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Everything you need to know about Bipolar
Our stickies have been condensed into one helpful thread. Feel free to start your own thread if you have anymore questions:
Warning Signs of Bipolar
What Causes Bipolar Disorder?
Bipolar Symptoms
Bipolar II, Cyclothmia, & Helpful Links
What is an "Episode"?
Warning Signs of Bipolar:
An excellent description of the "Red Flags" of Bipolar Disorder can be found at About.com. "These four articles list the symptoms and signs of manic and depressive episodes, danger signals that a person may be thinking about suicide, and the symptoms of childhood bipolar disorder, which is not entirely the same as adult manic depression."
Red Flags I
A look at the early warning signs of Bipolar Disorder - symptoms of mania.
Red Flags II
A look at the early warning signs of Bipolar Disorder - signs of depression.
Red Flags III
A look at the early warning signs that may indicate the danger of suicide.
Red Flags IV
A list of signs and symptoms of Bipolar Disorder in children.
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Last edited by EYEFORGOT; 04-23-09 at 06:19 PM.. Reason: info condensed
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What Causes Bipolar Disorder?
What Causes Bipolar Disorder?
from Kimberly Bailey
We have all asked this question at some time. I've heard explanations ranging from a shortage of Lithium in the brain to dog bites in childhood! Obviously, there is a great deal of misinformation to be had.
To compound the confusion, legitimate scientific research continues to publish new information and hypotheses. A newly published study in the American Journal of Psychiatry reports "in those with bipolar disorder, two major areas of the brain contain 30 percent more cells that send signals to other brain cells." This report theorizes that "the extra signal-sending cells may lead to a kind of overstimulation, which makes sense considering the symptoms of bipolar disorder(1)."
But has anyone found the true cause of bipolar disorder? It would be wonderful to say that X or Y was the cause, but the answer is not that simple. According to Durand and Barlow, most scientists believe that "psychological disorders are always the products of multiple interacting causal factors"(2). As it relates to bipolar disorder, these causal factors are usually divided into biological and psychological explanations. In plain English, psychopathology is the study of significant causes and processes in the development of mental illness, which means there are physical and mental / environmental / emotional causes for mental illnesses.
In considering the biological explanations, the first issue is inheritability. This question has been researched via multiple family, adoption and twin studies. In families of persons with bipolar disorder, first-degree relatives (parents, children, siblings) are more likely to have a mood disorder than the relatives of those who do not have bipolar disorder(3). Twin studies indicate that "if one twin presents with a mood disorder, an identical twin is approximately three times more likely than a fraternal twin to have a mood disorder(2)." In considering bipolar disorder specifically, the concordance rate (when both twins have the disorder) is 80% for identical twins, as compared to only 16% for fraternal twins(2). "Overwhelming evidence suggests that such disorders are familial and almost certainly reflect an underlying genetic vulnerability(2)."
However, exactly what is inherited? The neurotransmitter system has received a great deal of attention as a possible cause of bipolar disorder. Researchers have known for decades that a link exists between neurotransmitters and mood disorders, because drugs which alter these transmitters also relieve mood disorders(4). Some studies hypothesize that a low or high level of a specific neurotransmitter such as serotonin, norepinephrine or dopamine is the cause. Others indicate that an imbalance of these substances is the problem - i.e., that a specific level of a neurotransmitter is not as important as its amount in relation to the other neurotransmitters(2). Still other studies have found evidence that a change in the sensitivity of the receptors on nerve cells may be the issue(4). In short, researchers are quite certain that the neurotransmitter system is at least part of the cause of bipolar disorder, but further research is still needed to define its exact role.
The primary psychological culprit implicated in the manifestation of bipolar disorder is stressful life events. These can range from a death in the family to the loss of a job, from the birth of a child to a move. It can be pretty much anything, but it cannot be precisely defined, since one person's stress may be another person's piece of cake. With that in mind, research has found that stressful life events can lead to the onset of symptoms in bipolar disorder. However, once the disorder is triggered and progresses, "it seems to develop a life of its own. Once the cycle begins, a psychological or pathophysiological process takes over and ensures that the disorder will continue(2)."
When we look for the cause of bipolar disorder, the best explanation via the research available at this time is what is termed the "Diathesis-Stress Model." The word diathesis means, in simplified terms, a bodily condition that make a person more than usually susceptible to certain diseases. Thus the Diathesis-Stress Model says that "each person inherits certain physical predispositions that leave him or her vulnerable to problems that may or may not appear, depending on what kinds of situations that person confronts(4)." Durand and Barlow define this model as a "hypothesis that both an inherited tendency and specific stressful conditions are required to produce a disorder(2)."
So the bottom line, according to today's thinking, is that if you are manic depressive, you were born with the possibility of developing this disorder, and something in your life set it off. But scientists could refine that theory tomorrow. The one sure thing is, they won't give up looking for answers.
Be nice to me, I have powers and Andrew no longer compensates me with shoes!!
Do what you feel in your heart to be right - for you'll be criticized anyway. You'll be damned if you do, and damned if you don't.--Eleanor Roosevelt
I'm all in favor of keeping dangerous weapons out of the hands of fools. Let's start with typewriters. --Frank Lloyd Wright
Everything I write is fully substantiated by my personal opinion.
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Bipolar Disorder Symptoms
Bipolar disorder (also known as "manic depression") is often not recognized by the patient, relatives, friends, or even physicians. An early sign of manic-depressive illness may be hypomania -- a state in which the person shows a high level of energy, excessive moodiness or irritability, and impulsive or reckless behavior. Hypomania may feel good to the person who experiences it. Thus, even when family and friends learn to recognize the mood swings, the individual often will deny that anything is wrong.
In its early stages, bipolar disorder may masquerade as a problem other than mental illness. For example, it may first appear as alcohol or drug abuse, or poor school or work performance.
If left untreated, bipolar disorder tends to worsen, and the person experiences episodes of full-fledged manic episodes and depressive episodes.
One of the usual differential diagnoses for bipolar disorder is that the symptoms (listed below) are not better accounted for by Schizoaffective Disorder and is not superimposed on Schizophrenia, Schizophreniform Disorder, Delusional Disorder, or Psychotic Disorder Not Otherwise Specified.
And as with nearly all mental disorder diagnoses, the symptoms of manic depression must cause clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning. Symptoms also can not be the result of substance use or abuse (e.g., alcohol, drugs, medications) or caused by a general medical condition.
Specific symptoms of the various types of bipolar disorder:
Bipolar I Disorder
Bipolar I Disorder actually is a number of separate diagnoses, depending upon the type of mood most recently experienced.
Bipolar I Disorder, Single Manic Episode
* Presence of only one Manic Episode and no past Major Depressive Episodes.
Note: Recurrence is defined as either a change in polarity from depression or an interval of at least 2 months without manic symptoms.
Bipolar I Disorder, Most Recent Episode Hypomanic
* Currently (or most recently) in a Hypomanic Episode.
* There has previously been at least one Manic Episode or Mixed Episode.
Bipolar I Disorder, Most Recent Episode Manic
* Currently (or most recently) in a Manic Episode.
* There has previously been at least one Major Depressive Episode, Manic Episode, or Mixed Episode.
Bipolar I Disorder, Most Recent Episode Mixed
* Currently (or most recently) in a Mixed Episode.
* There has previously been at least one Major Depressive Episode, Manic Episode, or Mixed Episode.
Bipolar II Disorder
* Presence (or history) of one or more Major Depressive Episodes and at least one Hypomanic Episode. Additionally, there has never been a Manic Episode or a Mixed Episode.
American Psychiatric Association. (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, fourth edition. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.
National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Mental Health, NIH Publication No. 95-3679 (1995)
Source: http://psychcentral.com/disorders/sx20.htm
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More About Bipolar, Cyclothmia, & Links
Bipolar II Disorder
The distinguishing characteristic of Bipolar II Disorder (manic depression) is the hypomanic episode (as opposed to the manic episodes of Bipolar I Disorder). Major depressive episodes are also part of this type of bipolar disorder.
What is Bipolar II Disorder?
According to the official US definition as outlined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders published by the American Psychiatric Association, Bipolar II Disorder is "characterized by one or more Major Depressive Episodes accompanied by at least one Hypomanic Episode." The key difference between Bipolar I and Bipolar II is that Bipolar II has hypomanic but not manic episodes.
Bipolar II: Mood Swings Without "Manic" Episodes
Psychiatrist James Phelps offers information on Bipolar II, Mixed States, Cyclothymia, "anxious depression" and more. Some of his descriptions extend the definitions in DSM-IV, but many experts feel that DSM-IV is too limited.
Cyclothymia is a form of Bipolar Disorder consisting of periods in which symptoms of hypomania or depression are present but do not constitute a major manic or depressive episode. A differentiating characteristic of this type of BP is that symptoms are never absent for more than two months.
According to the official US definition as outlined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders published by the American Psychiatric Association, Cyclothymic Disorder - also called Cyclothymia - is "a chronic, fluctuating mood disturbance involving numerous periods of hypomanic symptoms and numerous periods of depressive symptoms."
Cyclothymia Defined
A concise definition from The Bipolar Disorder Glossary.
Cyclothymia - An Overview from the MayoClinic
Cyclothymia, or cyclothymic disorder, is a chronic mood disorder that results in short periods of mild emotional and behavioral "highs" alternating with short periods of mild to moderate depression. People with cyclothymia also experience intermittent periods of emotional and behavioral stability.
Cyclothymia - An Overview from McMan's Depression & Bipolar Web
John McManamy notes that while descriptions portray cyclothymia as a mild disorder, it is so only relative to the severity of Bipolar I and Bipolar II disorders. Cyclothymia can completely disrupt the life of an individual and create personal chaos. In their continual oscillation of mood, they never know from one day to the next what to expect.
Cyclothymic Disorder
This site offers a compilation of information on this disorder, including both American and European descriptions, from Internet Mental Health.
Here are some further sites, that can offer further info on the differences,symptoms, etc.
***This informations is found from a weekly BPD newletter I get****
(Thank you justhope for your research)
Here is the link to research yourselves.
Here is the site for people who want to look up support groups in their area:
Credit for this link goes to Spongedaddy.
Each year, DBSA reaches over four million people! In addition, billions of people each year hear our messages through the media that depression and bipolar disorder are real, treatable illnesses; that there is help and hope; and that no one with these illnesses needs to feel alone.
No matter how people find support from DBSA---whether its through our 1,000+ peer-led support groups, through our interactive website, through the million+ brochures we distribute each year, or through our outreach and training programs---we are proud that our message of hope, help and recovery is being heard. And that our mission, to improve the lives of people living with mood disorders, is being fulfilled.
"When we remember we are all mad, the mysteries disappear & life stands explained.
-Mark Twain"
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Bipolar Episode info
Q. What is an Episode?
From Kimberly Read & Marcia Purse,
Your Guide to Bipolar Disorder.
A. Dictionary definitions of episode abound, but the nearest lay definition that fits a bipolar episode is "an incident or event that is part of a larger sequence." The larger sequence, of course, is the ongoing flow between the highs and lows of manic depression.
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders - Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) has strict durations for each type of episode that may occur in bipolar disorder:
A manic episode must last at least one week unless hospitalization is necessary - then the episode may be shorter and still be classed as manic.
A hypomanic episode must last at least four days.
A major depressive episode must last at least two weeks.
A mixed episode must last at least one week with symptoms present "nearly every day."
Within each of these time periods, a given number of certain diagnostic symptoms must appear.
Sponsored Links
Bipolar DisorderLearn About Symptoms & Treatment Options: Find Informationmanagebipolardisorder.com
For example:
In a manic episode, there must be a sustained and abnormally elevated, expansive or irritable mood throughout the period.
In a hypomanic episode, there must be a sustained and elevated, expansive or irritable mood throughout the period - but the word "abnormally" is omitted from the description.
In a major depressive episode, at least one of the symptoms must be depressed mood or loss of pleasure or interest.
In a mixed episode, the criteria for both a major depressive episode and a manic episode must be met.
Thus, in terms of bipolar disorder, an episode is a distinct period of time when specific symptoms are present that, taken together, classify a person's mood as manic, hypomanic, depressive, or mixed.
Online Psychological Services (2003). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. "Bipolar I Disorder." Retrieved September 29, 2006 from http://www.psychologynet.org/bipolar1.html#major.
episode. (n.d.). The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Retrieved September 29, 2006, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/episode.
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Cologne überbrothel Pascha has been surprised at the number of punters rushing to avail themselves of its free-membership-for-life promotion - unsurprisingly since customers have to have the knocking shop's name tattooed on their arm to redeem the offer.
Pascha's manager didn't expect many takers for the bold initiative, but "more than 40 men have already come forward to have the name inked onto their arm in large blue letters, and the brothel's tattoo artist is having to work extra shifts to keep up with demand", the Telegraph explains.
Among those looking to earn free passage was 46-year-old Herbert Manske, who said: "My wife doesn't mind. I get free drinks all night and can look at all the pretty girls."
And looking is all Manske will be doing, unless he stumps extra for a roll in the hay. While the bawdy house's offer includes free entry (normally €5) and "discounts on other services like lap dances", it doesn't encompass the favours of the 120-plus prostitutes who are self-employed and operate independently.
Those of you who keep abreast of the comings-and-goings of German shagatoria will recall that the 2006 World Cup prompted the opening of the Artemis facility "yards from the main stadium in Berlin". Pascha responded with a footie promotion of its own, hanging "a huge high banner from its roof aimed at luring international football fans".
The banner boasted the flags of every competing nation "including Iran and Saudi Arabia, sparking protests from Muslim groups", the Telegraph notes. ®

subset: commoncrawl


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Barbara Bayless Close '71 is Finalist for Teaching Award
March 2, 2013
Barbara Bayless Close, a mathematics teacher at Florida's Palm Beach Day Academy and 1971 graduate of DePauw University, is a finalist for a William T. Dwyer Award for Excellence in Education. Sponsored by the Economic Council of Palm Beach County, the Dwyer Awards recognize teachers "who rise above the ordinary in inspiring and teaching their students," notes the Palm Beach Daily News. The awards will be presented May 7.
Cynthia Thume writes that Close's "passion for teaching and learning are evident to her students at Palm Beach Day Academy daily. She has been an instructor at her alma mater for 33 of her 37 years in the profession. She teaches classes in algebra I and II, geometry, and functions, statistics and trigonometry, serves as an adviser for a variety of teams, clubs and school initiatives. She also was a Dwyer Award finalist in 2011 and 2012."
Close, who majored in mathematics at DePauw, tells the newspaper, "I like the students and the joy they give to us. They are new every year and continually changing. There is nothing better than sharing the 'aha' moment when they understand. It is the best job in the world."
Close holds a master's degree from Nova University and is pursuing a second master's at Florida Atlantic University.
Read more here.


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How to debug rc.sysinit (puppy boot problems)
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Joined: 20 Oct 2005
Posts: 451
Location: Boston MA USA
Posted: Fri 23 Dec 2005, 19:13
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How to debug rc.sysinit (puppy boot problems)
How to debug Puppy boot
What are you going to do if your new Puppy installation won't boot? Start by having some success; use the LiveCD version on good working computers, do some easy/simple Puppies first!
But when you decide to dig in and do hard advanced installs:
You probably want to start by searching the Forum for other people with the same problems. Make sure what you are trying should work, and that you are following all relevant instructions.
Try to figure out which phase of the boot process is failing, and concentrate on learning more about that aspect. You may have to learn as much as possible about how Puppy works; use the Wiki.
The messages that scroll by on the screen might help, but there is no easy way to study them. If your pup gets far enough, the command line that is passed from the bootloader should be in /proc/cmdline, and the log from the kernel/init process in /var/log/messages.
It might be possible to set the boot to serial console and capture the startup messages on another computer.
If you decide that the core kernel/init is starting OK and suspect the problem is in the Puppy-specific part of the boot process, you are facing quite a challenge. You must get comfortable with the Linux command line interface and learn general ash/bash shell troubleshooting:
How to debug ash/bash shell scripts
You will have to learn how to modify the rc.sysinit script, the first part of Puppy proper that is run. To make changes in this and try them, you will have to remaster image.gz. This is one way to do that:
# cd /
# mkdir mountdir
# cp /mnt/home/image.gz ./
# gunzip image.gz
# mount -o loop image mountdir
### edit rc.sysinit here ###
# umount mountdir
# gzip image
### copy image.gz back to where it belongs, with the name you want to give it
You have to learn to walk before you can run; you will need to work with the Linux CLI a while before you are likely to succeed at this.
But debugging requires trying many many things. Often you have to make hundreds of tests. You don't want to have to go through the whole image.gz remastering hundreds of times -- what to do?
The answer is to make powerful general purpose modifications in sysinit. Ideally they would not interfere with normal operation, and could be included in future standard versions of Puppy.
This is what I added onto the front of sysinit:
echo "22dec05 rc.sysinit kd"
ln -s /bin/busybox /bin/tee
ln -s /bin/busybox /bin/mkfifo
ln -s /bin/busybox /bin/hexdump
#if [[ -n "$1" ]]; then $1 = "="; fi #prevent problems with null string
SBUG=${SBUG}= #prevent problems with null string
echo $SBUG
if ( expr index $SBUG v ); then set -v ; fi
if ( expr index $SBUG x ); then set -x ; fi
if ( expr index $SBUG 1 ); then exec 1>sysinit.log ; fi
if ( expr index $SBUG 2 ); then exec 2>sysinit2.log ; fi
if ( expr index $SBUG 3 ); then exec 1>sysinit.log 2>&1 ; fi
if ( expr index $SBUG D ); then
while [ "$xxcc" ]; do
echo -n $LINENO "DEBUG: ENTER or type a command: "
read xxcc
eval $xxcc
echo $SBUG processed
Under normal conditions this added code has no effect. But you can now add SBUG=vx123D parameter flags to your bootloader command line. The -vx flags let you see what the shell is doing step by step. The 123 switches would let you create log files, but the D switch is by far the most important, and far overshadows the rest. This lets you use the shell interactively right at the start of sysinit, and you can do almost anything at that point. When you are finished, just enter a blank line and the standard Puppy sysinit will continue.
Using this tool, you can easily dump all the current variables with the set command, and manually enter/change any Puppy parameters, such as PHOME=hda1. You can turn the flags on and off with set -vx. And you can try to redirect output into log files with exec 2>logfile2. But attempts to redirect both stdout and stderr into files at the same time seems to malfunction, presumably because of the primitive/delicate state of Puppy at this point. And whatever you redirect will not show up on the screen, leaving you blind. But turning on -sx and sending it to a logfile is very powerful, gives you reams of detailed info to study. And if you can get a similar dump of a successful boot, and then run a diff comparison, you can quickly spot key differences.
It would be great if someone could figure out how to have sysint debug always available and invokable without requiring any changes in the bootloader parameters, some kind of live check on the keyboard for a special key combination at the start of sysinit, that quickly continues automatically under normal conditions. And wonderful if there were some way to automatically add/overlay code to sysinit dynamically at boot time, or even replace sysinit entirely if certain files were present/provided in certain places, without ever having to remaster image.gz.
My hope is to someday understand Puppy sysinit well enough to be able to add options to completely manually control the boot process, if that is appropriate.
*** See also: ***
What are the possible Puppy boot parameters (to be passed from the Gujin/tiny command line, or GRUB or LILO)?
Gujin command line length problems
How to give birth to puppy by hand -- doing things the hard way
Change Gujin from CONFIG.SYS to AUTOEXEC.BAT
How to pass named variables to ash/bash shell scripts
Kernel panic
How to force mount usr_cram.fs
How to force load alternate text editor mp - Minimum Profit
BusyBox Suggestions
How to capture command line screen text output in a logfile and still have it show on the screen
ash/bash shells: which does Puppy use?
What is the best general purpose Linux wiki?
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It is important to remember that people with dementia feel pain, just like everyone else. Major causes of pain often stem from immobility, arthritis, infections or a combination of conditions, referred to as comorbidities. A person who has constant pain needs regular pain medication to control it and be comfortable.
Challenges of recognizing pain
As a person with dementia progresses through the disease, they will become less and less able to express themselves verbally, thus making it increasingly difficult to tell others when they are in pain. As a result, pain often goes undetected and untreated, causing the person with dementia to communicate their distress through their behaviour, such as becoming agitated, withdrawn or combative. You may be able to find out if the person is in pain by asking direct simple questions such as "Are you in pain?", "Is it sore? or "Does it hurt?" but often the person with advanced dementia will not be able to answer your question verbally.
Non-verbal signs of pain
In order to ensure that the person with dementia is not experiencing untreated or inadequately managed pain, it is important to look for non-verbal signs of pain such as grimacing, moaning, uncharacteristic behaviours or physical changes such as sweating or elevated heart rate. A change in the person's behaviour, which may indicate pain, is often noticed first by family and friends.
"My siblings and I learned to recognize the subtle signs – wincing, frowning or increasing agitation – that indicated our father was in pain or discomfort. Having an end of life comfort care plan in place meant we could request an extra or increased dose of morphine to alleviate his suffering." – Barbara Dylla, a former caregiver in Montreal
This intimate knowledge of the person with dementia is valuable and should be shared with care providers. However, showing such signs does not always indicate pain and the person may instead be scared or frustrated. All sounds and changes should be considered for what the person is trying to communicate.
Pain Scale for people with dementia
Pain scales can also help staff and family caregivers assess whether a person with dementia is in pain, especially if the person can't tell you in words.
These pain scales record the signs and symptoms that are likely to indicate the presence and intensity of pain that the person is experiencing. For example, the Abbey Pain Scale can be used to help measure pain for persons with dementia who cannot express themselves verbally. This scale suggests six possible signs of pain:
- Vocalizations such as whimpering, groaning, crying
- Facial expressions such as looking tense, frowning, grimacing, looking frightened
- Changes in body language such as fidgeting, rocking, guarding a part of the body, becoming withdrawn
- Behavioural changes such as increased confusion, refusing to eat, change in usual behaviour patterns
- Physiological changes such as temperature, pulse or abnormal blood pressure, perspiring, flushing or becoming pale
- Physical changes such as skin tears, pressure areas, arthritis, contractures
Opioids, such as morphine, are often the most effective medications to relieve moderate to severe pain. Pain medication is often given regularly to control pain in the last weeks and days of illness. In addition to morphine, medications for anxiety or hallucinations are often given because they can be highly effective in providing a more comfortable end of life.
Since pain is easier to prevent than it is to relieve, it should be treated on a regular basis rather than on an 'as required' basis. Some caregivers have concerns about the use of opioids, fearing that the person may develop an addiction. Many experts believe that the risk of addiction for people who take opioids for pain near the end of life is very low because a brain in pain reacts differently than a brain not in pain. Discuss the benefits and risks of opioids with health-care providers to help you decide if they are the best option for managing pain, especially toward the end of life.
Additional resources
Next section: Comforting the person


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"Preventing genocide is a collective obligation. Let us continue to work together to ensure a future forever free of genocide. This would be the most fitting way to remember those lost in Rwanda 18 years ago, and to honour the resilience of the survivors." - Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on the 18th Commemoration of the Genocide in Rwanda.
The Secretary-General yesterday honoured the victims of the Rwandan genocide and stressed that the only way to prevent such atrocities from occurring again is to learn from history.
"Rwanda has learned from the appalling tragedy of 1994. So has the world," Mr. Ban said in a video message to commemorate the 18th anniversary of the genocide in the African nation, which is observed every year on 7 April. "Rwanda is making progress towards building a more peaceful and just society. The international community is striving to ensure that similar tragedies never happen again."
At least 800,000 ethnic Tutsis and politically moderate Hutus were killed in 1994 during three months of bloodletting that followed the death of the then-president Juvenal Habyarimana.
The theme of the 2012 commemoration on the genocide is "learning from history to shape a bright future." A special ceremony was held at UN Headquarters in New York on Wednesday night; include a musical performance, a reading of excerpts from letters from orphans, widows and imprisoned genocidaires, as well as a candle lighting and remarks by various senior UN officials.
In addition, a screening of the documentary 'Sweet Dreams,' which depicts the journey of a group of Rwandan women who created the country's first all-female drumming troupe and first-ever local ice cream shop, will be screened today at the Economic and Social Council's chamber.
Commemorative events led by UN Information Centres will also be held across the world in Bangladesh, Belgium, Burundi, Colombia, Congo, India, Iran, Kenya, Madagascar, Mexico, Namibia, South Africa, Switzerland, Tanzania, Uganda, Ukraine and Zambia.
* FEATURE: Rwanda – Letters from the Living to the Dead
* Outreach Programme on the Rwanda Genocide and the United Nations
The Outreach Programme on the Rwanda Genocide is an information and educational outreach programme run by the United Nations Department of Public Information.
Source: UN News
The Brussels based United Nations Regional Information Centre for Western Europe - UNRIC provides information on UN activities to the countries of the region. It also provides liaison with institutions of the European Union in the field of information. Its outreach activities extend to all segments of society and joint campaigns, projects and events are organized with partners including the EU, governments, the media, NGOs, schools and local authorities.
United Nations Regional Information Centre for Western Europe (UNRIC Brussels)
Residence Palace, Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat 155, Block C2,7th and 8th floor, Brussels 1040, Belgium
Tel.: +32 2 788 8484 / Fax: 32 2 788 8485


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Say "Hello"
A group of people have gathered together for the first time. They don't know each other
well, if at all. What's missing from this picture? Using name tags or name
badges can make it easier for people who are not familiar with each other to
interact and open up. It's a simple way to make meetings a little friendlier,
and helps encourage people to get to know each other.
Avery Clip Style Name Badges with Garment Friendly™ Clips attach easily to lapels, pockets and belts and won't
damage fabrics. You'll find them in standard business card size or larger 3"x 4"
convention size, if you'd like more room to include additional information.
Print names in large, bold type so they're easy to read, and include a company
logo if you wish. You may want to include additional information in smaller
type beneath the name, such as the person's company, job title or location to
help spark conversation. It's easy to design and print your own custom-printed
name badges for any meeting or event with free Avery Templates.
Other ways to help break the ice:
- Arrange seating assignments to encourage people to interact with others they may not work with often.
Use Avery Tent Cards to designate seating assignments.
- At large meetings, help new people get a warm welcome. Place red Avery color-coding dots on
name badges to identify new people. Encourage others to look for the red dots
and introduce themselves.
Say "hello" to Avery Name Badges—and say goodbye to awkward social encounters. Thanks to our friends at Avery for sharing their meeting strategies.
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August 2020


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The all-new BMW X3 is a statement of unlimited opportunities and an expression of sheer presence and freedom. From the very first glance, it impresses with its athletic appearance and fascinates with an exciting driving experience. Thanks to partially autonomous driving and the intelligent all-wheel drive system BMW xDrive, it offers supreme ride comfort both on and off the road. It therefore redefines the benchmarks in its class and makes one thing unmistakably clear: there is a great difference in how you reach your destinations.
The Adaptive LED headlights include low-beam and high-beam headlights and turn indicators with full LED technology. The equipment also features BMW Selective Beam, cornering lights, daytime running lights and Adaptive headlights with variable light control for excellent illumination of the road ahead and better visibility in the dark. Located at the tail there are sculpted, three-dimensional full-LED rear lights in the distinctive and typical BMW L-shape. They give the vehicle an even more dynamic appearance to make a stunning entrance by day and by night.
A relaxed, luxurious atmosphere: the significantly improved acoustic comfort turns the interior of the BMW X3 into an exclusive quiet zone, even at high speeds. The high-quality acoustic glazing noticeably reduces wind noise and other sounds from outside.
BMW Connected is your personal mobility assistant, which always allows you to reach your destinations relaxed and on time and now connects you more seamlessly than ever before with your BMW – regardless of where you happen to be. With Remote 3D View, you can examine the surroundings of your BMW X3 on your smartphone in a 3D display. And Hazard Preview warns you in real time of possible hazards and takes you safely to your destination.


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Retrieving Chat Text from Messengers - Part II Yahoo Messenger
Environment: VC7, Win 95/98/Me/NT/2000/XP
In this two-article series, I'm showing how to retrieve conversation text from two most popular Instant Messengers. This is second part of the series. The first part talks about retrieving conversation text from MSN Messenger and it can be visited here. In this second part, we will discuss how we can do the same with Yahoo messenger.
As described in the first part, to get the contents from the Messenger window, what we are doing is we are iterating through all the top level windows in Windows OS and checking if its desired Messenger window; if it's the desired window, we are iterating through its child windows to get the HWND of the window that contains chat text. Once we get the handle to the window, we can use our code to retrieve the conversation text. Except for the last step of getting text from the conversation window handle, all the steps remain same for both MSN and Yahoo messengers. In MSN Messenger, we used the Windows Clipboard to copy text from the MSN window and paste this to our application. This works fine for some windows, but not all windows support it; Yahoo conversation window is one of them.
If you open up spy++ and check the window class of Yahoo messenger's conversation text, you'll find that the window class of this window is 'Internet Explorer_Server'. This windows is installed by Internet Explorer and is responsible for rendering and displaying HTML pages. To give developers flexibility, Microsoft has exposed mechanism that allows us to manipulate the contents of this window from our own processes. To accomplish our goal, we will be using a pointer to the document that contains the HTML text being displayed in the conversation window. IHTMLDocument2 interface represents the information contained in the conversation window. MSDN describes IHTMLDocument2 interface as This interface retrieves information about the document, and examines and modifies the HTML elements and text within the document..
So, to get the pointer to the IHTMLDocument2 interface, we will send a 'WM_HTML_GETOBJECT' window message to the 'Internet Explorer_Server' window and pass the result to the ObjectFromLresult() method. A successful call to the ObjectFromLresult() method gives us a pointer to the IHTMLDocument2 interface. Finally, to get the entire text in our application, we call the body property of IHTMLDocument2, which returns us a pointer to the IHTMLElement interface and calls the innerText property of the IHTMLElement interface, which returns us the entire text contained in the conversation text. If you want to get this in its original HTML form, you can call the innerHTML property of IHTMLElement. This will be clear from the following code snippet.
char wndowclass[CLASS_SIZE]; if (GetClassName(hwnd,wndowclass,CLASS_SIZE)==0) return TRUE; string strTemp(wndowclass); if (strTemp==string("Internet Explorer_Server")) { CoInitialize(NULL); HINSTANCE hInst = ::LoadLibrary( _T("OLEACC.DLL") ); string strTemp; CComPtr<IHTMLDocument2> spDoc; LRESULT lRes; strTemp=""; UINT nMsg = ::RegisterWindowMessage( _T("WM_HTML_GETOBJECT") ); ::SendMessageTimeout( hwnd, nMsg, 0L, 0L, SMTO_ABORTIFHUNG, 1000, (DWORD*)&lRes ); LPFNOBJECTFROMLRESULT pfObjectFromLresult = (LPFNOBJECTFROMLRESULT)::GetProcAddress( hInst, _T("ObjectFromLresult") ); if ( pfObjectFromLresult != NULL ) { HRESULT hr; hr = (*pfObjectFromLresult)( lRes, IID_IHTMLDocument2, 0, (void**)&spDoc ); if ( SUCCEEDED(hr) ) { CComPtr<IHTMLElement> pHTMLElement; hr=spDoc->get_body(&pHTMLElement); BSTR bstrText; pHTMLElement->get_innerText(&bstrText); strTemp=(char *)_bstr_t(bstrText); pChatText->SetWindowText(strTemp.c_str()); } } ::FreeLibrary( hInst ); }
DownloadsDownload demo project - 7.00 Kb
Download source - 26.4 Kb


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Trinity Forming Beach Body (Uitverkocht)
Stay on-trend: This beach body, featuring a new and exciting "knitting code" and 3D effect, caresses the body wonderfully while providing a subtle shaping effect. Thanks to the beautiful halterneck, this piece boasts a super feminine neckline which is sure to create the perfect "wow" factor every time.
• Medium-shaping
A city-chic and beach fashion statement.
Besteld vandaag. Voorziene leverdatum 24/09/2020
- main material 73% nylon, 27% elastane


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It's really hard to write about Jaden Smith. Here he is in Cancun, doing press for After Earth, the movie he made with his dad Will. Jaden is 14 and it's obviously not fair to judge Very Young Hollywood by the same standards I feel so completely free to judge Adult Hollywood. He's a kid. Kids should be off limits, and it's nothing new to point out that kids can be awkward…and yet…
There he is, on a red carpet, served up on the same platter to the press the way any other star would be, with a kiss on the cheek from his dad no less! I guess it's not Jaden's fault that Hollywood is willing to put him in this position, to expose such a young guy to this kind of scrutiny, just to turn a profit. So what are the things I can say about this situation without unethically tearing into a child?
I can say that this movie looks terrible, a father and son drama from M. Night Shyamalan that none of us was demented enough to wish for. I can say that it reeks of the same soulless action as the regrettable Karate Kid reboot. I can say that as far as leading men go, Will Smith has become one of the biggest disappointments of my life, an insincere, unfunny shell of what he used to be.
Is it fair to wish that Jaden's career is just going to "Will Smith" in reverse? That maybe in 15 years he's transform into the lovable star of a groundbreaking sitcom that will make us laugh, cry and feature the best TV aunt of all time? By then we'll be able to talk openly about him, but for now? I'll just say, ok, Jaden. Hope you had a fun in Mexico.


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a local response to a local problem
Now this is dedicated teaching:
Under the shade of a thorny tree in the small Kenyan village of Saka Junction, students sit learning the alphabet - spelled out in the sand using goat droppings.What a great, cost-free, sustainable, local response to a problem.
"Teachers are supposed to be innovative," says Abdi Salat of Garissa district's education office.
"The teacher has to use goat droppings and wild fruits and all these things at his disposal as his teaching aids."
Herding livestock is the daily activity for children in these nomadic pastoralist communities.
...The children operate a shift system - lessons in the early morning are followed by a stint looking after the animals and then they return for another class in the late afternoon.
These children no longer have to make a choice between their nomadic lifestyle and an education - they can do both.


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Thanksgiving Day tragedy blamed on nursing home
Team 5 Investigates how the state fails to protect most vulnerable
A Team 5 investigation is exposing a local nursing home that has failed to protect its patients, along with the state agency that has allowed them to operate for years.
NewsCenter 5's Sean Kelly reported on Thursday that the Hammond House Care and Rehabilitation Center is at the center of one family's tragic story.
Tracy O'Rourke breaks down in tears every time she thinks about her mother's horrific death last year. "I know she loved me and believed in me and that's why I will fight for her," she said.
Nancy Barry, 57, was found cold to the touch and unresponsive at the bottom of the back stairwell outside the Hammond House Care and Rehabilitation center in Worcester last Thanksgiving. "So on Thanksgiving morning, I said goodbye to my mother," said O'Rourke.
State records show Barry had a history of running away from her caregivers and was supposed to be checked by the home's staff every 15 minutes. Last November, staff discovered she was missing, called police and conducted a search. "My mother was nowhere to be found," O'Rourke said.
Hours later, a cook found Barry lying on the concrete outside. "My mother was already dead when they found her," O'Rourke said. O'Rourke recently filed a lawsuit against the facility. "Our questions all along have been how did she get out of this locked facility? How? And there are no answers, nobody knows."
A spokesperson for Hammond House declined Team 5's requests for comment, citing privacy concerns.
However this is not the only instance of poor supervision. Team 5 Investigates has uncovered a pattern of questionable care.
Team 5 obtained three years of records showing state inspectors have twice threatened to recommend Medicare and Medicaid terminate this facility's provider agreement for deficiencies so severe the state thought their patients could actually be harmed. Hammond House has also been written up by the state repeatedly for poor supervision and multiple medication errors.
Dr. Madeline Biondolillo oversees the bureau of health care safety and quality for the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.
"How would you characterize their record over the last several years?" asked Kelly.
"That's a facility that you know has had some issues and has struggled to improve their performance," answered Biondolillo.
"Are they one of the worst?" asked Kelly.
"They're towards the bottom but they are improving over the past few years. Each time they've had deficiencies, they have been able to provide an appropriate plan of correction," Biondolillo said.
"Would you put a loved one in that facility?" asked Kelly.
"Well, that's not something actually that I feel is my appropriate role to say," answered Biondolillo.
While the state requires all residents to have automobile insurance and health insurance, it doesn't require any long term care facilities to carry liability insurance.
"So in other words, unfortunately, if they've either neglected, abused or mistreated someone, there was no professional liability insurance to go after in terms of civil litigation," said attorney David Hoey.
For the family of Nancy Barry, the passage of time has done nothing to ease their loss.
"I don't want anyone else to suffer through this," O'Rourke said.
The company that owns Hammond House recently sold it to Genesis Health Care. Their spokesperson also declined comment because the transaction has not been finalized.
If you want to check out a nursing home and see how they compare to others in the state, you can visit the state's website.


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Welcome to our universe and discover our collections of jewelry, decorative objects, flatware and hollowware and gifts and accessories at the BIJOUTERIE MAHE - DULON in Rennes.
Here at Christofle the world's most skilled craftsmen use the most up to date technology to produce the most beautiful items in silver, porcelain, crystal and more on display in the BIJOUTERIE MAHE - DULON in Rennes.
Personalize your purchase. Christofle offers a wide variety of engraving styles and customization to make the most special gift even more personable.
Our team is here if you need repairs, restorations or any other requests.
You have the option to pay by one of the following credit cards: Visa, MasterCard, American Express.
The unique skills of the Christofle silversmith's know-how is expressed through our jewelry collection.
Modern creations for daily and everyday wear.
Sophisticated but elegant, the shine of the silver radiates and brings style to any outfit.


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Every day Poets & Writers Magazine scans the headlines—from publishing reports to academic announcements to literary dispatches—for all the news that creative writers need to know. Here are today's stories:
The much-anticipated Baz Luhrmann adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby will open the Cannes Film Festival. (Daily Beast)
If you're curious to see the new documentary Philip Roth: Unmasked, which is showing at New York City's Film Forum March 13 to 19, and will air on PBS on Friday, March 29, film critic Richard Brody parses a clip and discusses Roth's work for the New Yorker.
Victoria Strauss reports that in response to criticism of the author contracts for its new genre e-book imprints, Random House announced new terms for Hydra, Alibi, Loveswept, and Flirt. (Writers Beware)
Publishers Weekly ran the numbers on Amazon's bestseller rankings—the figures may surprise you.
With a day or two to recover from AWP 2013 in Boston, several veteran attendees have shared their experiences and insights, including Steve Almond in the New Republic; and authors Roxane Gay and Julianna Baggott on their respective blogs.
Michele Filgate details her relationship to physical books, and visits an art exhibition in New York City, Meriç Algün Ringborg's The Library of Unborrowed Books, which makes use of titles from the Center for Fiction's library that have never once been taken home. (Paris Review Daily)
Today is Jack Kerouac's birthday. His friend, author and critic Joyce Johnson remembered the author of On the Road in this essay for Smithsonian in 2007.
If you missed Friday's episode of public radio show Studio 360, it featured Ben Marcus's The Flame Alphabet.


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Internet governance
Access to broadband internet is essential to participate in today's global digital economy, and is the primary forum for ordinary citizens to share ideas and freely interact. But without borders, a corporate board or a national government, the internet itself is a challenge to manage and maintain, let alone evolve in anticipation of greater and greater integration with our societies.
Since its modest beginnings, the multi-stakeholder model of internet governance has enabled the internet to support the free exchange of ideas, innovation, investment, economic growth and the creation of wealth throughout the world, including in developing countries. For the internet to continue to provide these benefits, we believe its governance must be open, inclusive, collaborative and transparent. We do not believe that the current benefits are sustainable under government control or intergovernmental mandates. Internet governance principles must be part of a broader framework that reflects its users' values, and respects the rule of law, fundamental freedoms, and the protection of intellectual property rights.
The internet should continue to allow for innovation without permission and to encourage the free flow of ideas and exchange of information across borders. Ubiquitous access to an open, inclusive internet will enable all countries to benefit fully from the services the Networked Society will bring.


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US striker Charlie Davies is in serious condition after being involved in a one car accident that killed another person.
Here is a clip from the AP article from Yahoo Sports:
The tibia and femur in Davies' right leg were broken. He also sustained facial fractures and a fracture in his left elbow in the accident, which took place at about 3:15 a.m. in the suburbs of the nation's capital.
Davies will be hospitalized for at least a week and additional operations will be required to stabilize his broken elbow and possibly the facial fractures.
"Injuries of this nature usually require a recovery period of six to 12 months and extensive rehabilitation," said Dr. Dan Kalbac, a U.S. team doctor who collaborated with the doctors at the hospital. "Due to Charlie's fitness level, his prognosis for recovery and his ability to resume high-level competition is substantially improved."
Here is the link from yahoo.com for the entire article by AP Sports Writer Joesph White.


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Nia Blue Belt Training
February 29, 2020 Tanzstudio Billies in Hamburg, DE
About the Nia Blue Belt
Blue Belt, the second level of Nia education, explores how to create healthy relationships through body-centered communication. This intensive introduces the next set of 13 Nia principles, which focus on the mental, emotional and spiritual realms of the body. While the White Belt curriculum focuses entirely on awareness of physical sensation, Blue Belt applies these skills to explore internal sensations as perceived through – but distinct from – physical sensations in the body.
Blue Belt Principle #1: The Joy of Being in Relationship, integrates the sensation of Joy with the awareness that Joy is something outside the self, which we can invite into our physical experience. As a result, we begin to deepen our ability to listen with clarity and sustain awareness of details outside our body.
Meet the Trainer
Ann Christiansen
Ann Christiansen
"For me, Nia is an exhilarating culmination of the joys I have pursued throughout my life – movement, music, healing, world cultures, and connecting to humanity. Nia has given me the opportunity to fulfill my life's purpose as a Sacred Athlete and guide to healing. As a Nia teacher and trainer, I inspire people all over the world to enhance their life experience with Music, Movement, and Magic. Nia invites everybody to love and accept themselves fully and to develop their full potential." - Ann Christiansen
My path to becoming a Nia trainer can be traced back to my early passion for swimming. I grew up on the west coast of Sweden and spent entire days playing in the ocean, enjoying a sense of comfort and delight in my body and a sense of oneness with the world. My dedication to swimming opened doors to travel, adventure, and deep appreciation for athleticism and the human body. In 1984 I had the honor of swimming in the Los Angeles Olympic Games and in the European & World Championships. In 1998 I became a World Champion in masters swimming in the 400 and 800 freestyle and in the 400 IM.
Following the 1984 Olympics, I enjoyed a modeling career that took me around the world to Paris, Milan, Zürich, Hamburg and Tokyo where I lived from 1987 to 1992. In Tokyo I taught swimming, wrote four books on swimming techniques and hosted a weekly TV show.
After returning to Europe, I began to study applied kinesiology, massage therapy and alternative healing techniques covering subjects like sound therapy, 7-Chi keys, chakra balancing, and nutritional kinesiology to mention a few. I also had a ten-year career as a physical therapist, and served on the staff of the Swedish National Swim Team between 1996-1997.
Little did I know that my Olympic swimming career and subsequent study of kinesiology, physiology, and energy healing would be excellent preparation for my first encounter with Nia! I experienced my first Nia class in 1997, and though I did not know what to expect, I immediately sensed a fusion of all of my learning and interests up to that point. The intelligence and depth with which The Nia Technique connects body, mind, emotions and spirit is amazing. I knew I wanted to dive in.
The following year I experienced the life-changing Nia White Belt Intensive; I began teaching immediately. My vision was to share and grow Nia in Germany, Sweden, Switzerland and throughout Europe. Although I had no previous experience leading group activities of this kind, I was excited to guide people in a class where they could be seduced by the music and to experience physical fitness with emotional expression. The beauty of Nia is that it conditions your whole being – not just your body.
In 2003 I became a Nia Trainer. Now I am certified to teach all five belt levels of the Nia educational system: White, Green, Blue, Brown and Black. I am also certified to train and educate in "Move I.T" Nia´s newest program , an interval training program focusing on the technique of Nia´s 52 moves. In 2008 the Nia co-founders, Debbie Rosas and Carlos Aya Rosas, selected me as the first Nia Teacher of the Year, and in 2013 I received the first All Star Sacred Athlete Award."
Currently I have 10 Nia classes per week in my hometown Hamburg and I enjoy the intimate detailed work with regular classes as well as meeting new groups on my travels worldwide with workshops and intensives.
I have choregraphed 5 Nia Routines that serves the growth and development of the enitre Nia teacher community. The Routines Beyond, U, Magic ,Joy, LIFE and my newest RIDE plus the U- class experience that can be enjoyed as a "dance at home" Nia class. All available in the nianow store and on amazon.
Ann currently shares the magic of Nia with communities worldwide, offering Nia Intensive Trainings and classes in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, South Africa, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Israel, Belgium, Holland, UK, Italy, Australia, and Bahrain.
Notes About this Training
Start: Saturday, February 29, 2020 - 1:30 pm
End: Friday, March 6, 2020 - 3:00 pm
Signups for this training are being held on Eventbrite!


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Mom's Oatmeal Comfort Cookies
You know the days when all you want to do is come home to some cookies made by someone who loves you, and enjoy them just out of the oven while you sit there and
complain vent discuss your crappy day…?
I seem to have had more than my fair share of those lately. Why wait for someone to come along and cheer you up…when you can just make some yourself. (This has the added bonus…that maybe, just perhaps, no one knows exactly how many cookies you made and therefore can't accuse you of eating the whole batch…just saying!)
Mom's Oatmeal Cookies*
1 cup rolled oats
¾ cup flour
½ cup brown sugar
1 stick unsalted butter (room temp.)
¼ sugar
1 egg
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. vanilla
Beat living crap out of sugar and butter, add egg and everything but flour and oats, then flour, then oats. (Mom usually doubles, or even quadruples the recipe.)
Spoon onto baking sheets. Bake at 375° for 12 minutes ('though Mom finds this too long sometimes). Be generous with sugar for more thin/lacy/crunchy cookies.
{*recipe is taken word for word from the Connelly Family Cookbook (my maiden name)}
Quick tip…when my mom was making cookies regularly for the 5 of us to nibble on after school…sometime during the day, she would plop the stick of butter into the Kitchenaid bowl on the counter and by the time she started the cookies, the butter was room temperature and ready to mix!
There was strong disagreement in our house growing up about whether oatmeal cookies should inherently contain raisins. I think of oatmeal cookies like cake…there are many kinds and they can all be good for different reasons. Coffee cake vs. red velvet vs. chocolate decadent vs. ice cream cake – the list goes on. My Dad is on team raisin and my Mom – her opinion is that adding raisins to these cookies is 'just wrong'. I'll let you decide. (and I promise, I won't hold it against you!)
Perfect cookies to enjoy with just a small glass of milk!
{I actually had trouble eating less than
two okay three anytime I walked by the cookie jar!}
What is your go-to comfort cookie?


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Assumptions and Data Sources
Related Links
Download the SMART BET Calculator in Microsoft Excel format (379K, XLS, Download Microsoft Excel Viewer)
SMART BET works by taking data entered by the user and estimating the greenhouse gas and cost savings from implementing SMART. The per capita disposal rate post-implementation is estimated at 500 lbs. per capita annually, so total post-implementation total disposal is dependent on population size only. Increases in recovery (recycling and composting) and source reduction are estimated by assuming that 65% of disposal decreases are due to recovery, and 35% are due to source reduction (based on a 2006 report by Skumatz Economic Research Associates, Pay as You Throw (PAYT) in the US: 2005 Update and Analyses). Cities that have current disposal rates at or below 500 lbs. per capita annually should be aware that this tool will provide results that show a net increase in disposal following SMART implementation, which is unlikely to be the case; therefore this tool is not recommended for such cities, as the results will be inaccurate.
Cost savings are estimated by multiplying the decrease in disposal by the landfill or combustor tip fee. Changes in recycling revenue are calculated by multiplying the increase in recovery by the recycling cost or revenue. The disposal and recycling cost changes are then summed.
Recycling cost should include only the direct cost of, or revenue from, recycling materials collected by the recycling program. For example, include what you pay the hauler, but don't include other recycling program costs such as advertising/marketing.
Disposal and recycling tonnages should include only municipal solid waste and not construction and demolition (C&D) debris (except to the extent that some residents may dispose of C&D-like materials in the municipal waste stream).
Greenhouse gas emissions are estimated by estimating the change in disposal, recovery, and source reduction for a particular material and multiplying that amount by a greenhouse gas emission factor for disposal, recovery, or source reduction, respectively.
Greenhouse gas emission factors in SMART BET are taken from the current version of EPA's Waste Reduction Model (WARM). The emissions estimates provided by SMART BET are intended to support voluntary GHG measurement and reporting initiatives and are not meant to be used for inventory purposes. The categories of waste used in SMART BET are more general than those used in WARM, and composition assumptions were used to assign WARM emission factors to SMART BET categories. The latest version of WARM is available at: https://www.epa.gov/climatechange/wycd/waste/calculators/Warm_home.html.
Specific material assumptions include:
- Metal is assumed to consist of aluminum and steel cans, according to their relative prevalence in the recovered materials stream according to the latest version of EPA's report, Municipal Solid Waste in the US: 2007 Facts and Figures.
- Glass corresponds to the WARM category "Glass Bottles"
- Plastic is assumed to consist of HDPE, LDPE, and PET, according to their relative prevalence in the recovered materials stream according to the latest version of the Facts and Figures report.
- Paper is assumed to consist of 48% corrugated cardboard, 8% magazines, 24% newspaper, and 20% office paper.
- Wood corresponds to the WARM category "Dimensional Lumber."
- Food scraps and yard trimmings correspond to the identical categories in WARM.
All averages used are national averages. The extent that your community's waste-related demographics differ from the national average could alter the results.
The national average rate of recovery for landfill gas is assumed. Recovery comprises use for energy or flaring. The assumption is based on the US landfill gas collection characteristics that reflect the latest values from the US Greenhouse Gas Inventory.
A rate of 0.00014 metric tons CO2 equivalent per ton-mile is assumed for transportation of waste to a landfill or waste-to-energy facility, based on EPA's 1998 report Greenhouse Gas Emissions From the Management of Selected Materials. The default distance assumed is 20 miles.
The default percentages of materials in the disposal and recycling streams and the per capita disposal and recycling rates are based on data from the latest version of EPA's report, Municipal Solid Waste in the US: 2007 Facts and Figures.
The default percentages of materials in the disposal and recycling streams and the per capita disposal and recycling rates are based on data from the latest version of EPA's report, Municipal Solid Waste in the US: 2007 Facts and Figures available here: https://www.epa.gov/osw/nonhaz/municipal/msw99.htm.
The annual greenhouse gas emissions per average passenger vehicle are taken from the EPA's Online Equivalencies Calculator available here: https://www.epa.gov/cleanenergy/energy-resources/calculator.html.
The estimate of 500 pounds of waste disposed per capita per year following SMART implementation is an estimate based on findings from Kristen Brown of Waste Solutions in February 2009. Communities that implement SMART generally see an annual per capita disposal rate of 400-600 pounds. For estimation purposes, we use 500 pounds in this tool, but lower rates can and are achieved, often by increasing focus on organics collection, composting, and enhanced educational efforts. (Brown, Kristen. "The Tide Is Turning", 2008. Resource Recycling, p. 23.)


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Create an Account - Increase your productivity, customize your experience, and engage in information you care about.
Council Actions
On August 3, 2015 the Council: (1) approved participation in the Public Agencies Post-Employment Benefits Trust Program, and (2) Created an oversight committee of two Council members to develop the investment policy. The policy will be brought forward for Council adoption at a future meeting.
The City engaged the services of John Bartel, President of the actuarial consulting firm, Bartel and Associates, LLC to evaluate the PERS actuarial issues facing the City. Mr. Bartel presented his firm's findings to the City Council on April 21 and his recommendations on June 1, 2015.


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Author Title Type [ Year]
Filters: Author is Ramesh, Arati [Clear All Filters]
Ramesh A. 2015. Second messenger - Sensing riboswitches in bacteria.. Semin Cell Dev Biol. 47-48:3-8.
D'Souza MNinochka, Gowda NKumar Chan, Tiwari V, Babu ROttakandat, Anand P, Dastidar SGhosh, Singh R, Selvaraja B, Pal R, Ramesh A et al.. 2018. FMRP Interacts with C/D Box snoRNA in the Nucleus and Regulates Ribosomal RNA Methylation.. iScience. 9:399-411.


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The Peasant and Emigration Museum
When you come to the Czech Republic,
we are worth a visit
We need your help
Many of the stories we tell should sound familiar;
it could have easily concerned your ancestors.
We really need your help to keep telling these stories
The Czech Emigration Museum is - as most museums - making an operating loss. Not much, but too much to cover without help. To keep the museum open, keep adding new parts, and keep investigating and preserving this part of the Czech AND USA history, we urgently need some financial support. A lot of friends, visitors, and supporters donating $ 5 will help us a lot (a few bigger donations would be welcome as well).
So please check our wishlist and make a donation;
help us survive so your grandchildren can enjoy our museum as well!
© Robert Dulfer (2019)


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Have you seen our PANDAS eBook? Our book is a helpful primer in a friendly question & answer format. This eBook contains useful information to understand the symptoms of PANDAS, how it is diagnosed (including lab tests), the different types of treatments, approaches for prevention, and how to find the help and support that you need. Your satisfaction is guaranteed. Learn more


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239 John Rice Blvd.
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Please direct all questions regarding MarketPlace purchases to our Store email address.
Please allow up to 24-hours for an email response.
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International journal of business and social research (Print)ISSN 2164-2540 International journal of business and social research (Online)ISSN 2164-2559
[International Journal of Business and Social Research (IJBSR) previously published by MIR Center for Socio-Economic Research, MD, USA. From February 2018 this journal is published by the LAR Center Press, OR, USA]


text: B_Dub___Cigar_Ambassador Posted November 21, 2003 Off with the cellophane, peel off the band. A long silky cigar, rests in the hand. Out with the cutter, snip off the cap. A sniff down the barrel, this'll be a fine chap. Relax in a soft-chair, with a drink on the porch. Whip out the lighter, fire up the torch. Embers all aglow, as you toast up the foot. Developing some ashes, creating some soot. Take a puff from the stogie, held back with the lips. Contemplate the whiskey... all your future sips. Open your mouth and exhale with ease. Fragrant thick perfume, gone with the breeze!To my newfound friends in Bourbonia: Cheers! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites


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|Up a level
GRIFFITH, Alan and BHUTTO, Khalid (2009). Better environmental performance : a framework for integrated management systems (IMS). Management of Environmental Quality : An International Journal, 20 (5), 566-580.
GRIFFITH, Alan and BHUTTO, Khalid (2008). Improving environmental performance through integrated management systems (IMS) in the UK. Management of Environmental Quality : An International Journal, 19 (5), 565-578.
LIYIN, S., HONG, Y. and GRIFFITH, A. (2006). Improving environmental performance by means of empowerment of contractors. Management of environmental quality: an international journal, 17 (3), 242-257.
GRIFFITH, A. (2002). Key considerations for developing corporate and operational approaches for managing the small building works portfolio of large client organisations. Construction management and economics, 20 (8), 679-687.
KNIGHT, A. D., GRIFFITH, A. and KING, A. P. (2002). Supply side short-circuiting in design and build projects. Management decision, 40 (7), 655-662.
GRIFFITH, A. (2002). Management systems for sustainable construction: integrating environmental, quality and safety management systems. International journal of environmental technology and management, 2 (1,2,3), 114-126.


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- Home
- Government
- Elected Offices
- Assessor
- Real Property
- Appeal Process
Appeal Process
Property owner participation and education is key to a fair system of taxation. My goal is to ensure all taxpayers are aware of their rights and to make the process as efficient and painless as possible.
Calendar of Events
- Wyoming Statute 39-13-103 directs that all property will be listed, valued and assessed as of January 1 of each year. Assessment Schedules must be mailed to all property owners on or before the fourth Monday of April. In 2015 Teton County schedules were mailed March 23.
- Wyoming Statute 39-13-109(b)(i) requires persons wishing to contest their assessment to file not later than 30 days after the mail date a statement with the Assessor outlining their reason or disagreement with the assessment. The Assessor and Protestant must disclose witnesses and exchange information, evidence and documents relevant to the appeal no later than 30 days prior to the scheduled county board of equalization hearing. Hearings are scheduled for mid June.
Appealing Your Notice of Assessment
If you disagree with the fair market value of your property on the Notice of Assessment, you have 30 days from the date mailed shown on the notice of assessment (April 21, 2015) to make an appeal. The first step is to either call the Assessor's Office at 307-733-4960 or come by the Assessor's Office. When you call or come into the office, the Assessor reviews your property file and verifies with you that all the property characteristics information is accurate. This includes:
- Construction
- Finished Area
- Outbuildings
- Square Foot Size
Any changes may affect the final fair market value. During this review, you may provide any information you would like to have considered such as prior appraisals, market analysis, special conditions, or influences that may result in a change in value. The owner must provide an action desired such as their estimate of value as of January 1, 2015. Statements of "it's too high" or "it's wrong" are vague and not definable.
For residential properties, the Assessor will review the comparable sales for the property. If you desire, a copy of the comparable sales will be provided, but only during the 30-day appeal period.
Sales Information: Not Public Record
Note: Under Wyoming Statute 34-1-142, sales information is not a public record and must be kept confidential. Persons receiving sales information may not disclose it to other individuals. Property owners may disclose this information with the County Board of Equalization in conjunction with any hearing.
Official Appeal of Assessment - General Order of Proceedings
If, after a review, you feel the value of your property is still incorrect, you may file an official appeal with the County Board of Equalization, a board made up of the County Commissioners. Official Appeal of Assessment forms are available in the Assessor's Office. Copies of the form must be filed with the Assessor within 30 days of the mailed date shown on the notice of assessment (April 21, 2015). An appeal may be withdrawn at any time by written notification to the Clerk's and Assessor's offices.
You are notified by mail once a hearing date and time are set. No later than 30 days prior to the hearing, you (the Petitioner) and the County Assessor must disclose witnesses and exchange information, evidence, and documents relevant to the appeal. This should include anything that is to be presented as evidence during the hearing.
The County Commissioners serve as the County Board of Equalization. Other persons attending the hearing will include the hearing officer, recording secretary, secretary to the board, counsel for the board, and parties to the appeal.
Testimony & Evidence Presented
The Petitioner is first to present evidence or witnesses. Any testimony presented may be questioned by the Assessor, the Assessor's attorney, or a member of the board. Next, the Assessor or a representative presents evidence or witnesses. The testimony may be questioned by the Petitioner, his agent, or a member of the board.
After all testimony and evidence is presented, a brief closing statement may be made by each side.
The Board will notify participants in writing of their findings and any appeal action available to them no later than the first Monday in August.
State Board of Equalization Appeal
Evidence supporting your estimation of the fair market value must be included in the appeal. If you do not agree with the County Board of Equalization's decision, you may appeal to the State Board of Equalization. Appeals to the State Board of Equalization must be filed within 30 days after the final action of the County Board of Equalization.


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BNI Port Networking (South Yarra)
359 Chapel St
South Yarra,Victoria-
Join a team of professional networkers in South Yarra every Thursday morning for the BNI Port Networking event @ Speakeasy on Chapel St. Using the proven BNI method of lead sharing, the group assists each other in growing businesses and increasing revenue. The philosophy is givers gain and the results speak for themselves - Hundreds of thousands of dollars of business closed in 2017 alone. A vast selection of business specialities are represented at this event, including business coaches, financial planners, mortgage brokers, printers, website developers, photographers & more! Breakfast, coffee & great conversations with friendly business people included in the $27.12 fee. Event starts at 7:15am (meeting starts at 7:40am) and finishes at 9:00am. Contact Josh on email@example.com with any queries. FAQs What can I bring into the event? Make sure you bring lots of business cards. You will need at least 30.


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Some hook-up sites for gay men make it easy to discuss HIV status; others just muddy the waters. But how reliable is the data for deciding what sex to have, with whom and how safely? And how does barebacking fit in? Bob Leahy looks at two popular sites and arrives at some surprising conclusions.
How much do we know about disclosure on the internet? Not much if we look for published research on how guys communicate for sex in 2013 or how frequently they reveal their HIV status in a meaningful way or even how guys use their profiles to get what they are looking for.
And how often does reliance on the efficacy of profiles put negative guys at risk? We just don't know. But in an age where HIV researchers have seemingly studied virtually everything that moves, the most popular way in which gays hook up and its sexual health implications seems largely overlooked. So we must rely a lot on what we observe ourselves and on other empirical evidence.
While online has become an important venue for disclosure for those brave enough to do so, and in fact some sites make that easier to do, disclosure doesn't take place only here. After all, some of these discussions are left to when men meet. But hook-up sites can provide opportunities to select partners by HIV status (serosort) and in fact appear to be used extensively for this purpose. Not that serosorting in this manner doesn't rule out all the pitfalls involved in questionable assumptions, ambiguous language or the possibility of poz guys in particular encountering stigma or hurtful behavior. But at their best the sites offer opportunities for sex free of worries about status issues, the absence of which many would argue makes for hot sex indeed.
In any event, to gain a broader perspective, I looked at how disclosure issues play out on two busy sites popular with gay men -- Squirt.org. and BarebackRT.com. Both have tens of thousands of users, are free for the basic service but charge $13 or so a month for a package of more advanced features which make hooking up smoother.
I decided to look at a manageable 32 random profiles from each site, using in each case a Toronto-based sample, in part because the rate of HIV infections, and arguably propensity for disclosure, is high in gay men there. It is also a place where the chance of poz and neg guys interacting sexually is higher. The result is a survey which lacks scientific rigor but nevertheless sheds some light on how we tackle disclosure online and whether that process appears effective.
Sampling Squirt
Squirt is owned by the same folks that bring you the LGBT paper and website Xtra! Based in Toronto, it's got a huge number of members from around the world, and includes lots of video content that users have provided of themselves in action, plus the usual stack of photo images. Some of these are locked and access has to be requested directly from the user. Thus the identity of a user can be well protected unless he chooses to identify himself by way of face pictures and the like.
Camming is also popular on Squirt.
A key problem with Squirt from a sexual health point of view is that it does not have a field which permits users to state their HIV status: instead it asks members to indicate whether they practice safer sex always, usually, never or rather not say. None of this, of course, is particularly helpful.
On to who is on it. Of the sample of 32 Toronto-based members whose profile was reviewed, no less than 25 indicated they "always" practiced safer sex. Does that jive with what we know about how often men who have sex with men dispense with condoms? Not at all; statements like these may be pure window dressing or more charitably, reflect men's intentions rather than their actual practices. In any event, of the seven who indicated they did not always practice safer sex, five indicated a specific interest in barebacking. One member of the 32 indicated he never practiced safer sex.
But how do you define safer sex?
Only two out of the 32 (both checked "usually" have safer sex) mentioned poz guys in the list of the kind of men they preferred. There was some stigmatizing language throughout the profiles of those who "always" practiced safer sex, with more than a few instances of men seeking "clean" partners. Many poz men find the use of that word derogatory.
It's not surprising that in this kind of environment it is not hard to find examples of both stigma and lack of sexual health education. One Squirt member provided evidence of both in this exchange between a positive top (him) and a supposedly negative bottom.
Top: Check out my private photos. Click here to see them.
Bottom: Yes, I would love to swallow your cum
Top: love to have that happen but I'm poz/undetectable. It's safe but is my status a problem for you?
Bottom: Maybe you can just suck me then. I am almost 7 cut, clean and safe.
Oy vey! Poz guys require a thick skin if they are to declare their status in chat once contact has been made. The general consensus is that outright rejection after a negative man has initially shown interest is in the range of 50%, however safe the sex contemplated.
Searching for something special? Squirt can help you. While Squirt is hardly a bareback site, but leans perhaps towards the vanilla, poz users can search for others seeking poz guys or those looking for barebacking, as an example.
And barebacking certainly seems popular. A search of all Toronto member profiles indicates no less than 2,017 members seeking barebacking opportunities. Given we do not know their status, it's hard to know whether these are mostly poz guys seeking poz guys, neg guys seeking poz guys or perhaps includes neg guys on PrEP who consider themselves not at risk.
All this speaks to a minefield, where the status of one's Squirt partner may well be a mystery until further online or in-person discussions occur, if at all. For poz guys wishing to serosort, though, there are opportunities to do so but the site is not particularly well suited to it. It thus may well be that such poz guys are better suited to a site geared to barebacking, if this activity is sought, one that handles disclosure of one's status a little bit less enigmatically than Squirt would. So ...
Brace Yourself for BarebackRT.com
A quick look at BarebackRT.com (BBRT, the world's largest and busiest site for gay men seeking bareback sex) reveals it's both more detailed in terms of describing each of its members and what each member is seeking in others. From a sexual health perspective, as well as a measure of how effective a site is in connecting like-minded guys, that isn't a bad thing.
It's also very raunchy. Combined with a clean design and nice functionality, the site is an impressive one.
One anonymous poz member told me:
The thing I like best about BBRT as a hook-up site is not necessarily the most obvious one -- a place to meet guys into bareback sex. Rather, for me, it's a place where, as a person living with HIV, I can serosort and find other poz guys to have sex with without the stigma and discrimination I find on other hookup sites or apps like Grindr and Scruff.
I think it's great that I can identify my status as either "positive" or "undetectable" on BBRT and say whether or not I'm looking for other positive/undetectable guys.
The same member added: "I also think it would be great place for HIV negative guys, for whom condoms don't work, and who want to lessen their chances of getting HIV by hooking up with poz guys with undetectable viral loads. Counter-intuitive, I know, until one remembers that someone with an undetectable viral load (and who doesn't have any STIs) is unlikely to pass on HIV to their sexual partners."
BBRT members, as the name implies, are almost exclusively seeking men willing to bareback. The site helps men narrow down the field; rather than merely specifying you are a top or a bottom, for instance BBRT will let you say whether you give and/or receive loads orally and give and/or receive loads anally. It will allow you to indicate your preference as to the HIV status of your partner and that of yourself. And as the above member says, you are able to check that you are undetectable and/or looking for undetectable partners. That, incidentally, is a well used option.
So on to the survey. Sampling 32 Toronto-based randomly chosen BBRT profiles can be distracting. BBRT profiles are frequently explicit and so are the user pics accompanying them. Nevertheless we soldiered on ...
Looking at HIV status, of the 32 profiles sampled, 13 members indicated they were undetectable, another three indicated they were positive. Twelve did not specify and five indicated they were negative. (Negative?)
Why, one might ask, unless they wish to seroconvert, and that's generally deemed rare, are negative men looking for bareback sex on a site like this? Four explanations come to mind: a) they are on PrEP and feel this provides adequate protection, b) they are neg and seeking other neg guys, by any measure a risky harm-reduction strategy, c) they don't mind if they ultimately seroconvert, or d) they are savvy neg guys seeking out poz guys with undetectable viral loads, who many deem incapable of transmitting the virus.
Superficially, it does seem that more than a few neg BBRT members want to be "seeded" or to be "bred," barebacking language sometimes indicating a wish to seroconvert at the hands of a poz top. How much of this is fantasy has always been a matter for academic debate. Clearly most men here though, poz or neg, are looking for condomless sex, plain and simple. For most, we know, they do so because it feels better. Research shows us in fact that most poz barebackers have no interest in infecting others. (For a detailed exploration of barebacking culture, refer to my interview with Unlimited Intimacy author and barebacking expert Tim Dean.
Notable too is that stigmatizing language, other than it relates to age/body-type preferences, seems virtually absent from BBRT. There is no "I'm clean, UB 2" here or the much hated term "DDF." A further plus is that in enabling poz members to record their status on the site, this feature reduces the possibility of subsequent prosecution for nondisclosure.
Conclusions: Vanilla vs. Hardcore
It's hard not to argue that sites which facilitate guys sharing who they are and what they are into, including serostatus, represent a healthier environment than where that information is handled in a circumspect manner, relying in part on mutual assumptions of status which can often be flawed. Having said that, online banter is not the be all and end all of opportunities for disclosure; many will feel more comfortable doing so, if at all, at other times and places.
At the same time it's inevitable that HIV stigma prevents many gay men from comfortably disclosing their status on their profiles, even where there is considerable licence to do so. There is no doubt too that some poz members, at least on the vanilla sites, will see and experience stigma on these sites through unkind words and rejection. There is also evidence of ignorance of what is safe and what is not, as in the conversation I quoted on Squirt.
It may be the case that online sites can make risky sex more available, but hot sex more available too. As one neg man who uses BBRT, talking about seroconversion, told me "If it happens, it happens. But I'm thinking that's not very likely if a guy tells me he's undetectable -- and he's not lying."
And there's the rub. While disclosure on profiles can work well in making more informed risk decisions, it's not without its flaws. How does a negative guy know he is really negative? And how does a negative guy know his "negative" partner isn't positive? The system is by no means perfect.
Having said all that, a site like BBRT, though likely frowned upon by many -- barebacking remains highly stigmatized whatever the circumstances -- arguably serves a valuable purpose in helping men who would otherwise have difficulty in disclosing do so in a protective environment which (mostly) preserves their confidentiality, helps to reduce risk of transmission and facilitates more worry-free and unencumbered sexual encounters. Thus while the more vanilla of the two sites referred to here, Squirt, seems relatively innocuous and BBRT the place for risky, raunchy sex, one could argue that it is features in the second of the two that contributes to fewer new HIV infections.
Said one profile-savvy negative guy who uses both sites, "I prefer the way BBRT handles HIV disclosure issues; I like the straightforward specificity of their profile form. It makes it much easier to assess any risk factor. There's nothing vague about it ... I respond to honesty in people and I'm much more likely to respond to the profile of someone I feel is being straight up with me and I think BBRT has made that easier for people to do."
Barebacking, like it or not, has come of age at this stage of the HIV epidemic -- more and more people are doing it and many of them pretty safely. Sites which contribute to the safety of an activity which many find irresistible -- not to mention extremely hot -- can only be applauded.
This article is adapted from a piece that originally appeared on PositiveLite.com.
Follow Bob on Twitter @ruraltweeter.
Read Bob's blog, Northern Lights.


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Bill Hunt's Medicine Bottle Glass Index
This database is a reference to aid in the identification of embossed medicine bottles. It is equally ppropriate for researching complete labels as well as label fragments and is suitable for use by bottle collectors as well as historical archeologists. The finding aid is available as a Microsoft Word document or as a text file. The data file was built as a text file to allow the researcher to employ word processing software text finding aides (a "word search") to locate strings of letters, complete words, or combinations of words which appear on a bottle or bottle fragment. It includes about 6,080 entries.
The embossed label listing was compiled using information from 38 archeological reports and popular bottle publications. Printed labels were not used in the data file's compilation.
This finding aid has proven itself to be an extremely rapid means of identifying an embossed medical bottle or fragment and sources of information for that specimen. Where once it may have taken hours or days to sort through the published materials, now only minutes are required to either locate a label or establish that it is unlisted in the designated sources. The database will be updated as entry errors and additional published information are provided by users.
Entry format
Each entry includes:
1. a label as it appears on the bottle description. The compiler's comments are contained in square brackets [like this].
2. a tab character.
3. a bibliographic reference from which the label was obtained.
Embossed labels are listed following standard notation. A single backslash - / - within an entry marks the end of one line of embossed labeling and the beginning of another on a single side of a bottle. A double backslash - // - marks the end of embossing on one bottle side and the beginning of another.
Citing the Index
For citation purposes, refer to Hunt, William J. Jr. (compiler), 1995, Embossed Medicine Bottle Labels: An Electronic Finding Aid for the Identification of Archeological Specimens. National Park Service, Midwest Archeological Center, Lincoln, Nebraska. Revised August, 1997.
Using the Index
The bottle glass index is currently available as a PDF file (555k) or as a HTML file (450k). The index is very large (over 360 pages), so it may take a while to download (2-3 minutes on a 56k connection). The best strategy is to search for the string of letters and spaces as they appear on the bottle or bottle fragment. Once a label has been identified, the user may consult the appropriate reference(s) for additional information about the bottle, manufacturer, date of manufacture, and contents.