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Gold-Stock Valuations 8
Gold stocks languish in a sentiment wasteland these days, left for dead by everyone but a small contrarian remnant. So naturally bears abound, their arguments dominated by the idea that gold miners' costs are so high that they can't make money anymore. Provocatively though, this notion is totally wrong. As gold-stock valuations reveal, gold miners are earning profits hand-over-fist at today's gold levels.
Valuations are the fundamental heart of stock investing, ultimately driving the vast majority of long-term performance. Investors buy stocks because they want a stake in companies' future profits streams. The less they pay for each dollar of future profits, the better their ultimate returns. And the price of future profits is a direct function of prevailing stock prices. Valuations measure how much profits cost.
The classic price-to-earnings ratio has always been the leading valuation metric. P/E ratios are simple in both concept and calculation. Any company's stock price is divided by its latest annual profits per share, yielding the amount that investors are being asked to pay for each dollar of earnings. The resulting ratios are often expressed as "times earnings". A stock with a P/E of 30.0 is said to be at "thirty times earnings".
In this case investors must pay $30 for each $1 of yearly profits. But what if they could buy $1 of earnings for just $20 or even $10 elsewhere? Every dollar is fungible, right? A dollar an investor makes in stock XYZ is no better or worse than a dollar made in ABC. So over time investors naturally gravitate to sectors with lower P/E ratios. Investing is about paying the lowest-possible price for the highest-possible profits.
Sectors with low P/E ratios attract value investors seeking to do exactly that. And traditionally gold stocks are certainly not a value realm. For most of their secular bull, they had high valuations. Investors were paying a premium for the earnings the gold miners could spin off. Why? They believed that gold's bullish fundamentals would force the metal higher, greatly increasing gold miners' earning power.
And that indeed ended up being one of the best bets of the last decade. While gold's secular bull propelled it 638% higher at best between 2001 and 2011, the flagship HUI gold-stock index blasted an astounding 1664% higher at best by last September! This performance is epic, as over the same secular span the benchmark S&P 500 actuallyfell 14%. The gold stocks have leveraged gold by 2.6x so far.
With gold stocks exploding nearly 18x higher during a secular bear where the stock markets were flat, they should be the most popular sector on the planet today. But their recent serious correction of 41% over 8 months as measured by the HUI has totally obliterated bullish sentiment. The bears have tried to rationalize these losses as the new normal (as opposed to a temporary selloff) by attacking earnings.
They claim gold stocks are doomed to drift even lower indefinitely because the rising costs of gold mining are rapidly eroding profits. And the lower the earnings gold stocks as a sector can generate, the lower their stock prices should be as investors refuse to overpay for future profits streams. Thankfully because earnings are one of the most important and widely-followed stock metrics, this idea is easy to investigate.
At Zeal we've been tracking and analyzing gold-stock earnings for over a decade now. I wrote the original essay in this series way back in May 2004. While P/E ratios are calculated on an individual-stock basis, they can be aggregated to give valuation reads on entire sectors. The best way to do this is to pick a major stock index and calculate a weighted average of the individual P/Es of all its component stocks.
In late 2006 we started doing this for the HUI. At the end of every month we record each HUI component's stock price, P/E ratio, dividend yield, and market capitalization. We feed this all into a giant spreadsheet that computes a bunch of stuff including the HUI's market-capitalization-weighted-average P/E. That is a mouthful, but weighting index component P/Es by market caps is essential for precision.
Say you had a hypothetical index of two gold stocks. One has a P/E of 90 and the other a P/E of 10, so their simple-average P/E would be 50. But what if the expensive former stock has a market capitalization of $3b while the cheaper latter one is worth $30b? Investors have 10x more capital at risk in it, so it should be weighted accordingly. Their MCWA P/E is 17x, a superior reflection of underlying reality.
This first chart documents the HUI component stocks' MCWA P/E ratio, simple-average P/E ratio, and dividend yield at the end of every month since 2007. If the bears' thesis is right, that gold miners' profits are shrinking as higher costs eat up operating cashflow, it would absolutely show up in these valuation metrics. Lower earnings would yield higher P/Es, but the exact opposite is true! The bears are wrong.
Gold-stock P/E ratios today are actually the lowest they've been in this entire secular bull! Our latest read at the end of May saw the HUI sport an incredible MCWA P/E ratio of only 12.0x earnings. This is amazingly cheap for gold stocks as this chart shows, way below even stock-panic levels. Gold miners are actually earning enormous profits now relative to their stock prices. They are value investments today!
Zooming way out, the general stock markets meander in great third-of-a-century cycles I call Long Valuation Waves. At the crests of these waves just before major secular bears (like in early 2000), stocks tend to trade above 28x earnings. By the troughs about 17 years later, general-stock-market P/E ratios have fallen near 7x earnings. The long-term average of the broad-market P/E ratio is around 14x.
So in an absolute sense, gold stocks (which traditionally have high P/Es like growth stocks) are now trading on the cheap side. At the end of last month, the broad S&P 500 MCWA P/E was running at 17.8x. I never thought I'd see the day, but gold stocks are far cheaper than the stock markets as a whole! A dollar of gold-stock profits costs investors $12, but the same dollar is going for $18 in the general markets.
As recently as early 2008, which was before that epic once-in-a-century stock panic, investors were happily paying 40x earnings for gold stocks. While certainly expensive, the idea was that as gold powered higher gold miners' profits would rise and their valuations would fall. And indeed this has been the case for most of this secular bull, as the downtrend shown above in the HUI's MCWA P/E reveals.
By the time the HUI fully recovered from its brutal stock-panic losses in late 2009, its P/E ratio had been cut in half. Even though gold stocks were trading at similar levels to early 2008, their profits had effectively doubled so their valuations were much lower. And by summer 2011 as gold stocks powered to new all-time highs, their valuations shrunk lower still. Gold miners' profits just keep on growing.
And this is not just relative to stock prices, which valuations measure. It is also true in an absolute sense as my business partner Scott Wright's ground-breaking research shows. Between 2007 and 2011, average profits at nearly two dozen of the world's largest gold miners (representing almost half of global mined production) soared dramatically from $354 per ounce to an astounding $915 per ounce!
Even though mining costs are rising rather sharply as the bears gleefully latch on to, profits and even profit margins are rising faster. The strong ongoing secular bull market in gold is more than offsetting the growing challenges of wresting this scarce metal from the bowels of the earth. Gold mining has become so profitable that the gold miners are even dramatically ramping their dividend payments to investors.
The yellow line above shows the MCWA dividend yield of the HUI component stocks. It is multiplied by ten so it can use the same P/E axis, so 15 means 1.5%. Notice that gold miners have been raising their dividends consistently for a couple years now. This along with the sharp capitulation plunge in this sector's latest correction has led the HUI's dividend yield to surge. It is now way up above 1.8%!
Dividend yields are another valuation metric that works the opposite of P/E ratios, high is cheap and low is expensive. For most of 2012, the HUI's dividend yield has actually been higher than it was during that extreme stock-panic anomaly in late 2008! Dividends are the ultimate acid test of earnings, because companies can't pay them unless they are earning way more than necessary to cover these cash outflows.
So gold-stock dividend yields are way above panic extremes while gold-stock price-to-earnings ratios are way below. By both of these standard valuation metrics, gold stocks are now as cheap as they've been for their entire decade-plus secular bull. This unloved and forgotten sector has seen its stock prices beaten so low that it is now a value play today, something literally unheard of in the gold-stock world.
When the bears assert that gold stocks' earnings are falling, realize they are either lying or too lazy to do the research themselves. We've spent nearly a decade building extensive databases of gold-stock earnings, and their trend is crystal-clear as this chart shows. Gold stocks' brutal correction since September's latest peak was a sentiment thing, driven by fear. It had nothing to do with fundamentals.
Traditionally in this series of essays on gold-stock valuations, I've included an alternative valuation measure to buttress the case argued by P/E ratios and dividend yields. It looks at the HUI relative to the gold price, which ultimately drives gold-stock profitability as a whole. As I discussed this HUI/Gold Ratio in depth in another thread of research last week, I won't dig in deep today. But it is important to consider.
Relative to the gold price which drives their profits, gold stocks were recently bludgeoned back down to 2008's stock-panic levels. But such extreme undervaluations couldn't persist then and they won't persist today. Gold stocks need to and will rebound sharply to reflect today's prevailing gold prices. Even if gold goes nowhere, the HUI would have to nearly double just to regain its 5-year pre-panic HGR average!
So this nontraditional valuation metric of the HUI/Gold Ratio totally agrees with what the classic P/E ratios and dividend yields are screaming. The gold stocks are dirt-cheap today, radically undervalued relative to the profits that gold mining is spinning off. Sooner or later this gold-stock pricing anomaly is going to catch the attention of value investors, and capital will flood in to buy this sector's future profits cheap.
If you can buy a dollar of annual future profits in elite gold stocks for $12 today, why pay $18 for the same dollar in the general stock markets? The earnings stream of gold stocks is a third cheaper, which is unheard of for this sector that traditionally trades at high valuations. Prudent investors want the biggest bang for their hard-earned dollars, the best value, and gold stocks are offering that in spades these days.
Like the rest of the markets, sentiment flows and ebbs in the gold stocks. Sometimes investors love them and bid them up to dizzying heights as greed reigns. But then the great sentiment pendulum starts swinging towards the opposite extreme of fear. And gold stocks are crushed to ridiculous unsustainable lows like we saw last month. Realize neither excessive greed nor excessive fear can persist for long.
And once sentiment inevitably shifts, it won't take much capital to drive massive gains in this tiny sector. As of the end of last month, the total market capitalization of all the HUI's component stocks was under $182b. Meanwhile the biggest stocks of the general markets as measured by the S&P 500 were worth $12,394b. Worth less than 1.5% of the broader markets, the small gold-stock sector can easily rocket.
The only real threat to this bullish gold-stock thesis is the price of gold, but for a wide variety of reasons its secular bull is likely to continue gradually powering higher. And the higher the gold price, the higher the gold stocks will ultimately be bid. The goofy Federal Reserve continues inflating the narrow and broad money supplies in the US like there is no tomorrow, and fiat-money inflation is gold's best friend.
The Fed's latest data shows it has grown the broad MZM money supply by an absolute 8.3% over this past year! Meanwhile the global gold supply grows by a fraction of that from new mining, on the order of 1% annually over the long term. With relatively more dollars available to chase relatively fewer ounces of gold, it's hard to imagine gold's secular bull giving up its ghost anytime soon. Couple this with extreme uncertainty heading into November's critical US elections, and gold should thrive in the months ahead.
So today's beaten-down gold stocks are an incredible fundamental bargain. They are super-cheap relative to their earnings, dividends, and the price of gold which drives their performance. We've never seen such a confluence of extreme undervaluation in this entire secular bull, so speculators and investors strong enough to fight the crowd and buy low have one of the best buying ops of this bull today.
And among the gold stocks, none have been hammered harder and lower than the junior golds. Their upside potential vastly exceeds that of the HUI's major miners. We are constantly researching this realm, which includes many hundreds of publicly-traded stocks. The great majority are junk, doomed to fail. But the rare winners will prove wildly successful and earn vast fortunes for the investors who buy in early.
We just finished our latest deep-research project on this front last week. We gradually whittled hundreds of these companies down to our dozen fundamental favorites, which we profiled in depth in a fascinating new 27-page report. It is now for sale for just $95 ($75 for subscribers), a fantastic deal for hundreds of hours of expert world-class research. Buy yours today, and get deployed before junior golds surge!
We also publish acclaimed weekly and monthly subscription newsletters loved by speculators and investors worldwide. In them I draw on our vast experience, knowledge, wisdom, and ongoing research to explain what the markets are doing, why, where they are likely heading, and how to trade them with specific stock trades as opportunities arise. Subscribe today, and grow your knowledge and success!
The bottom line is gold-stock valuations are incredibly low today. In fact, they have never been lower throughout this entire decade-plus secular bull. Despite all the bearishness and pessimism out there, gold miners are practically minting money at today's high prevailing gold prices. Profits are very high both absolutely and relatively, and high dividend yields irrefutably confirm these high cashflows.
So it is not fundamentals that have been plaguing gold stocks, but psychology. Traders are scared because gold stocks have corrected sharply. This always happens after major selloffs. But this very fear paves the way for massive uplegs as sentiment slowly swings to the opposite greed extreme. As that shift accelerates, gold miners' high profits will attract in more and more investors as gold-stock prices surge.
Adam Hamilton, CPA
So how can you profit from this information? We publish an acclaimed monthly newsletter, Zeal Intelligence, that details exactly what we are doing in terms of actual stock and options trading based on all the lessons we have learned in our market research. Please consider joining us each month for tactical trading details and more in our premium Zeal Intelligence service at … www.zealllc.com/subscribe.htm
Questions for Adam? I would be more than happy to address them through my private consulting business. Please visit www.zealllc.com/adam.htm for more information.
Thoughts, comments, or flames? Fire away at [email protected]. Due to my staggering and perpetually increasing e-mail load, I regret that I am not able to respond to comments personally. I will read all messages though and really appreciate your feedback!
Copyright 2000 - 2012 Zeal Research (www.ZealLLC.com)


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The Most Ridiculous Things In The Modern World
LatestOh, where to begin.
Those of you who read the Atlantic's "Daily Dish" will know that the latest reader-question was, "What widely accepted practice, custom or societal norm do you regard as irrational, absurd, offensive, silly, nonsensical, counterproductive, or morally wrong?"
As one would expect, the question provoked a myriad of wide-ranging responses. Writes Conor Friedersdorf,
Perhaps 200 people responded, and the most frequent answer was that it makes no sense to say "God bless you" after someone sneezes. Lots of readers also lodged complaints against eating meat, mistreating animals, believing in God, practicing organized religion, driving SUVs, and the societal practice of pairing off in monogamous relationships.
Still others weighed in against embalming and the American way of death generally.
But the first thing that popped into my mind was "beauty, feminine" nearly every process of which falls under this heading – from waxing to plucking to threading to shaving to injections to corsets to heels. "Unnatural," certainly – but so widely accepted that it'll be interesting to see if anything from that category makes the cut. Stay tuned. Not, I think, that anyone would want a world completely devoted to pragmatism…
Let The Corpses Decay [Atlantic]

subset: commoncrawl


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A compact Pro monitor with a surprisingly big sound.
A wealth of truly outstanding reviews and many awards helped to establish the original A5 speaker as one "of the best small monitors" and a "great choice for the small studio." (Future Music, 01/2009). The similar dimensions and name could make one believe that the A5X is nothing more than a new version of the A5. A quick listening however leaves no doubt that the A5X is much more than that.
Like all other models of the AX-Series it features the proprietary X-ART tweeter. The very data of this technology shows that it is at the forefront of what tweeters can accomplish. Numerous listening tests have confirmed this.
A 5.5 in. Midwoofer reproduces the frequencies below 2.5kHz. The diaphragm is made from Carbon fiber/Rohacell/Glass fiber, which is the same composite structure shared in the next two bigger models. This material with minimum weight and maximum rigidity prevents break up resonances, resulting in an outstanding dynamic behavior and impeccable sound characteristics.
A very handy and exclusive feature found in the two smaller AX monitors is the Stereolink. This is accomplished by a pair of additional RCA connections that allow for a bypass of the second stereo channel to the other speaker.
This new technology connects two A5X speakers in such a manner as to allow the user the option to control the overall stereo volume of the system from either speakers gain control. This makes the A5X a natural for "mixer-less" desktop applications where overall system volume needs to be adjusted easily.
Controls and Connectors
The front of the A5X sports dual ports for surprisingly low frequency response down to 50Hz. The front panel also has power and gain controls. The rear panel includes a tweeter gain control as well as balanced (XLR) jacks and unbalanced (RCA) jacks, allowing for greater connection flexibility. There are also two M6 (6 mm) metric strew threads for stand/wall mounting.
X-ART Technology
The X-ART (eXtended Accelerating Ribbon Technology) tweeters and midranges incorporate a new approach to the Air Motion Transformer concept originally developed by Dr. Oskar Heil. ADAM Audio has improved upon this splendid idea utilizing superior geometries and materials to achieve unprecedented audio fidelity. X-ART strikes a new path concerning the kinematics of moving air, resulting in a dramatic improvement in the quality of audio reproduction.
The X-ART membrane consists of a pleated diaphragm in which the folds compress or expand according to the audio signal applied to them. The result is that air is drawn in and squeezed out, like the bellows of an accordion.
The ADAM X-ART design overcomes the piston-like motion of all conventional drivers and their inevitable problems by achieving an improvement in air loading by a factor of 4 over conventional transducers. To illustrate the basic principle by a comparison: When you breathe, your thorax is moving slowly whereas the air is moving comparably fast. Similarly, the X-ART diaphragm presses the air faster in or out of its folds than they themselves are moving. This markedly superior motor is responsible for the unprecedented clarity and pristine transient reproduction that can be heard with the ADAM X-ART drive units.
In addition, the X-ART tweeter' pleated membrane avoids the typical breakup/distortion and subsequent dynamic limiting at higher frequencies of stiffer voice coil designs, such as those found in dome and cone tweeters. Another positive result of the X-ART design is that the driving stripes are in direct contact with the outer air and are cooled immediately.
Pulse Width Modulation
PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) " sometimes referred to as Class D amplification, sometimes called Switching Amp Technology " converts the incoming signal to a series of rectangular waveforms of equal height. The width of the rectangles varies in time and the relation of the width of the rectangles represents the musical signal. This waveform can be amplified much more simply, as the transistors are not modulated anymore; instead they are used as switches that only turn the power supply voltage on and off.
It is possible that a very fast mechanical switch could do the job, but power transistors are a better choice for the task, so PWM amplifiers still work pretty much like conventional Class AB designs. It is important to note there are no bits and bytes involved, so œDigital Amplifier is a misleading and inaccurate term.
The main advantage of PWM amplifiers is their extremely high efficiency (>90%). As a consequence the heat to be dissipated is only one fifth of earlier designs, leading to much lower temperatures within the amps and making the use of heat sinks obsolete.
This principle has been known for decades, but time was needed to develop units that perform at the leading edge in sonic reproduction quality and yet still maintain the high efficiency mentioned previously. The ADAM units use the new technology for both the amp and the power supply section (i.e. no more transformers) combined with state of the art input and filter sections to achieve the best in multi-channel active studio monitoring.
- Carbon fiber/Rohacell/Glass fiber speaker cone
- Bookshelf size, perfect for most project studios
- X-ART tweeter, award-winning high end
- Decoupling feet on the enclosure keep mixes clear
Trust the brand used in professional studios around the world, order Adam monitors today!


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Geiger Announces European Acquisition
London, UK January 7th, 2019: UK Distributor GeigerBTC (https://www.geigerbtc.com), a subsidiary of Geiger, a multi-generational family owned and operated company in the US, announced it is acquiring London based distributor EMC Advertising Gifts as part of their continued expansion strategy to support clients in the UK and across Europe.
EMC has been in business since 1966 and has gained a reputation as one of the best known promotional merchandise distributors in the UK. GeigerBTC made the acquisition as part of their ongoing strategy to support the needs of global customers in North America, Europe and worldwide.
EMC Managing Director Simon Kay said, "We are delighted to become part of GeigerBTC and the expanding Geiger global network. Our companies share similar cultures and ideals. We look forward to being able to offer our multinational clients the enhanced services that such a union brings."
EMC Sales Director, Gina Tofallis shares, "After 31 years with EMC, I am really looking forward to my next challenge. Simon & I are excited to join the GeigerBTC Team and continue to support our customers with the care and close attention for which we are known."
"We could not be more pleased that Simon Kay and Gina Tofallis are joining GeigerBTC," states Geiger President Jo-an Lantz. "EMC has a long tradition of strong relationships with their clients and their culture and approach match perfectly with GeigerBTC."
Frank Murphy, Managing Director of GeigerBTC adds "EMC is an iconic name in the UK promotional merchandise market and we are extremely proud to be joining forces with Simon and Gina. We look forward to a very successful partnership."
Simon Kay and Gina Tofallis will continue to support their current EMC clients.
About Geiger and GeigerBTC
Headquartered in Lewiston, Maine, Geiger is the largest privately owned and managed promotional products distributor in the world. Geiger operates from offices across the US and London, England and is affiliated with over 450 independent sales representatives. Geiger is a socially conscientious company, providing proactive, comprehensive marketing solutions to their clients and is the sole publisher of the Farmers' Almanac™. GeigerBTC was founded in 1977 and is based at Hayes in Middlesex and has a staff of 70. A full-service brand marketing firm, GeigerBTC offers on-site decorating, distribution, fulfillment, web development and customer corporate programs, and employee store expertise.


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Red tide has been a serious issue in the Tampa Bay area this summer. There are a lot of questions swirling about and things that people want to have clarified.
We reached out to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to take on some of these frequently asked questions.
What is a Florida red tide?
A red tide, or harmful algal bloom, is a higher-than-normal concentration of a microscopic alga (plantlike organism). In Florida and the Gulf of Mexico, the species that causes most red tides is Karenia brevis, often abbreviated as K. brevis. To distinguish K. brevis blooms from red tides caused by other species of algae, researchers in Florida call the former the "Florida red tide."
Are red tides red?
At high enough concentrations, Florida red tide can discolor water a red or brown hue. Red tides caused by other algal species can appear red, brown, green or even purple. The water can also remain its normal color during a bloom.
Is red tide a new phenomenon?
No, red tides were documented in the southern Gulf of Mexico as far back as the 1700s and along Florida's Gulf coast in the 1840s. Fish kills near Tampa Bay were even mentioned in the records of Spanish explorers.
How long do Florida red tides last?
Red tides can last as little as a few weeks or longer than a year. They can even subside and then reoccur. The duration of a bloom in nearshore Florida waters depends on physical and biological conditions that influence its growth and persistence, including sunlight, nutrients and salinity, as well as the speed and direction of wind and water currents.
Do red tides occur anywhere else?
Yes, many algae species cause red tides all over the world. Yet, the organism that causes Florida's red tide, K. brevis, is found almost exclusively in the Gulf of Mexico from Mexico to Florida. Florida red tides can be transported around the Gulf of Mexico as coastal waters move with winds and currents. Some red tides have even been carried by the Gulf Stream current into the Atlantic Ocean as far north as Delaware.
Is the Florida red tide found in estuaries, bays or freshwater systems?
The Florida red tide can be found in bays and estuaries but not in freshwater systems such as lakes and rivers. Because K. brevis cannot tolerate low-salinity waters for very long, blooms usually remain in salty coastal waters and do not penetrate upper reaches of estuaries. However, other harmful algae, including cyanobacteria (blue-green algae), typically bloom in freshwater lakes and rivers.
Can we predict where a red tide will occur?
Although the occurrence of a red tide cannot be predicted, scientists can forecast its movement using wind and water current data once a bloom is located. Scientists also monitor the concentration of the red tide organism by collecting water samples routinely and in response to blooms. Red tide movement and concentration are important because the effects of a red tide, such as dead fish and human respiratory irritation, depend on these factors. The information provided by forecasting and monitoring allows people to make informed decisions regarding their beach-going activities.
Why are red tides harmful?
Many red tides produce toxic chemicals that can affect both marine organisms and humans. The Florida red tide organism, K. brevis, produces brevetoxins that can affect the central nervous system of fish and other vertebrates, causing these animals to die. Wave action can break open K. brevis cells and release these toxins into the air, leading to respiratory irritation. For people with severe or chronic respiratory conditions, such as emphysema or asthma, red tide can cause serious illness. The red tide toxins can also accumulate in molluscan filter-feeders such as oysters and clams, which can lead to Neurotoxic Shellfish Poisoning in people who consume contaminated shellfish.
9 bottlenose dolphins found dead in Sarasota County in 36-hours
Has coastal (nutrient) pollution caused the Florida red tide?
In contrast to the many red tide species that are fueled by nutrient pollution associated with urban or agricultural runoff, there is no direct link between nutrient pollution and the frequency or severity of red tides caused by K. brevis. Florida red tides develop 10-40 miles offshore, away from man-made nutrient sources. Red tides occurred in Florida long before human settlement, and severe red tides were observed in the mid-1900s before the state's coastlines were heavily developed. However, once red tides are transported inshore, they are capable of using man-made nutrients for their growth.
How can we control Florida's red tides?
Control of Florida red tides is not a simple issue. The harmful effects of a red tide are caused by toxins released when the organism dies. Potential controls must not only kill the red tide organism but also eliminate the toxins from the water. To date, this has not been possible; however, researchers are identifying ways to reduce shellfish toxicity. In addition, any control strategy must not harm the environment. In the 1950s, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and State of Florida scientists used copper sulfate to attempt to eliminate a red tide in coastal Florida waters. Although the copper sulfate killed some of the red tide cells, it led to the release of toxins that, along with the copper sulfate, had negative effects on other marine organisms. Controls must also be practical. Red tides vary greatly in size – expanding as far as 10,000 square miles – and can be present from the surface of the water to the seafloor. Presently, there is no practical and acceptable way to control or kill red tide blooms.
Health and Safety
Will I experience respiratory irritation during a Florida red tide?
Some people experience respiratory irritation (coughing, sneezing, tearing and an itchy throat) when the Florida red tide organism, K. brevis, is present and winds blow onshore. Offshore winds usually keep respiratory effects experienced by those on the shore to a minimum. The Florida Department of Health advises people with severe or chronic respiratory conditions, such as emphysema or asthma, to avoid red tide areas.
Is it safe to swim during a Florida red tide?
Swimming is safe for most people. However, the Florida red tide can cause some people to suffer skin irritation and burning eyes. People with respiratory illness may also experience respiratory irritation in the water. Use common sense. If you are particularly susceptible to irritation from plant products, avoid an area with a red tide bloom. If you experience irritation, get out of the water and thoroughly wash off. Do not swim among dead fish because they can be associated with harmful bacteria.
Is it OK to eat shellfish at a restaurant or purchase shellfish from a seafood market during a red tide?
Store-bought and restaurant-served shellfish are safe to eat during a bloom because the shellfish are monitored by the government for safety. Commercially available shellfish are often not locally harvested and, if harvested locally, are tested for red tide toxins before they are sold.
Is it OK to eat recreationally harvested shellfish during a red tide?
Recreational harvesting of bivalve molluscs such as hard clams, oysters and mussels from conditionally approved or approved shellfish harvesting areas is banned during red tide closures; these organisms may not legally be harvested and, therefore, should not be eaten during any closure of a shellfish harvesting area. To determine whether or not harvesting of shellfish is permitted in an area, visit the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Aquaculture website. Edible parts of other animals commonly referred to as shellfish (crabs, shrimp and lobsters) are not affected by the red tide organism and can be eaten. Do not eat the tomalley (green stuff, hepatopancreas). During scallop season, locally harvested scallops from open scallop harvesting areas are also safe to eat as long as you eat only the muscle of the scallop and not the whole animal.
In addition, illegally harvested and unregulated shellfish are particularly dangerous and should never be consumed. For example, coquina clams and molluscan predators, such as whelks that feed on toxic bivalves, readily accumulate toxins in their tissues. An illegal harvest is a dangerous harvest.
Is it OK to eat local finfish during a red tide?
Yes, it is safe to eat local finfish as long as the fish are filleted before eaten. Although toxins may accumulate in the guts of fish, these areas are disposed of when the fish are filleted. However, it is never a good idea to eat dead or distressed animals, especially in a red tide area, because the reason for the animal's strange behavior or death cannot be absolutely known.
Does cooking or freezing destroy the Florida red tide toxin?
No, cooking or freezing does not destroy the red tide toxin. Furthermore, the toxin cannot be seen or tasted.
How can the Florida red tide affect my pets?
Just like people, pets may be affected by the Florida red tide. If you live close to the beach, consider bringing outdoor pets inside during a bloom to prevent respiratory irritation. If you are at the beach with your pets, do not allow them to play with dead fish or foam that may accumulate on the beach during or after a red tide. If your pet eats dead fish, it may get sick. If your pet swims in the red tide, wash it as soon as possible. Most dogs lick themselves after swimming and will consume any toxins on their fur.
Where can I get more health and safety information on harmful algae?
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Florida Department of Health
Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
Download these factsheets to learn more about different algae species.
Karenia brevis factsheet ( 490 KB)
Pseudo-nitzschia factsheet ( 563 KB)
Pyrodinium bahamense factsheet ( 496 KB)


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Guava Stopwatch
Join the DZone community and get the full member experience.
Join For FreeGuava's Stopwatch is another Guava class new to Guava Release 10 (as is Optional, the subject of another recent post). As its name implies, this simple class provides a method to conveniently measure time elapsed between two code points. It has several advantages over use of System.currentTimeMillis() or System.nanoTime(). I don't focus on these advantages here, but the Javadoc documentation for Stopwatch does cover some of these advantages.
As is true of many of Guava's classes, one of the endearing features of Stopwatch is its simplicity and appropriately named methods. The class features two constructors, one that takes no arguments (likely to be most commonly used) and one that accepts an customized extension of the Ticker class. Once an instance of Stopwatch is obtained, it's a simple matter of using methods with "obvious" names like start(), stop(), and reset() to control the stopwatch.
Any given Stopwatch instance records elapsed time in a cumulative fashion. In other words, you can start and stop the stopwatch multiple times (just don't start an already started stopwatch and don't stop an already stopped stopwatch) and the elapsed time accumulates with each start and stop. If that's not what is wanted and a single instance of the stopwatch is to be used to measure independent events (but not concurrent events), then the reset() method is used between the last run's stop() and the next run's start().
I have already alluded to several caveats to keep in mind when using Guava's Stopwatch. First, two successive start() methods should not be invoked on a given instance of Stopwatch without first stopping it with stop() before making the second call to stop(). Stopwatch has an instance method isRunning() that is useful for detecting a running stopwatch before trying to start it again or even before trying to stop one that has already been stopped or was never started. Most of these issues such as starting the stopwatch twice without stopping it or stopping a stopwatch that is not running or was never started lead to IllegalStateExceptions being thrown. Guava developers make use of their own Preconditions class to ascertain these aberrant conditions and to the throwing of these exceptions. The further implication of this, which is spelled out in the Javadoc documentation, is that Stopwatch is not thread-safe and should be used in a single-thread environment.
The methods covered so far handle constructing instances of Stopwatch and managing the stopwatch. However, a stopwatch is almost always useful only when the timed results are available for viewing. The Stopwatch class provides two main methods for accessing elapsed time recorded by the stopwatch instance. One method, elapsedMillis(), is similar to standard Java methods that return milliseconds since epoch time. The big difference here is that Stopwatch is returning milliseconds elapsed between given points in time (start() and stop() calls) versus since an absolute epoch time.
I prefer elapsedTime(TimeUnit) for acquiring the elapsed time recorded in my stopwatch instance. This method makes use of the TimeUnit enum (see my post on TimeUnit) to specify the units that the elapsed time should be expressed in. Both of these methods for reporting elapsed time can be run while the stopwatch is running or after it has stopped.
The following code listing contains a class that demonstrates the methods on Stopwatch that have been highlighted in this post.
StopWatchDemo.javapackage dustin.examples; import static java.lang.System.out; import com.google.common.base.Stopwatch; import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit; import java.util.logging.Level; import java.util.logging.Logger; /** * Demonstrates Guava's (Release 10) Stopwatch class. * * @author Dustin */ public class StopWatchDemo { private final static Logger LOGGER = Logger.getLogger(StopWatchDemo.class.getCanonicalName()); public static void doSomethingJustToBeDoingIt(final int numberOfTimesToDoNothing) { for (int count=0; count < numberOfTimesToDoNothing; count++) { try { Thread.sleep(TimeUnit.SECONDS.toMillis(1)); } catch (InterruptedException interruptEx) { LOGGER.log(Level.INFO, "Don't interrupt me when I'm trying to sleep!", interruptEx); } } } /** * Print statistics on Stopwatch-reported times for provided number of loops. * * @param numberLoops Number of loops executed. * @param stopwatch Stopwatch instance with time used statistics. */ public static void printElapsedTime(final int numberLoops, final Stopwatch stopwatch) { if (stopwatch.isRunning()) { out.println("WARNING! Your stopwatch is still running!"); } else // stopwatch not running { out.println(numberLoops + " loops required: "); out.println("\t" + stopwatch.toString(6)); out.println("\t" + stopwatch.elapsedMillis() + " elapsed milliseconds."); out.println("\t" + stopwatch.elapsedTime(TimeUnit.MINUTES) + " minutes"); out.println("\t" + stopwatch.elapsedTime(TimeUnit.SECONDS) + " seconds"); out.println("\t" + stopwatch.elapsedTime(TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS) + " milliseconds"); out.println("\t" + stopwatch.elapsedTime(TimeUnit.NANOSECONDS) + " nanoseconds"); } } public static void main(final String[] arguments) { final Stopwatch stopwatch = new Stopwatch(); int numberTimes = 5; stopwatch.start(); doSomethingJustToBeDoingIt(numberTimes); stopwatch.stop(); printElapsedTime(numberTimes, stopwatch); numberTimes = 45; stopwatch.reset(); stopwatch.start(); doSomethingJustToBeDoingIt(numberTimes); stopwatch.stop(); printElapsedTime(numberTimes, stopwatch); numberTimes = 125; stopwatch.reset(); stopwatch.start(); doSomethingJustToBeDoingIt(numberTimes); stopwatch.stop(); printElapsedTime(numberTimes, stopwatch); } }
When the above code is executed, its output is similar to that shown in the following screen snapshot.
If I comment out the lines that reset the stop watch instance, the stopwatch instance accumulates elapsed time rather than tracking it separately. This difference is shown in the next screen snapshot.
The Guava Stopwatch class makes it easy to perform simple timing measurements to analyze how long certain operations take. It is easy to use and provides the flexibility to readily provide output in the desired time scale.
From http://marxsoftware.blogspot.com/2011/10/guava-stopwatch.html
Opinions expressed by DZone contributors are their own.


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Fathers of the Church
Sermon CIX
by Augustine of Hippo in Uncertain | translated by R. G. Macmullen; Ed. Philip Schaff
1. WE have heard the Gospel, and in it the Lord reproving those who knew how to discern the face of the sky, and know not how to discover the time of faith, the kingdom of heaven which is at hand. Now this He said to the Jews; but His words reach even unto us. Now the Lord Jesus Christ Himself began the preaching of His Gospel in this way; "Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." In like manner too John the Baptist and His forerunner began thus; "Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." And now the Lord rebuketh those who would not repent, when "the kingdom of heaven was at hand." "The kingdom of heaven," as He saith Himself, "will not come with observation." And again He saith, "The kingdom of heaven is within you." Let every one then wisely receive the admonitions of the Master, that he may not lose the season of the mercy of the Saviour, which is now being dealt out, as long as the human race is spared. For to this end is man spared, that he may be converted, and that he may not be to be condemned. God only knoweth when the end of the world shall come: nevertheless now is the time of faith. Whether the end of the world shall find any of us here, I know not; and perhaps it will not find us. Our time is very near to each one of us, seeing we are mortal. We walk in the midst of chances. If we were made of glass, we should have to fear chances less than we have. What is more fragile than a vessel of glass? And vet it is kept, and lasts for ages. For though the chances of a fall are feared for the vessel of glass, yet there is no fear of fever or old age for it. We then are more fragile and more infirm; because all the chances which are incessant in human things, we doubtless through our frailness are in daily dread of; and if these chances come not, yet time goes on; a man avoids this stroke, can he avoid his end? he avoids accidents which happen from without, can that which is born within be driven away? Again, now the entrails engender worms, now some other disease attacks on a sudden; lastly, let a man be spared ever so long, at last when old age comes, there is no way of putting off that.
2. Wherefore let us give ear to the Lord, let us do within ourselves what He hath enjoined. Let us see who that adversary is, of whom He hath put us in fear, saying, "If thou goest with thine adversary to the magistrate, give diligence in the way to be delivered from him; lest haply he deliver thee to the magistrate, and the magistrate to the officer, and thou be cast into prison, from whence thou shalt not come out, till thou payest the very last farthing." Who is this "adversary"? If the devil; we have been delivered from him already. What a price was given for us that we might be redeemed from him! Of which the Apostle says, speaking of this our redemption, "Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of the Son of his love." We have been redeemed, we have renounced the devil; how shall we "give diligence to be delivered from him," that he make us not, as sinners, his captives again? But this is not the "adversary" of whom the Lord gives us warning. For in another place another Evangelist has so expressed it, that if we join both expressions together, and compare both expressions of the two Evangelists with each other, we shall soon understand who this adversary is. For see, what did Luke say here? "When thou goest with thine adversary to the magistrate, give diligence in the way to be delivered from him." But the other Evangelist has expressed this same thing thus: "Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him." All the rest is alike: "Lest haply the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison." Both Evangelists have explained this alike. One said, "Give diligence in the way to be delivered from him;" the other said, "Agree with him." For thou wilt not be able to "be delivered from him," unless thou "agree with him." Wouldest thou "be delivered from him? Agree with him." But what? is it the devil with whom the Christian ought to "agree"?
3. Let us then seek out this "adversary," with whom we ought to "agree, lest he deliver us to the judge, and the judge to the officer;" let us seek him out, "and agree with him." If thou sin, the word of God is thine adversary. For example, it is a delight to thee perchance to be drunken; it says to thee, "Do it not." It is a delight to thee to frequent the spectacles, and such triflings; it says to thee, "Do it not." It is a delight to thee to commit adultery; the word of God saith to thee, "Do it not." In what sins soever thou wouldest do thine own will, it saith to thee, "Do it not." It is the adversary of thy will, till it become the author of thy salvation. O how goodly, how useful an "adversary"! It does not seek our will, but our advantage. It is our "adversary," as long as we are our own adversaries. As long as thou art thine own enemy, thou hast the word of God thine enemy; be thine own friend, and thou art in agreement with it. "Thou shalt do no murder;" give ear, and thou hast "agreed" with it. "Thou shalt not steal;" give ear, and thou hast "agreed" with it. "Thou shalt not commit adultery;" give ear, and thou hast "agreed" with it. "Thou shall not give false witness;" give ear, and thou hast "agreed" with it. "Thou shall not covet thy neighbour's wife;" give ear, and thou hast agreed with it. "Thou shall not covet thy neighbour's goods;" give ear, and thou hast "agreed" with it. In all these things thou hast agreed with this "thine adversary," and what hast thou lost to thyself? Not only hast thou lost nothing; but thou hast even found thyself, who hadst been lost. "The way," is this life; if we shall "agree with the adversary," if we shall come to terms with him; when "the way" is ended, we shall not fear the "judge, the officer, the prison.
4. When is "the way" ended? It is not ended at the same hour to all. Each several man hath his hour when he shall end his "way." This life is called "the way;" when thou hast ended this life, thou hast ended "the way." We are going on, and the very living is advancing. Unless peradventure ye imagine that time advances, and we stand still! It cannot be. As time advances, we too advance; and years do not come to us, but rather go away. Greatly are men mistaken when they say, "This boy has little good sense yet, but years will come on him, and he will be wise." Consider what thou sayest. "Will come on him," thou hast said; "I will show that they go away," whereas thou sayest, "they come on." And hear how easily I prove it. Let us suppose that we have known the number of his years from his birth; for instance (that we may wish him well) he has to live fourscore years, he is to arrive at old age. Write down fourscore years. One year he has lived; how many hast thou in the total? how many hast thou down? Fourscore! Deduct one. He has lived ten; seventy remain. He has lived twenty; sixty remain. Yet surely, it will be said, they did come; what can this mean? Our years come that they may depart; they come, I say that they may go. For they do not come, that they may abide with us, but as they pass through us, they wear us out, and make us less and less strong. Such is "the way" into which we have come. What then have we to do with that "adversary," that is, with the word of God? "Agree with him." For thou knowest not when "the way" may be ended. When "the way" is ended, there remain "the judge," and "the officer," and "the prison." But if thou maintain a good will to "thine adversary," and "agree with him;" instead of a "judge," shalt thou find a father, instead of a cruel "officer," an Angel taking thee away into Abraham's bosom, instead of a "prison," paradise. How rapidly hast thou changed all things "in the way," because thou hast "agreed with thine adversary"!
Taken from "The Early Church Fathers and Other Works" originally published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Pub. Co. in English in Edinburgh, Scotland, beginning in 1867. (NPNF I/VI, Schaff). The digital version is by The Electronic Bible Society, P.O. Box 701356, Dallas, TX 75370, 214-407-WORD.


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Just Host Web Hosting Help
How To Host Primary Domain From A Subfolder htaccess
How to host the Primary Domain from a subfolder (.htaccess)
Your main domain will use the public_html directory for all of its Web site files by default. Addon domains use sub directories inside the public_html directory.
In order to also set up your main domain to use a subdirectory on your hosting account you will need to set up a redirect in the .htaccess file in the public_html folder so that the server knows that any request for your main domain will be redirected to a subdirectory on public_html.
- Joomla, Drupal and WordPress
- Locating the .htaccess file in the File Manager
- Modifying the .htaccess
Joomla, Drupal and WordPress
If you are using Joomla, Drupal or WordPress it is recommend that you not follow these instructions, rather that you follow the instructions provided by in the official documentation. Please see the links below for instructions specific to the CMS you are using.
- Drupal installed in subdirectory but made to appear in root
- Joomla - Moving the site among directories/sub-directories
- Giving WordPress Its Own Directory
Locating the .htaccess file in the File Manager
To begin you will need to open the .htaccess file located in your public_html folder. Because this file is, by default, not visible, please follow the instructions below to locate and open this file.
- Log in to your Just Host cPanel account.
- Scroll down to the Files section.
- Click the File Manager icon.
- Check the View Hidden Files checkbox.
- You are working with your primary domain, so select the WebRoot (public_html/www) option.
- Right click the .htaccess and choose Code Editor
Modifying the .htaccess
The following code will need to be added to the .htaccess file in the public_html folder of your hosting account. You will need to insert the following code block and make modifications as noted in the (#) comments.
You will need to change the two instances of example.com to your domain, and the three instances of subdirectory to the folder where you want your site.
# Justhost.com
# .htaccess main domain to subdirectory redirect
# Do not change this line.
RewriteEngine on
# Change example.com to be your main domain.
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^(www.)?example.com$
# Change 'subdirectory' to be the directory you will use for your main domain.
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} !^/subdirectory/
# Don't change the following two lines.
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
# Change 'subdirectory' to be the directory you will use for your main domain.
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ /subdirectory/$1
# Change example.com to be your main domain again.
# Change 'subdirectory' to be the directory you will use for your main domain
# followed by / then the main file for your site, index.php, index.html, etc.
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^(www.)?example.com$
RewriteRule ^(/)?$ subdirectory/index.html [L]
Visitors to your Web site will not be able to tell that your main domain is using a subdirectory, they will still see the Web site address as http://www.example.com/page.html.
Please note that this will not work with some website software. You may also need to modify the $base_url, $live_site or other configuration settings to finish the process.


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Task Processing
Task Processing Safe Mode
Dynamics processes data tasks received from Anveo Mobile App in the order of the tasks entry no. In case of an error, the current task gets marked with the status Processed Error. If Task Processing Safe Mode is active, it prevents processing of any further data tasks for the device in Dynamics until the error gets reviewed. The app user will get a notification, informing him/her about this. After reviewing the task, it can either be processed manually if the issue that caused the error was resolved or it can be set to Error Checked if the error should be ignored.
An advantage of this safe mode is a guaranteed processing of all incoming data including avoiding subsequent errors. Be aware to quickly check and solve errors as the user will not be able to receive updates until all errors are successfully checked. If a check process takes too long, the user will be not be able to work with updated information from Dynamics. However, the user is able to continue its work with the local database.
If an already initialized device sends a new initialization request to Dynamics and the Task Processing Safe Mode is active, data tasks for this device are checked for unprocessed tasks or unreviewed errors. If such tasks are found, all data for this device will be saved for manual review and processing to prevent any loss of data.
Activate/deactivate Task Processing Safe Mode
You can activate Task Processing Safe Mode in Anveo Client Suite Setup in the Mobile Apps tab. The Task Processing Safe mode can also be activated in the Anveo User on a user level. This can be done in the tab synchronization.
Task Processing Retries
To handle occasional problems during processing of receiving tasks like locked tables, tasks which were processed with an error, will be processed again until it was successful or the defined number of retries was reached. This value is configured by Task Processing Retries. Dynamics will wait between retries for a defined number of milliseconds, which can be set via Task Processing Retries. Dynamicss independently from Task Processing Safe Mode.
You can activate Task Processing Retries in Anveo Client Suite Setup.


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Jeevan Ganesh: Eight-Year-Old Phenomenon
New Delhi, December 06: "What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work," said Stephen King and the boy that you are about to read about is someone who proves King right, as he is not only talented but immensely hardworking for such a young boy. Jeevan Ganesh, the eight-year-old wonder kid was born on October 3, 2014, to the lucky couple Dr. Ganesh Kothandapani and Dr. Hemachitra Ramalingam in the busy city of Chennai. No one knew what this child was capable of, but everyone was sure that he was special.
Jeevan Ganesh is eight years old as of today and has enough achievements to put an accomplished adult to shame. The dedication and drive in such a young boy are like a breath of fresh air. He already has many titles under his belt, and not only in sports but overall, he is truly an all-rounder. From sports to gaming, this boy has left no stone unturned to make the most of life. With optimum utilization of resources around and tons of hard work, this young man is making waves across the nation.
Jeevan started his climb to success at age five when he started practicing Silambattam (martial art) and shocked everyone around him. At the mere age of eight, he is already showing adult-level competency in the art form and is not limited to that one art form but is also excelling in Karate on the same lines. He holds a green belt in Karate and has been awarded KACHAI in the Silambattam. He won his first state-level competition at the age of six.
Jeevan has been blessed when it comes to family. His parents have supported him since day one and continue to do so. His grandparents were worried about pressurizing the child but they came around when they saw Jeevan's talent and his dedication to excel. Jeevan has excelled in the art of balancing in life as well. This eight-year-old divides his time wisely between studies and sports, and still manages to do multiple co-curricular and extracurricular activities. When asked about his motivations he says his biggest inspirations are his coaches and the love of his parents for him. His mother also says that he loves being on the stage and is inclined towards public speaking as well.
Jeevan's list of achievements started with the State Level Silambattam (Martial Arts) Championship in 2020 – third prize, and he has not stopped since. A few more feathers in his cap for martial arts are: first prize in the Silambattam State Level Competition at the age of 7, third prize in the Silambattam State Level Competition at the age of 6, third prize in the Kata (Karate) Competition of Karate, third prize in the Kumite (Karate) Competition of Karate, performed Silambattam on the stage at State Level Tournament at the Age of 6, earned the green belt in Karate, and achieved the KACHAI Kattu in Silambam at the age of 7. These are just his martial art achievements. He is a very bright student and has an exceptional record of awards and accolades. To list down a few: AIR 1 and International Rank 1 in the International Olympiad for English, Science, Informatics, and Social Studies. He has performed phenomenally in other such competitive exams and has won multiple medals for excellence as well.
Parenting such a wonder child is a huge responsibility but Jeevan's parents are doing a wonderful job. They are working towards raising a kind, hardworking boy who is destined for greatness. His parents are very adamant about not pushing the child's limits and letting him make the decisions when it comes to committing to anything. They hope to see their child climb the stairs of success into the stars, which Jeevan is certain to do.
If you have any objection to this press release content, kindly contact pr.error.rectification[at]gmail.com to notify us. We will respond and rectify the situation in the next 24 hours


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Language matters. It's that simple. What we say and how we say it has a big impact on how students and other stakeholders respond to our choices.
Students are always waiting for a variety of cues from their teachers and peers to determine what and how much they are learning. So rather than perpetuate the issues around grading by using the same language we've always used, it's time to be deliberate in the shift as we change our assessment practices.
Getting rid of grades is a big and challenging step to make, but it can be done and even if you aren't ready to go all-in, there are ways to adjust small things in the classroom that will lead to important growth for students.
Start with the words you use when communicating learning. Look at the below chart from Hacking Assessment:
The traditional grading language is passive and judgmental and subconsciously by using this language, we are putting the focus on the wrong things.
When we say to each other or to kids that we are "grading", it reduces the work that we are trying to do. What we are actually doing is "assessing" growth and understanding.
Rather than "scoring", again use "assessing" because we are spending time trying to see what students know and can do. When we start to adjust what we call what we are doing, students will do the same.
"What grade did I get?" or some variation like "What did I get?" is a question that most teachers don't enjoy having to answer. But imagine if we could get students to think instead, "What did I learn?" This has the opportunity to be a rich conversation. So parents reading this, fight the urge to ask your child, "What did you get on the test?" and instead ask, "What did you learn in school today?"
When students see a red x on their papers or we tell them they are wrong, we are shutting them down and ending a potential learning experience. Why not say that "you aren't there yet" or "try another way" to encourage students to keep going.
As we start to shift our words, the behaviors will follow. And once all of these things are in sync with each other, then changing the way we assess in class becomes the next logical step.
Learning should be equipped with an endless feedback look rather than a terminal grade. Start the loop of communication by changing the words you use in conversation about learning and then it will become about mastery instead of getting great grades on a report card.
Think about the words you use in class. Which ones can have potentially negative connotations and how can they be adjusted for a growth mindset? Remember, words matter.
How can you shift the way you talk about learning in your space to impact growth in your students? Please share
*This post originally ran on my Education Week Teacher blog in February of 2016
You can learn more about this important aspect of assessment in my chapter of Ungrading: Why Rating Students Undermines Learning (and What to Do Instead) (Teaching and Learning in Higher Education)


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Paramédico - the documentary - is a film about four paramedics in four very different parts of the world, unmasking the 'heroes' to show us who they really are. This rare and candid look at the secret lives of paramedics features some of the characters encountered in Paramedico - the book, including Mohammed Azam in Pakistan, Mitzi Rodriguez in Mexico, Manuela Sylvestri in Venice and Tippy Lee in Hawaii.
PARAMEDICO will be released in the USA on 8th September 2013


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A faulty engine part that could cause vehicles to stall has led to a recall of 400,000 worldwide.
The recall affects Toyota Motor Corp. and Subaru Corp., MarketWatch reports. About 80,000 of the 400,000 are Toyotas.
Subaru is recalling some of its most popular models, such as the Forester sport-utility vehicle and Impreza and BRZ sports car. Toyota is recalling the Subaru-made 86 and Scion FR-S sports car, MarketWatch said.
The automakers announced springs in the engine valve could fracture. That would cause the vehicles to stall and possibly lead to an accident.
Earlier in October, Toyota recalled approximately 2.4 million vehicles worldwide due to a problem in which the cars may not enter a fail-safe driving mode as intended, which can cause the vehicle to lose power and stall. About 807,000 of those vehicles are in the United States.
If this happens while driving at higher speeds, it could cause a crash. The recall affects 2010-2014 model year Toyota Prius and 2012-2014 Prius v vehicles.
There was a second recall involving certain 2018-2019 Tundra and Sequoia vehicles and 2019 Avalon vehicles. About 168,000 vehicles sold in the United States are affected by this recall, which is due to a programming problem in the airbag electronic control unit (ECU) that could disable one or more of the sensors used to detect crashes, possibly causing the side and curtain shield airbags and/or front and knee airbags to not deploy as intended.


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After 17 years as a hairdresser, I retired from my career to focus full time on my true passions: my love of rescue pets, and helping my fellow humans. For the past 4 years, I have served as a Director for the Pasadena Humane Society & SPCA, and as an Ambassador for National Women's Health Week through the U.S. Health Department's Office On Women's Health. I also manage a non-profit my husband and I started called The Foundation To Increase Awesome.
My first rescue pet was an orange tabby cat who followed me while walking home from a friend's house when I was 5 years old. (It was the 70s. Apparently, it was a safer time?) After two days of searching for his owner, we discovered they had moved away and left this cat behind. The cat had gone out in search of a new family, and we became that for him. I never thought to seek out the family to find out why they left him, I just saw this cat who wanted to be loved and have a home. It was hard to understand at such a young age why anyone would do this, which is why I decided to write Piggy and Pug, the book little-kid-me would have loved to read.
I currently live in Los Angeles with my husband, Wil, and our three rescue pets.
Listen to our interview with Anne:


text:
Network Working Group C. Hedrick Request for Comments: 1372 Rutgers University Obsoletes: RFC 1080 D. Borman Cray Research, Inc. October 1992 Telnet Remote Flow Control Option Status of This Memo This RFC specifies an IAB standards track protocol for the Internet community, and requests discussion and suggestions for improvements. Please refer to the current edition of the "IAB Official Protocol Standards" for the standardization state and status of this protocol. Distribution of this memo is unlimited. Introduction This document specifies an extended version of the Telnet Remote Flow Control Option, RFC 1080, with the addition of the RESTART-ANY and RESTART-XON suboptions. 1. Command Names and Codes TOGGLE-FLOW-CONTROL 33 OFF 0 ON 1 RESTART-ANY 2 RESTART-XON 3 2. Command Meanings IAC WILL TOGGLE-FLOW-CONTROL Sender is willing to enable and disable flow control upon command. IAC WONT TOGGLE-FLOW-CONTROL Sender refuses to enable and disable flow control. Nothing is implied about whether sender does or does not use flow control. It is simply unwilling to enable and disable it using this protocol. IAC DO TOGGLE-FLOW-CONTROL Sender is willing to send commands to enable and disable flow control. Hedrick & Borman [Page 1]
RFC 1372 Telnet Remote Flow Control Option October 1992 IAC DONT TOGGLE-FLOW-CONTROL Sender refuses to send command to enable and disable flow control. IAC SB TOGGLE-FLOW-CONTROL OFF IAC SE Sender requests receiver to disable flow control. IAC SB TOGGLE-FLOW-CONTROL ON IAC SE Sender requests receiver to enable flow control. IAC SB TOGGLE-FLOW-CONTROL RESTART-ANY IAC SE Sender requests that when flow control is enabled, the receiver allow any character (except another XOFF) to restart output. IAC SB TOGGLE-FLOW-CONTROL RESTART-XON IAC SE Sender requests that when flow control is enabled, the receiver allows only the XON character to restart output. 3. Default Specification The default specification for this option is WONT TOGGLE-FLOW-CONTROL DONT TOGGLE-FLOW-CONTROL meaning flow control information will not be exchanged in either direction. 4. Motivation This memo describes a method of remotely toggling flow control between a user telnet process and the attached terminal. Only flow control of data being transmitted from the telnet process to the terminal is considered. Many systems will also allow flow control of data from the terminal to the telnet process, however there is seldom need to change this behavior repeatedly during the session. There are two common ways of doing flow control: hardware and software. Hardware flow control uses signals on wires dedicated for this purpose. Software flow control uses one or two specific characters sent along the same path as normal input data. Most commonly, XOFF (control-S) and XON (control-Q) are used to stop and start output, respectively. The option described herein is useful primarily where software flow control is being used. (Since hardware flow control does not preempt any characters, there is normally no Hedrick & Borman [Page 2]
RFC 1372 Telnet Remote Flow Control Option October 1992 need to disable it.) It should also be noted that flow control can either be generated automatically by the terminal when its buffers are close to overflowing, or manually by the user, when he/she cannot read the information as fast as it is being displayed, and unread information will start scrolling off the screen. The primary difficulty with software flow control is that it preempts one or two characters. Host software often requires the user to be able to input every possible ASCII character. (Certain editors are notorious for having XOFF and XON as commonly-used commands.) For this reason, operating systems often allow programs to disable flow control. While it is disabled, the characters that normally signal flow control may be read as normal input. In a telnet environment, flow control is normally done by the user telnet process, not by the host computer. In addition, many operating systems, when flow control is enabled, the user may specify whether the XOFF character is the only character that is allowed to re-enable the output of data, or whether any typed character should re-enable the flow of data. Thus this RFC defines a way to propagate flow control status from the host computer to the user telnet process. 5. Description of the Option Use of the option requires two phases. In the first phase, the telnet processes agree that one of them will TOGGLE-FLOW-CONTROL. WILL and DO are used only in this first phase. In general there will be only one exchange of WILL and DO for a session. Subnegotiations must not be issued until DO and WILL have been exchanged. It is permissible for either side to turn off the option by sending a WONT or DONT. Should this happen, no more subnegotiations may be sent, unless the option is re-enabled by another exchange of DO and WILL. Once the hosts have exchanged a WILL and a DO, the sender of the DO TOGGLE-FLOW-CONTROL is free to send subnegotiations to enable and disable flow control in the other process, and to send subnegotiations for recommendations on when to restart output. Normally, the sender of the DO will be a host, and the other end will be a user telnet process, which is connected to a terminal. Thus the protocol is normally asymmetric, however it may be used in both directions without confusion should need for this arise. As soon as the DO and WILL have been exchanged, the sender of the WILL must enable flow control. This allows flow control to begin in a known state. The decision of whether to restart output only when the XON character is received, or when any character received, starts in a system dependent state. (This is to make it consistent with older implementations of the TOGGLE-FLOW-CONTROL option that do not understand the RESTART-ANY and RESTART-XON suboptions.) The sender Hedrick & Borman [Page 3]
RFC 1372 Telnet Remote Flow Control Option October 1992 of the DO should send either a RESTART-ANY or RESTART-XON suboption to put the restart characteristics to a know state. Some clients might not be able to support both of the RESTART-ANY and RESTART-XON modes due to system limitations, and would then choose to ignore these commands. There is no way for the server to be notified of this condition, but a client should make every attempt to honor the state requested by the RESTART-ANY and RESTART-XON modes. Should the option be disabled by exchange of DONT and WONT, flow control may revert to an implementation-defined default state. It is not safe to assume that flow control will remain in the state requested by the most recent subnegotiation. In most implementations of software flow control, when enabled, the XOFF and XON characters are never propagated to the server; they are typically eaten by the terminal driver between the telnet client and the attached terminal. In most implementations that support the RESTART-ANY functionality, the typed character that re-enables the output is not eaten by the terminal driver, unless it is the XON character. Currently, only four command codes are defined for the subnegotiations: flow control off (code 0), flow control on (code 1), restart output on any character (code 2) and restart output only on XON (code 3). None of these codes requires any additional data, however it is possible that additional commands may be added. Thus subnegotiations having command codes other than those defined in this document should be silently ignored. This option does not deal with the issue of allowing the DO side of the connection to inform the WILL side which characters should be used for XON and XOFF. That functionality is already supplied by the LINEMODE [1] option. Hedrick & Borman [Page 4]
RFC 1372 Telnet Remote Flow Control Option October 1992 6. Example Here is an example of the use of this option: Client Server IAC DO TOGGLE-FLOW-CONTROL IAC WILL TOGGLE-FLOW-CONTROL [ The server is now free to send commands to change flow control. Note that the client must now have enabled flow control, but that whether it is restart on XON only or on any character is client specific. ] IAC SB TOGGLE-FLOW-CONTROL RESTART-ANY IAC SE [ The client should now switch to allowing output to restart when the user types any character, if the client is able to support that functionality. ] IAC SB TOGGLE-FLOW-CONTROL OFF IAC SE IAC SB TOGGLE-FLOW-CONTROL ON IAC SE References [1] Internet Engineering Task Force, Telnet Working Group, D. Borman, Editor, "Telnet Linemode Option", RFC 1184, Cray Research, Inc., October 1990. Acknowledgments The original specification for this option was written by Charles Hedrick, and published as RFC 1080. The RESTART-ANY and RESTART-XON suboptions were defined and added to this version of the document by David Borman. Security Considerations Security issues are not discussed in this memo. Hedrick & Borman [Page 5]
RFC 1372 Telnet Remote Flow Control Option October 1992
Authors' Addresses
David Borman
Cray Research, Inc.
655F Lone Oak Drive
Eagan, MN 55121
Phone: (612) 452-6650
Email: email@example.com
Charles Hedrick
Director, LCSR Computing Facility
Rutgers University
227 CORE Building
P.O. Box 879
Piscataway, NJ 08855-0879
Phone: (908) 932-3088
Email: email@example.com
Mailing List: firstname.lastname@example.com
Hedrick & Borman [Page 6]


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I'm a member of Cisco's Voice Technology Group where I work on improving communication and customer service through the invention and application of new speech and telecom technologies. I've previously served in engineering, R&D, and executive roles at various industry leaders such as Vocalocity, Nuance, AT&T and Lucent Technologies.
I work extensively in the technical standards activities of the VoiceXML Forum , Worldwide Web Consortium (W3C), and Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). Judith Markowitz and I co-chair the Forum's Speaker Biometrics Committee where we focus on speaker verification and identification (SIV) for VoiceXML. Ian Sutherland (of Oracle) and I chair of the VoiceXML Forum's Conformance Committee, where we run the VoiceXML platform certification program, standard test suite, and testing infrastructure to compare VoiceXML platforms, tools, and applications. I continue to service on the Board of Directors, where I previously served as Chair (2006) and co-Chair (2005).
In the W3C Voice Browser Working Group (VBWG), I'm a co-editor of VoiceXML 2.0 and VoiceXML 2.1 and VoiceXML 3.0; I design new telephony call control features as part of the Call Control subgroup and serve as a co-editor of CCXML 1.0. In 2001, Speech Technology Magazine's readers voted me as one of the 20 most influential people in the speech technology industry for my foundational work on web-based telephony and creating the VoiceXML Forum. I speak frequently at industry events such as SpeechTEK and VoiceCon.
For several years I was VP and Chief Architect at Vocalocity, Inc., a communications software company that specialized in software for telecom OEMs and service providers. I was responsible for Vocalocity's standards leadership and product architecture. As a Software Architect at Nuance Communications, I investigated architecture for the next-generation Voice Web and developed new VoiceXML features for NVP (nee VWS). I've worked as a consultant at AT&T Labs Research in Florham Park, NJ, where I designed new telephony features for VoiceXML, and led a project to demonstrate new VoIP-based telephone services for the AT&T Network. In 2000, I worked as CTO at a start-up called Enuncia Communications where we built an innovative and robust VoiceXML server along with some cutting-edge tools.
I've been interested in telecommunications for many years. I was a Member of Technical Staff in the Software Production Research Department in the Communications Software Research Center of the Bell Laboratories Research division of Lucent Technologies from 1992 through 2000. In 1995 I helped build the first web-based telephony platform, PhoneWeb, programmed with what we called the Phone Markup Language (PML). In March 1999 I started the VoiceXML Forum with AT&T, IBM, and Motorola to develop a standard voice telephony markup language based on our research and products. On August 25, 1999, we released the first draft (0.9) of the VoiceXML specification. On March 7, 2000, we announced the publication of the VoiceXML 1.0 specification. Soon thereafter, we submitted VoiceXML 1.0 to the W3C, which was formally acknowledged on May 22, 2000 when the W3C Voice Browser Working Group announced it had voted at its May 10-12 meeting in Paris to adopt VoiceXML 1.0 as the basis for the development of a W3C dialog markup language.
For more information about my work related to VoiceXML, see my list of external publications, talks, and patents. For a glimpse of the VoiceXML industry, see my World of VoiceXML site.


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Life in Stand-by Mode
Kaya Yanar and his television show "Was guckst du?" (What are you lookin' at?) have made German-Turkish comedy popular. Where do you fit in?
Fatih Cevikkollu: Kaya Yanar's show has contributed to an image of the Turk as the doorman who can't speak German properly, not exactly the brightest of all people. I don't think Kaya can speak a single word of Turkish.
In Turkey we say "bir lisan bir insan", a language is a person. When you can speak a language, you know the attitude towards life in that nation. If this skill is lacking, you are simply not culturally connected. Culture is cuisine, music, life. And when you can't speak the language, then you don't have this very elementary key - the means to access this culture - at your disposal.
My experience is that the many Turks I know who have watched the program find it insulting and discriminatory.
You studied at the Ernst Busch School for Performing Arts in Berlin and spent many years working in theatre. Do you now feel as if you have found your place in political cabaret?
Cevikkollu: Looking back from where I am now, I feel that it was a logical development. I also got to know theatre as a type of machine where everyone has their function. I then said to myself, "Thank you very much, that was all well and good." There are plenty of other things to say, personal statements, for example. I maintain that every Turk who lives in this country and is in the public eye has to be political.
When a foreigner, a Turk, someone from the margins of society, makes a public appearance, he is always compared to the image that is produced – per se. The fact that the Turk is not being seen as the hero of the nation, but rather as its doormat, is an image problem. To appear in public and find one's place under these conditions is very difficult, but important nonetheless.
I want to present myself as an example of Germany at this point in time, a kind of taking stock of the current state of affairs, as it were, far removed from the images that usually pass for reality.
Your parents have since moved back to Turkey. You have described the life of your family in Cologne as "life in stand-by mode."
Cevikkollu: The basic idea of my show is to provide my own viewpoint of the fatherland - hence the name "Fatihland" - to show that it is only natural that we live and are staying here. Both sides made a number of mistakes on the way to getting to this point, like the integration policy that never happened, and so on. This history has caused a great deal of anxiety and frustration.
What do you think went wrong with German policy?
Cevikkollu: The guest worker arrangement was a temporary measure. The agreement was that we would come, stay, and then leave. Everything had a time limit, but the limit was never set.
Then there was the position of the German government: you have your dormitory, your job, and, afterwards, you can return home to wherever you came from. You don't need to speak the language. There was never any plan for socialization, never a thought to integrating foreigners into society.
Your jokes about your friend, the Brazilian Caio, and an Italian always go down well with German audiences. Is this also a form of muted criticism of a "positive racism" in Germany?
Cevikkollu: Yes, you could put it that way.
What plans do you have for the future? What comes after "Fatihland," your current show?
Cevikkollu: My biggest plan is just to perform "Fatihland" and to produce a Turkish version, as my audience is predominantly German.
There are hardly any Turks who grew up in Germany and have gone on stage in Turkey to tell the people there our history. I would like to start this experiment and perform the show in Turkish here in Germany.
Interview conducted by Petra Tabeling
© Qantara.de 2007
Translated from the German by John Bergeron
Muhsin Omurca
The EUmans Are Coming!
Without the Turks there would be no EU today, says Turkish German comedy artist Muhsin Omurca. According to the "father of migrant cabaret", the EU and Turkey belong together "like a pot and its lid"
Serdar Somuncu
"Hitler Kebab" - Eye-Opener without Taboos
With his numerous readings out of Hitler's "Mein Kampf," Serdar Somuncu holds up a mirror to unmask the absurdities of right-wing logic. In his new program "Hitler Kebab. Separate Checks" the German-Turk delves into his own origins – quietly, but not without painful moments. Petra Tabeling reports
German-Turkish Stand-Up Comedy
"Laughter Fosters Integration"
Senay was the first German-Turkish stand-up comedian. With her jokes about Turks living in Germany and about cultural differences, she sheds a humorous light on some serious subjects. Petra Tabeling talked with the comedian.


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Representing the entertainment conclave
Bollywood's Karan Johar to share dais with political bigwigs at ISB Leadership Summit |
The Indian School of Business (ISB) has been on the forefront in developing, nurturing and guiding tomorrow's leaders and the ISB Leadership Summit (ILS) has been a key initiative in this direction. Every year, ILS brings together eminent leaders from across the world in a series of dynamic talks and interactive sessions.
This year, the 15th edition of ISB's Leadership Summit will be held at the Mohali campus on September 22 and 23, 2017, and at the Hyderabad campus on September 23 and 24, 2017. The theme of the summit is 'Transforming Tomorrow: The Future Unraveled.' It would focus on the trends that will be instrumental in shaping India's future, as well as of the world as a whole.
The event is expected to be graced by renowned speakers, who have pushed the boundaries and met challenges in their respective fields. Names such as Mr. M. Venkaiah Naidu, (Hon. Vice President of India), Dr. Manmohan Singh, (Former Prime Minister of India), Dr. Kiran Bedi (Lt. Governor of Puducherry), Mr. Suresh Prabhu (Minister of Commerce and Industry), Mr. Devendra Fadnavis (Chief Minister of Maharashtra), Mr. Jayant Sinha (Minister of State Civil Aviation), Dr. K. Radhakrishnan (Former Chairman of ISRO), Ms. Vani Kola (MD of Kalaari Capital), Mr. Sunil Kant Munjal (Chairman of Hero Enterprises), Mr. Kulmeet Bawa (MD – India and South Asia of Adobe Systems) and much more.
Every year, ISB Leadership Summit (ILS) brings together eminent leaders from across the world in a series of dynamic talks and interactive sessions |
The entertainment sector shall be represented at the conclave by Mr. Karan Johar; a trendsetter in the world of cinema. He will speak about the ever-changing face of Indian cinema as well as the challenges and opportunities it has to offer in the near future. His session on the evening of September 23 in Hyderabad shall be moderated by Mr. Akshaye Rathi, a renowned film-exhibitor, distributor, and entertainment columnist.
The Indian School of Business (ISB) is one of the premier business schools in India, with campuses in Hyderabad and Mohali. ISB is committed to creating leaders through its innovative programs, outstanding faculty and thought leadership.
For Registration, more details and images, visit https://ils.isb.edu/


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VATICAN CITY, MAY 26, 2005 (VIS) - Made public today was the speech given by Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragan on May 18 in Geneva, Switzerland at the World Health Assembly, the supreme decision-making body of the 192-member World Health Organization (WHO). Cardinal Lozano, president of the Pontifical Council for Health Care Ministry, headed the Holy See delegation which also included Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, permanent observer to the Geneva-based United Nations Office and Specialized Institutions.
Cardinal Lozano conveyed greetings from Pope Benedict XVI who, he said, "is very concerned about health problems in the world, and offers all his support and assistance to the world effort to bring health care to everyone, especially to the most unprotected."
The cardinal went to say that "unfortunately, illnesses, especially infectious ones, are ever more virulent in the poorest countries that, precisely because they are poor, do not have the resources to obtain medicine that, thanks to modern technology, can easily offer some cures. In fact, each year infectious diseases are responsible for the death of 17 million persons, of whom 90 percent live in developing countries." He noted that in many of these countries the medicines to cure certain illnesses cannot even be found.
"It is terrible," added the council president, quoting the 2005 World Health Report on maternal and infant health care, "to note that of the 211 new human beings who were conceived, there were 46 million induced abortions, 32 who died prematurely or at birth and only 133 million reached birth and lived."
Cardinal Lozano, in concluding remarks, said that, "as the Holy See is aware of these and similar problems, John Paul II established the 'Good Samaritan' Foundation' to help the most needy sick people in the world. The new Pope, Benedict XVI, with joy, has ratified this foundation. The initial objective of this foundation has been concretized by buying medicines for the most needy, and we have already been able to bring aid to the sick of 11 African countries, one in Asia and another in Latin America."