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Originally published by the Agile Alliance.
By Chris Murman, Mary Striby Chang, and Lynn Winterboer
In any given moment, we are faced with around 11 million pieces of information. Of those bits of info, the brain can only process 40 at a time. If that's the case, what do we do with the remaining 10,999,960 pieces? According to Timothy Wilson's book, Strangers to Ourselves: Discovering the Adaptive Unconscious, the brain uses past knowledge to create shortcuts and make assumptions about the rest.
Those assumptions are commonly referred to as unconscious biases.
Bias can show in a variety of ways. Ordering the same meal over and over at the same restaurants because we know it tastes good. Buying clothes from the same stores because they usually fit the way you want. Teaming with the same people at work because we are comfortable with past interactions.
This topic and others were discussed at the second annual Women in Agile event at this year's week-long Agile Alliance conference in Orlando.
During the open space session, Declan Whelan suggested a topic titled Helping Men Become Better Allies. "I am married to a feminist and my daughter is a kick-ass feminist," he said. "And I come from Canada where our male Prime Minister self-identifies as a feminist. And yet as a man, I struggle with how to be a good ally for women."
One of the women participants started the conversation with anecdotes about being regularly talked over, and even offering ideas that appear to get ignored yet a few minutes later when a man says something quite similar everyone applauds the idea. It was insightful to watch the faces of the women in the group as they either lit up in anger or sadly nodded in agreement that they, too, had experienced that slight.
Our female colleagues face issues in the workplace that erode their influence and self-confidence and are a detriment to a team's progress and diversity. The recent Google diversity memo scandal shows us how in environments where people are debating whether women have the chops to be in tech, those of us that know better need to be better allies.
Why does this happen?
Some unconscious biases can lead to behaviors that sap a work environment of safety, which has been linked to many anti-patterns. A capable coworker being marginalized by not being invited to important meetings because, "I just forgot to invite her." Frequently being interrupted or talked over leads to her assuming her ideas aren't valued so she stops sharing them. Not speaking up when uncomfortable language is being used because she doesn't want to be thought of as "over-sensitive."
There was a time when supporting women and minorities in the workplace meant just doing your best to avoid those and so many more anti-patterns. Unfortunately, today's climate requires more to become an active ally.
We must make room for everyone's voices in the workplace and make our support explicit. Here are a few examples to consider.
Make room in conversation
Far too often, meetings are exercises in waiting to speak and never listening to each other. We have become reliant on follow up meeting notes or slide decks to remind ourselves of what we discussed instead of taking the time to listen. This manifests in people not leaving space in the conversation for acknowledgement and letting all voices participate.
Next time you hear a teammate make a statement you agree with, take the time to acknowledge and repeat what she said. It seconds the notion and reemphasizes it for those less aware. This technique can also be contagious, and encourage everyone in the room to slow down their response and validate the thoughts of others.
Some have used a physical object to indicate who "has the floor," to more directly encouraging listening and slower responses. By the time the item gets around to the one requesting it, the previous thought sinks in.
Making room for these voices can have a lasting impact on team dynamics. It creates a level playing field for interaction and will pay off during ideation sessions. While the emotions of team dynamics aren't the only consideration, giving them some TLC will have a domino effect.
Make room for ideas
Far too often, I've seen extroverted speakers unintentionally step on the toes of others during conversation. Just like the previous section, this is caused by not making room for everyone. A perfectly valid idea can be dismissed by someone moving on to their idea before stopping to acknowledge the previous. Someone is skipped during stand ups and the group just moves on without apologizing for the faux pas. An insensitive comment is ignored or quickly passed over with an uncomfortable giggle.
These moments are almost never intended to hurt those around us, yet can cause lasting damage if not dealt with in the moment.
The most important tactic in these situations is to catch yourself and apologize if you participate in something like this. Quick self-management goes a long way in changing habits and becoming more intentionally inclusive.
If you notice another person overshadowing quieter voices, use it as an opportunity to provide gentle and direct feedback. "I'm sure you didn't intend this to happen, but that comment didn't feel appropriate because…". This allows the offending party to understand that you believe the best in their intentions, but still offer a chance to correct the behavior next time and preserve some of everyone's dignity.
It can also be beneficial to create a "safe word" as part of your team norms. It can be a word not used in normal conversation, like "jellyfish", or a blatant acknowledgement of pain, like "ouch". This allows teams to directly address something inappropriate without having to specifically call someone out by name. The team can then rewind the conversation to the trigger and correct almost immediately.
Imagine the safety that can be built by feeling free to politely address delicate moments so much they get used to it!
Make room for diverse mentors and mentees
One of the greatest examples of unconscious bias in the workplace is choosing people that look and sound like us with whom to team up. Again, the best of intentions usually accompanies this behavior. It also unfortunately creates an echo chamber for ideas and does not allow for diverse ideas to grow.
Some men are afraid of the optics of mentoring or spending time with up-and-coming women in their organization. This "benevolent sexism" really holds back young women who don't receive that one-on-one opportunity that their male colleagues get because it doesn't come with any implications.
When searching for a mentor/mentee relationship, try looking for someone different than yourself. The more diverse the relationship to each other, the more potential you can find for diverse growth in both your lives. This encourages us all to address any potential biases we have and meet them head on instead of running the other direction. If you've not had a mentor or mentee who was a different race or gender from you, it can feel intimidating. Just acknowledge this and add that you chose this person because you value their expertise and ability to challenge some assumptions you've had for a long time.
It also causes a deeper understanding for those different than you, and an appreciation for the growth you hope to achieve.
Is all this necessary?
By not acknowledging these issues in the past, we've allowed these biases to become "normal". When that happens, nobody speaks up to correct the behavior. We all know this happens every day in our offices, and we must all take responsibility for correcting it. The better of an ally we can be to others who are not like ourselves, the more we grow together.
What other ideas can you share that help men become better allies of the women they work with?


text:
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subset: commoncrawl


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Ruth, BOOK OF, one of the proto-canonical writings of the Old Testament, which derives its name from the heroine of its exquisitely beautiful story.
—The incidents related in the first part of the Book of Ruth (i-iv, 17) are briefly as follows. In the time of the judges, a famine arose in the land of Israel, in consequence of which Elimelech with Noemi and their two sons emigrated from Bethlehem of Juda to the land of Moab. After Elimelech's death Mahalon and Chelion, his two sons, married Moabite wives, and not long after died without children. Noemi, deprived now of her husband and children, left Moab for Bethlehem. On her journey thither she dissuaded her daughters-in-law from going with her. One of them, however, named Ruth, accompanied Noemi to Bethlehem. The barley harvest had just begun and Ruth, to relieve Noemi's and her own poverty, went to glean in the field of Booz, a rich man of the place. She met with the greatest kindness, and following Noemi's advice, she made known to Booz, as the near kinsman of Elimelech, her claim to marriage. After a nearer kinsman had solemnly renounced his prior right, Booz married Ruth who bore him Obed, the grandfather of David. The second part of the book (iv, 18-22) consists in a brief genealogy which connects the line of David through Booz with Phares, one of the sons of Juda.
—In the series of the sacred writings of the Old Testament, the short Book of Ruth occupies two different principal places. The Septuagint, the Vulgate, and the English Versions give it immediately after the Book of Judges. The Hebrew Bible, on the contrary, reckons it among the Hagiographa or third chief part of the Old Testament. Of these two places, the latter is most likely the original one. It is attested to by all the data of Jewish tradition, namely, the oldest enumeration of the Hagiographa in the Talmudic treatise "Baba Bathra", all the Hebrew MSS. whether Spanish or German, the printed editions of the Hebrew Bible, and the testimony of St. Jerome in his Preface to the Book of Daniel, according to which eleven books are included by the Hebrews in the Hagiographa. The presence of the Book of Ruth after that of Judges in the Septuagint, whence it passed into the Vulgate and the English Versions, is easily explained by the systematic arrangement of the historical books of the Old Testament in that ancient Greek Version. As the episode of Ruth is connected with the period of the judges by its opening words "in the days … when the judges ruled", its narrative was made to follow the Book of Judges as a sort of complement to it. The same place assigned to it in the lists of St. Melito, Origen, St. Jerome (Prol. Galeatus), is traceable to the arrangement of the inspired writings of the Old Testament in the Septuagint, inasmuch as these lists bespeak in various ways the influence of the nomenclature and grouping of the sacred books in that Version, and consequently should not be regarded as conforming strictly to the arrangement of those books in the Hebrew Canon. It has indeed been asserted that the Book of Ruth is really a third appendix to the Book of Judges and was, therefore, originally placed in immediate connection with the two narratives which are even now appended to this latter book (Judges, xvii-xviii; xix-xxi); but this view is not probable owing to the differences between these two works with respect to style, tone, subject, etc.
—As the precise object of the Book of Ruth is not expressly given either in the book itself or in authentic tradition, scholars are greatly at variance concerning it. According to many, who lay special stress on the genealogy of David in the second part of the book, the chief aim of the author is to throw light upon the origin of David, the great King of Israel and royal ancestor of the Messias. Had this, however, been the main purpose of the writer, it seems that he should have given it greater prominence in his work. Besides, the genealogy at the close of the book is but loosely connected with the preceding contents, so it is not improbably an appendix added to that book by a later hand. According to others, the principal aim of the author was to narrate how, in opposition to Deut., xxiii, 3, which forbids the reception of Moabites into Yahweh's assembly, the Moabitess Ruth was incorporated with Yahweh's people, and eventually became the ancestress of the founder of the Hebrew monarchy. But this second opinion is hardly more probable than the foregoing. Had the Book of Ruth been written in such full and distinct view of the Deuteronomic prohibition as is affirmed by the second opinion, it is most likely that its author would have placed a direct reference to that legislative enactment on Noemi's lips when she endeavored to dissuade her daughters-in-law from accompanying her to Juda, or particularly when she received from Ruth the protestation that henceforth Noemi's God would be her God. Several recent scholars have regarded this short book as a kind of protest against Nehemias's and Esdras's efforts to suppress intermarriage with women of foreign birth. But this is plainly an inference not from the contents of the book, but from an assumed late date for its composition, an inference therefore no less uncertain than that date itself. Others finally, and indeed with greater probability, have maintained that the author's chief purpose was to tell an edifying story as an example to his own age and an interesting sketch of the past, effecting this by recording the exemplary conduct of his various personages who act as simple, kindly, God-fearing people ought to act in Israel.
—The charming Book of Ruth is no mere "idyll" or "poetical fiction". It is plain that the Jews of old regarded its contents as historical, since they included its narrative in the Septuagint within the prophetic histories (Josue-Kings). The fact that Josephus in framing his account of the Jewish Antiquities utilizes the data of the Book of Ruth in exactly the same manner as he does those of the historical books of the Old Testament shows that this inspired writing was then considered as no mere fiction. Again, the mention by St. Matthew of several personages of the episode of Ruth (Booz, Ruth, Obed), among the actual ancestors of Christ (Matt., i, 5), points in the same direction. Intrinsic data agree with these testimonies of ancient tradition. The book records the intermarriage of an Israelite with a Moabitess, which shows that its narrative does not belong to the region of the poetical. The historical character of the work is also confirmed by the friendly intercourse between David and the King of Moab which is described in I Kings, xxii, 3, 4; by the writer's distinct reference to a Jewish custom as obsolete (Ruth, iv, 7), etc.
In view of this concordant, extrinsic and intrinsic, evidence, little importance is attached by scholars generally to the grounds which certain critics have put forth to disprove the historical character of the Book of Ruth. It is rightly felt, for instance, that the symbolical meaning of the names of several persons in the narrative (Noemi, Mahalon, Chelion) is not a conclusive argument that they have been fictitiously accommodated to the characters in the episode, any more than the similar symbolical meaning of the proper names of well known and fully historical personages mentioned in Israel's annals (Saul, David, Samuel, etc.). It is rightly felt likewise that the striking appropriateness of the words put on the lips of certain personages to the general purpose of edification apparent in the Book of Ruth does not necessarily disprove the historical character of the work, since this is also noticeable in other books of Holy Writ which are undoubtedly historical. Finally, it is readily seen that however great the contrast may appear between the general tone of simplicity, repose, purity, etc., of the characters delineated in the episode of Ruth, and the opposite features of the figures which are drawn in the Book of Judges, both writings describe actual events in one and the same period of Jewish history; for all we know, the beautiful scenes of domestic life connected in the Book of Ruth with the period of the judges may have truly occurred during the long intervals of peace which are repeatedly mentioned in the Book of Judges.
—The Book of Ruth is anonymous, for the name which it bears as its title has never been regarded otherwise than that of the chief actor in the events recorded. In an ancient Beraitha to the Talmudic treatise "Baba Bathra" (Babylonian Talmud, c. i), it is definitely stated that "Samuel wrote his book, Judges, and Ruth"; but this ascription of Ruth to Samuel is groundless and hence almost universally rejected at the present day. The name of the author of the book of Ruth is unknown, and so is also the precise date of its composition. The work, however, was most likely written before the Babylonian exile. On the one hand, there is nothing in its contents that would compel one to bring down its origin to a later date; and, on the other hand, the comparative purity of its style stamps it as a pre-exilic composition. The numerous critics who hold a different view overrate the importance of its isolated Aramaisms which are best accounted for by the use of a spoken patois plainly independent of the actual developments of literary Hebrew. They also make too much of the place occupied by the Book of Ruth among the Hagiographa, for, as can be easily realized, the admission of a writing into this third division of the Hebrew Canon is not necessarily contemporary with its origin. But, while the internal data supplied by the Book of Ruth thus point to its pre-exilic origin, they remain indecisive with regard to the precise date to which its composition should be referred, as clearly appears from the conflicting inferences which have been drawn from them by recent Catholic scholars.


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Up Front: Oh, God
339 Responses
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My brain hurts. Lawyers are good at churning out buckets of spurious tosh, but that personam stuff is even more spurious than the usual sort.
Yeah, it's not the easiest topic to wrap your head around. One way of dealing with it is via the aphorism that the map is not the territory, where the map is the person and the territory is what the person actually represents. This treats a person as a representation, whether a physical representation, eg a man's person, or an intangible representation, eg a legal person as a representation of a company.
To further complicate the issue the civil state tends to treat people and and persons as being equivalent terms, while the difference between people and persons is very important at common law, especially when you're looking at responsibility in the context of people, citizens, and the state.
It's objective at least in the sense that language is objective (without getting into the 'private languages' argument.)
But you can't avoid that argument. Language is objective when uttered, in the sense that multiple people can hear the sounds (although it's really very disputable whether everyone, even people with perfectly good hearing, can hear all the sounds), but the "meaning" of the utterance may or may not be objective. That is not at all clear. It's a great mystery, an ancient conundrum.
Which is why practical policy is not dependent on it being true or false. Laws would be very unsound indeed if they required a highly contentious philosophical position to be true in order to work.
Ultimately it doesn't matter if they're absolute or non-absolute in their source and meaning. All that matters is that there is a method by which decisions can be made using them that is practical and consistent and acceptable to its subjects. When that is present, the rule of law can prevail.
It's a giant red-herring to seek in the long dead the sources of our current rectitude. It's been an endless excuse for shitty decisions. I'd say it's a form of stupidity that could even be hundreds of thousands of years old. I don't really care what Og said about the law, when it comes to my rights (although of course if anyone could find out what Og said, it would be extremely interesting). My rights don't derive from Og's opinion. They derive from the opinions of the living, because it is the living who will enforce them.
It is true that the legal system must concern itself with precedent when making decisions, sometimes very old precedents. That is necessary because that is all they are empowered to do, to preserve the consistency of the law, and enforce it. But they are not given the power to make that consistency absolute, for all time. Otherwise law could never change, and Og's way would be the only way. We change the law continually, and old precedent gradually becomes irrelevant. We don't incarcerate gay people any more, because living people have decided that doing it is wrong, no matter what Og or Albert or Blackstone said. The wrongness of that could be absolute or relative, it doesn't matter. Judges have to follow the decision, or they will be the ones in trouble.
I'll feel comforted then, if the civil state chucks my person in jail, that it's only my person and not the rest of me, whatever that is.
BenWilson, in reply to
I'll feel comforted then, if the civil state chucks my person in jail, that it's only my person and not the rest of me, whatever that is
If I understand the Christian doctrine even remotely, and you are a Christian, then you can probably feel quite safe about that. It was built in right from the start that your immortal soul was safe from damage in the corporeal world. It was a great consolation to Christians as hungry lions munched on their entrails without even caring to give them a quick death - or so said a number of people who had not actually endured being eaten by lions.
It might even be true. Or the poo-monster might get you. Certainly, in those circumstances, a fair amount of you would end up as lion poo.
Maybe then it's clearer what we're arguing about. IMHO 'objective value' makes little sense. Because values are something consciousnesses have, that is, essentially subjective. Which is another way of saying: we put values on things; the universe doesn't come with price-tags.
I agree that consciousness creates subjective value and suppose the question is whether that's the whole story. I'm not trying to give an answer either way, but there are implications of each view.
I'm more of a fan of robust debate, in which the opponents actually set on with as much intent as they can muster, within the basic rules.
Fair enough. It's often what people think they know that gets them into trouble, and environments in which people are willing to challenge their own thinking because the costs of doing so are low are preferable to those in which people dig rhetorical trenches and feel unable to admit mistakes.
tussock, in reply to
My position is that at common law ethics and theism are inseparable
Common law is much older than your religion and the invention of your gods. The first law codes were just a matter of someone having the skill to finally write them down and promote standardisation. The oldest trains of common law we have are built on codes that were built on older bodies of common law, going back thousands of years on the basic principle of "sure, but don't be a dick about it".
The religious texts themselves are just a collection of common law from the times, which were really shitty times full of praise for genocide and slavery because the people who wrote them were genocidal conquerors and slavers (or occasionally civil servants, in that the actual warriors sometimes couldn't read and write).
We've got much better stuff now. Have had for centuries.
1789 is a fine year for that, especially through the lens of 1791 and the following century's abolitionism.More modern accumulated judgements built around privacy and due process and open government add to all that. Almost no law remains that was copied into the religious texts over a thousand years ago, those that do have been completely rewritten by statute, while millions of judgements on the massive bulk of newer laws stand firm.
Our common law, today, it's completely separated from the ancient religious documents. Explicitly so in most cases, for centuries now. The few remaining rephrasals of those ancient prejudices are rapidly going extinct, in part because they can't stand under common law judgements where they conflict with our modern rights, like the freedom to call religion an ancient noose we're well rid of.
BenWilson, in reply to
It's often what people think they know that gets them into trouble, and environments in which people are willing to challenge their own thinking because the costs of doing so are low are preferable to those in which people dig rhetorical trenches and feel unable to admit mistakes.
If I could think of anything at all that's good to say about the idea of natural law and a theistic source of validity to laws, I would probably try a bit harder to make a constructive debate out of it. But I honestly can't think of one single thing. It's fucked from stem to stern. It's an idea built to fuck people over in favour of their religion and their existing prejudice, and power structures they want. It's no surprise that it was argued in a blinkered way using only very old sources, and the conclusion that it drew was the invalidation of the entire political system I live under, in favour of one drawn up by a dictionary writer of the 19th Century in a country that isn't even the one that NZ was colonized by, let alone by the people who actually live here.
It's not a view I can agree to compromise on, because that compromise involves accepting a whole bunch of things I completely disagree with. It's not a new idea, so we don't need to waste a whole bunch of time on the preliminaries. I know what natural law means, and anyone who does a Google on the term will know pretty quickly. UT wasn't deviating from the usage in any original way. I already have an opinion on it formed when I studied Hobbes as young man decades ago. I might as well just tee off with it, with my number 1 wood and an almighty swing.
Common law is much older than your religion and the invention of your gods.
I'm only interested in English common law, as it applies to NZ
Martin Lindberg, in reply to
I'm only interested in English common law, as it applies to NZ
And English common law dictates that kids must attend Bible class? Sounds like rubbish to me.
And English common law dictates that kids must attend Bible class?
No, it definitely doesn't.
I know what natural law means, and anyone who does a Google on the term will know pretty quickly. UT wasn't deviating from the usage in any original way.
I'm pretty sure that I haven't mentioned natural law - the law of nature isn't really the same thing. The law of nature I'm referring to is that which was described by Blackstone.
I'm pretty sure you did mention it when you quoted Blackstone:
This is the foundation of what we call ethics, or natural law.
You also mentioned natural rights here, saying
The natural rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness can be restated as life, liberty, and the pursuit of justice (or ethical behaviour)
and here, with
My focus here is natural rights as they exist within the common law.
Which are an adjunct to natural law, relying on it even being true to exist. This post was the very start of our disagreement on natural law. I mentioned it immediately, having picked it from the post before.
Furthermore, the discussion has gone on about them for 5 pages now without you once trying to backpedal on this, despite being actively involved continually. If you wanted to make this distinction, the time was when you first started even arguing the case.
I don't even want to talk about the Law of Nature, if you wish to treat it as an entirely different topic, suddenly. It's foolishness that I've had enough of. Bullshit we weren't talking about natural law, and like Hell I'm going to talk about any more of this nonsense.
Boring as hell.
Martin Lindberg, in reply to
The law of nature I'm referring to
Oh I see, it's the law of nature that says kids must attend Bible class at school.
So often, when one argues with "people of faith", bad faith is the only way they know...
andin, in reply to
"people of faith",
In various guises, now we have "rational theists" ...yawn
Brent Jackson, in reply to
"rational theists" is surely an oxymoron
"rational theists" is surely an oxymoron
Only if you are an atheist, which is a more irrational position given the number of witnesses who support the idea of theism, and the fundamental difficulty in proving that they are wrong.
I'm pretty sure you did mention it when you quoted Blackstone
Yes. I avoid using the term "natural law" myself, but obviously I can't change the fact that Blackstone did. The problem I see is that natural law is described in humanist terms, but the fundamental idea of the law of nature has nothing to do with humanism. Humanism originates with the civil state in the idea of homo humanus being distinguished from homo barbarus.
Moz, in reply to
atheist, which is a more irrational position given the number of witnesses who support the idea of theism
Interesting that your god is so democratic. Most of them are more "my way or the highway".
Doesn't that cause problems since numerically more people disbelive in your god than believe in it, so by it's own measure it doesn't exist? It's only going to get worse, you know, the monotheists are growing in numbers and their god is most definitely not one for accepting will of the majority as having any validity in questions of faith.
Steve Parks, in reply to
"Only if you are an atheist, which is a more irrational position given the number of witnesses who support the idea of theism, and the fundamental difficulty in proving that they are wrong."
That argument can be reversed to demonstrate the opposite, leaving you with two positions that are "more irrational" than the other. I presume that what you mean is that both positions are irrational and you are an agnostic. Fair enough.
ETA, Moz, I wasn't sure whether UT meant that the crucial point was that more people are theists than atheists, but if so then yeah, what you said.
Moz, in reply to
I wasn't sure whether UT meant that the crucial point was that more people are theists than atheists
That makes no sense, most theists are even more emphatic that other theists are wrong than atheists are. There's a famous quote to the effect that if you summarise the opinion of all theists on each faith, the result is that all faiths are wrong. To get a different result you would need to do it democratically and have one faith with an absolute majority. Given that any faith with more than a million believers also has internal schisms, that seems unlikely. I mean, ask a Greek Orthodox authority whether the Unitarians are right... let alone stuff like the Sunni/Shia gap.
When I try to pin down a religous person on what they actually believe, most of them end up with a vague "there is something more to life", and something has to last after death because the alternative is too bleak to accept.
andin, in reply to
which is a more irrational position given the number of witnesses who support the idea of theism, and the fundamental difficulty in proving that they are wrong.
You can't prove a negative! So if your only support is numbers of people believe such and such, while a smaller number take an opposite position. Which is then defined by you. You obviously know nothing, and are an arsehole too boot.
tussock, in reply to
Yes, common law isn't static, but it's not so fluid that it can disown its own source.
I'm only interested in English common law, as it applies to NZ
Right, but not it's sources, which you of course immediately disown because they prove your own ranting here to be bound by religious faith. Which is to say, the sky faeries of your imagination demand that only their sources are undeniable.
Except, you know, the 17th century called and we have science now, turns out your sources are not original, not special, and also didn't work well and have been completely replaced.
Post your response…
This topic is closed.


text:
We received an interesting "requirement" from a client today.
They want 100% uptime with off-site failover on a web application. From our web application's viewpoint, this isn't an issue. It was designed to be able to scale out across multiple database servers, etc.
However, from a networking issue I just can't seem to figure out how to make it work.
In a nutshell, the application will live on servers within the client's network. It is accessed by both internal and external people. They want us to maintain an off-site copy of the system that in the event of a serious failure at their premises would immediately pick up and take over.
Now we know there is absolutely no way to resolve it for internal people (carrier pigeon?), but they want the external users to not even notice.
Quite frankly, I haven't the foggiest idea of how this might be possible. It seems that if they lose Internet connectivity then we would have to do a DNS change to forward traffic to the external machines... Which, of course, takes time.
I had a discussion with the client today and they clarified on the issue.
They stuck by the 100% number, saying the application should stay active even in the event of a flood. However, that requirement only kicks in if we host it for them. They said they would handle the uptime requirement if the application lives entirely on their servers. You can guess my response.


text:
Current District Superintendent
Dr. Michelle Smith
(708) 484-6200
Teachers with Gifted Endorsement
Teachers interested in demonstrating that they have the skills to respond to the needs of gifted students in their classrooms can take steps to qualify as a Gifted Education Teacher or Gifted Education Specialist in the State of Illinois. These are considered Endorsements, additional formal indicators of specialization that teachers can obtain to add to their Professional Educator Licenses. Learn More
To obtain an endorsement as a Gifted Education Specialist, a candidate must:
Hold an Illinois professional educator license endorsed in a teaching field
Present evidence of two years of teaching experience on the Illinois professional educator license or a comparable out-of-state license involving the education of gifted students
Hold a master's degree or higher awarded by a regionally accredited institution of higher education
Complete a state-approved K-12 gifted education specialist program at a regionally-accredited institution of higher education (use form 73-05GPDF Document to verify program completion)
Includes clinical experiences with five or more students in both PK- grade 8 AND grades 9-12, and work with at least one student enrolled in PK-grade 8 and one student enrolled in grades 9-12.
Pass the Gifted Specialist content test (312)
To obtain an endorsement as a Gifted Education Teacher, a candidate must complete:
18 semester hours of credit with coursework in each of the following areas:
characteristics of the field of gifted education as it pertains to gifted children, including their cognitive, creative and affective development
the wide range of ways in which a child is gifted; issues and practices in identifying and serving gifted children; and the manner in which assessment data shape decisions about identification, learning progress and outcomes
theoretical and research-based data necessary for the development of programs, curriculum and instructional sequences for gifted children, especially those serving gifted students from diverse populations
A Practicum
Gifted Education (NES) (312) test


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Quentin Tarantino Is Worried About People Spoiling 'Once Upon a Time in Hollywood'
Quentin Tarantino's new movie, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is about to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. And Tarantino kind of doesn't want people to talk about it.
Or at least he wants them to be extremely careful. Tarantino published a letter to the public on the Once Upon a Time in Hollywood Twitter account today, asking people not to spoil his movie for those of us who aren't currently sunning in the south of France. It reads in part:
I'm thrilled to be here in Cannes to share Once Upon a Time... In Hollywood with the [Cannes] festival audience. The cast and crew have worked so hard to create something original, and I only ask that everyone avoids revealing anything that would prevent later audiences from experiencing the film in the same way.
It's really hard to judge how easy or how difficult it is to "spoil" a movie without watching it first. We already know Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is at least based in part on the Manson Family murders. Those are a matter of public record and it's hardly a spoiler to say what happens to the Family's victims, even if their victims happen to be major characters in the film. On the other hand, Tarantino's made movies based on history before, and then strayed wildly from the actual events — as in Inglourious Basterds, when he gave Adolph Hitler a, shall we say, fictional demise. So even knowing the Manson story, you might not know what happens in this movie.
Still, if you don't want people to know what happens in your movie — a desire I can absolutely understand — it might not be the wisest thing to premiere it several months early at the most important film festival in in the world in front of the assembled world press. I guess we'll see how well they honor his request. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood opens in theaters on July 26. Here's Tarantino's Twitter letter.
Gallery — Directors Who Publicly Hated Their Movies:


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Tove Jansson ~ translated by Kingsley Hart
not sure of the original publisher but mine is Schildts, 1960
set for reprint in November 2010 by Drawn and Quarterly
Original title: Vem ska trösta knyttet?
And since I mentioned Moomin this morning... time to pull out the second volume (after The Book of Moomin, Mymble and Little My) in the picture book series. I'll skip the introductions as by now you should all know a little something about the Moomins, if not simply click here.
In this book we meet Toffle.
Now once upon a time, although not very long ago,
And hidden in the forest where the tall dark pine trees grow,
There lived a boy named Toffle in a house that stood alone,
He always felt so lonely, and one night was heard to moan:
"I feel so frightened of the dark, especially tonight,
Perhaps I'll feel a bit more safe if all my lamps I light,
And if that doesn't really help, then into bed I'll creep
And cover up my head and try to cry myself to sleep."
Pitiful, no? The night is spooky and there is no one there to comfort poor Toffle, so he takes off in search of... something. But the more he walked the lonelier he grew. Strangers everywhere, too afraid to make a friend... until he finds a message in a bottle that shows him he is not so alone.
Quirky and way out-there for many an American sensibility, all the Moomin tales are filled with heart and deep soul sifting, something my child (for one) knows all about. The pursuit of home and love and purpose begins the moment we are born, and these books are a wonderful compendium for your child's search for self.
Also by: The Book About Moomin, Mymble and Little My
Read along on Facebook, Twitter and Etsy!


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Query: NC_006347:3735887:3741241 Bacteroides fragilis YCH46, complete genome
Start: 3741241, End: 3742401, Length: 1161
Host Lineage: Bacteroides fragilis; Bacteroides; Bacteroidaceae; Bacteroidales; Bacteroidetes; Bacteria
General Information: This organism can become an opportunistic pathogen, infecting anywhere in the body and causing abcess formation. Enterotoxigenic Bacterioides fragilis (ETBF) is associated with diarrheal diseases. This strain was isolated from a patient with septicemia in Japan. Common gut bacterium. This group of microbes constitute the most abundant members of the intestinal microflora of mammals. Typically they are symbionts, but they can become opportunistic pathogens in the peritoneal (intra-abdominal) cavity. Breakdown of complex plant polysaccharides such as cellulose and hemicellulose and host-derived polysaccharides such as mucopolysaccharides is aided by the many enzymes these organisms produce. Although only a minor component of the human gut microflora, this organism is a major component of clinical specimens and is the most common anaerobe isolated.


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Heart surgery
According to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is the most common type of heart surgery done on adults. During this surgery, a healthy artery or vein is grafted (attached) to a blocked coronary artery. This allows the grafted artery to "bypass" the blocked artery and bring fresh blood to the heart.
Open-heart surgery is sometimes called traditional heart surgery. Today, many new heart procedures can be performed with only small incisions, not wide openings. Therefore, the term "open-heart surgery" can be misleading.
When is open-heart surgery needed?
Open-heart surgery may be done to perform a CABG. A coronary artery bypass graft may be necessary for people with coronary heart disease.
Coronary heart disease occurs when the blood vessels that provide blood and oxygen to the heart muscle become narrow and hard. This is often called "hardening of the arteries."
Hardening occurs when fatty material forms a plaque on the walls of the coronary arteries. This plaque narrows the arteries, making it difficult for blood to get through. When blood can't flow properly to the heart, a heart attack may occur.
Open-heart surgery is also done to:
- repair or replace heart valves, which allow blood to travel through the heart
- repair damaged or abnormal areas of the heart
- implant medical devices that help the heart beat properly
- replace a damaged heart with a donated heart (heart transplantation)
How is open-heart surgery performed?
According to the National Institutes of Health, a CABG takes from three to six hours. It's generally done following these basic steps:
- The patient is given general anesthesia. This ensures that they will be asleep and pain free through the whole surgery.
- The surgeon makes an 8- to 10-inch cut in the chest.
- The surgeon cuts through all or part of the patient's breastbone to expose the heart.
- Once the heart is visible, the patient may be connected to a heart-lung bypass machine. The machine moves blood away from the heart so that the surgeon can operate. Some newer procedures do not use this machine.
- The surgeon uses a healthy vein or artery to make a new path around the blocked artery.
- The surgeon closes the breastbone with wire, leaving the wire inside the body.
- The original cut is stitched up.
- Sometimes sternal plating is done for people at high risk, such as those who've had multiple surgeries or people of advanced age. Sternal plating is when the breastbone is rejoined with small titanium plates after the surgery.
What are the risks of open-heart surgery?
Risks for open-heart surgery include:
- chest wound infection (more common in patients with obesity or diabetes, or those who've had a CABG before)
- heart attack or stroke
- irregular heartbeat
- lung or kidney failure
- chest pain and low fever
- memory loss or "fuzziness"
- blood clot
- blood loss
- breathing difficulty
- pneumonia
According to the Heart and Vascular Center at the University of Chicago Medicine, the heart-lung bypass machine is associated with increased risks. These risks include stroke and neurological problems.
- Category
- Services
- Type of service
- Surgery
- Cost of service
- Starting from $2000


text: Moving to a Smaller Home: Small Space Organization Tips for Downsizing Posted by Caring Transitions on April 18, 2022 at 9:30 AM How do you deal with moving into a smaller house? Sometimes you just need a little imagination and organization. With these tips for making your new small space work for you, you'll soon be enjoying your new home. Adapting to a Smaller Space If you've been living in a big house for years, the idea of a smaller living arrangement can feel…well, stifling. It may be difficult at first, but it does get easier. Remind yourself that your new home will eventually feel familiar and comfortable. What are some positive aspects of downsizing? There may be some things you'll really enjoy about your new home. Perhaps you love the colors, the yard, the neighborhood. Maybe you'll be in a retirement community near friends or you'll have access to amenities you'll enjoy. Maybe you'll have more time to spend on your favorite hobbies. Sometimes listing off some benefits of downsizing can make it seem less overwhelming. Once you've got your mind in a more positive place, what can you do about the practical issue—and arguably the biggest concern with living in a small space—where will I put everything? One obvious solution is to declutter before you downsize (or, more positively, "right-size"). If you need some help with this process, Caring Transitions will work with you to determine what is most important for your right-sized home and new life. And then, schedule regular time to declutter and tidy up. This will help keep your space looking and feeling more spacious. Small Space Organization Tips Have you ever heard the phrase "work smarter, not harder"? Keeping a small space organized is like that. When things are organized, you can spend less time looking for them, less time cleaning, and less time decluttering, while spending more time enjoying your home and doing the things you love! These storage items can jumpstart your organizing session: Over-the-door storage Under-the-bed storage Hanging kitchen racks and compact dish strainers Wall-mounted shelves and hooks in bathrooms, hallways, and bedrooms Bins and baskets Rolling carts (these are great for the kitchen or a small bathroom!) And these tips will help maximize the use of your space: Not a lot of drawers in your kitchen? Keep utensils and silverware in a ceramic pot or extra large mug to free up drawer space for other items. Crammed entryway or hallway? Utilize every inch of space with tall corner shelves. Can't find your earbuds or your phone charger? Use a docking station for electronics—they'll be in one place when you need them. Deep cabinets or cupboards? Use drawers, shelves, and dividers. A lazy susan organizer can make all the difference for a pantry or bathroom cabinet with a difficult layout. Trying to fit as much as possible in your closet? Install shelving or cubbies, stack drawers, hang clothes by category, use hanging shoe organizers and door hooks, and label or color-coordinate your storage bins. Before you even start rearranging your closet, try to plan what you will put in it and where it will go; this can help you decide what organization items to use. In a small home, every inch matters. Make use of every last bit of space—on top of or next to the fridge, behind doors, beneath windows, at the end of a hallway, or under a raised cabinet. Small Home Furniture Space Saving Ideas Furniture can fill up a small home fast, so choose your ensemble wisely! Use multi-purpose furniture such as a bench with storage cubbies, a coffee table with drawers, or a table with folding ends. If there are some pieces of furniture from your old house that you aren't ready to part with, you could upcycle them into more space-savvy items. Utilize a headboard shelf or storage at the foot of your bed, such as an ottoman or low cubby shelf. On a budget? Browse our CTBIDS auction or go thrift shopping to find small space furniture. Space Saver Ideas for Homes with a Small Yard Sometimes a smaller house isn't the only thing you have to adjust to; sometimes it's a smaller yard, too. Luckily, there are plenty of ways to transform a small yard into a haven that fits your style. You could: Plant flowers or a small garden Upcycle drawers into planters Build a bird station with a bird house, bird bath, and feeders Hang wind chimes and a string of soft lights on your porch Decorate your walkway with lanterns or a stone path Install a small fountain Use a small fire pit or grill Get a smaller outdoor furniture set or a small swing for your porch Use weatherproof outdoor storage if you don't have a shed Regardless of where you are in your journey to right-sizing, Caring Transitions can help you each step of the way. Learn how we can minimize the stress of your next life transition.


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In the Java world the options aren't quite as clear, but one API has at least attempted to standardize the idea of doing RESTful services on the Java platform: JSR-311, otherwise known as JAX-RS.
JAX-RS in theory makes it easy for you to simply mark up a piece of Java code with annotations and have it automatically be presented as a RESTful service. Of the available options, it may be the simplest, quickest way to get a Java-based service published and running.
So I figured I'd try to use it from JRuby, and when doing it in Ruby it's actually surprisingly clean, even compared to Ruby options.
The Service
I followed the Jersey Getting Started tutorial using Ruby for everything (and not using Maven in this case).
My version of their HelloWorldResource looks like this in Ruby:
require 'java'java_import 'javax.ws.rs.Path'Notice that we're using the new features in JRuby 1.5 for producing "real" Java classes: java_package to specify a target package for the Java class, java_annotation to specify class and method annotations.
java_import 'javax.ws.rs.GET'
java_import 'javax.ws.rs.Produces'
java_package 'com.headius.demo.jersey'
java_annotation 'Path("/helloworld")'
class HelloWorld
java_annotation 'GET'
java_annotation 'Produces("text/plain")'
def cliched_message
"Hello World"
We compile it using jrubyc from JRuby 1.5 like this:
~/projects/jruby ➔ jrubyc -c ../jersey-archive-1.2/lib/jsr311-api-1.1.1.jar --javac restful_service.rbThe new --java(c) flags in jrubyc examine your source for any classes, spitting out .java source for each one in turn. Along the way, if you have marked it up with signatures, annotations, imports, and so on, it will emit those into the Java source as well. If you specify --javac (as opposed to --java), it will also compile the resulting sources for you with jruby and your user-specified jars in the classpath, as I've done here.
Generating Java class HelloWorld to /Users/headius/projects/jruby/com/headius/demo/jersey/HelloWorld.java
javac -d /Users/headius/projects/jruby -cp /Users/headius/projects/jruby/lib/jruby.jar:../jersey-archive-1.2/lib/jsr311-api-1.1.1.jar /Users/headius/projects/jruby/com/headius/demo/jersey/HelloWorld.java
The result looks like this to Java:
~/projects/jruby ➔ javap com.headius.demo.jersey.HelloWorldUnder the covers, this class will load in the source of our restful_service.rb file and wire up all the Ruby and Java pieces so that both sides see HelloWorld as the in-memory representation of the Ruby HelloWorld class. Method calls are dispatched to the Ruby code, constructors dispatch to initialize, and so on. It's truly living in both worlds.
Compiled from "HelloWorld.java"
public class com.headius.demo.jersey.HelloWorld extends org.jruby.RubyObject{
public static org.jruby.runtime.builtin.IRubyObject __allocate__(org.jruby.Ruby, org.jruby.RubyClass);
public com.headius.demo.jersey.HelloWorld();
public java.lang.Object cliched_message();
static {};
With the service in hand, we now need a server script to start it up.
The Server Script
Continuing with the tutorial, I've taken their simple Java-based server script and ported it directly to Ruby:
require 'java'It's somewhat cleaner and shorter, but it wasn't particularly large to begin with. At any rate, it shows how simple it is to launch a Grizzly server and how nice annotation-based APIs can be for auto-configuring our JAX-RS service.
java_import com.sun.jersey.api.container.grizzly.GrizzlyWebContainerFactory
base_uri = "http://localhost:9998/"
init_params = {
"com.sun.jersey.config.property.packages" => "com.headius.demo.jersey"
puts "Starting grizzly"
thread_selector = GrizzlyWebContainerFactory.create(
base_uri, init_params.to_java)
puts <<EOS
Jersey app started with WADL available at #{base_uri}application.wadl
Try out #{base_uri}helloworld
Hit enter to stop it...
The CLASSPATH
Ahh CLASSPATH. You are so maligned when all you hope to do is make it explicit where libraries are coming from. The world should learn from your successes and your failures.
There's five jars required for this Jersey example to run. I've tossed them into my CLASSPATH env var, but you're free to do it however you like
jersey-core-1.2.jarThe first four are available in the jersey-archive download, and you can fetch the Grizzly jar from Maven or other places.
Testing It Out
The lovely bit about this is that it's essentially a four-step process to do the entire thing: write and compile the service, write the server script, set up CLASSPATH, and run the server. Here's the server output, finding my HelloWorld service right where it should:
~/projects/jruby ➔ jruby main.rbAnd perhaps the most anti-climactic climax ever, curling our newly-deployed service:
Starting grizzly
Jersey app started with WADL available at http://localhost:9998/application.wadl
Try out http://localhost:9998/helloworld
Hit enter to stop it...
Jun 1, 2010 6:36:55 PM com.sun.jersey.api.core.PackagesResourceConfig init
INFO: Scanning for root resource and provider classes in the packages:
Jun 1, 2010 6:36:55 PM com.sun.jersey.api.core.ScanningResourceConfig logClasses
INFO: Root resource classes found:
class com.headius.demo.jersey.HelloWorld
Jun 1, 2010 6:36:55 PM com.sun.jersey.api.core.ScanningResourceConfig init
INFO: No provider classes found.
Jun 1, 2010 6:36:55 PM com.sun.jersey.server.impl.application.WebApplicationImpl initiate
INFO: Initiating Jersey application, version 'Jersey: 1.2 05/07/2010 02:04 PM'
~ ➔ curl http://localhost:9998/helloworldIt works!
Hello World
What We've Learned
This was a simple example, but we demonstrated several things:
- JRuby's new jrubyc --java(c) support for generating "real" Java classes
- Tagging a Ruby class with Java annotations, so it can be seen by a Java framework
- Booting a Grizzly server from Ruby code
- Implementing a JAX-RS service with Jersey in Ruby code


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Clinical Nurse I: E4: General Med/ Surg
Company: Albany Medical Center
Location: East Greenbush
Posted on: July 9, 2024
Job Description:
Department/Unit:Medical/Surgical Hospitalist - E4Work
Shift:Night (United States of America)The clinical Nurse
contributes to the creation of a compassionate and caring
environment for patients, families and colleagues through displays
of kindness and active listening. Recognizes and appreciates that
each employee's work is valuable and contributes to the success of
the Mission.
Keywords: Albany Medical Center, Troy , Clinical Nurse I: E4: General Med/ Surg, Healthcare , East Greenbush, New York
here to apply!


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New York Wedding Photographer
February 21, 2017 | WeddingA beautiful late summer New York City wedding with a great couple who trekked around with us to get these relaxed and natural shots that really have a great vibe – which is what we do best. Remember to visit our main wedding site over at www.celimages.com to see more weddings!
Formals were captured in and around Washington Square Park and Bowery. Which is such a great area to shoot, similar to the Meatpacking District before it was utterly gentrified. You have graffiti and old buildings full of character that is getting harder to find in Manhattan, so we recommend the area if you don't mind a little reality and a more authentic NYC feel. It just makes for better photos.
The reception was held at the wonderful Manhattan Penthouse that sports incredible uninterrupted views of Greenwich Village and all of lower Manhattan.
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Tagged With: grunge
I'm a Riddle So Strong (#495)
If I were writing this next Monday, when it's (going to) pour all day, this would be more appropriate. It's a great song for a rainy day: bitter, reflective, morbid. But I'm totally writing these one day at a time. Really. Yeah.
Categories: Music, Top 500
Tags: alice in chains, grunge, music, rain, rain when i die, seattle, top 500
Comments Off on I'm a Riddle So Strong (#495)


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Your vote will help the UAB Supportive Care and Survivorship Clinical Program receive funding from LIVESTRONG's Community Impact Project. UAB has applied for grant funding from LIVESTRONG for an artists-in-residence program for cancer patients. The program is competing with seven other hospitals, cancer centers and community organizations in an online vote on that ends at 5 p.m. on March 28.
The University of Alabama at Birmingham's Supportive Care and Survivorship Clinic is the only one of its type in a three-state area. More than 5,000 patients are treated in UAB cancer programs annually, and the focus of the Supportive Care and Survivorship Clinical Program is to provide an extra layer of support and care to cancer patients from diagnosis to survivorship. The LIVESTRONG grant will support patients by giving them an outlet to express themselves through art (visual, performing and literary). The Supportive Care and Survivorship Program at UAB has a longstanding commitment to arts in healing, and also has the infrastructure necessary to ensure this program's success. With the LIVESTRONG Foundation funding this program has the potential to support patients in a way that wouldn't be possible otherwise.
Vote for the UAB Artist in-residence program at http://vote.livestrong.org/applicants/134-The-University-of-Alabama-at-Birmingham/
Or by scanning this code:
An individual may vote once per e-mail address.
LIVESTRONG was created in 1997 by world-class cyclist Lance Armstrong after his diagnosis of cancer. The organization works to empower the cancer community to address the unmet needs of cancer survivors through collaboration, knowledge-sharing and partnership.
March 14, 2013


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What do you think?
"Long-term," to me, seems very neutral — descriptive without being prescriptive. It doesn't have the same sting of abnormalcy that "extended" does to me. It doesn't have, I think, the same potential as "full-term" to sound judgmental to women who choose not to or cannot breastfeed for a long time.
It's open ended, because it could apply to a 1-year-old same as an 11-year-old. There's no implied cut-off date beyond which breastfeeding is unacceptable or implied breastfeeding minimum before which weaning is unacceptable. It can be a goal for mothers to shoot for, but they can set the specifics themselves.
For instance, for a woman in a particular parenting culture where no one breastfeeds past six months, that might be the moment she identifies herself as a long-term breastfeeder. Or if the wider breastfeeding culture changes over time where it's expected that everyone breastfeed at least two years as the WHO recommends, then maybe eventually long-term will mean past that age!
And I think it's a term I can use among my fellow long-term breastfeeding supporters to talk about the particular experience of breastfeeding a toddler and beyond.
I'm sure I'll still use "extended" and "full-term" and just plain "breastfeeding" casually, and I still love the camaraderie and meaning behind "full-term" and "child-led," but I'm thinking "long-term" might be a winner as my preferred way of referring to breastfeeding past infancy — toddlers or children.
Thank you to Stephanie of Adventures in Babywearing for inadvertently turning me on to the phrase.
And a huge thank you to everyone who commented and shared stories of breastfeeding successes and perceived breastfeeding failures. It might be natural to breastfeed, but it is not always easy, and I respect every mother who tries what she can and ultimately makes whatever is the right choice for her baby, herself, and her family.
Please do let me know what you think of the phrase long-term breastfeeding. Love it, hate it, too clinical, just right?
P.S. Thank you to whoever became my 100th follower. Woot! Getting from 0 to 50 seemed to have taken forever, and getting from 50 to 100 was a blink. Funny how it snowballs like that!


text:
How 3-D Printing Startups Are Shaping the Future A look at three new companies that are pushing their ways to the forefront of 3-D printing.
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
"10-22-38 Astoria" -- that was the message written on the first photocopied page, which was produced in 1938. In the 50 years that followed, Xerox was born, a trillion-dollar industry developed around document duplication, every business got a copier (if not two) and home printers became able to reproduce pages.
But today, with 3-D printing, we can print a lot more than just words and images. With the emergent technology, any desktop computer can output objects as simple as a ball and as intricate as a human bone. Printing in a variety of materials, from bendable nylon filaments to strong thermoplastics, these devices have gone from invention to adoption twice as fast as the photocopy machine. And this 3-D printing revolution signals big changes for small businesses, allowing them to keep development costs low, innovation churning and a new way to keep their secret prototypes in-house and safe from copycats.
Meanwhile, the 3-D printing industry is also developing fast, with industry giants like Stratasys aquiring upstarts like Makerbot for $408 million. But innovative outfits are forming all the time.
Here, we take a look at three other startups that are carving out their own niches at the forefront of 3-D printing. To get started, just click the "Next" link below.
A startup called Formlabs
A desktop-sized 3-D printer with professional-level output that doesn't break the bank.
While desktop 3-D printers like the Makerbot Replicator have made plenty of headlines over the last two years, the technology is still evolving and the printers leave something to be desired. There's still a large gap in the kind of quality that larger, floor-sitting printers output and what desktop-perched models make.
Cambridge, Mass.-based Formlabs has a head start, with a high-quality, low cost 3-D printer aimed at putting professional quality right on the desktop. Founded in 2009 by three MIT students frustrated by the prototyping options they found outside their space in the MIT Media Lab, the company raised $2.94 million last October in a Kickstarter campaign for its first product, the Form 1 Printer. They began shipping the product this May. Having filled all their crowd funding orders, the device is available to the public for $3,299.
The Form 1 uses lasers to trace out shapes in special resin engineered by Formlabs, a 3-D printing technique known as "stereo lithography." The machine can form layers as thin as 25 microns, which is thinner than most human hairs, and has a total a build volume of 4.9 by 4.9 by 6.5 inches.
But the company makes more than just hardware. The printer comes with PreForm, a software that streamlines the 3-D printing process and is compatible with any computer aided design (CAD) file, and a finishing kit that helps refines output objects.
"We believe in the now, and are making tools for people who need them, but have no access to them right now," says Natan Linder, a Formlabs co-founder. Linder estimates there are around 10 million professional 3-D CAD users. "If you look at the numbers, it's a pretty clear way to think about the market opportunity for us."
Shapeways, a 3-D printing marketplace
A 3-D printing marketplace where anyone can buy, make or sell their own products.
From iPhone docks to jewelry, 3-D printable products are growing in popularity among designers. But the machinery's high costs and ever-improving nature make it difficult to keep up with the technology.
For example, new materials are being developed all the time for fused deposition modeling, a 3-D printing technique where objects are formed by pushing heated materials through a tube, similar to an inkjet. Innovations also abound in selective laser sintering and stereo lithography, both of which operate much like a laser printer, with high-powered beams of light carving and hardening shapes from a bed of resin.
Both a manufacturer and a retailer, New York City-based Shapeways gives consumers and designers access to scores of printers and materials -- and more as they come to market. Launched in 2008 at the Royal Philips Electronics lifestyle incubator in Eindhovern, the Netherlands, the company has two factories where it produces products on demand, shipping them to customers worldwide.
A marketplace similar to Etsy where independent designers can sell their wares, the company's website has more than 6 billion product variations. "It's a new model, both of manufacturing, because it's 3-D printing, but also of e-commerce, in that everything is made on demand," says Shapeways director of marketing Carine Carmy.
Additionally, users can upload their files to Shapeways to have them printed and delivered like a prototyping service bureau. "The small business or independent designer who is typically designing those products has a much lower barrier to entry than they would if they were going through traditional manufacturing," says Carmy.
Because it costs the same to 3-D print 1,000 of the same product as it does 1,000 of different products of the same size and material, the new manufacturing technique eliminates economies of scale. Previous fabrication methods created objects through molds and could have more than $10,000 in setup costs, an investment that only pays out if many duplicates were created. As a result, prototypes that were once pricey are now available and considerably more affordable.
3DLT, providing access to printable goods
A service that lets consumers buy 3-D printable files from designers and output them through a network of producers.
In an increasingly digital world, CDs have turned into MP3s, DVDs have become digital downloads, and now objects are available as files. And just like the music and videos needed for online marketplaces to thrive, Cincinnati-based 3DLT is building a marketplace where consumers can purchase files from designers to get access to printable goods.
The company was in stealth mode until officially launching in April 2013 at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference in New York City. "We connect those designers, consumers and producers together via an online marketplace, and allow them to produce as efficiently and close to the point of need as possible," says John Hauer, a 3DLT co-founder and the company's chief marketing officer.
To date, the company has a partner network with more than 500 3-D printers worldwide, offering a wide selection of materials for users to output in. The company has a partnership with Makexyz, a service that locates local 3-D printers in a user's area, and as it continues to recruit top 3-D printers, it pitches a service that allows owners to monetize their output devices.
But fundamentally, 3DLT is a content company, Hauer says. As of May 1, the company began curating a catalog of designs, which totaled more than 450 3-D objects. "As the 3-D ecosystem builds out at home and at retail and online, and capacity continues to grow, the need for content will continue to grow with it," he says. "And we'll be there to supply it."
Related Articles:
Why eBay's 'Exact' Project Isn't the 3-D Printing Solution for the Masses -- So Far, Anyway
Need a Prototype? 3-D Printers Coming to UPS Stores
How 3-D Printing Is Becoming a Game-Changer Across Industries


text:
Perfect Privacy offers you a variety of exclusive VPN features with the usual premium quality to protect yourself from the dangers on the Internet such as surveillance, malicious software, data corruption, and even advertising. Benefit from features like NeuroRouting, TrackStop, Multi-Hop VPN and much more. Find out which functions are right for you.
NeuroRouting ensures that your data remains within the strongly encrypted VPN network of Perfect Privacy for as long as possible. A neural network and our algorithms constantly calculate the best routes for your destinations on the Internet. This happens dynamically - depending on the websites you visit.
TrackStop is a filter that blocks content from untrusted or unwanted sources. Stop annoying advertisements. Defend yourself against social media tracking. Block harmful phishing and malware websites. Protect your children from inappropriate content. Individually adjust the filter settings according to your needs.
Stealth VPN is a method to counter against Deep Packet Inspection (DPI). In some restrictive networks and countries, it is used to detect and block VPN traffic. Stealth VPN masks the VPN packets and makes them look like regular HTTPS packets. Since this protocol is also used for secure data transmissions, most firewalls do not block it, and VPN can be used in restricted networks.
The kill switch functionality ensures that you are protected against IP leaks even if the VPN connection is interrupted. The Kill Switch prevents the connection to the Internet until the VPN connection has been reestablished. The automatic emergency disconnection is available in 3 different security levels and can be set conveniently in the VPN Manager according to your needs.
Benefit from full IPv6 support. There are more and more services on the Internet that offer their services over IPv6. But not every Internet provider offers IPv6 connectivity. With Perfect Privacy, you are automatically assigned an IPv6 address and can, therefore, use IPv6 at any time and anywhere in the world. Of course, the VPN Manager has protection that also prevents leaks over IPv6.
We do not store any of your data. We have created our server infrastructure so that it is not possible to record data at all. The data, therefore, runs on ram disks to ensure that there is nothing left when a server is disconnected from power. If you are worried that a security agency could intercept a server while it is running, use a cascaded connection as mentioned above.


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Carl Robinson 10 Island
Brand: Carl Robinson Wallpaper
Materials: Nonwoven
Size: 27 inc x 27 ft = 62 sq.ft
Match: Reverse Hang
Design repeat: 36 in
Adhesive: Unpasted
Maintenance: Vacuum
Removal: Strippable
Cleaning: Sponge wallcovering with a solution of warm water and mild soap
Usage: Living room, Bedding room, Study, Kids' room, TV Background and other
PLEASE NOTE: Color tones can vary due to lighting and your monitor settings. The color of pictures are for reference only and may slightly differ from the actual color on a roll. We are taking pictures of an actual item.
It is not the cheap Auto-stick wallpaper, you should buy the adhesive in order to hang it. Please, calculate your room size carefully to make sure it is enough for your fitment.
DESCRIPTION: This wallpaper is a high-quality finishing material of a new generation.
Redecoration of the room will be really quick with our new collection.
Your next redecoration will also be fast and simple – you can just hang them on all walls or desire places.
Having a successful combination of interesting textures, radiant colors, and tasteful designs this wallpaper perfectly suits both modern and classic interiors. Bring a touch of luxury and elegance into your home!
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SMP - The news and information directory The Social Media Portal (SMP) maps global digital, mobile, social media, networks, user generated content and related technology.SMP's Landscape will continually grow with the digital and social media environment, highlighting relationships within the Landscape - showing how they intertwine.If you blog, manage a community or forum, run a social networking site or similar - by registering for free you may include your resource in the SMP Landscape.Whether a creator, consumer, participator, publisher - to navigate the SMP, click on the icons on the left, use our Landscape Search or use the View List option.
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We consider the privacy of our customers utmost important. We are in the business of serving you, not selling your information. Your name, address information, and credit card information are collected only to fulfill your order.
Information security is critical to our business. We use advanced security technology to prevent our computers from
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The internet contains vast material to be read, most of it frivolous, alarmist, or simply repetitious. Here can be found articles that are timely and vital, but often containing information nowhere else available.
A feeling of pride overwhelms me when we took charge as the Founder members of the Kas Pathar website. We hope to utilize my expertise and experience on this opportunity bestowed on me, to collaborate with the people of Kas Pathar. Kas Pathar with its scenic beauty, its hospitable people, religious and cultural harmony, heritage, architecture, art and culture has already established itself has a popular tourist destination on both the national as well as the international arena, achieving an enviable brand status in the process. In recent years, the number of local and foreign visitors has reached record highs. We also look forward to your suggestions, co-operation and good wishes in preserving the natural beauty, peace and tranquility of this Valley of flower called Kas Pathar.
The Kas Plateau is situated at the Sahyadri hills near Satara. This plateau is well known for its unique biosphere, high hill plateaus and grasslands. During monsoon season, especially in the month of August, the plateau comes to life, with picturesque view of various types flowers that carpet the floor of the plateau. Read More


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Two moms recently added sons to their families. And that's where the similarities end.
Teri's family waited three months before learning they'd receive a new addition, followed by the standard nine additional months. Jodi's family waited 18 months for the same news, then had only two months to prepare the nursery.
People take different paths to parenthood, but children are children, and families are families, regardless of the path taken to get there. That's the subject of my latest newspaper column. (And a special thanks to Teri and Jodi for each sharing their unique stories.)
Read the column or get the printable version.


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One of the key Principles of Mustachianism is that any and all lineups, queues, and other sardine-like collections of humans must be viewed with the squinty eyes of skepticism.
Paradoxically enough, I have found that if so many people simultaneously decide to do something that they are forced to stand or drive in a queue to do it, there's a good chance it is something that is not worth doing.
How can I dismiss the desires of the millions of line-waiting humans as just wasteful folly? It is because in our natural state, we are supposed to be a diverse and individualistic species. At any given moment, you might choose to be walking in the woods while I'm at home cooking some dinner. Later, we might get together with some of our other friends for a party on my back patio, but we would not expect everyone else in town to suddenly mob into the yard as we did that. If we turned around and saw a lineup of people stretching around the block, we'd know something fishy was afoot.
So the sort of mass behavior that causes lineups tends to occur only in special situations:
- When there is some central authority planning or advertising it
- When herd mentality has taken over, turning People into Sheeple
Marketing causes crowds of people to want each new Apple phone on its release day, so those suckers end up in the silly all-night lineups you hear about every year. Black Friday sales are a similar phenomenon. The 9-5 workday, (combined with poor choices of home and work locations) causes hordes of people to want to drive cars just before nine and just after five every weekday. And thus, these people end up in lines as well.
Herd mentality also makes certain people love certain bands and sports teams, for no better reason than the fact that they are already popular with other people. And thus they line up to get tickets and parking spaces at the crowded stadiums.
Knowing all this, it should not surprise you to learn that as a general policy, Mr. Money Mustache Does Not Do Lineups.
If I'm planning a car trip through a big city, I'll plan around the rush hour traffic jams, no matter what. Back where I grew up, some of the biggest traffic jams on Earth would form on a daily basis across the megacity of Toronto. To traverse that expanse, you need to plow through over 60 miles of the sixteen-lane-wide highway 401, a road so busy that the daily traffic jam lasts about 18 hours. The only sane conditions are found between 10:00PM and 4:00AM – and so that is when I make my stealthy crossing.
In Colorado, the ski resorts have become so popular that a spectacular lineup forms around each lift chair. A 500-person mob of people waiting and shuffling instead of skiing and snowboarding, is your reward for trying to visit one of these places on the weekend. On top of that, the traffic jam that forms on Interstate 70 on weekend afternoons can turn a one-hour descent back down from the mountains into a six-hour ordeal. But if you stop by on a Tuesday, both conditions are cured.
As a lifelong music-lover, I love to go out and see live music as well. But this doesn't mean staying up all night to buy tickets for a sold-out arena to hear the world's biggest pop stars repeat their radio hits. The best music experience for me is seeing insanely talented young musicians play the music they just invented, in a small venue, where you can shake their hands, say thanks, and buy a T-shirt and an old-school CD from them directly after the show.
And during my recent stay in downtown Las Vegas, I found people queuing up for everything, with no apparent benefit to themselves. There are lines to get drinks at the bars. Lines to check into the hotels. Lines of cars everywhere. Lines waiting for the elevators that extend almost to the doorway to the empty staircases.
It's all a bunch of nonsense. As explained in last summer's post about reaching the top 5%, most people spend most of their time doing what everyone else does, without giving it much thought. And thus, it is usually very profitable to avoid doing what everyone else is doing.
On the trip, we did a little experiment: Mrs. MM and I wanted to get away for a few minutes. So we decided to go down to the hotel lobby and get some fancy coffees at the Starbucks, which we would sit peacefully together to enjoy. Already I can see your eyebrows raising, but try to stay calm and remember this is just an experiment.
When we got to the coffee stand, I was dismayed to see that everyone else had had the same idea. There was a line of at least 10 people snaking out from the cash register, including two formidably proportioned gentlemen sitting on electric scooters and towing life support equipment. My first instinct was to chuckle out a few new curses towards the overcrowded venue and keep walking. But we persisted.
After sufficient waiting, we finally earned the privilege of forking over $8.11 for two grande lattes. This is roughly the same amount I normally pay for two pounds of organic fair-trade espresso beans at Costco, which makes over 100 cups of fancy coffee at the MMM Homebrew Cafe, but again, we wanted to see what everyone else likes to do. The cafe tables were all full and people were awkwardly leaning on the noisy slot machines or enduring the Beyonce-blaring lobby nearby in order to drink their coffee.
At last, we decided to end the experiment, satisfied that the behavior of the masses was not for us. We found a quiet-looking staircase and walked up three flights to an abandoned conference center area. There was nothing to buy up here, and no automatic conveyances to carry your body here, and thus it was completely empty. We sat down on a comfortable little couch and drank our incredibly pricey coffees with no sounds beyond those of our own conversing voices. It was blissful.
Other parts of the vacation reinforced this pattern: In Moab, Utah, we usually stay in one of the little campgrounds in the canyon along the Colorado river. This year, I was surprised to find them all full, and we had to give up our first two nights of camping and stay at a hotel instead.
The hotel manager informed me that we picked one of the peak times to be in Moab – an event called "Jeep Week". In this tragic comedy of an event, people from all over the country tow their ridiculous motorized La-Z-Boys with knobby tires from the comfort of their enormous 20,000 pound motorized RV homes. Once in Moab, they detach the smaller recliners and sit in them, pressing pedals and burning gas to bump around on the red rocks for a while. All apparently oblivious to the Muscle over Motor principle, which explains that greater fun could be had by simply riding a 25-pound mountain bike on the same trail.
To get back to the point, by unwittingly arriving at this peak time, the MMM family ruined its own fun and missed out on two nights of camping, because the campgrounds were full.
Although we tried our best to obey the Off-Peak principle, we also made another major stumble: touring the Hoover Dam. To understand the error, check out this quote directly from the visitor's brochure:
"Although several modern dams are higher, wider, and produce more electricity, the Hoover Dam remains the most popular for visitors, hosting millions of visitors every year".
Translation: "We have no idea why so many people are lining up to tour this old thing, but shit, we'll keep taking the money if you keep giving it to us".
The pamphlet went on to explain that the popularity is continually reinforced by major movies that feature action at the Hoover Dam as part of their plots (Superman 1 being my favorite).
Sure enough, we took the tour, and it was over an hour of lineups and crowding just to see a turbine room briefly and hear a guide squawk out a few memorized facts. There was even a lineup to get into the parking garage.
Meanwhile, a much better experience can be had with no waiting: park in one of the free pullouts on the Arizona side of the dam. Hike down the hill and walk over the entire length of the dam to explore the stunning scene with your own eyes. Then hike back up and climb another 200 feet, to the astounding new Colorado River Bridge (built between 2005 and 2010), where you are so high that the dam looks like a little toy in the canyon far below you.
You can use this general principle to end up with a better life in all areas. If you find any part of your life subject to overcrowding, consider whether there is another way it can be handled. Crowded roads are eliminated by biking, replanning, or even moving. Crowds at Disneyland and National Parks are avoided by visiting areas where there is no RV parking or gift shops. Crowding at venues is eliminated by being a producer of entertainment, food, sports, or music, rather than just a consumer of it. Lineups at shopping malls are easily avoided by not going to shopping malls.
The off-peak life works perfectly for working people, since it frees up some of your limited time and money. And it takes on a new dimension once you gain the flexibility to escape the 9-5 work schedule. Suddenly you can do everything when everyone else is at work, from renting vacation homes down to visiting the grocery store. This saves you even more, and frees your mind from some of the overhead of dealing with constant crowding.
So from now on, if you ever find yourself amid a crowd of running sheep, just turn around and run the other way.
It can take a bit of dodging at first, but it's worth it for the much better view.