text:
Rosetta's second Earth swing-by
ESA's comet chasing spacecraft Rosetta will swing by Earth on 13 November 2007.
Rosetta swung by Earth in March 2005 and Mars in February 2007. As it approaches its home planet once again, the spacecraft will have travelled more than 3000 million kilometres since launch in 2004.
At ESA's Space Operations Centre (ESOC), in Darmstadt, Germany, mission controllers have made the final adjustments to Rosetta's trajectory in preparation for the swing-by. The highest priority is being given to spacecraft operations, as the manoeuvre is critical for the success of the mission. However, and despite the unfavourable illumination conditions due to the positions of the Sun and the Earth, a few experiments both on the orbiter and the Philae Lander will be activated for calibration, scientific measurements and imaging. The observations are scheduled during and around the time of closest approach, from 7 Nov, 01:00 CET, to 20 Nov, 15:00 CET. Rosetta will first point to Earth to observe the atmosphere and the magnetosphere, and it will also look for shooting stars from space. It will image urban regions in Asia, Africa and Europe and then point to the Moon and obtain spectra of the illuminated Moon. Flying away after closest approach, Rosetta will image the Earth-Moon system from a distance.


text:
Surviving fasting in the cold
King penguin chicks survive harsh winters with almost no food by minimising the cost of energy production. A new study, to be presented at the Society for Experimental Biology meeting in Valencia on the 3rd July, shows that the efficiency of the mitochondria, the power house of the cell, is increased in fasted king penguin chicks.
King penguin chicks are socially and morphologically well adapted to harsh environmental conditions, however, they experience a severe energy challenge during the cold sub-Antarctic winter, when food is not readily available. Research headed by Pierre-Axel Monternier and Prof Damien Roussel at the Ecology of Natural and Man-impacted Hydrosystems laboratory in France looked, for the first time, at how the king penguin chicks' mitochondria in skeletal muscle, the main heat producing tissue in birds, function during fasting in the winter.
Pierre-Axel Monternier said: "We found that the efficiency of mitochondrial functioning increased in fasted winter-acclimatized king penguin chicks. This indicates that less substrate/oxygen was consumed to produce the same amount of energy in the form of ATP, showing that mitochondria from fasted chicks adjust its functioning to minimize the cost of energy production."
This study shows how king penguins are able to produce heat to survive the cold without depleting their energy stores, an essential mechanism to survive the cold when food is scarce. Their biological adjustments increase survival of chicks, which, among birds, have an unrivalled fasting endurance (up to 5 months).
Fasting in the cold represents a bioenergetics trade-off between sparing energy for body maintenance and dissipating energy for heat production and endothermy maintenance. In this challenging context, chicks develop a whole range of energy sparing mechanisms (social huddling behaviour, reduction in muscle activity and basal metabolic rate, short period of hypothermia and high thermal insulation) that lead to reduce the energy allocated to heat production and growth.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
new butterfly light
My new Schioler butterfly pendant arrived last week, unassembled and still in box. It was missing instructions but honestly, I don't think you need any to begin with. I would have loved a red one but the white is beautiful too. Right now it's actually replacing the Fado glad bulb until the cord arrives but I'm surprised at how well it works. It looks nice above the table but I originally wanted it for the living room...still unsure of where it will end up.
This is the window sill right next to the iMac. I'm really glad to have something green to look at after all of this cold weather and snow. It's ridiculously unpredictable here and it feels like we've experienced Spring to the dead of Winter in the past few days. I don't mind Winter too much, the snow is ethereal and pretty but I love Spring too. I just don't want both simultaneously, ok weather?!
Other Stories
15 comments:
bit of green on the windowsill would be nice to welcome in the new season...i caught up on your posts this morning & love the quartz earrings a couple of posts down - they are gorgeous. have a good week, dayleReplyDelete
Love it! oh wow you're so lucky you've found it! I saw it's sold out now...ReplyDelete
oh wow, it's really fantastic!ReplyDelete
Hi, first time on your beautiful blog.ReplyDelete
Congratulations on your post, the pendant is gorgeous.
Hugs from Brasil
Lovely lamp and plants!ReplyDelete
a. great lampReplyDelete
b. cute plants
yeah organic forms!
I love it! Looks like it gives off the perfect amount of light!ReplyDelete
It looks great, what a super find! I love the white and it doesn't interfere with your great shelf display in the background. :)ReplyDelete
Love that light and the way it shines when it's dim in your dining room!ReplyDelete
I think the white one was the right choice.ReplyDelete
I agree with The Vintage Cabin about the cool combination with the shelves system and the furnishings in general.
Great buy and thanks for sharing! :D
jealous. it's awesome!ReplyDelete
I just found your blog and I really like it!! : )ReplyDelete
Love your new light, look very nice in your dinning room. Take care ; ) .ReplyDelete
So great. I want to make one... I'm not sure how I'd go about making one, but I sure want to try.ReplyDelete
That butterfly is so nice! Like your blog also <3ReplyDelete
Thank you for your comments, I love hearing from you!
Questions, comments or sponsorship inquires, please contact me via the 'contact' link.


text:
Search Constraints
You searched for: Author SeaPlan Remove constraint Author: SeaPlan Access Public Remove constraint Access: Public Subject Economy Remove constraint Subject: Economy Subject Structure Remove constraint Subject: Structure Institution Stanford Remove constraint Institution: Stanford Data type Point Remove constraint Data type: Point
Search Results
1. Block Island Proposed Turbine Locations, Northeast United States, 2013
2013. SeaPlan. This point shapefile contains proposed wind turbine locations on Block Island (Rhode Island). The planned Block Island Wind Farm (BIWF) will be a 3... Northeast Ocean Data.


text:
When you make the leap to hire a full-time admin person, there are a lot of time and cost concerns to keep in mind. We've made a business around saving our clients the time, money and headaches that come with finding, training, and keeping full time staff busy.
You only pay for the time we're actually working on your business. And you never pay a dime when we aren't.
Let us create an affordable custom solution for you.
Getting the most out of virtual office services, solutions, and space couldn't be simpler.


text:
Connecticut man's database shines light on high cost of lottery
Amid the small talk and big lines for the $550 million Powerball drawing Wednesday, a Connecticut voice sounded a warning about the social costs of the lottery, based on his own experience.
Former lottery retailer Adam Osmond of Farmington urges dreamers to "keep in mind the dark side of gambling addiction, and the fact that most lottery winnings are very small, and the fact that a small percentage of the people in the state are responsible (for) the majority of the lottery sales -- the poor, the minority and compulsive gamblers. ... And a lot of store owners."
Osmond said he got in trouble for his own problem gambling, but won't talk about that in detail, out of concern for his wife and three daughters.
"My store became one of the top (for) store lottery sales in the state, and almost all the sales (were) mine," he wrote in an email. "All you need to see is my store's sales before me and after me, and there are many store owners just like me who are still gambling."
Osmond, 45, has created an online database of winners from the past 14 years at www.ctlotterywinners.org based on information he's been able to collect via Freedom of Information filings. And then he matches data from other sources, such as the IRS, to draw conclusions about lottery players.
A long 2009 analysis of gambling effects in the state showed, among other things, a move in popularity from weekly Lotto to Powerball and scratch-off tickets these days. It also reported findings of a survey showing rates of problem gambling "are much higher in the more urbanized counties of Hartford and New Haven."
Connecticut Lottery spokeswoman Linda Tarnowski said, "The Lottery partners with responsible gaming experts on a variety of projects and programs that prevent problem gambling and to educate on available resources for help."
Osmond said he hasn't gambled in four years and has testified against gambling expansion. He said the data support his points about lottery sellers and the people who gamble most.
Lottery officials responded to his requests only after FOI complaints, he said. "It's huge, huge data. ... Fourteen years of records."
Anyone who hits a lottery ticket for more than $599 has to redeem it at one of four locations statewide, and fill out their information. No street addresses are available, but names, amounts, stores and ZIP codes are public (some of which is also on the lottery website).
"But the problem is, they (on the lottery site) only put in the big winners (over $10,000)," he said, "and only the last two years. Mine is searchable by name, ZIP code, by store."
Osmond produced a map of Connecticut lottery winners from 1998 to 2010 that shows more winners per 100 residents in urban areas, where incomes are lower. His analysis shows 65 percent of lottery winners (and by inference, players in general) are below the state's median income. "The poorest ZIP codes are the highest players," he said.
Today, Osmond is an accountant who also sells accounting software for gas stations and convenience stores.
He said when the lottery jackpot "gets this high, everybody plays. But most people who play (normaly) are either minority poor or people addicted to gambling. You'll see the names repeated a lot in that database."
And those folks probably aren't winning as much as they bet. "Everybody thinks they're going to win $500 million. But most of the winnings are very small, and those people, they spend a lot of money to get to that."
He has advice for anyone who thinks they might have a problem.
"Get help. ... This (gambling) is one of the secrets that you'll keep quiet. It's not like any other addiction where you have signs. People with alcohol, you can smell it on them, drugs you can see. But gambling has no signs. It's a hidden addiction."


text:
are there any GPS tracks for ATV trails available. it would make combining a ride and caching easier
are there any GPS tracks for ATV trails available. it would make combining a ride and caching easier
Every Club that is incorporated and funded by Maine's ATV Program should have a GPSed track of their trails . . . it's required to qualify for grants. However, not all may have them available for download . . . Maine's ATV program is still in its infancy . . . well maybe toddler stage right now . . . progress is being made, but it's slow.
Barring this . . . you might want to try asking for tracks to a specific area at various BBS sites such as this one . . . for example Brdad has some tracks from a few years back. Sites such as ATVTime.com, ATVAlliance.com, etc. may also have members with tracks that they can send to you.
"Courage is not the absence of fear, but the realization that there is something more important than fear."
"Death is only one of many ways to die."
If you got there kinda early and made casual day of caching out of it it would be lots of fun to do. It should only take a day and the trials are all very nice riding except in some places the trail is coal ash so if you are the 2nd or thrid guy you get real dusty. Bring something to cover your eyes and mouth.
The trail can easily be done in less than a day and if you're caching as you go it will break up the ride and provide some naturally occuring breaks for any non-geocachers in the group.
There are several places to eat at trail's end in Dover-Foxcroft. I often gas up at Irvings and eat at the Bear's Den.
There are a few other places that you can ride and cache as well . . . you just won't nab as many caches. A good, long ride can be done from the Airline Snack Bar to Grand Lake Stream. EMSDanel has placed a cache in Grand Lake Stream . . . and depending on your route to and from the town you can grab some caches along the way (at least one was placed by EvilHomer).
There are also a lot of caches along ATV trails in the County . . . honestly while I haven't been all over Maine riding in the County is one of my favorite places to ride. It's a long ride (even from where I live), but it is well worth the time. My only issue is when I get there I'm always torn by my desire to do as much ATVing and as much geocaching as I can . . . there's just not enough time to do both.
And of course I've got to mention that if you're not a mileage hound you can grab two or three caches if you're riding in the Troy/Jackson area as I've got a few caches located off the trails here.
"Courage is not the absence of fear, but the realization that there is something more important than fear."
"Death is only one of many ways to die."
ORCAs - calling all ORCAs - will there be - WILL there be a Tread Lightly Event this year? When, where, pleassseeee - let us know. I am anxiously awaiting to know as I have the 4 runner and Jake taught me what it might do. Pleasssseee!
Flat . . . and boring that's actually what I'm lookin for, new to tail riding, is there any restrictions for 2 people on a one up machine, i have heard there are some in other part of the country and some trail systems. Thanks for the additional info, sounds great
Oh - I think I heard September as a whisper......please do tell..........not in conflict with the Commond Ground Fair, I hope, but since that is my BD - maybe I should offer to bring a cake if it is later??


text:
Bradstreet Lawn & Garden specializes in outdoor power equipment including mowers, snowblowers, handheld equipment, accessories, and logging
safety gear. Not only do we offer a wide scope of homeowner, commercial, and industrial equipment, but our Service Department supports your
equipment long after your purchase has been made.
In addition, our Parts Department is stocked with all the necessary parts for maintenance and repairs ensuring your equipment will have
less down.
We are a family run business and have been serving the Greater Bangor area for over 50 years with quality outdoor power equipment. Every
sale or service order is backed up with professional advice and friendly customer service by a family that cares!
We are an authorized dealer and service department for the top manufacturers in the outdoor power equipment industry.


text:
I've written here several times about the two Minnesota Somali American women convicted of multiple terrorism-related charges. Amina Farah Ali is the younger of the two (she's 35), and clearly the ringleader. Her partner in crime is Hawo Mohamed Hassan (she's 65). I took a look back at issues related to the case, for example, in "The scene outside the terror trial."
Ali is a hard case. At the outset of the trial she refused to follow the court order to rise when the judge and jurors entered the courtroom. According to Ali, the court order violated her religious precepts. Judge Davis held her in contempt and threw her in jail. As she continued to accumulate time for contempt of court, Ali reconsidered. Rising for the judge turned out not to violate her religious precepts after all. And what about Hassan? For some reason she had no reported issues with the order.
After her conviction, Ali had a few words for Judge Davis and the rest of us. "I am very happy," she said defiantly through a translator. "I'm going to the heaven no matter. … Also, you guys go to the hell," she said referring to those whom she believes are against Muslims.
Judge Davis listened as Ali went on. "We know God. We know justice. And also I'm very sorry for the one who doesn't know God and who puts the injustice [on the people]."
Judge Davis provided that Ali would stay in jail until her sentencing. Hassan, who, the Star Tribune noted, remained silent, was to be sent to a halfway house if there's room while she awaits sentencing.
Ali was remitted to the custody of the Sherburne County Jail. There she was unhappy with the conditions of her confinement. The authorities refused to allow her to wear her hijab on the ground that no personal clothing (including headgear) is allowed in the jail. Ali protested by refusing to come out of her cell. It's not clear how the media received word of her protest, but receive it they did.
At last word, however, Ali has been moved to the Ramsey County Jail. There Ali is allowed to wear the scarf when meeting people or leaving her cell block, but not in the primary area where she is being held. The sheriff's department spokesman says that the department is doing its best to accommodate her religious views.
The U.S. Marshals spokesman appears to deny that the transfer was made specifically for that purpose, but it's hard to tell. He said the transfer was based on a "law enforcement purpose" and that the Marshals Service does not comment on correctional matters.
The terrorism and related charges on which Ali was convicted were all in service of the jihad. She now continues to wage jihad by other means.
JOHN adds: I saw the title of this post five times before I finally got it!


text:
September 17, 2013
Federal OSHA officially published its long-awaited Notice of Propose Rulemaking on silica in the Sept. 12 issue of the Federal Register. The notice now gives the public 90 days to submit written comments (the comment period ends Dec 11, 2013), followed by public hearings. The first informal public hearing on the rule is scheduled for March 4 in Washington, D.C.
The proposed rulemaking includes two separate standards – one for general industry and maritime employment, and one for construction.
The proposed rulemaking would set a permissible exposure limit of 50 micrograms of respirable crystalline silica per cubic meter of air. Currently, two different PELs are in force: 100 micrograms for general industry and 250 for construction and shipyards. The current levels, adopted in 1971, have never been updated.
The proposal would also require employers to monitor the airborne concentration of silica in the workplace, unless they can prove there is no silica released above 25 micrograms per cubic meter of air. Exemptions to the monitoring requirements are provided for construction companies if specific control methods are used.
Under the proposal, workers exposed to silica at or above the PEL for at least 30 days per year must have medical surveillance and employers must limit worker exposure by establishing regulated areas with limited access or written access-control plans.
Comments on the proposed rulemaking can be submitted to the OSHA Docket Office in writing, online, or by fax. See the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for more information.
Reprinting, excerpting, or plagiarizing any part of this publication is fine with us!
But remember: the information in this newsletter is intended to highlight safe work practices, but it does not replace Oregon OSHA workplace safety and health rules.
For information about Oregon OSHA services and answers to technical questions, call (503) 378-3272 or toll-free within Oregon, (800) 922-2689.


text:
Ben Meadows: 91557
- Quantity
- Price
- 1+
- $4.50
- 12+
- $3.75
- 48+
- $3.50
- Description
- Specifications
- Reviews
- Documents
Great for utility/locator marking, construction sites and proposed excavation. Designed to provide a very cost-effective approach to marking while still providing good visibility for up to two months! Lead-free, non-clogging can empties contents completely. Adheres to almost any surface; not recommended for use on turf surfaces. Operating Temperature: 50°F to 100°F. Contents: 15 fl. oz.
- Extra Charge if Shipped by Domestic Air.
We encourage our customers to let us know what experiences they have had with our products, whether good or bad. By submitting a review, you can share your experiences with others and also provide valuable feedback to us as well. With just a few simple steps, you can add your review of this product.
Ask a Question


text:
Stonewalling: Scrambling to save Lime Kiln"
The news came as a bit of a jolt to fans of the Theater at Lime Kiln.
"You just expect a community treasure like Lime Kiln to always be there," says Victoria Pannell, executive director of the Lexington Downtown Development Association, referring to reports that the outdoor theater was in danger of closing.
The board of directors that runs the nonprofit theater announced November 21 that it would consider suspending operations if it was not able to retire $175,000 in accumulated debts by the end of the calendar year.
"We believe things are moving in the right direction. The board is committed to getting out of this situation and getting Lime Kiln back to its roots," Mary Sayre, the chairman of the board that oversees activities at the two-decade-old Lexington theater, said at the time.
While the theater's fundraisers were not able to meet the goal by the deadline, "the significant support received so far from the arts community, businesses and individuals" has encouraged the Board of Directors to continue to seeks ways to keep the theater viable, Sayre said on New Year's Eve.
The board also announced in December that it had decided to terminate the theater's two remaining staff members as part of the move to get the facility back on its feet.
"We're doing what we need to do," Sayre says. "We've released the staff, we've shut the doors. Now we're cleaning up the mess."
A big part of the mess is a decline in attendance at the theater– something community theaters are dealing with nationwide.
"Everybody is talking about how home-entertainment options are growing, and how that affects just about any place that relies on people coming out and sitting down in the evening and spending money," says Reid Oechslin, a Staunton-based theater consultant.
"There's a contraction in the market," Oechslin says, "but I don't see it getting so bad that it's going to knock everybody out of business. It will affect some providers of live entertainment, certainly."
The Lime Kiln board will examine those issues in the coming weeks as board members look to develop a business plan for the theater.
A key component to the business plan will be programming, Sayre says. "Attendance at our concert series was on target. But attendance at plays was down, and down sharply.
"First and foremost, we have to examine whether we keep Stonewall Country retired forever, or bring it back some years, or even bring it back full time," Sayre says.
"The theater is an economic engine for downtown Lexington," says Pannell. "Lime Kiln draws thousands and thousands of people to the area and to downtown Lexington. The loss of the theater would be a blow to the downtown district and to the city and community as a whole.
"The LDDA has been playing an active role in trying to make sure that the theater survives and thrives. We certainly don't want to see it go."
Upcoming fundraisers include a "Monte Carlo Evening" on March 11 at VMI's Moody Hall.
In July 2004, the production synonymous with Lime Kiln, Stonewall Country , ended its 20-year run.
Robin and Linda Williams, who wrote the songs in Stonewall Country, often perform on Prairie Home Companion.


text:
News from the world of Maths
Inspired by Sara Storey's phenomenal gold medal we calculate whether we, and our bikes, have what it takes to triumph in our newfound quest for speed!
The Olympic Stadium and the Aquatics Centre are taking centre stage again as medals are being awarded in both athletics and swimming. Not any old pool or running track qualifies as an Olympic venue...
Wheelchair racing is one of the most exciting disciplines in the Paralympics. And it's not just a wheel-based equivalent of Olympic racing: John D. Barrow, mathematician, cosmologist and prolific popular science writer, has spotted an important difference.
If the Olympics weren't enough for you, then you're in for another elevn days of top-performance sport: the Paralympic Games will open tonight.
The British Science Festival comes to Aberdeen this year from 4th to 9th September. It's the largest annual public science event in Europe. This year's theme is Energising minds — and there's plenty of maths on offer to energise yours.
This week the International Symposium on Mathematical Programming (ISMP) took place in Berlin. It's the world congress of mathematical optimisation, which drew over 2,000 scientists and members of industry to Germany's capital. But what exactly were they talking about?
Never afraid of a challenge, before the start of the London 2012 Games we issued predictions for the total medal count for the top 20 countries. Find out how we did.


text:
ALOT!!! :) But here are a few things that are getting my full attention!
CenterPoint Church: Conway!
We are starting a new campus in Conway and we are SUPER EXCITED about it. Here are a few nursery pics that I am totally in love with at the moment..... enjoy these!
Another thing - Hello Ladies Craft Show Season!!!! We have already been in 5 shows and have at least 3 more to go! busy, busy busy - here is a sneak peek of a few new things we are working on.....
(sorry for the quality) but we are movin' and a groovin' along.
Sad Note: My dearest Grandma Green went home to glory in September, it was a great great loss, but she is in Heaven livin it up and playing Sorry and Trouble till the wee hours!


text:
Beer, Brats & Ballet coming to BAC
Beer, Brats and Ballet will bring together a casual atmosphere and cutting-edge choreography at the Brewery Arts Center on Saturday evening, June 29.
The BAC is collaborating with Sierra Nevada Ballet to produce the 7:30 p.m. event that final Saturday in June, which is modeled after the Sacramento Ballet's successful annual tradition called Beer and Ballet.
Carson City's version will offer the audience a chance to sample local brews and sausages while enjoying new choreographic offerings by West Coast choreographers.
Cost for the evening is $25 for floor seating with a beer and brat, $20 for general seating plus a beer and brat, and $15 for attending but foregoing the food and libation.
Tickets are available from the BAC at http://www.breweryarts.org or by calling (775) 883-1976.
Included on the dance bill of fare will be two new works by Sacramento Ballet/Sierra Nevada Ballet artist Alexander Biber.
In addition, there will be a new work by Barbara Land, former director of dance at the University of Nevada, Reno, and the new "Bach Bites" by Rosine Bena, Sierra Nevada Ballet's artistic director.
Audience members also will hear first hand about the creative process of choreographic artists and then enjoy each new choreographic work.
Additional information on Sierra Nevada Ballet, Northern Nevada's only professional ballet company, is available at sierranevadaballet.org.


text:
Note: the tooltips in the quoted text boxes do not reflect the current changes to the abilities they describe.
Since 4.0.1 changes were even announced, I was overwhelmed with anticipation to try a Holy spec. Now, I've been Discipline since before Wrath of the Lich King dropped, and I've loved the entire playstyle (minus that "bubble spam" thing). When I saw the Chakra ability, as well as the corresponding Holy Word: Chastise states, I started to digitally salivate. I've always enjoyed classes that had a wealth of abilities to use (which is why I never rolled a Paladin — KIDDING!!). In the "lame duck session" before Cataclysm, I've been experimenting with the new playstyles and adapting to the new juicy mechanics that have been laid out for us. Chakra Heal has potential to be real potent. Chakra Prayer of Healing offers a beautiful and useful "stand in the good" zone, as well as an AoE Healing buff. Chakra Smite has been amazing for farming meat, mats, or anything else for which I need to "nuk da mobz".
Chakra Renew has been a bit ambiguous to me. I understand that Renew is a very powerful tool in a certain-specced Holy toolbox, but its implementation into Chakra kind of baffled me. Now, I *like* to think I'm a pretty creative guy, but I just couldn't really see the use or fun in it. Maybe it's because I come from a Discipline playstyle, but I didn't see a need to constantly spam renew beyond just blanketing my 10man raid. Well, we were given this nugget of info (thanks MMO-Champion):
Chakra no longer works with Renew. No longer costs mana. Sanctuary (Prayer of Healing, Prayer of Mending) now increases healing done by your AoE spells and Renew by 15%. (Old – Only increased AoE spells by 10%)
Effectively, they've killed Renew's exclusivity with Chakra and teamed it up with Prayer of Healing, adding in Prayer of Mending, too. You'll get more healing out of Renew, but remember that you have to activate it with Prayer of Healing or Mending. You cannot activate your steroid-juiced HoT by hitting that Renew key. Patience, grasshopper.
Because of this change, our State of Mind talent has been altered:
State of Mind no longer affects Renew, affects Prayer of Mending instead.
Now, I use Prayer of Mending almost always on cooldown out of habit. Adding this into extending that Chakra state will benefit a lot of Priests out there. If the best play for a certain encounter is to keep that Chakra going, I'm not too big a fan of spamming one button to extend it. I think a change like this could also be implemented in our Heal Chakra or Smite Chakra. Only add one additional spell to extend it. Chakra Heal could also be extended by Greater Heal, a spell that we don't really spam anyways. Chakra Smite could be lengthened by Holy Fire as well, since it's impossible to spam it while it's on cooldown. Here's an image of the new tooltips (thanks, Matticus!):
All in all, I'm pleased with the change. As it stands right now, I don't use Renew Chakra as it is and didn't see much use in the future. However, as would be my luck, I'll step into that first Cataclysm raid encounter and think, "Man! I wish I had Chakra Renew back for this fight!" C'est la vie.
Do you feel the alteration of Chakra and State of Mind are changes for the better or worse? Are you going to miss the Renew Chakra?


text:
"We are sensation junkies, predisposed to excitement, and if that means danger and death, we are ready for it."
~ Doris Lessing, 'Under My Skin' (part 1 of her autobiography)
Since Labs was founded in 2008, at the end of every year we've written a round-up of our favourite memories of the previous 12 months: the people, the products, the posts. And I like to think this has reflected the fact we've spent much of the past six years engaged in a sort of happy, virtuous circle of accelerated learning and application; of thinking and doing. Taking everything we've learned about the Internet and technology and applying it to client business, for the company we work for, with a generous community around us and even together with our families. And, personally, I was proud of the balance I was striking for a lot of that time. Although who needs work-life balance when you can have the merge, eh?
This year we're taking a different approach.
When Lessing wrote the sentence above she was describing mid-20th century life, bearing witness to a 'regret for intense experience' that was voiced openly in the aftermath of two world wars. She wasn't referring to Internet culture in the early 21st century, although that was the association that immediately suggested itself when I read the sentence. I'm going to use the fact she makes her assertion in the present tense as my excuse.
Looking back over the past year or two, I'd argue we've reached the nadir – or the height, depending on your perspective – of our generation's sensation junkydom. I say this as someone who has disagreed vehemently with Nicholas Carr, Jaron Lanier and the rest of the-Internet-is-making-us-shallow gang, smiled blithely through Sherry Turkle's 'Alone Together' ("c'mon, I'm not that bad" I said to my family as I swiftly sent another 5 tweets over lunch) and I have declared my undying love for the joys of the social web, several times, in public.
Certainly by 2012, the point at which this post becomes harder to write, we had started to sense a shift from the visceral burn of excitement, the learning curve we were all on, to something else, something more akin to a collective burden, that – god forbid – we'd helped fuel. At worst, a pressure to overvalue and prioritise what we could call the "'nesses" truthiness, newsiness and, the king of all things real-time: nowness.
Now, whether you are a journalist questioning the very purpose of your existence when a casually fact-checked Upworthy or BuzzFeed piece beats your thoughtful op-ed hands down again, or the brilliant poet Kate Tempest beautifully and poignantly nailing how it feels as a teenager to have your life documented, duplicated and fetishized over, or a blogger satirically sending up copy-cat millennial marketing, our social status quo is being questioned from multiple perspectives.
Taken to the absolute extreme this year in The Circle, Dave Eggers paints a (fictional) portrait of a totalitarian world where the pursuit of 'completion', or total information, is the sole, unrelenting goal. Warning: if you're mildly paranoid about privacy, this book will push you over the edge. Back in the here and now, Alexis C. Madrigal puts things perfectly in his article, 2013: The Year 'The Stream' Crested:
"Nowadays, I think all kinds of people see and feel the tradeoffs of the stream, when they pull their thumbs down at the top of their screens to receive a new updates from their social apps. It is too damn hard to keep up. And most of what's out there is crap… I am not joking when I say: it is easier to read Ulysses than it is to read the Internet. Because at least Ulysses has an end, an edge. Ulysses can be finished. The Internet is never finished."
These are not crackpot Luddites frothing at the mouth about the evils of technology or, for that matter, New Age Cassandras prematurely worrying about the End Of The World As We Know It. These are people who have helped conceive the best products and thinking in the corner of the web we traverse daily; people who consistently, visibly and tangibly crank open their minds in the pursuit of making things better.
By the end of 2013 our unease has become a dull roar of disquiet. A palpable sense that the exhilaration we experienced a few years back has passed, to be replaced on a bad day by a mixture of exhaustion and that worst of all things, ennui.
When something is 'under your skin' it's an itch that needs continuously scratching: addictive but never wholly satisfying. And after a while, it's finally dawns on you that you need to stop doing that and move on. I don't mean 'embrace continuous change!' in a brace-yourselves-through-gritted-teeth-for-more-new-stuff sense, I mean: some things need to stop, in order for new things to start.
So 2014 is going to be different. But it won't become different on its own: we have to make it so.
At Labs and BBH, we're taking some steps to balance things out a little. Here are just a few:
1. Valuing both 'stock' and 'flow'.
A master metaphor for media today coined by Robin Sloan back in – jeez! – 2010, also via Madrigal, 'stock' is the durable content and behaviour that stands the test of time, whilst 'flow' is a continuous feed of updates. Both are modern necessities, but, as the sheer newsiness of nowness deflates (see what I did there), the importance of more contemplative content bubbles back up.
We're seeing evidence of this in the lovingly created, more durable digital publishing evidenced by the likes of the NYT Magazine's 'A Game of Shark & Minnow', the oft-mentioned Snowfall, the Guardian's brilliant 'NSA Decoded' (for more of this ilk, see this helpful spreadsheet via @neilperkin) and closer to home, the likes of Toshiba and Intel's Beauty Inside and Complex Media's The New New for Converse Cons.
2. Looking inward for a while.
This year, we deliberately reduced our external focus and instead designed an end to end New Skills training course for BBH and our clients. At BBH London it began with a #bbhexpo in November and continues with a series of 2 day workshops throughout the first quarter of 2014.
We'll publish the assets and what we learn here once it's completed end of Q1 2014.
3. Switching up the leadership of Labs in London.
Agathe Guerrier, or AG to her friends, formally took over the leadership of Labs in London alongside @Jeremyet from me a few months ago. For those of you who don't know AG, she is the perfect leader for a new phase in Labs' development: her name translates as 'the warrior', yet she is a practicing Yoga teacher and has a Tumblr aptly named 'Wegan Wednesdays.' She's also a peerless Strategy Director & Partner at BBH and the brain behind the New Skills training course above.
4. Taking a lighter, more open source approach to Labs Experiments.
It isn't all about depth, contemplation and stopping to smell the flowers. Historically at Labs we've tried, failed and sometimes succeeded at lots of different approaches to experimentation: amongst other things, crowdsourcing our own logo, attempting to reinvent street newspapers, providing a useful catch-up web app and also an entertaining little service that displays your social data as a personalised robot unique to you. A lot of the above took blood, sweat and tears carefully collected in our downtime. In 2014, we're deliberately adopting a lighter, more open source approach to experimentation instead, opening up the Lab and its resources beyond the core Labs team. More on this from Jeremy and AG in the New Year.
In the meantime, we're biased, but check out the excellent work BBH Zag have been doing this year co-designing new digital products and services like Autographer and Money Dashboard.
5. Less, but Better.
More individual time spent on fewer clients. It's not radical but it is profound. We hope it will help everyone regain a sense of equilibrium and clarity of focus, making our work better along the way.
Finally, what about the intense experience Doris Lessing reminded us of, the thing we long for, despite ourselves? Patently, it doesn't go away. It's simply about a concerted effort to get some balance back. In 2014 there will still be flow: of course there will be a multitude of memes, ideas and products that catch fire and light up the Internet for a day or two. But I'd wager we will recognise that we need both durable stock and the adrenaline rush of flow in our lives.
Perhaps the most 'now' thing we can choose to do next year is to do this: remember to take stock.
A huge thank you to everyone who's written, shared, commented and generally made the BBH Labs world go round this year. And a particular thank you for the thoughtful writing, links and provocation that have directly fed this post (whether they knew it or not) to the following people inside and outside BBH: Agathe Guerrier, Jeremy Ettinghausen, Adam Powers, Yuri Kang, Chris Meachin, Alex Matthews, Simon Robertson, Nick Fell, Tim Jones, Jim Carroll, Tom Uglow, Ben Malbon, Tim Malbon, Neil Perkin, John Willshire, Amelia Torode, Anjali Ramachandran, Pats McDonald, Alexis C. Madrigal, Nathan Jurgenson, Saneel Radia, Len Kendall, James Mitchell, Ben Fennell, Charlie Rudd, David Spencer, Jon Peppiatt, Sarah Pollard, Heather Alderson, Kate Roberts, Dan Hauck, Kirsty Saddler, Jonathan Bottomley, Ben Shaw, Helen Lawrence, Sarah Watson, Olivia Chalk, Dav Karbassioun, Tim Nolan and last but very definitely not least, Jason Gonsalves.
For a more straightforward look back at some of the themes of 2013:
– Our own round-up of the 2013 technology year, written for Marketing magazine
– Maria Popova's excellent 'The Best of Brainpickings 2013'
And for more on looking forward to 2014:
– JWT's 100 Things to Watch in 2014
– IBM's '5 in 5' (5 innovations in technology that will change our lives in 5 years


text:
Worm 'cell death' discovery could lead to new drugs for deadly parasite
Researchers from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute have for the first time identified a 'programmed cell death' pathway in parasitic worms that could one day lead to new treatments for one of the world's most serious and prevalent diseases.
Dr Erinna Lee and Dr Doug Fairlie from the institute's Structural Biology division study programmed cell death (also called apoptosis) in human cells. They have recently started studying the process in schistosomes, parasitic fluke worms responsible for the deadly disease schistosomiasis.
Dr Lee said that the group has shown that, unexpectedly, the cell death machinery that exists in fluke worms is remarkably similar to the cell death pathway in human cells. The finding was recently published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
"We found that schistosomes have a complex cell death mechanism that relied on a delicate balancing act of pro-survival and pro-death molecules, just like in humans," Dr Lee said. "Using the Australian Synchrotron, we also determined that the three-dimensional structure of a key schistosome cell death molecule was very similar to the protein which controls the process in humans. This structure is important because it will potentially guide future efforts to design drugs that target the schistosome cell death pathway."
More than 700 million people worldwide are at risk of schistosomiasis and 200 million people are currently infected, 85 per cent of whom live in Africa. Each year, an estimated 200,000 people die from the disease. The parasitic worm is carried by freshwater snails in contaminated water systems, and causes damage to the spleen, liver and other organs that can be fatal.
Dr Fairlie said that there is only one drug widely used for treating schistosomiasis, and concerns about the potential for drug resistance have increased the urgency for new drug targets and treatments. "Schistosomiasis ranks with malaria as a major source of human disease," Dr Fairlie said. "More than 2 billion people globally are at risk of parasitic worm infection, and we need to invest in the development of new drugs and vaccines, particularly as there are very few options currently available."
In the 1980s, scientists from the Institute and elsewhere discovered that defects in the cell death pathway were associated with cancer development. Dr Lee said the team are currently exploring the possibility that so-called 'BH3 mimetic' compounds such as ABT-737, discovered by biotechnology company Abbott, could also have a niche application for the treatment of parasitic worm diseases such as schistosomiasis. BH3 mimetics target the cell death pathway in humans and are currently being trialled as anti-cancer agents.
"The Bcl-2-regulated cell death pathway is currently being investigated as a therapeutic target for the treatment of some cancers," Dr Lee said. "We have found that a BH3-mimetic compound called ABT-737 binds to at least one schistosome pro-survival protein, suggesting it is feasible that BH3-like molecules could also be developed for treating schistosomiasis, and potentially other parasitic worm infections."
While the discovery leads to exciting new possibilities for the treatment of parasitic worm diseases, Dr Fairlie said there is still a lot to be understood about the cell death process in fluke worms before this becomes a reality. "Though we have found that this cell death pathway exists in the parasite, we don't yet know how important it is for the survival of the worm, or what the effect of drugs targeting the pathway will be. But we are excited about the possibility of developing an entirely new treatment strategy for schistosomiasis, which is a significant disease burden in developing countries," he said.


text: Hello all. I have an application written in jsp/java/oracle. My problem is on a table maintenance page that has a form containing a table with one row for each row of a table. It works perfectly for plain ASCII data. We introduced more users from Mexico that have characters in their name such as ñ etc. The form also adds a row to the table dynamically and uses an ajax call to retrieve data from the active directory. The jsp page and the ajax jsp file both have the utf-8 character set defined and I can retrieve and display the new unicode data correctly. Unfortunately, when I click the save button, somewhere along the way the unicode characters do not stay intact. The form submit goes to the main servlet class and then is passed to the table maintenance class for processing. The columns in every row have the same name so I load the data into arrays to process each row using a similar line for each column: String[] names = req.getParameterValues("Name");. How can I load the name data into a table to preserve the unicode characters. I have read about byte arrays and Output streams, but they are beyond my current knowledge in java. Can anyone help me with what techniques I need to get the unicode characters into the database correctly? I have printed the values to the log file and and as soon as the data is loaded into the arrays, the characters are wrong. Any help will be greatly appreciated. I am a long time programmer but I have more or less taught myself java over the last year and a half.


text:
Despite the excitement and prestige of owning a FLW home, there are certain pitfalls, reports the Wall Street Journal. There are exactly 20 on the market as we speak.
Remember Sharon and Lawrence Tarantino? They own a FLW home in Millstone, New Jersey, and experiencing some major flooding issues. The couple hopes to sell the home to a buyer who will ship the home to Italy.
U.S. & World
But flooding isn't the only headache experienced by FLW buyers. Designs unique to FLW architecture, like small kitchens and closets, and a lack of what Wright deemed unnecessary space, are challenges when it comes to living and repairing.
It's challenging to renovate the homes while maintaining Wright's innovations, like radiant-floor heating, carports, built-in furniture and soaring clerestory windows. Plus, the Wright conservancy holds permanent easements on 16 private Wright residents, restricting exterior alterations.
So owners who are enthusiastic about owning a piece of architectural history often find themselves losing millions on repairs that aren't paying off in a sell. Still, as the Wall Street Journal points out, "Many owners of Wright homes believe the pleasures of dwelling in a legendary architect's creation far outweigh any drawbacks."
Read the rest of the story here.
Copyright LXTVN - LXTV


text:
Maguro? Check. Salmon? Check. Ikura? Check. Normal colors? Um....
Here's a sushi combo platter that looks anything but typical. Spotted in China by Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, who also looks anything but typical, the image went viral in Japan.
Some said the colorful sushi looked unappetizing, while others wondered if it was safe to eat.
It's amazing how colors, colors that we perceive as natural or unnatural, can impact our desire to eat. Note that image does look processed—that could either be a crap camera phone or Photoshop trickery.
中国の寿司がカラフル過ぎてヤバイ・・・ [News Time School]
Kotaku East is your slice of Asian internet culture, bringing you the latest talking points from Japan, Korea, China and beyond. Tune in every morning from 4am to 8am.


text:
Mr. One Dimensional: Hitters
Speed: Ian Desmond, SS, Nationals (Owned in 58% of Yahoo Leagues)
His average is just .233 and he's got a mediocre 34 runs scored, and that power we saw in the second half of last season is not existent (only 3 home runs on the year). However, Desmond does have 20 steals this season, and with promise of improvement in all other categories, the second year shortstop may have a little something to offer.
Power: J.P. Arencibia, C, Blue Jays (Owned in 45% of Yahoo Leagues)
The Blue Jays rookie backstop is batting just .221, but he's still fantasy relevant. Why, because he has 12 home runs with 40 RBI. The 2007 first round pick is a bonafide slugger who can reach 25 home runs by the season's end.
Runs: Michael Brantley, OF, Indians (Owned in 39% of Yahoo Leagues)
One of the key reasons for the Indians success this season has been the play of 24-year old outfielder Michael Brantley. While his power is limited (only 6 homers on the season), and his speed hasn't been a game-changer (12 steals), the one saving grace for Cleveland's leadoff man is his ability to reach base and score runs. He has 51 runs on the season, including the two he added last night.
Average: Nate Schierholtz, OF, Giants (Owned in 11% of Yahoo Leagues)
Though he is killed by his home ballpark, Giants outfielder Nate Schierholtz has been a line drive machine this season, which explains why his average has soared to .289. With 7 homers and 5 swipes, Schierholtz can contribute in other categories, but he shines brightest when it comes to Batting Average.
For the best fantasy baseball analysis and insight please visit BloombergSports.com


text:
Rose-colored glasses will not be needed to appreciate the variety of colors and blend of tastes offered by these.
Preparation Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 10 mins
Yield: 5 x pizza slices
Preheat oven to 350ºF and place oven rack in middle-high position.
Microwave frozen vegetables, then pat dry. Brush all bread slices lightly with oil and spread each with about 1-1/2 tablespoons sauce.
Combine all vegetables in a medium-sized bowl. Carefully spoon vegetable mixture equally onto bread slices. Sprinkle with oregano and garlic powder and then with cheese.
Bake in preheated oven about 5 to 7 minutes, until bread is brown on the edges and all vegetables are piping hot. Serve immediately.