your statutory legal rights shown above, we offer a full money back guarantee which allows you to return a course package for any reason within 14 days of receipt for a full refund, so long as it is unused and unmarked. Marked or damaged contents will be charged for or deducted.
These 14 working days also start the same day after you receive and sign for your course package. Refunds will not be given outside of this 14 working day period for 'ANY reason', (No reason will be accepted) irrespective of personal circumstances or difficulties (Strict).
You are ticking the tick box or signing and legally agreeing to this. Once you receive your course package/the goods through the post, you will be free to inspect and sample those goods/the service at your own leisure. If within this period you are not satisfied with your course package/the goods/the service or any of our products you are entitled to return the goods and obtain a full refund from us.
You are required to return all the goods back to us (unmarked, as new) at your own expense. (You are required to pay for the return of any unwanted goods via the post office and not hand delivered). Any damaged materials such as marked or dog-eared text books will be charged for/deducted. Full clear instructions on this are available from us.
We request customers return the products within their original packaging and to ensure that the package is sufficiently wrapped up to minimise the risk of transit/postal damage. Please follow our simple returns procedure detailed below.
Returns procedure
If you do not wish to keep the course package or any of the products and simply want a refund, please return the complete product within 14 days of delivery and we will process a refund according to your original method of payment.
To recap:
Please note: Customers who have received their order and are not happy with their purchase will need to return their package at their own cost unless the course package/product is faulty, damaged or has been sent by us to you in error on our part.
Please email us if you are concerned or in any need of assistance with this process.
I confirm that I have fully read what I have ticked or signed up to above. I am in full understanding and total agreement of all of the above information.
I also to agree to read and print off the full and more in-depth version of these Terms and Conditions located Here.
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Many of the activities allow grades to be set.
By default, the results of all grades within the course can be seen in the Grades page, available from the main course page.
If a teacher is not interested in using grades in a course, or just wants to hide grades from students, then they can disable the display of grades in the Course Settings. This does not prevent individual activities from using or setting grades, it just disables the results being displayed to students.


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Greetings from the Department of Natural Resources Atchafalaya Basin Program!
News: The Advocate: High rivers change fishing landscape Times-Picayune: Louisiana residents have excellent public dove-hunting options KATC: State duck calling champion named at Gueydan festival LDWF: Corrections to Migratory Bird Hunting Season Dates for Extended Falconry Seasons Louisiana Sportsman: Second Amendment Weekend Sales Tax Holiday set for Sept. 4-6 Bayou Woman: Bayou Teche National Wildlife Refuge Upcoming Meetings of the ABP for the 2017 Annual Plan: Technical Advisory Group Meeting, Wed., Sept. 2 at 9:30 am at DNR in the La Belle Rm., Baton Rouge Research and Promotion Board Meeting, Thurs., Sept. 3 at 1 pm at DNR in the La Belle Rm., Baton Rouge Public Meeting, Tues., Oct. 6 at 6 pm at City Hall, 1007 Amy St. in Henderson Public Meeting, Wed., Oct. 7 at 6 pm at the Iberville Parish Chambers, 58050 Meriam St. in Plaquemine Public Meeting, Thurs., Oct. 8 at 6 pm at the Visitor Center, 900 Dr. Martin Luther King Blvd. in Morgan City Save the Date: Longfellow-Evangeline Historic Site Tours, daily Wed - Sun from 9 am - 5 pm Atchafalaya Basin Program Technical Advisory Group Meeting, Sept. 2 at 9:30 am at DNR in the LaBelle Rm. Atchafalaya Basin Program Research and Promotion Board Meeting, Sept. 3 at 1 pm at DNR in the LaBelle Rm. Shrimp and Petroleum Festival, Sept. 4-7 in Morgan City A Sojourn Forgotten-The Acadians of Maryland, Sept 10 at 6:30 pm at the Ascension Parish Library in Gonzales Lydia Cajun Food Fest, Sept 11 - 12 at 4412 Weeks Park Road in Lydia Les Mains Guideés: Canning and Preserving, Sept 12 from 10 am - 12 pm at Vermilionville Deadline for Atchafalaya Water Heritage Trail site submissions: Sept. 15 C.C. Lockwood's Louisiana Wild LIVE, Sept 16 at 6 pm at the Manship Theater in Baton Rouge Pepper Festival, Sept 18 - 19 near the Evangeline Oak in downtown St. Martinville Cajun French Music Festival, Sept 19 from 9 am to 5 pm in New Iberia Hummingbirds, Sept 19 at 2 pm, join Louisiana State Arboretum staff to learn how to attract hummingbirds to your own yard with flowers and feeders, Ville Platte Become a Tour du Teche Volunteer, Deadline to become a volunteer: Sept. 25.
Save the Date:
Send in your Basin Pics! Let us know if you have an upcoming event to promote the Basin!
Send in your Basin Pics!
Let us know if you have an upcoming event to promote the Basin!
Checking the water:The information below is obtained from the USGS and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and has been compiled by DNR into this format to allow a quick look at information pertinent to the Atchafalaya Basin. Click here for current weather conditions and water levels.
Data is for 9/1/2015
Ohio River at CairoLocation: Southernmost gauge on the Ohio River in Illinois Reading significance - used to forecast rises on the Mississippi. Lag time, 4 to 6 days.Flood Stage: 40'Stage: 14.6'24 hour change: -0.9'Forecast: expect to RISE to 14.9' by 9/6
Mississippi River, just south of ORCS, at Red River LandingReading: Mississippi River south of ORCS, after the diversion into the Atchafalaya Flood Stage: 48'Stage: 28.1'24 hour change: -0.1'Forecast: expect to FALL to 25.9' by 9/6
Mississippi River at Baton RougeFlood Stage: 35'Stage: 13.1'24 hour change: -0.3'Forecast: expect to FALL to 11.9' by 9/6
Mississippi River at New OrleansFlood Stage: 17'Stage: 4.0'24 hour change: -0.1'Forecast: expect to RISE to 4.4' by 9/6
Atchafalaya River at MelvilleFlood Stage: 34'Stage: 6.8'Forecast: expect to FALL to 5.8' by 9/6
Atchafalaya River at Krotz SpringsFlood Stage: 29'Stage: 6.0'Forecast: expect to FALL to 4.7' by 9/6
Atchafalaya River above Butte LaroseFlood Stage: 20'Stage: 5.1'Forecast: expect to FALL to 4.6' by 9/6Atchafalaya River at Bayou Sorrell Locks on the GIWWFlood Stage: 12'Stage: 4.5'Forecast: expect to REMAIN at 4.5' through 9/6
Atchafalaya at Millet (Myette) PointFlood Stage: 15'Stage: 7.8'Forecast: expect to FALL to 7.6' by 9/6
Atchafalaya River at Morgan CityFlood Stage: 6'Stage: 2.8'Forecast: expect to REMAIN at 2.8' through 9/6
Lower Grand River at Bayou SorrelStage: 5.73'
Bayou CourtableauStage: 18.48'
Middle Fork, Bayou LongStage: 3.57'
Arm of Grand Lake near Crook CheneStage: 7.81'
Pontoon Bridge at Butte LaroseStage: 6.94'
Lake Pelba at I-10, HendersonStage: 10.86'


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There's a fine line between propaganda and downright lying – neoconservative Commentary propagandist Jonathan Tobin has crossed that line.
The latest report being prepared by the International Atomic Energy Agency about Iran appears to be a sobering retort to those who have spent the summer trying to claim that Israel's warnings about the need to act should be ignored. The report, which has not yet been released but whose contents have been leaked, says that Iran has installed hundreds of new centrifuges in recent months and is devoting its efforts to refining uranium to a level of greater than 20 percent, a sign that it is working on a nuclear bomb and not, as it disingenuously contends, on medical research.
Tobin's link takes you to a New York Times article which, in relation to the assertion about Iran refining uranium, actually says:
The report will also indicate, according to the officials familiar with its contents, that Iran is increasingly focused on enriching uranium to a level of 20 percent — a purity that it says it needs for a specialty nuclear reactor that it insists is used only for medical purposes.
That's "to a level of 20%", not "to a level of greater than 20%" as Tobin says deliberately lying.
What warmongering scumbags!!


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With OakHairs luxurious Clip On Hair Extensions, you can extend your hair and get more volume in just a few minutes!
The hair is made from 100 percent human hair of remy quality, which means all the strands point in the same direction. This ensures the hair looks great for a long period of time.
One set consists of 7 different parts that you attach to the hair and remove whenever you want.
One set is sufficient for extending thin – normal/thick hair and we recommend two sets for those who have thick hair or want alot of volume.
If you need assistance or have any questions, do not hesitate to contact us!
Color: #27/613 Blonde mix
Length and weight
40 cm/ 15.7″ (100 g)- 50 cm/19.6″ (105 g) – 65 cm/25.5″ (110 g)
One set consists of:
1 piece, 25 cm wide with 4 clips – 1 piece, 20 cm wide with 3 clips – 2 pieces, 10 cm with 2 clips – 3 pieces, 4 cm wide with1 clip.


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UPDATE: Perfect Bracket No Longer Perfect
An autistic teenager from the Chicago area has done something almost impossible.
Nearly 48 games into an upset-filled NCAA tournament, 17-year-old Alex Hermann is perfect.
"It's amazing," he says. Truly.
The teenager predicted that Northern Iowa would beat the Kansas Jayhawks. He picked Ohio to knock off Georgetown. And Cornell to knock off Wisconsin.
In fact, he picked every game through the first two rounds correctly. The odds of anybody doing that? One in 13,460,000, according to BookofOdds.com. It's easier to win the lottery. Twice.
"I'm good at math," Alex, a Glenbrook South High School student, said. "I'm kind of good at math and at stats I see on TV during the game."
Alex entered the bracket on CBSsports.com's bracket challenge. His 24-year-old brother Andrew, who helped him enter his picks into CBS' bracket manager, also entered the contest -- and ranks behind 500,000 other people.
"My bracket is totally shot," hist 24-year-old brother Andrew said. "So is everyone else I know."
ESPN estimates around 4.78 million played in their bracket challenge, but no one picked all the games correctly. The leader at ESPN's bracket has already missed four games.
But Alex Hermann's miraculous bracket is still a picture of perfection.
Andrew is still shocked --- after looking it over for the umpteenth time, he told his mother to alert the media.
"I checked his bracket and it was off the chart," Andrew said. "I thought it was a big deal."
Alex doesn't get anything for perfection. He entered one of three bracket games offered by CBS -- the only one without a prize attached.
Alex's basketball knowledge could have been worth a fortune. One of the other CBS games offers a prize of $5,000 per round. Other sites offer even more money -- Yahoo offers $1 million for a perfect bracket; SportsBook.com offers $13 million.
"If he would have won any money he would have just saved it," his mother Diane said. "He's a big saver."
CBSSports.com can not confirm Alex's entry -- the company doesn't track entries to their Bracket Manager program. Unlike CBSSports' Bracket Challenge, which ranks players nationally and locks entries once the tournament begins, Bracket Challenge does allow changes after play starts.
The Hermanns insist, however, that they filled out their brackets as a family before the tournament started, and haven't touched the picks since. When asked whether the bracket was altered after the tourney began, Alex's mother said, simply, "no."
And then there's this: Alex picked Purdue to win the whole thing. Probably not going to happen.
And that just happens to be his brother's alma mater.
"They're his favorite for that reason," Diane said. Or maybe he knows something no one else does.
And there are still four rounds remaining, so it could fall apart.
The odds of a perfect wire to wire bracket? As high as 1 in 1,000,000,000,000.
Click here to see Alex's entire bracket.
Editor's note: This story has been updated to make clear the difference between CBSSports.com's tournament bracket options, and now includes information from a CBSSports.com spokesperson.


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Q: What is a palindrome?
A: A palindrome is a sequence of characters that reads the same backwards as it does forwards. Consider the word "racecar". If you read it front-to-back you get the letters r-a-c-e-c-a-r. If you read it backwards you get the letters r-a-c-e-c-a-r. So, "racecar" is a palindrome because it's the same backwards and forwards. You can make palindromes out of numbers, and those are the ones that you'll see most on my Facebook wall. the sequence "13331" is a palindrome. Get the idea?
Q: Why do you keep posting pictures of odometers on your wall?
A: I post pictures of odometers when they are palindromic, or when they read the same forwards as they do backwards. This is a special event in the life of each odometer and I think that it deserves to be recognized. Depending on how many miles your car has, this may or may not happen all that often. It's a fun nerdy hobby. Some people watch birds. Other people watch odometers.
Q: Where do you get all of these pictures?
A: I posted my first palindromic odometer picture of June 29th, 2012. By August 19th I had received 27 pictures from friends of their own odometers when they achieved palindromicity (note: that's not actually a word..... yet). People from all walks of life have snagged the pictures and sent them in. So far I have received pictures from Utah, Idaho, California, Florida, Texas, Ohio, Montana, Wyoming, and Maryland. Only 41 states to go! I'm not sure why, but everybody seems to love catching their odometer when its a palindrome. I honestly never expected this to catch on. I've been shocked by the number of people that come up to me in the real world and tell me that they're working hard to find me a palindrome. It's a pretty great feeling.
Q: Okay, I want to play, how do I help?
A: You can help by taking a picture of your odometer the next time that it is palindromic. It should likely happen somewhere in the next 1100 miles. Snag a picture of it when it is palindromic and send me the photo. The easiest way is to send me a facebook message or an email at cjthatcher, you know, at gmail.com. Attach the photo as well as any additional information you want to include. I can't promise it will be posted super quickly-- I have a backlog and I don't want to spam people by posting more than one a day, but I do promise that it will be posted.
Q: Taking these pictures while driving sounds pretty dangerous...
A: So, you're right. You should definitely do everything you can to be safe while you take this picture. My favorite method is to drive with a buddy and have them take the picture while you drive like a normal human being. If that is not possible, consider pulling off to the side of the road (you know, uh, safely). As much as I love palindromes, I feel like your life is worth more than a cell-phone-camera-quality picture of a cool string of numbers. Please be safe.
Q: So, uhh, aren't you worried that no one will ever go on a date with you again because you post about number theory on Facebook every night?
A: Yes.
Q: What if I think this is all sort of stupid, can we still be friends?
A: Absolutely! I have great respect for people who thinks palindromes are stupid.
Leave me a comment if you have any other questions that I haven't covered yet. Much love~


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Raise your hand if you've shared a username and password with someone over IM? Ever share a document with your SSN or other extremely sensitive information without protecting it? How about if you've sent, erm...scandalous pics to your significant other? Thanks to the internet, we share more than ever, and so quickly and easily that we do it without a second thought. That's great, but it may be time you learn a little about how to do that sharing in a more secure fashion.
Here, we'll walk through the easiest and most secure ways to share files, passwords, and other data with people you trust. There are countless other methods out there, but these are our favorites. The method you use to share data should depend on what you're sending, how secure you want that material to be, and how willing you are to take proper security methods.
Does this article look familiar? We've published it before, but knowing how to securely transfer information is an important part of being a spy, so we've republished it in honor of Spy Week here at Lifehacker.
Securely Share Passwords and Other Simple Information
If you're just sending a username, password, or other line of text (like a credit card number), protect your info with a few simple tricks:
Easy and Pretty Secure: Break the Message Up Into Chunks
Sometimes all it takes to increase your security is a little obscurity, and that's what this method is all about. You send the sensitive data over separate channels so that only the recipient is likely to have context for what it all means. Let's say you wanted to share a username and password with someone over the internet. Here's the basic idea:
In an email, send the username with an accompanying message—something like "I've texted you the FTP password".
Text the password separately, with no context.
The recipient receives the password, saves it elsewhere, and deletes the text message.
Even if your recipient doesn't delete the message (which you can't count on), a snoop would have no context for what it applies to. The basic idea could work in any direction, as long as you're separating the context from the information. Is it 100% foolproof? Absolutely not. But it's better than nothing, which is what many of us are doing now.
If you want to get even more creative, you could send someone the first half of the password via SMS, the second half via email, and let the recipient know over IM how it's been broken up. That way, a thief would have to have access to both their email, IM account, and their phone. You get the idea.
Less Practical, But More Secure: Use LastPass
Password management service LastPass is still one of the most secure ways to create and store passwords, and if your recipient is also using it (or if you can convince them of how great it is and get them signed up), sharing passwords and other small notes securely is extremely easy. Just pop into your LastPass vault, click the "Share" link next to the password or secure note you want to share, type in your recipient's email address, and LastPass will take care of the rest—securely. If you're sharing login credentials, you can choose to share the actual password (so your recipient can learn what it is) or just share access to the credentials in question, so your friend or colleague can log without actually learning your password. For more info on how to share passwords with LastPass, check out our how-to on the subject.
Securely Send Documents and Other Files
If you need to send full documents—like paperwork for your job or a saucy photo—you'll need the help of an external service. Here are our favorite ways to securely send files.
Easy and Pretty Secure: Share it with Dropbox
Even if your recipient isn't using the popular file-syncing service Dropbox, you can still use it to securely share files with them. Here's how:
Drag the file into your Dropbox. Anywhere in your Dropbox is fine; it doesn't need to go in your Public folder.
Once your file is synced (you'll know it is once it's got that green check mark next to it), right-click on it and choose Dropbox > Get Link. This will copy its shareable link to your clipboard.
Send that link over email or text message to your recipient, and they'll be able to securely download your file.
Since Dropbox encrypts everything you upload and download over a secure HTTPS connection, your file transfer should be secure from start to finish. The one notable exception: Dropbox's mobile app doesn't use an encrypted connection, so be careful not to upload the file from your phone over an open Wi-Fi connection, and if your recipient does use Dropbox (and you want to share the file with them through Dropbox's shared folders), make sure they don't use the mobile app to download it.
If you want to add a little extra security to this method (since anyone with access to your recipient's email could click the link and get the full file), you could use also employ the "half and half" method from section one: Send half the link to your recipient over email, and the other half over text message. They'll have to type it in manually instead of just clicking on it, but as long as their phone and email are secured with passcodes, this creates another level of security a thief would have to go through to get at your file.
Less Practical, But More Secure: Send It In an Encrypted ZIP File
The most secure way to send a file, though, is to encrypt it with a password. There are a lot of ways to do this, but we like to use our favorite archive utility, 7-Zip. Here's how to do it:
Select the file or files you want to send, then right-click on them and go to 7-Zip > Add to Archive.
In the window that pops up, stick with the default values. Under "Encryption", enter a password and choose AES-256 as the encryption method. Then click OK to create the archive.
Email the resulting ZIP file to your recipient, and send them the password over text message or some other medium (don't put it in the same email as the file!) so they know how to open the archive.
This method is very secure, but it has one downside: this method requires that your recipient have a program that can open encrypted archives. Windows' native ZIP handling does not, so they'll need to download something like 7-Zip, PeaZip, or another good archive utility to open it up. And, if one of you is on a Mac, there are some other good compression apps that will let you password-protect your files, though most cost a bit of money.
For the Sexting Crowd: Nothing Is Foolproof; When In Doubt, Give It to Them In Person (or Don't Send It at All)
The methods above assume that you trust the person you're sending information to, and that that information isn't saucy enough to tempt them to spread it around. Your boss probably isn't going to start passing out your Social Security number, but a password to your Facebook account or a sexy photo is a lot riskier. Even if you trust the someone now, there's no telling what may happen in the future.
A lot of apps have popped up over the years that "self destruct" messages after sending them, the latest of which is SnapChat—an iPhone app that automatically deletes your photo from a recipient's phone after they've seen it for a few seconds, but keep in mind that these are far from secure. Anyone could take a screenshot of their phone within those seconds to create a version of the photo that lasts forever, and then you're really in trouble. Besides, do you really want to trust a third party app you've never heard of with your drunken sexts?
The fact is, if something can be seen, it can be copied, and security extends only so far as you trust the recipient of that private info—whether it's a password or a picture.
In the end, for most exchanges of sensitive data, nothing's more secure than the tried and true in-person hand-off. It reduces the number of servers your data is duplicated on or spread across, it decreases the vulnerabilities that a snoop might try to exploit, and it ensures that the person you intended it for is the recipient.
If you have to send sensitive information into your office, hand it to them in person if you can. If you don't like a paper copy, encrypt your file on a thumb drive and hand that off in person. If it's something you don't have to send (e.g., things on the saucy end of the spectrum), you'd better have a lot of faith in the person you're sending to—or you're better off not sending it at all. After all, everyone has a camera or scanner these days, and if it's tempting enough, there's nothing to keep your recipient from spreading it around on the internet. Keep your private stuff close at hand and you'll never end up like [insert latest celebrity with a sex tape].
This post is part of Spy Week, a series at Lifehacker where we look at ways to improvise solutions to every day problems Bond-style. Want more? Check out our spy week tag page.
Title image remixed from Mayer George Vladimirovich and mkabakov.


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Egypt's army-appointed government handed in its resignation Monday, trying to stem a spiraling crisis as thousands of protesters in Cairo's Tahrir Square clashed for the third straight day with security forces in violence that has killed at least 24 people and posed the most sustained challenge yet to the rule of the military.
The crowds in Tahrir, which had grown to well over 10,000 after nightfall, broke out into cheers with the news of the Cabinet's move, chanting "God is great." But there was no sign the concession would break their determination to protest until the military steps down completely and hands over power to a civilian government.
Beating drums, the protesters quickly resumed their chants of "the people want the ouster of the field marshal," a reference to Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, the head of the council of generals that has ruled the country since the Feb. 11 fall of authoritarian President Hosni Mubarak.
The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, which Tantawi heads, did not immediately announce whether it would accept the mass resignation. Many Egyptians had seen the government, headed by Prime Minister Essam Sharaf, as a mere facade for the military and either unable or unwilling to press ahead with democratic reform or take action to stem increasing turmoil and economic crisis around the country.
The anger, however, has ultimately been focused on the generals themselves, who many activists accuse of acting as abusively as Mubarak's regime and of intending to maintain their grip on power.
The turmoil comes only a week before Egypt is to start key parliamentary elections, which many had hoped would be a landmark in the transition to a democracy. Instead, they have been overshadowed by the standoff over the military. Activists believe that no matter who wins the vote, the generals will dominate the next government as much as they did Sharaf's. The military says it will hand over power only after presidential elections, which it has vaguely said will be held in late 2012 or early 2013.
If Monday's resignations are carried out, a crucial question will be who will replace the Cabinet. Some in the square demand the military immediately hand over all its authority to a national unity government made up of multiple factions.
"We are not clearing the square until there is a national salvation government that is representative and has full responsibility," said activist Rami Shaat.
Violence has steadily escalated the clashes began Saturday, when police tried to clear several hundred protesters in the square. Repeated attempts to clear the protesters from Tahrir have failed, and a death toll that quadrupled overnight from Sunday has only brought out more and angrier protesters. The protests have spread to other cities around the country, including the coastal city of Alexandria, where one of the deaths took place.
Throughout the day on Monday, black-garbed security forces fired tear gas, rubber bullets and — many protesters said — live ammunition at young men in the streets around Tahrir. The protesters hurled stones and threw back the gas canisters that clattered across the pavement, streaming stinging clouds.
Sounds of gunfire crackled around the square, and a constant stream of injured protesters — bloodied from rubber bullets or overcome by gas — were brought into makeshift clinics set out on sidewalks, where volunteer doctors scrambled from patient to patient.
"I will keep coming back until they kill me," said Mohammed Sayyed, his head bandaged from a rubber bullet wound. "The people are frustrated. Nothing changed for the better."
"What does it mean, transfer power in 2013? It means simply that he wants to hold on to his seat," said Sayyed, holding two rocks in his hand, ready to throw, as he took cover from tear gas in a side street off Tahrir.
During an overnight assault, police hit one of the field clinics with heavy barrages of tear gas, forcing the staff to flee, struggling to carry out the wounded. Some were moved to a nearby sidewalk outside a Hardee's fast food restaurant. A video posted on social networking sites showed a soldier dragging the motionless body of a protester along the street and leaving him in a garbage-strewn section of Tahrir.
An Egyptian morgue official said the toll had climbed to 24 dead since the violence began Saturday — a jump from the toll of five dead around nightfall Sunday, reflecting the ferocity of fighting through the night. The official spoke on condition of because he was not authorized to release the numbers. Hundreds have been injured, according to doctors in the square.
Amnesty International condemned the violence.
"While the Egyptian authorities have a duty to maintain law and order, they must not use excessive force to crack down on peaceful protests, something that poses a severe threat to Egyptians' rights to assembly and freedom of expression," the London-based group said in a statement.
The military on Sunday night issued a statement saying it did not intend to "extend the transitional period" and vowed not to let anyone hinder the "democratic transition." The government has said elections will be held on schedule, starting on Nov. 28 and extending over numerous phases for several months.
Election politics have complicated the protesters' bid to launch what some of them tout as a "second revolution."
The loose coalition of groups that led the 18-day uprising that ousted Mubarak in February is fragmented. In particular, the Muslim Brotherhood, which gave the first revolution powerful muscle, so far refuses to take to the streets again, fearing the turmoil will derail the parliament elections, which it expects to dominate. Some of the secular protesters in Tahrir are worried the vote will give too much power to the fundamentalist group.
Monday afternoon, protesters angry at the Brotherhood for not participating jeered and threw water bottles at a prominent figure in the group, Mohammed el-Beltagy, as he visited the square.
Earlier in the day, the military council made another apparent attempt at a concession, issuing a long-awaited anti-graft law that bans anyone convicted of corruption from running for office or holding a government post.
But the law falls far short of demands by many that all members of Mubarak's former ruling party be banned from politics.
The protesters' suspicions about the military were fed by a proposal issued by the military-appointed Cabinet last week that would shield the armed forces from any civilian oversight and give the generals veto power over legislation dealing with military affairs. It would also give them considerable power over the body that is to be created after the election to draft a new constitution. Activists already accuse the military of ruling with the same autocratic style of Mubarak.
One of the most prominent democracy proponents in the country, Nobel Peace laureate Mohamed ElBaradei, called on the civilian government to resign and for a national unity government to be formed "grouping all the factions so it can begin to solve the problems of Egyptians."
"Power is now in the hands of the military council, which is not qualified to run the country, and the government, which has no authority," he said on a TV political talk show late Sunday. For the next six months, "we want see the powers of the military council given completely to a civilian, national unity government, and the military goes back to just defending the borders."


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Lawsuit Threatened to Protect Sea Turtles From Drowning in Shrimp Fishing Nets
Press Release Date: February 19, 2014
Anna Baxter | email: email@example.com
Anna Baxter
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.— Conservation groups notified the National Marine Fisheries Service today of their intent to sue over the agency's failure to complete a long-overdue analysis of the impacts of shrimp trawling on threatened and endangered sea turtles in the Gulf of Mexico and U.S. Southeast Atlantic Ocean. Shrimp trawlers operating in the southeast United States capture and kill over 53,000 threatened and endangered sea turtles each year.
This new legal action comes just two years after the conservation groups settled another lawsuit, one that sought to address more than 3,500 sea turtles that stranded dead or injured on beaches in the same areas in 2011. The Fisheries Service linked many of those sea turtle deaths and injuries to capture in shrimp fishing nets. Conservation groups settled the litigation with the Fisheries Service, which promised to propose a new rule to help protect sea turtles. Instead of implementing the rule, the Fisheries Service withdrew it.
Since then, the agency has failed to complete a revised analysis of the impacts of shrimp trawling on sea turtles, even after acknowledging previous analyses were inadequate and did not account for poor compliance with existing regulations.
"We had high hopes that we were moving toward a solution for sea turtles, but once again the Fisheries Service has failed to actually implement the protective measures," said Jaclyn Lopez, an attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. "The agency has gotten into a disturbing habit of initiating protections and then stalling them. Every day protections are delayed is another day that these sea turtles face the very real risk of drowning in shrimp nets."
Turtle excluder devices, known as TEDs, prevent turtles from drowning in nets, but limited use and lax enforcement have led to thousands of sea turtle deaths. Making matters worse, shallow-water shrimp vessels using skimmer trawls are permitted to simply self-enforce time limits on their tows in water instead of using TEDs.
Enforcement records have shown that only 35 percent actually comply with these regulations. There is also mounting evidence from federal fishery observers suggesting that even when these restrictions are followed, skimmers drown turtles. Shrimp trawling is one of the most significant threats facing sea turtles in U.S. coastal waters.
"These fisheries should not be permitted to operate without any protective measures in place," said Amanda Keledjian, marine scientist at Oceana. "The federal government should do its job and ensure these amazing and vulnerable creatures are protected so populations can rebuild in the future."
"Sea turtles are critically endangered, and no shrimp trawler should be allowed to operate if it can't prevent the drowning of turtles," said Teri Shore, program director of Turtle Island Restoration Network. "Any net that can't prevent turtles from being held underwater and drowning must be prohibited."
"Shrimp trawls kill more sea turtles than all other sources of mortality in U.S. waters combined," said Marydele Donnelly, director of international policy at the Sea Turtle Conservancy. "Nations that export shrimp to the United States are required to protect sea turtles from drowning in their nets, but the U.S. fleet cannot meet these standards right now."
The Endangered Species Act requires the Fisheries Service to ensure that its actions do not jeopardize the continued existence of endangered species. Today's notice aims to ensure the agency's compliance with this law in carrying out its mandate to protect sea turtles and seeks to establish protective measures for them.
Conservation groups filing today's notice include the Center for Biological Diversity, Turtle Island Restoration Network, Sea Turtle Conservancy and Oceana.
The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 675,000 members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places. www.biologicaldiversity.org
Turtle Island Restoration Network mobilizes people to restore oceans, preserve rivers and streams, and protect the marine wildlife – from sea turtles to sharks – that call these blue-green waters home. Turtle Island is 25-year-old environmental non-profit with offices in California, Texas and Costa Rica. Our more than 65,000 members and online activists work to protect marine biodiversity in our oceans, and inland rivers and streams. www.SeaTurtles.org
Sea Turtle Conservancy works to ensure the survival of sea turtles within the Caribbean, Atlantic and Pacific through research, education, training, advocacy and protection of the natural habitats upon which they depend. www.conserveturtles.org
Oceana is the largest international conservation group working solely to protect the world's oceans. Oceana wins policy victories for the oceans using science-based campaigns. More than 600,000 supporters have already joined Oceana. Global in scope, Oceana has offices in North, South and Central America and Europe. For more information, visit www.oceana.org


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January 11, 2013
Should we eliminate the human ability to feel pain?
Though pain has clearly served an important evolutionary purpose, not everyone is convinced that we still need it. A growing number of forward-looking thinkers are suggesting that we need to get rid of it — and that we'll soon have the technological know-how to do this. But should we choose to embark on such a radical experiment, we'll need to pay close attention to the risks and those aspects of humanity we might risk losing.
Above image: "Ascension" by Hank Akins.
To help us better understand the perspective of the so-called "pain abolitionists," I spoke to philosopher and ethicist David Pearce. Back in 1995 he authored The Hedonistic Imperative, an influential online manifesto that urged the use of biotechnology to abolish suffering throughout the living world.
After speaking with Pearce, it became clear that the technologies required to pull off such a feat will soon be within our grasp — and that there's a strong moral argument to back his case. But as Pearce admitted to us, a pain-free world doesn't necessarily imply a perfect world — just one that would be considerably more comfortable to live in.
David, before we get into the ethics of creating a pain-free humanity, it's important to consider the technological viability of such a project. Will it really be possible to remove physical pain from the human experience?
In a nutshell, yes.
Technically, physical pain could be banished in humans and nonhumans alike. Today, the lives of hundreds of millions of people are blighted by chronic pain. Mercifully, most of us are normally pain-free. But at some point in our lives, pain of nightmarish intensity can strike - and then we're shocked at how dreadful the experience can be.
From an engineering perspective, however, pain is unnecessary. Nonbiological robots don't suffer its nasty "raw feels" at all. Our silicon robots can be programmed to respond adaptively to noxious stimuli without the slightest discomfort. So we know that the function of nociception and the experience of phenomenal pain are distinct.
Indeed, rare humans born with congenital analgesia never experience phenomenal pain in the course of their entire lives. The problem with congenital analgesia is that phenomenal pain normally plays a signalling role in human and nonhuman animals. So people born with congenital analgesia are at risk from all sorts of health problems. They must lead sheltered, cosseted lives. They wouldn't survive on the African savannah. Therefore the challenge we face is to find ways of replicating the functional, information-signalling role of physical pain minus its nasty raw feels.
How soon before we'll be able to start doing this?
Well, we could start right now. Pain and pain-thresholds are modulated by a number of different genes. Let's focus on just one of them here: SCN9A.
The SCN9A gene codes for the Nav1.7 sodium ion channels present at endings of pain-sensing nociceptors. The SCN9A gene has numerous variant alleles. Nonsense mutations of the SCN9A gene abolish the capacity to feel pain. Other alleles confer an unusually high pain-sensitivity or an unusually low pain-sensitivity.
So prospective parents have a choice. We can continue playing genetic roulette as now, putting our faith in God or Mother Nature. Alternatively, if we're ethically serious about reducing the burden of suffering in the world, we could use preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) to choose benign "low pain" variants of the SCN9A gene for our future children. Prudence dictates that we shouldn't (yet) abolish the capacity for phenomenal pain altogether. But we can still ensure that pain has a negligible impact on our children's quality of life by selecting "low pain" alleles for their genomes.
Time out: This sounds a little bit like eugenics. Isn't all of this just genetic experimentation on our kids?
All children are genetic experiments. If we're going to create life, we should at least ensure we don't create suffering.
And you're right — critics of the reproductive revolution in process will raise the spectre of eugenics. Pessimists warn of "designer babies" and discrimination against the poor. Some of their worries may be well-founded. Potential pitfalls abound. But it's worth stressing that PGD doesn't entail creating designer babies. PGD just screens for what Nature has thrown up "naturally". True designer zygotes will certainly be an option to explore; but they aren't essential to pain-reduction.
Moreover, the biggest users of PGD aren't prospective parents in the developed western nations. Its biggest users are Indians and Chinese eager to prevent the misfortune of having a girl. Arguably our ethical priorities are skewed.
For now, adults seeking to banish pain from their lives are stuck with "analgesics" and narcotics. So-called analgesics are weak. Strong opioid painkillers have well-known problems of tolerance and dependence. Pain clinics exist "to help you manage your pain". Yet developments in gene-editing technologies will shortly allow mature humans to edit our own genetic source code. We'll be able to modulate our own pain thresholds, not just the pain-thresholds of our prospective children.
The advent of user-friendly genome-authoring and editing tools will potentially be hugely empowering. We won't all need to become molecular biologists to take control of our own genetic destiny. Realistically, autosomal gene-editing tools for the home user are decades away. But just as we need a Hundred Year Plan to tackle global warming, I think we need a Hundred Year Plan to tackle the scourge of physical pain.
Studies have shown that people without the capacity for pain have shorter life expectancies compared to normally functioning people. Clearly, pain has a life preserving purpose. So, without it, how will we know if we're hurt or harming ourselves?
Just to be clear, a post-genomic world of minimal pain is not the same as a pain-free world. But if we want to phase out physical pain altogether, then its abolition needn't force us to embrace the cotton-wool existence of congenital analgesics. Instead, a regime of robust, healthy, pain-free life is technically feasible for us all.
Two long-term options for total pain-replacement deserve to be considered. One option is to replace the signalling role of pain as it exists today with information-signalling gradients of bodily well-being — with dips in bodily well-being signalling potentially noxious stimuli. Intuitively, mere dips in well-being wouldn't adequately motivate us to action. But empirically, this doesn't seem to be the case. Compare two people making love. Some aspects of lovemaking are more rewarding than others. Yet sensitive lovers can still respond and adapt to hedonic dips and peaks without ever finding their experience less than enjoyable. In principle, this lesson could be transposed to everyday life.
A more radical option for dealing with the problem of pain would be to replace the signalling role of the pleasure-pain axis in its entirety — for noxious stimuli, at any rate. This is because we could offload its current role in nociception onto smart prostheses. If equipped with smart sensors and smart prostheses, then you could painlessly and automatically withdraw your hand in the vicinity of a hot stove, say, before you inadvertently injure yourself. Or rather, your hand would withdraw automatically. Presumably, such technology would standardly be fitted with manual overrides to avoid any perceived loss of bodily autonomy.
Such enhancement technologies promise to make us "cyborgs". Not everyone finds the prospect of cyborgization appealing. Would your body software be licensed or owned? What if your body were hacked? Despite the potential snags in store, bioconservative critics might wish to reconsider their opposition to a world without pain next time they are writhing in agony. Either way, the point is that later this century the experience of phenomenal pain of any kind will become optional. Ethically speaking, we should be free to choose.
There's got to be some other trade-offs for losing the capacity for pain. Doesn't physical pain serve any other sort of purpose, such as building character or making us tougher, better — even more empathetic human beings?
Bioconservatives often quote a line from Nietzsche: "That which does not crush me makes me stronger." But alas pain often does crush people: physically, emotionally, morally. Chronic, uncontrolled pain tends to make the victim tired, depressed and weaker. True, some people are relatively resistant to physical distress. For example, high testosterone function may make someone "tougher", more "manly", more resilient, and more able to deal with physically painful stimuli. But such strength doesn't necessarily make the subject more empathetic or a better person. Indeed, if I may quote W. Somerset Maugham, "It is not true that suffering ennobles the character; happiness does that sometimes, but suffering, for the most part, makes men petty and vindictive."
Of course, suffering doesn't always enfeeble and embitter. By analogy, someone who is emotionally depressed may feel that despair is the only appropriate response to the horrors of the world. But the solution to the horrors of the world is not for us all to become depressed. Rather it's to tackle the biology of depression. Likewise, the solution to the horrors of physical pain is not to flagellate ourselves in sympathy with the afflicted. Instead it's to tackle the biological roots of suffering.
There is another possibility in terms of unanticipated side-effects: Won't we be more inclined to physically hurt or coerce people if they don't experience pain?
The infliction of physical pain is used by abusive regimes — and also by abusive parents — the world over to coerce the vulnerable. So conferring immunity to pain is more likely to promote resistance to coercion, not increased vulnerability. But phasing out the biology of physical pain is not some utopian blueprint for a perfect world, any more than the development of pain-free surgery was a panacea for the ills of the body.
Rather, the creation of a world without involuntary pain is a precondition for a civilized society.
This article originally appeared at io9.
Inset images via 1: David Pearce | 2:nobeastsofierce/shutterstock | 3:Vladimir/shutterstock.
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