text:
The improbable dream has happened for the Tampa Bay Rays who went from worst to first, the young Rays completed a stunning run to their first pennant, holding off the defending champion Boston Red Sox 3-1 Sunday night behind Matt Garza's masterful pitching in Game 7 of the AL Championship Series. The Rays nearly let the series slip away when they blew a seven-run lead late in Game 5 and lost Saturday night. Game 7 belonged to David Price and Matt Garza. Price the 2007 first overall pick struck out J.D. Drew with the bases loaded to end the eighth inning to preserve the Rays 3-1 lead. In the ninth, Price went through four batters to send the Rays to the World Series.
Rays Advance to World Series
Sunday, October 19, 2008 / by William DePaoli / / boston red sox, MLB, tampa bay rays / 0 comments
Share this:
About The Author
William DePaoli
TIOPS Insider
William DePaoli is the President/Founder of Inside Pittsburgh Sports LLC and can be reached at email@example.com


text:
As L.A. Deputy Mayor Rick Cole walked back to City Hall Monday following a Little Tokyo sushi bar lunch, he constantly reached down to the sidewalk to pick up litter.
Gum wrappers. Discarded fliers. A large black plastic bag blowing in the breeze.
He did this unself-consciously, neither breaking stride nor interrupting the conversation about the fancy architecture of the Department of Transportation and LAPD buildings across 1st Street.
But the next day, as he gave a noon brown-bag lecture to graduate students at USC's Price School of Planning and Public Policy, I saw that, as with so many aspects of the Cole I've observed in the four decades I've known him, there was more to his trash patrol than met the eye.
His talk was titled "The Purpose of Planning Isn't to Make Great Plans, But to Make Great Places," and Cole, who in another life would have been a professor if he hadn't been mayor of Pasadena and city manager of Azusa and then of Ventura, decided to startle the aspiring planners from the first words of his talk.
"Without fundamentally reimagining urban planning," he said, "I think urban planners will be road kill. The practice as we know it today will not have survived your careers. In fact, there's a real danger that you will not have paid off your student loans before the end."
The words were calculated to shock, and they did. Cole has no training as a planner, but as Pasadena mayor focused the city on a citizen-driven rewrite of its general plan, and became a leader in the New Urbanism movement.
But now as Eric Garcetti's deputy mayor for budget and innovation, with 10 city of Los Angeles department heads reporting to him, Cole is in a position to not just advocate for the transit-oriented, targeted-density credo movement, but to order it up.
And at the same time he has grown skeptical of that most fundamental tool of American planners: the zoning regulations that tell developers what they can build, where.
Noting that from policing to education, big-city mayors these days are demanding quantifiable results, not well-meaning words, Cole said: "No one is going to let you get away with saying, 'I know planning works' — especially when you look around our cities and see that it doesn't."
Because Houston is the only big city in America without any zoning, it's famous in the planning profession as a "hot mess," Cole said. "The problem is that every other big city in America is hard to tell apart from Houston. The only difference between a street in Houston and a street in Los Angeles is their cars have Texas license plates."
It is actually the prescriptions of zoning that have given us the dull, wide parkways of suburban America. "Almost everything that we value about great places — outdoor dining, human scale — have been illegal under zoning for years. Look at the Southern California places people most cherish — Old Pasadena, Leimert Park, downtown Redlands, Laguna Beach — all were built before there even was zoning."
And here's the trash angle: "The stuff that makes cities work is about real life, not plans. It's about cleaning the sidewalks and the streets every day. That's what Rick Caruso (The Grove) does and what Walt Disney did — why should our places be any worse than those places?"
When Cole took his first trip to Europe, he tried to find the Planning Department in Rome. Didn't exist. "Ah, Urbanissimo!" someone finally said. It's not about pretending a city can be planned. It's about the holistic approach.
Great places in L.A.? "I have a metric," Professor Liz Falletta chimed in. "Would you take a date there?" Probably not to a place that was "planned." To a place passionate people created.
Larry Wilson is a member of the Los Angeles News Group editorial board. email@example.com.
Join the Conversation
We invite you to use our commenting platform to engage in insightful conversations about issues in our community. We reserve the right at all times to remove any information or materials that are unlawful, threatening, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, pornographic, profane, indecent or otherwise objectionable to us, and to disclose any information necessary to satisfy the law, regulation, or government request. We might permanently block any user who abuses these conditions.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Chaparral Brayburn and his mom own a sugar pie shop in the Sugar Man Swamp in Texas. Chap's grandpa, Audie Brayburn, moved down to the swamp in search of the ivory-billed woodpecker, also known as the Lord God Bird, decades ago. He swore that he saw it and even took a picture of it once when he first arrived. Unfortunately, he left the picture in his De Soto, abandoned in the swamp when he became ill and had to hike to the highway. When he got out of the hospital, he could never find the car again. Two raccoon brothers, Bingo and J'miah, did find it and made it their home and the headquarters of the True Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swamp. J'miah found a box wedged underneath, and pulled out three snapshots that he set up as artwork on the dashboard: one is an armadillo, one an ivory-billed woodpecker, and one is the Sugar Man.
Sonny Boy Beaucoup's great-great-greater-greatest grandfather had owned all of Sugar Man Swamp since before the Louisiana Purchase. Now Sonny Boy has teamed up with Jaeger Stitch, female alligator wrestler, to pave over acres and acres of swampland and create a theme park based on alligator wrestling. Chap's mom is late on the rent, and since she can't get the money together quickly, Sonny Boy is ready to throw them out and make the café part of the park. As a joke, he promises Chap that if he can present evidence of the Lord God Bird or the legendary Sugar Man, he will let them stay in the restaurant.
In the meantime, a sounder (that's the group name) of feral hogs is headed to Sugar Man Swamp because they've heard about the delicious sugar cane. Along the way, they destroy everything in their path. So, with destruction closing in on two sides, someone needs to wake up the Sugar Man! But first, they have to get past his guardian rattlesnake, Gertrude. Unbeknownst to one another, Chap and the True Blue Scouts are all working on ways to find and wake the Sugar Man.
Kathi Appelt is an accomplished and prolific author who won a Newbery Honor for The Underneath in 2010. True Blue Scouts is also at the top of many prognosticators' lists for this year's Newbery and is a National Book Award finalist. Readers, I have to tell you, I don't see it. The story itself is appealing: boy and animals try to save their homeland from destruction. However, I really did not have an emotional connection with Chap or the raccoons, much as I liked them both. Furthermore, Appelt has chosen to use a storyteller's voice for this novel, and the voice doesn't always sound like the same person. Most of the time, it is a down-homey, older voice, but occasionally it breaks into popular culture, such as on page 231, when she says, "That's a lot of car, my homies." Or on page 286, where she says "As soon as he returned home, he would burn that freaking document…." Freaking? It was just too inconsistent, and I think that is what forced me to keep all of the characters at arm's length and never to be completely immersed in the story. I was always aware of the narrator.
You may be thinking that I am breaking my own promise never to review a book that I don't like, but I did like it, actually. It was a very fun read blending realistic fiction with cryptids— always a kid-pleaser. I think it will be very popular, but I don't think it deserves a Newbery medal. I'm sure I missed something, since everyone else thinks it's great, but I just never felt the love.
Recommended for ages 9 and up.
Disclaimer: I read a library copy of this book. Opinions are solely my own and do not reflect those of my employer or anyone else.


text:
Is it not interesting that in Luke 1, here on this Mother's Day occasion, the announcement of heaven was given on two separate occasions to women who have yet to know the experiences of pregnancy and motherhood? That is, however, what we read in this chapter of Luke.
Elisabeth, an older woman who looked on her life as one not blessed by God because she had no child (or no children) to raise and nurture. She may not have considered her and her husband (Zacharias) as cursed, but it is more than likely she saw herself and them as not blessed (cf. Deut. 7:14: You shall be blessed above all peoples. There shall not be male or female barren among you or among your livestock. ESV). She was very much on the Lord's mind (as was her husband) and she was very much in the Lord's good graces. It goes to show (teach) that reality as one thinks of it in her life may not be reality at all.
Mary, a young woman, the age of which no one knows (perhaps a middle to late teenager). She was young enough that she was not married, but she was old enough to be betrothed (all but officially married) to the man Joseph. The same angel who came to Elisabeth's husband six months earlier, comes now to Mary. Mary was perplexed and confused about the situation, but she was wise enough to accept what she did not understand because of the source of the information, that source being the Almighty.
These two women had a story to tell, a story to tell that turned the world upside-down!
Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to draw up a narrative concerning those matters which have been fulfilled among us (Luke 1:1, ASV), Many people in the world have stories to tell about their own experiences relative to God, Christianity, the Holy Spirit, salvation, the church and Jesus. During the days of Luke many were telling the story of Jesus; those telling that story may not have been blatantly wrong or mistaken, but perhaps incomplete. On the other hand, some Bible expositors put forth the perspective those Luke had in view were Matthew and Mark, so Luke set out to complete this message of the Lord toward a particular audience of people. Unfortunately, in our day, many who speak about the Lord, Holy Spirit, salvation, etc., are blatantly wrong or mistaken. The only way to determine accuracy in matters pertaining to God is to go to His revealed Word, as the Bereans did (Acts 17:11). even as they delivered them unto us, who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word (Luke 1:2), The Word of God must be preached to people, and preaching the Message of God to people means the Word of God must be taught to people who do not know. Unlike in the days of the first century, we are a most fortunate people because we have a Bible in our house (likely more than one), a Bible on our phone (perhaps more than one translation), but because it is so common, people don't respect it like they should. "I can read the Bible any time I want" saying this as they lightly set it aside for another day. What a shame! Those in Luke's day had a zeal for God to teach it with compassion and passion; it cost them much, but they taught it just the same. it seemed good to me also, having traced the course of all things accurately from the first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus (Luke 1:3); who Theophilus was is not known, but the writing document put together by Luke was not only to teach and reaffirm to him the truthfulness of what he wrote, but also for us. Peter said of those things written, man now has all things that pertain to life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3) and Jude says that those things revealed must be defended, that is contended for when others speak against it (Jude 3; cf. Phil. 1:27). that thou mightest know the certainty concerning the things wherein thou wast instructed (Luke 1:4). The Gospel message is a message of hope, but the message of hope is surrounded in this world by much darkness. While the gospel message will never be defeated, those to who the Gospel message is give can be defeated, and their defeat will be the result of 1) neglect or 2) reject.
We may not have a story to turn the world upside-down like Elisabeth and Mary, but we do have a story to tell. That story is the life of Christ in the life of us each. As you thank your mother for being who she is, be sure to thank the Lord because of who He is and what He did for each of us. That is the story we can tell others and should tell from the mountaintops. RT


text:
Holy DAO! Reflections on the $155 Million (And Growing) Autonomous Behemoth
DAO: a distributed, autonomous corporation.
(A backgrounder can be found here.)
Just more than a year ago, as I was completing work on Augur, a couple of old friends proposed to me a crypto-equity crowdfunding entity. It would be structured similar to "The DAO" currently being flooded with ether right now. I was skeptical, to say the least.
This is a group text I received from them a few days ago. (Edited for clarity):
"The DAO was [our] idea, and it's going to put your b**** company out of business.
Power of the people, not some dudes that burn everyone's money into the ground."
This made me LOL for a few reasons.
But for context: I now work as an investor at a blockchain-focused venture capital firm.
The first reason I was amused by this text was the eternal truth of entrepreneurship: Ideas are 1 percent of a business, execution is 99 percent.
Secondly: Venture-capital funds don't burn "everyone's" money (maybe limited partners') — they invest money into startups who, then, in turn, may burn it. (Notably, "VC-backed ventures have more impactful innovations and experience faster commercialization rates" than angel investors, according to theJournal of Business Venturing.)
Most importantly: Having been immersed in the incredibly intricate business of venture capital for the past year, I am even more unconvinced that a DAO really has a substantial place in the world of investing.
Lastly, as someone who cofounded one of the first DAOs (Augur), please allow me to lay out my thoughts on this extraordinary fundraising phenomenon, because I am mildly terrified by what is happening.
To give my friends credit, thereis a role for DAOs in the world of finance, albeit a small one. Let me provide an anecdote from my own entrepreneurial experience to elucidate:
When we first started building Augur, a decentralized prediction market platform, we quickly came to the conclusion that there was no way we could incorporate an entity building our software as a for-profit organization. Our consensus mechanism relied on the participation of thousands of individuals reporting on the outcome of events using a token.
Thus, a crowdsale (crowdfunding), as opposed to venture capital, was the only game-theoretically viable manner with which to distribute the token. However, without a minimum viable product (MVP), we had no capacity to execute such a financing.
A platform like "The DAO" would have been an excellent way to sell early access to the token, at a discount, before we had an MVP good enough for a crowdsale.
But how many software projects have a similar structure to Augur? Considering it took us only $300,000 to get to a crowdsale, and the $5.5 million we received was more than enough to sustain the software for the near future — it's hard to see where the $147 million currently raised will be invested.
This is particularly relevant as any business backed by "The DAO" has to be built entirely on the Ethereum blockchain (as opposed to having off-chain, or multi-chain, components). In other words, any money made from the proposal that isn't earned directly through the backed smart contract will not trickle back to the "The DAO" participants.
When I left Augur to "join the dark side" (VC), it was with the expectation that we could hopefully help finance Ethereum-based companies. To my delight, we have been able to do so.
That being said, I have been less than impressed with the projects that have opted to raise capital through crowdsales since Augur (e.g. Digix, Lisk). Each of these sales raised between $5 million and $6 million, which is substantial, but fortunately not earth-shattering, should they fail.
And this touches on an underlying issue with the "The DAO": This potentially revolutionary funding mechanism has the capacity to democratize access to capital … assuming nothing goes wrong.
As with any new technology (following The Lean Startup), it would probably be better to test out DAOs slowly, before pouring money into them.
To many, the $18 million crowdsale behind the Ethereum blockchain was ludicrous. However, blockchains (such as Bitcoin's) provided some precedent, and obviously the investment paid off (ether, which was sold for 30 cents in the crowdsale, is now trading around $12.30). The $5.5 million behind Augur's token sale was also labeled as crazy, but at least prediction markets have a long history, the mechanisms behind how Augur would work were clear, and there was a working alpha product.
"The DAO" has no clear precedent, nor pressing use case. With Title III of the Jobs Act going into effect recently, despite its burdensome restrictions, there's even less of a compelling argument to be made for this new crypto-entity. In the relatively brief time I have worked in venture capital I have yet to see a concept I found to be deserving of backing not receive it.
But let's suppose that "The DAO" is, in fact, a self-evident tool that the world needs ….
One-hundred and forty-seven million dollars is a lot of money. Even to the biggest banks or hedge funds, to Mark Zuckerberg or Bill Gates— that sum is substantial. Even if half, or more, of the "investors" pull out their contributions before their money gets locked up, there are going to be tens of millions of dollars locked in this smart contract.
Should anything go wrong, there will be hell to pay … although who will pay is only vaguely clear.
From Russia to China to the United States, and everywhere in between, hackers, scammers and schemers of all sorts are going to be trying to tap into this massive honeypot.
I am a huge proponent of the wisdom of crowds. I literally spent a year of my life arguing for it while promoting Augur. But the binary or combinatorial option of predicting who will become president is a lot simpler and more straightforward than regularly reviewing and investing in startup ideas.
How on earth are the participants in "The DAO" supposed to conduct, and share, due diligence on entrepreneurs and/or programmers proposing projects? Of course you can have forums and Slack to discuss, but how does one differentiate between noise and valid input? Who is going to do a thorough background check on each submitter? That's like blindly asking Reddit to make a major life decision for you.
Startup investment is not easy. I have learned this firsthand. Even at a small, boutique venture fund, we spend hours upon hours evaluating a single company. Can DAO members really be expected to do that for the hundreds, or even thousands, of proposals "The DAO" receives? And with the creators of this entity suggesting that projects request funding monthly, which "investors" really have the time for the necessary scrutiny?
Another question is how this will logistically work. "The DAO" totally sounds great in theory. But in practice, it is anyone's guess. Even with Augur, where the team has gone through MVP, prototype, alpha and beta stages, there's no saying how the system will truly work until it goes live. Tens of thousands of hours of testing and simulation will help us predict, but only the final product determines a smart contract's fate. And, of course, there's the possibility that there may be a bug in the code. In that case, there's a 100 million dollar-plus bounty for whoever finds it.
I don't want to dwell on the legal issues here, because I spent too much of my life defending the legality of Augur to now be critical about "The DAO." However, I would be beyond shocked if the Securities and Exchange Commission, and beyond, have not taken a keen interest in this platform. The legal research I did for Augur makes so much of this platform alarming, and for good reason.
Ultimately, I hope 'The DAO' is a wild success.
The money raised so far has the potential to do no less than radically change the world of bureaucracy, entrepreneurship, venture capital and the very nature of what it means to have a company. It's a phenomenal idea in theory.
But I wish we had started a little smaller, and a little less ambitious.
If anything goes wrong with this grand initiative, the ramifications for future DAOs (or those such as Augur), smart contract technology and Ethereum will be far greater than what Mt. Gox did for Bitcoin. It would be catastrophic.
I hope that doesn't happen. Death by a thousand cuts (or in this instance, poor investments) would be far more optimal. But there's a large financial incentive for matters to turn awry, quickly.
One of the reasons venture capital exists is to take risks other sorts of investors and lenders are unwilling, or unable, to take. In the past 60 years, some of the most important technology, medicine and beyond has begun with venture backing. The crowd will never replace a thoughtful, value-added investor.
Ideally, however, "The DAO" can democratize access to early capital, so the playing field becomes more even for aspiring entrepreneurs, who can then come to professional investors with more fully baked products. That would be truly revolutionary. Alas, only time will tell.
The only action that can be taken now is to cross our fingers and hope nothing breaks.
My heart can't take another Gox.
Editor's note: This is a guest post by Jeremy Gardner and the opinions represented are those of the author.


text:
*This post is brought to you in collaboration with HashChing.
Buying or refinancing a home in one of Australia's crowded capital cities such as in Sydney or Melbourne has become an issue, and for those like us scratching up a deposit to afford an abode or even trying to manage steep mortgages, the trend shows that the dream of home ownership is steadily rising out of the grasp of the average Australian.
In 2017, the median house price in Melbourne alone has risen above the $800,000 mark - many times greater than the average salary of struggling families and individuals who are striving to get a foot in the elusive housing market. This fact, combined with the sting of regular government cut-backs at both a state and federal level, plus increasing tax and utility costs being thrown our way, shows that the 'great Australian dream' is rapidly becoming just that - wishful thinking.
Despite this apparent depressing outlook for home buyers, there's never been a better time than now to save dollars with the goal of home ownership in your sights. Whether you are an individual, couple or a family, either first home buyers just starting out or already paying a mortgage, trimming your everyday costs, is your first plan of action for setting up a good savings system.
No matter where you are on your home buying journey, successful budgeting always starts with the small and simple things. Just cutting back on your regular take-out coffee, lunches at work and monitoring and reducing your impulse purchases which can rapidly add up over the weeks, months and years, can make a huge difference to your savings in the long term. Exercising self-control with spending in these smallest of ways can effectively make a difference of several hundred dollars, or even thousands, in your bank account each year.
Reduce your living expenses. No matter what your current living situation is, trimming costs off your food budget, utility costs and everyday living can help you save cash. If you're renting, this could mean finding a cheaper rental for the time being and banking the difference towards a deposit. Don't be afraid to shop around for deals from electricity providers too. Change supermarkets if your current one is not competitively priced or find the time to budget your weekly shop by spreading it across several stores for the best deals on items both big and small.
Reduce your credit expenses. Credit cards are useful on occasion as a back-up, however, relying on them to cover your spending on a regular basis can quickly lead to a cycle of overspending and debt which can be difficult to reign-in. Interest rates on credit cards are rarely user-friendly once you've overdone your budget. Unless you can curb your spending with credit and pay the debts off in a timely way each month, you'll need to re-think your relationship with the plastic. Your best plan of action where credit cards are concerned, is to pay these off in full each month to avoid the high interest rates being applied to any outstanding balance, and then either rarely use them, or consider cancelling the cards altogether if you can't manage them in this capacity.
Save! Save! Save! As you save for your home, shop around for great deals with secure financial institutions. A term deposit, for instance, is a wise choice for savers, where your money is locked in a higher interest earning account for a nominated period of time. Just keep rolling your funds over as they mature and adding your additional savings to see your account grow. Likewise, set up affordable automatic debits from your salary that go straight into your nominated savings account as soon as you are paid. This will ensure you will always have your savings growing seamlessly while you continue to work towards your goal of home ownership.
Shop around for home loan deals. There are so many options and considerations here and it helps to be wise about how you go about this. HashChing is an ideal place to start your search.
HashChing is an Australian online marketplace where you can browse for the best home loan deals and it's completely free to use for home buyers. HashChing connects you directly to verified mortgage brokers who can then negotiate a better rate from lenders on your behalf, ultimately saving you the groundwork, hassle and money.
Home loan rates on HashChing start from 3.59% p.a. and consumers can have a look at the home loan deals page to see what offers are available. Click here to access weekly home loan deals.
If you're already up to this stage in your quest to own a home, you can easily get in touch with one of the brokers at HashChing. Even if you're already mortgaged and comfortably settled in your own home, it's still wise to get in touch with a broker at HashChing and save big dollars over the life of your loan. HashChing can help you out at no cost too. You can contact an expert today by clicking here.


text:
This public program is taking place in conjunction with artist Mary Mattingly's exhibition What Happens After, at BRIC House.
Benji Hart will perform World After This One (work in progress), which uses three distinct Black art forms—the queer street style of vogue, the Afro-Boricua dance and drumming tradition of bomba, and gospel music—to examine how Black people have always used the tools of the present to construct portals to impossible futures. Blurring the lines between the secular and sacred, celebration and mourning, the past and the yet-to-pass, World After This One imagines Black liberation not as a metaphor, but a possibility.
NIC Kay will perform Untitled, a site responsive performance in relation to their ongoing project GET WELL SOON!, this work is a continuation of their exercises in getting well soon, a project/meditation based on the loose and often used phrase indicating a hope of recovery. These exercises have been articulated as movement, installation, games, endurance, ritual, poetry, and collective action.
The act of collaboratively changing the form of an object with a violent and complex history, can be a powerful one. Can it become ritual? Healing? Through the transformation of a massive military vehicle used in the Gulf and Afghan wars, nine performance artists created instead a bridge for communication and a stage for re-visioning a future for public spaces in an increasingly militarized world.
Participants of the redesign included: Rosie Bruno, Nicole Cheng, Emily Bluck Chow, Angela-Renee Coakley, Fred Fleisher, Yunchi Huang, Maria Hupfield, Sto Len, Paul Middendorf, David Hamilton Thomson, Shelley Senter, and Renae Reynolds.
Benji Hart is a Black, queer, femme artist and educator from Amherst, MA, currently living in Chicago. They have taught voguing to trans and queer youth at Black & Pink's National Convening, the Chicago Cultural Center, and the Broadway Youth Center. Their original solo piece Dancer As Insurgent—which explores vogue as a form of radical resistance—has been performed for the Elements of Vogue exhibit opening at CA2M, INCITE!'s conference Color of Violence 4, and the Jane Addams Hull House. They are the recipient of the Rauschenberg Residency, Chicago Women and Femmes to Celebrate, and the 3Arts Award in the Teaching Arts.
NIC Kay is trans disciplinary artist working with and through performance. Their work has been presented in Europe and the United States. NIC attended Professional Performing Artist School and NYU Hemispheric Institute EMERGENYC. NIC has been a Chances Dances, Marc Aguhar Memorial Grant, and a Movement Research Van Lier Fellow awardee. Their work lil BLK was presented in American Realness. NIC was a performance artist in residence at the Museum of Art Design in the Sonic Arcade exhibition until February 2018 and is currently at Pioneer Works, NY.
Venue Information:
The Stoop at BRIC House is a public cultural gathering space featuring free, drop-in programming, and offering a place to sit, observe, and participate in multi-disciplinary work.
Beginning Nov. 1, 2022, attendees of any BRIC House programming will no longer have to show proof of vaccination or a negative test to enter the building. Masks are encouraged but not required in all BRIC operated spaces. If you have questions regarding this protocol, please email email@example.com


text:
Gemmeke (1995) hedgehog metaldehyde pesticides secondary poisoning slugs
Translation of:
Investigation of the hazard of secondary poisoning of hedgehogs (Erinaceous europeaeus L.) by metaldehyde ingested by slugs on arable land.
The use of pellets containing metaldehyde to control slug populations on arable land involves the possibility that hedgehogs may come into contact with poisoned slugs or with pellets directly. The aim of this study is to determine whether hedgehogs kept in an enclosure feed on slugs treated with metaldehyde, and if so, display any signs of poisoning. Of the six hedgehogs used one consumed none, and one twelve of the slugs. The other four ate all or nearly all of the 200 treated slugs. Neither symptoms of metaldehyde poisoning nor behavioural disorders were detected in any of the hedgehogs. All hedgehogs survived the study without negative effects and were released back into the wild in a good state of health to the place from where they were originally captured.
The results demonstrate the following:
- some hedgehogs eat dead slugs either reluctantly or not at all.
- some hedgehogs eat metaldehyde-treated slugs in large numbers
- -healthy adult hedgehogs can consume up to 200 treated slugs without displaying signs of poisoning.
- The risk of secondary poisoning in hedgehogs due to the use of slug pellets treated with metaldehyde can be judged to be very low.
1) Introduction
Newspaper reports and hedgehog publications (for example the German publications Plaedoyer fuer den Igel and Igel bulletin) have frequently reported the alleged poisoning of hedgehogs through herbicides and pesticides, at the same time raising to prominence the danger of slug pellets. It is supposed that hedgehogs, due to their diet of molluscs poisoned through pesticides, may ingest the poison and thereby caused harm.
At the centre of this criticism are preparations which contain metaldehyde as a base, the incidence of dead hedgehogs has been proven (Berthoud, 1981; Stocker1987; Greig Smith,1988; Greig Smith et al, 1988; Fletcher et al 1990; Keymer et al 1991; Fletcher and Hunter, 1992).To answer the question if hedgehogs were being poisoned by ingesting slugs that had themselves been poisoned by metaldehyde a study was carried out, principally to answer the following questions.
- Do hedgehogs eat metaldehyde-poisoned slugs?
- Does the ingestion of metaldehyde-poisoned slugs by hedgehogs cause them to exhibit symptoms of poisoning?
- Materials and Methods
A method for the study was chosen which had previously been used by Mesurol to test the secondary poisoning risk to hedgehogs by slug pellets. (Gemmeke 1991)
2.1 Study Animals
2.1.1 Control and Study animal Data
The animals used were adult hedgehogs over 500g in weight that were caught in the wild, using a hand-held night sight. Of the 20 animals caught 3 male and 3 female animals were kept as control animals (table 1) . All the animals were healthy, free from recognisable diseases and wounds. Apart from the removal of ticks no animals underwent disinfestations of parasites.
2.1.2 Captivity and Care.
After their capture the hedgehogs were first-of-all kept for a minimum of one week to become familiar with their captivity and surroundings and allowed to forage for their food within the enclosure whilst being observed. The enclosure was 2.5 square metres and the wooden walls were 45cm high. The enclosure was covered; temperature and humidity followed the ambient conditions outside. Each hedgehog was provided with a nest box with a hay lining.
During the acclimatisation period the hedgehogs were fed with tinned cat food and water as a staple diet (100g-150g per day). For a minimum of three days 10 dead slugs were fed to the animals as well as their normal food. The health of the hedgehogs was monitored daily, hedgehogs, which ate the food only grudgingly or not at all were released back to the wild at their place of capture. After the acclimatisation period the hedgehogs, with their nest boxes were placed in the study room, which was a 9 square metre room in which the hedgehogs had free range. The tiled floor was covered with approx 2cm of sand. The temperature and humidity of the test room mimicked that of the outside. The room was lit by a red light between 19.00 hrs and 7.00 hrs and a video camera ran permanently.
2.2 Test Material
Metaldehyde slug pellets were supplied by Lonza AG for the test in the form of blue granules 0.025g weight with 5.88% metaldehyde active ingredient (information given y the supplier). The toxicity is quoted for rats (both sexes) as LD50 227-690 mg/kg bodyweight. (Booze & Oehme, 1985)
2.3 Poisoned Slugs
Slugs originating from a research institute (deroceras spec.) with a body weight of around 0.3g that had been previously poisoned were given to the hedgehogs. The poisoning of the slugs took place in a glass container (aquarium), the bottom of which was water saturated filter paper. A shelter for the slugs was provided by a raised board and the granules applied by turning the board over and placing a granule between the board and the slug (1 granule / 3 slugs). After 2-4 hours the poisoned slugs were removed from the board with tweezers and stored in a refrigerator for up to 4 hours whilst awaiting use. Granules adhering to the slugs were removed.
Only slugs showing clear symptoms of poisoning as described by Daxel (1968) were used for the trial. Dead or damaged slugs either lay stretched out or showed little movement when disturbed. In these cases the mouth opening was usually swollen and the slug was shrunken due to excretion of slime.
The poison content of 20 selected random dead slugs was analysed and the results calculated.
Data for test and control animals. (Table1)
3 Results
3.1 Research Animals
From 20 hedgehogs caught for research only 6 animals could be used for testing and 6 for control, all of these were without recognisable diseases, exhibited no stress symptoms and readily ate the offered standard food. The other hedgehogs were not considered suitable because six hedgehogs refused the standard food for several days. One animal was so tame it had obviously over-wintered in captivity without hibernating and one hedgehog suffered from a parasitic infection (lung Infection) and unfortunately had to be destroyed.
3.2 Consumption of poisonous slugs
Of the six animals, four ate 0,12,196 and 198 respectively and the remaining two ate all 200 slugs offered. One hedgehog regurgitated around 150 slugs, however after a pause of an hour re-ate all the slugs. No test animals showed any adverse symptoms, behavioural differences or signs of poisoning. Due to analytical difficulties the remaining slugs could not be reliably tested for traces of metaldehyde.
4 Discussion
The research has shown that hedgehogs can eat large numbers of metaldehyde-poisoned slugs without adverse effects. Two hedgehogs would probably have eaten more than the 200 slugs provided because they returned frequently to the food bowl in search of more food. The regurgitation of food observed in one animal is not uncommon in hedgehogs (Reeve1994), he reasons that excretion of slime by the slugs causes this to occur. It then follows that it is not the presence of metaldehyde that causes this phenomenon but the slime from the dead slugs. Two hedgehogs showed a dislike of the dead slugs. One animal totally refused to eat the slugs and another ate about 90 slugs for the first two nights during the acclimatisation period and rested on the third night eating neither slugs nor cat food. The following study night, even in a state of hunger, only ate 12 slugs. Both the foregoing examples show that not all hedgehogs like to eat dead slugs. What percentage of hedgehogs in the wild seldom eat contaminated slugs cannot be estimated through this study; to achieve this aim, a targeted study into the eating habits of hedgehogs would have to be performed.
The results lead us to believe that healthy, adult hedgehogs can be expected to consume over 200 metaldehyde contaminated slugs without any adverse effects or indeed deaths. If in the wild hedgehogs consume more than 200 slugs, then the ingested poisons would not be significantly higher because of the mix of poisoned, unpoisoned and low metaldehyde –contact slugs. It is unlikely that hedgehogs in the wild would encounter such high concentrations (greater than 100/sq metre) as arranged in the research. Nevertheless, as previously mentioned, hedgehog poisoning through metaldehyde is occasionally reported. Keymer Gibson and Reynolds 1991 discovered concentrations of up to80mg/kg of acetaldehyde (by-product of digesting metaldehyde) in the liver of hedgehogs. They and Fletcher suggest that this was caused through direct consumption of the poison (by the hedgehogs). Since hedgehogs eat bread it is likely that the pellets adhere to the bran content of the bread. This assumption could apply when the pellets are not distributed in accordance with the instructions but rather put in rows or small piles. According to the calculations of Keyne Gibson and Reynolds 1991, a 1kg hedgehog should be able to consume around 5g of pellets (around 200 pellets) to be fatal, which would be highly unlikely provided the pellets were distributed in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions of 25-40 pellets/ sq metre. Scheller's research (quoted Esser 1994) suggests that concentrations up to 500mg/kg are not dangerous for hedgehogs. In Great Britain it is also suggested that illegal baits (e.g. mince) with metaldehyde added may also have played a role.
(Greig Smith et al 1989)
The Deutsche Pflanzenschutzdienst first published this report in 1995. (The German botanical protection service)
It was written by Dr Hubert Gemmeke of the Biologische Bundesanstalt fuer Land und Forstwirtschaft. (the German ministry of agriculture and forestry)


text:
FIFA 15 Ultimate Team Winning Tips
There are so many elements to impact on your winning with your FIFA 15 Ultimate Team, like formation, positioning... How can we build the most impressive ultimate team? However, it does not guarantee victory. More important, you need to know how to play. Here are some tips for you to play better with your fIFA 15 Ultimate Team Coins .
Chipped through balls should only be used when its the only option. Often it takes too long for the attacking player to control the ball and the defender catches and makes the tackle. Just use a low power through ball and continue the attack.
Don't dive in with this defender, jockey holding LT. This will allow you to cover the space(which he exploits when your player make a challenge and misses)if you are holding L2, your player will only make a challenge if he knows he will get the ball.
You take way too long to shoot. You need to drill this across the keeper whilst you have the space. You could also make room for the cut back to the other striker but you need to commit to one. If it was me, I'd be shooting.
You should be running this player back, not forward. Pace is so important on this FIFA, the last thing you want to do is to leave space for an attacker to run into. The only thing you can do now is to run pressure the striker with this defender. You need to switch to him straight away or, as it turns out here, it will be too late.
You shouldn't be passing this. If you want to try and find this player, it needs to be a cross. You should look at your radar and seeing if there's any better options. There are 2 players making runs on the edge of the box, in lots of space and are better options.
Remember these and try not to make the mistakes. Play better with your FIFA 15 Ultimate Team with our tips however.
订阅: 博文评论 (Atom)


text:
Lay Z Spa Vegas Hot tub for up to 6 people. It comes with a genuine Lay Z spa LED Underwater light that is easily fit. It has 7 stunning colours that can be set to your liking. This is genuine UK stock with a UK plug. Not worth the risk in my opinion.They are cheap for a reason!! Out of stock in the UK. Now you and your friends can experience the benefits of your very own hot tub from the comfort of your home.
Gently lower yourself into the blissful 40°C waters and immerse yourself in the calming surroundings of the Lay-Z-Spa Vegas AirJet. At the touch of a button, surround yourself with thousands of therapeutic bubbles and experience an intense full-body massage thanks to the powerful integrated 87 AirJet system. Revitalise your body and mind in water temperatures of up to 40°C. Thermostatically regulated for maximum energy efficiency and able to heat, massage and filter at the same time, simply choose your desired temperature and let the rapid heating system do the rest. Taking less than 5 minutes to inflate, setting up a Lay-Z-Spa is easy.Requiring no tools to install, simply plug your Lay-Z-Spa straight into a standard British plug socket. Portable and easy to move compared to a fixed hot tub, if you decide you want to move your Lay-Z-Spa, simply empty, deflate and move to a new position. Rigorously tested for strength and structural integrity, the Vegas AirJet features a rigid circular beam construction for long-lasting stability and comfort.
Protected by a leatheroid outer cover complete with child safe double-lock safety clips, insulating inflatable lid and cushioned floor; the Vegas AirJet is the perfect first hot tub. Keeping your spas water pristine is easy with the integrated ChemConnect dispenser.
Fully adjustable to determine chemical release, simply add multifunction chlorine tablets for easy, no fuss hot tub chemical care. Your spa will always be ready when you are with the built-in Power Saving Timer.
Simply choose when and how long your pump automatically activates up to 72 hours in advance. Enter your Vegas AirJet with total peace of mind thanks to Lay-Z-Spas market leading safety measures. Unique to Lay-Z-Spa, the Ground Fault Detection System continually monitors for a safe earth connection in your power supply.This coupled with the improved ultra-sensitive RCD helps to deliver double-layered protection so that you can relax in complete peace of mind. The item "Lay Z Spa VEGAS Hot Tub 6 Person Comes With LED lights UK Stock" is in sale since Friday, July 17, 2020. This item is in the category "Garden & Patio\Swimming Pools & Hot Tubs\Hot Tubs". The seller is "jm210508" and is located in Bradford. This item can be shipped to United Kingdom.


text:
Using various Google Apps for Education tools, this session will cover techniques to facilitate student collaboration, student-centered learning, and formative assessment in a mathematics classroom. Sparked by a 140 character tweet, learn how reframing the learning can allow students to follow their own pathways to learning, and develop metacognitive awareness. Students have reported anecdotally that they "enjoy math class" for the first time!
Program Highlights:
Sessions >


text:
Matsalu National Park was established in 1957. Many migratory birds nest on the coastal grasslands and reed beds surrounding the Matsalu Bay. Initially the park was called Matsalu Nature Reserve and it did not gain its current name until 2004.
Matsalu National Park is one of Europe's richest areas for bird species with more than 270 different species. If you happen to go there during the spring or fall bird migration period, you will experience the unforgettable sight of large flocks.
Matsalu wetland is of international importance as some of the semi-natural landscapes that have become very rare in Europe are still found there. Different types of meadows can be found spanning its 9,700 hectares. The primary types of meadows found here are broad flood-meadows and coastal grasslands. There are also alvar grasslands, wooded meadows, plaudifying grasslands and dry boreonemoral grasslands. After the snow melts, several of these are flooded by the Kasari river – one of the longest and most voluminous rivers in Estonia – which runs through Matsalu National Park.
Matsalu National Park has been awarded with several recognitions:
The best time to visit Matsalu National Park is during the spring and fall bird migration period, when the park is the main gathering point for ducks, swans, geese and cranes on the Estonian. As Matsalu is on the eastern Atlantic migration route, over two million birds fly through annually. More than 230,000 birds stop in Matsalu for a time. In the Matsalu area, there are many local entrepreneurs happy to organize bird watching tours.
There are three hiking trails of various lengths and six distinctive watchtowers on the premises of the park. Matsalu National Park Visitor Center, where you will find a fascinating display of local animals and birds as well as a lot of information about the national park, is situated in the historic Penijõe manor.
A 614 km RMK hiking route starts at Penijõe manor. It crosses six counties and ends by Lake Peipus, which forms part of Estonia's eastern border. Estonian Nature Tours and Birding Haapsalu organize bird watching trips in Matsalu National Park. Seikluspartner organizes various treks on canoes, standup paddleboards, bikes and snowshoes.
Ranna Ranch, a petting zoo where you can visit and pet 14 different domestic animal species (including birds), is the best place for a family vacation in the midst of animals.


text:
When it comes to writing, you want to build the most error-free write up, you can create regardless if it's for your own website or for someone else's; for your own book, or whatever. This is why I chose to write about the best grammar checker online.
Table of Contents
- What Is Grammarly?
- Grammarly Features
- Grammarly Premium Plans & Pricing
- How To Pay For Grammarly Premium Subscription?
- What Do I Like About Grammarly?
- What Didn't I Like About Grammarly?
- Grammarly Review From Writers
- Conclusion – Why Grammarly Is The Best Grammar App?
You aren't confident with your writing, are you? Possibly, a perfectionist. You want to make sure every post you write is as flawless as possible. Do my assumptions of you sound correct? Does it sound like you?
If so, your search for the best grammar checker online has come to an end as I reveal my #1 recommended writing tool to you, which I have been using for 4 long years since I started my writing career. Are you curious?
Disclaimer: There are some affiliate links in the post. If you click on them, recognize that I'm earning commissions for promoting the product and/or service. However, I am only doing to those I personally use, and when I find them worth recommending. Otherwise, I won't do so.
What Is Grammarly?
Established in 2008, Alex Shevchenko and Max Lytvyn developed an online grammar checking, spell checking, and plagiarism detection platform known as Grammarly. It's a software that caters to help writers and its stakeholders to create a flawless write-up.
Even for someone with an English language background and an awareness of a massive list of grammar rules, having issues with our writing is inevitable.
We still create a lot of mistakes, and we want to get rid of them as much as we can. We want to sound professional to our readers but not with grammatical errors.
From there, Grammarly helps in the proofreading process and scans the whole work based on 250 grammar rules to live by (for writers and bloggers alike).
This is why I wanted to share with you my experience with the application and how it became the #1 must-have tool for writers. Especially to those who want to earn an income from our prowess.
[su_youtube url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yj-hjzql3I" width="800″]
Grammarly Features
There are variations with its features depending if you are using the free or the paid version. Of course, you can maximize the application for the most part if you are willing to pay either its monthly or yearly subscriptions.
For those who want to have a feel of Grammarly before purchasing it, on the other hand, you can have it for a free version. It's still useful enough for your writing. But it's too limited.
Your work will be scanned and detect some fundamental errors. Not the word choice, punctuation, sentence errors, etc. Only the Premium Plans have these features.
Below is the complete list of what you can enjoy with the free and the paid versions you have to look into. In that way, it will help you decide if Grammarly is best for your writing needs…or not.
Grammarly Premium Plans & Pricing
According to its official website, it's said that when it comes to the Premium Plans, you have 3 options:
- Monthly Subscription – $29.95 per month
- Quarterly Subscription – $19.98 per month (billed as one payment of $59.95)
- Annual Subscription – $11.66 per month (billed as $139.95)
You can use either of which is apt for your current writing needs. Based on the amounts above, it's best to purchase the annual subscription because it's going to save you a lot of money than having it per month.
You are paying around $18 more if you opt for the monthly subscription than having it $18 less for a yearly subscription.
How To Pay For Grammarly Premium Subscription?
To pay, Grammarly accepts debit cards, credit cards, or PayPal. If you want to use your debit card, please take note that it doesn't recognize:
- Visa Electron debit cards
- Mastercard Maestro
- Interac
Aside from these 3 payment options, they don't accept other means to pay the subscription mentioned above plans.
What Do I Like About Grammarly?
Below are the pros I see when using this tool for years in my writing career. There's never a day I didn't have Grammarly on stand-by in my daily writing routine.
1. Useful browser extension
The cool thing about this platform is that it can be installed as an extension application to various browsers like Google Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and Edge. In that way, it makes the writing process more manageable.
As for me, I rely heavily on having my work copied and pasted using Grammarly online from my Google Docs. That's easier for me.
2. Trusted grammar checker online
Regardless of how you use Grammarly, the trust you give to the application by itself as a very essential tool is more important.
It is a necessity to make sure our blog posts, our essays, our books, whatever you are writing right now is as flawless as possible.
In fact, 76% of the users find writing more enjoyable than before when using the application because of its capacity to proofread seamlessly. There are 99% of the students who used Grammarly in their works had higher grades before they used it.
Lastly, 85% of the users became stronger and prolific writers because of their capacity to transform a piece of work into something free from errors, making it appear as professional as possible.
3. Customizable
This doesn't mean it concerns the layout or something. It is actually pointing out whether you'll be using the UK or US English as a standard in your write up.
In that way, it will detect the words you use (whether you're using American or British English) and it automatically works with the language based on the adjustment you made.
You can also add more words to your account vocabulary by clicking the word and add it to your dictionary. That's how easy to use Grammarly is.
4. Helps writers build reputation
For writers like us, producing high-quality content online, especially on our blogs, is very important. With an itty-bitty error affects our reputation.
I've experienced a lot of times over the years in my career, and I tell you it's a big slap on the face. It makes us look awful.
Further, it helps us detect possible plagiarized paragraphs, which are completely uncontrollable in our writing.
Through determining which of these would cause problems later on, Grammarly detects these and gives us suggestions to revise them.
In that way, we won't face any problems against authors, who'll claim we copied their work. It happened to me when I was a news writer back then.
This is why in whatever we create for others, an article for both offline and online readers, must be presented as perfectly as possible.
The application does that with easy-to-follow instructions as well as real-time error detection. And that's only possible if we use Grammarly all the time in our writing career.
There's no other platform I used in my humble beginnings. Until now, I still use the same. I couldn't continue thriving with ambition as a writer without it.
5. Diverse payment options
If you take a look at the payment options provided for users like us, there are 3 options to choose from. That depends on our tight budget and our writing needs.
For me, I write every single day, and I don't have an editor working with me so I couldn't help but rely on it.
If you want to make use of all its features, you get started with any of the Premium Plans and enjoy its benefits. It's all going to worth it.
6. 24/7 contact support
One of the best things I love about this application is that it does implement 24/7 support for users who encounter problems in using Grammarly with their work.
All you need to do is to go to their contact support page, and it will take you to where you should be submitting your support ticket and wait for their response. That's all.
7. Accredited BBB company with a high rating
The Better Business Bureau (BBB) record shows Grammarly, Inc., as an accredited company since 2012. That's 4 years after they started operating continuously as a leading, if not, the best grammar check online.
On top of that, they also garnered its accreditation status based on the number of satisfied customers they have over the year.
It's where the BBB relies on when it comes to identifying whether this company or that company deserves the title.
Needless to say, Grammarly manages to satisfy many of its clients, especially the universities as partners and students, as well as the writers like us.
What Didn't I Like About Grammarly?
As much as I adore this writing tool over the years, it still has some areas they need to work on for improvement, which I see as inevitable.
1. Doesn't function on Google Docs
Even if you install Grammarly on your browser extension, it won't work while you write on Google Docs. This is why I have to copy my work from Docs to Grammarly manually to start the proofreading process.
But it's not a hassle at all. It's merely Ctrl + V and Ctrl + C and tada, I have my work reviewed which I have to work on. No drama.
2. Very limited free version
One of the downsides of the platform is that it doesn't allow the users to get access to more editing and proofreading features unless if he pays for any of the Premium Plans.
It is why I suggest you go through the payment plans and subscribe to any of their Premium Plans to get your work reviewed extensively, ensuring your blog post is error-free. If you're writing a book today, this is your best investment. I swear.
3. Constant marketing
For free version users, seeing your emails flooded by Grammarly is quite reasonable. Today, I received around 2 emails from them about their special offer in a limited time.
That could annoy you somehow, yet, it's nothing compared to how it helps you build your reputation as a writer.
4. Subscription issues
Based on the BBB complaints, the users – be it a student or a professional – they all discuss the specific issues about the unauthorized subscription charges by Grammarly.
"The company automatically charged my credit card monthly $29.95 for Premium. But I never signed with them to use this Premium service. They did not notify me about it," a user named Liudmilla wrote on the BBB.
While the case is raised for Grammarly, Inc.'s response, the company responded to the issue and is cleared.
Hence, most of the pitfalls involved the faults of the users per se. So, I advise you to check your account whether it's already registered for Premium to avoid this problem.
Grammarly Review From Writers
Top 10 Reviews mentioned that albeit it's a pricey monthly option if you pay monthly, it's still one of the leading, if not the best, grammar checker online. Grammarly remains the big name in the proofreading game.
In fact, in their review, they mentioned Grammarly as a great learning resource – a grammar refresher of some sort – helping to search for technical errors we barely find in our own eyes.
During its test against its grammar checker rivals, Grammarly kept the 60% detection rates when it comes to errors in comparison to ProWritingAid with only 30%. That's a half lesser than the former. It's crazy.
Regardless of its limitations, it remains one of the most solid and the best grammar checker online I could find and the only platform I will trust in my writing career.
[hubspot type=form portal=7343047 id=e8d5dfdd-82cb-488e-81ae-9ffd1b4e9315]
Conclusion – Why Grammarly Is The Best Grammar App?
Since 2015, when I started my writing career, I have always relied on Grammarly.
Although I didn't have enough budget to pay for its Premium Plans, it provides the necessary proofreading for my work. It's still the best for me.
Why would I recommend something I didn't even use, right?
The fact I am recommending Grammarly to you now means I am serious enough to prove that what I told you isn't BS at all.
Otherwise, I wouldn't dare spend another minute writing this lengthy, comprehensive review about it.
Generally, for me, Grammarly is the best checker online. If you register today with this link here, you can enjoy the Premium Plans seamlessly today. Again, you won't regret using this application. It's all worth a dime.
How about you?
What's your Grammarly App experience? Was it beneficial for your writing career? How?
Let me know your thoughts below.
If you have something to share about the review and the application I wrote about, kindly write your comments below.
I'll be thrilled to read them. See you soon! 🙂
[hubspot type=form portal=7343047 id=4b80b8d2-89f7-409d-b86e-ef2e5ed7fb3f]


text:
This current summer has made even the biggest sandal hater start wearing open-toe footwear! It has been exceptionally hot and, besides that sweat trickling down our spine (icks!), all we want is to make the most of it!
However, when the temperatures skyrocket in Berlin, the heat becomes unbearable, and, unfortunately, just a few places are equipped with air conditioning. To help you beat the heat, we prepared a list of what to do in Berlin when the thermometer shows more than 30 degrees.
Take a dip in the lake:
The most obvious thing to do is to prepare a backpack and head to a lake. Berlin and the surrounding Brandenburg state has many beautiful lakes. They are perfect to refresh our boiling bodies and can also provide a bit of that stay-cay vibe! Wannsee and Müggelsee, on the western and eastern outskirts of the city, are two of our favorite ones. For more options, check our lakes list here. And if you prefer a park experience, check out our guide to the best parks in Berlin.
French fries & swimming pool:
Having a little bowl of "Pommes frites" by the pool is a German institution! The fried potato sticks, with mayo sauce or ketchup (or both!) are one of the dearest summer snacks in between dips, besides the berliner classic Curry Wurst.
There are kiosks in every public swimming pool and Tropez (that is also an art gallery) at the Sommerbad Humboldthain has that local vibe that more known pools cannot have enough in more crowded days.
Glow and cold in a sauna:
For unbelievable as it seems to be, getting into a 90 degrees Finnish sauna for 10 to 15 minutes helps you resist to the hot outdoor temperatures. Rinsing off the sweat under a cold shower brings down the core body temperature, making you feel cool and… clean! Vabali, Liquidrom and the spa at the Hotel de Rome have some of the best saunas in Berlin.
Catch a breeze on a bridge and enjoy an epic sunset:
Crossing a bridge not only gives you a cool breeze, but it is also one of our favorite places to watch the Sun going down. We especially love to admire it along the Landwehrkanal, at Thielenbrücke, the bridge that connects Glogauer Strasse to Pannierstrasse, and at Admiralbrücke. For more ideas on where to watch an unforgettable dusk in Berlin and make your jaws drop, click here.
Get some fresh air and observe Berlin from above:
Nothing better than climbing up some of the city's landmarks to get a mild wind on a hot summer day. Plus, you can watch the life, the skyline and the architecture of Berlin from above. Check out our best spots to enjoy Berlin from above here.
Having a rosé or a cocktail in a rooftop or in a beach bar:
Even though they say alcohol should be avoided in high temperatures, a glass of cool sparkling wine seems to be the perfect company for summer evenings. Whether you like it fancy, hipstery, cheesy or cool, we have an option for you here!
And the holiday vibes get stronger if you decide to relax in one of the beach bars along the Spree river. Strandbar Mitte and Capital Beach are two of our favorites.
Grab a cup of iced coffee and a scoop of ice cream:
The torrid weather obliges us to switch from a hot cup of coffee to a glass of iced. A cold brew is also one the most efficient ways to keep us cool. The Barn, Silo Coffee and Populus Coffee serves one of the best in town.
And a summer is not a summer without one (or more!) scoop of ice cream. The frozen dessert is the perfect snack to please our taste buds. Whether you like it vegan, lactose-free or simply ordinary, but invariably mouthwatering, there is always a teasing choice awaiting for you. In our opinion, Hokey Pokey, Jones Ice Cream and Paul Möhring offer the most delicious flavors!
Watching a movie at an open-air cinema and staring at the stars:
During the summer, we want to spend as much time as possible outside and watching a movie at an open-air cinema (Freiluftkino) is always a good pick for warm evenings. From May until September, you will find a diverse film program in many open-air cinemas spread around the city.
Seeking refuge in the air-conditioned rooms of a museum:
Berlin is said to have more museums than rainy days and cooling off with the museum's air conditioning seems to be an alternative when all the outdoor options have failed. Paying a visit to one or two of the art centers at the Museum Island will keep you entertained and away from the hell temperatures outside. The museums are located next to each other and it will spare you the walk under the fiery Sun!
And last, but not least: keep still water at hand to stay hydrated!


text:
Looking for a job is stressful. From going to interviews to choosing the right position, the application and recruiting process is costly in both time and effort. To make matters worse, after all this work, many job seekers never hear back from employers; sometimes it seems that their applications simply disappear into a "black hole."
With unemployment near record lows, the labor market is tight. This puts the power in job seekers' hands, both in terms of plentiful alternatives and the ability to share about them on social and reviews platforms. Not only is providing a positive candidate experience the compassionate thing to do, but it is now essential for employers who want to compete for great talent.
So how can employers improve their interview and recruiting processes? To find out, we surveyed 1,000 people who have applied for a job within the last year about their candidate experiences.
Engage in enjoyable conversations, but don't waste job seekers' time
The good news: Most respondents (70%) report "mostly" (39%) or "only positive experiences" (31%) with interviewing or recruiting during their most recent job searches. The downside? Nearly one-third (30%) say their most recent experiences with interviewing or recruiting were negative — showing that there is still work to do.
The way employers treat candidates can have a big impact, and a little positivity can go a long way. In a world dominated by online interactions, enjoyable conversations are worth more than ever — in fact, this is the biggest contributor to a good interview experience (cited by 43% of respondents).
This is followed by transparency regarding salary and benefits packages (42%) and the recruiter or hiring manager being on time and prepared (40%).
Conversely, the top five contributors to a negative experience relate to time management and communication. The worst offense hiring managers can commit, in job seekers' eyes, is not respecting their time, whether by canceling, showing up late or being unprepared for an interview (chosen by 45% of respondents). This is closely followed by providing inconsistent job descriptions (42%) and poor communication (41%).
Negative experiences hurt, but not as much as positive experiences help
The majority of respondents (52%) "definitely" tell friends or family when they have a negative recruiting or interviewing experience, which is important news for employers.
However, they are less likely to share than candidates who have positive experiences: 72% of respondents "definitely" share good news. Meanwhile, over half of respondents (58%) are "very likely" to recommend companies that provide positive experiences to others looking for work.
Therefore, going above and beyond to make candidates happy is worth the effort. Simply avoiding a bad experience won't get a response from that extra 20% of talent who are eager to share about the exceptional times.
What's more, negative experiences can affect your bottom line: The majority of job seekers (66%) say this would negatively impact their future business dealings…


text:
Are you struggling to get your customers and your potential customers to choose you over your competitors? I'm gonna share two simple ways to get your customers to choose you over your competitors.
The truth is, most businesses are not unique. Most online business owners don't have a unique business model nor do they sell a unique product. For example, McDonald's is not the only place that sells burgers – you've got Burger King and Wendy's as well. Yet, there are things that are different about each of these fast food options, which is why we all have different fast food preferences.
If you are an online personal brand coach, you're probably not the only online personal brand coach in your industry. So how do you actually get your potential customers and customers to pick you over the other online personal brand coaches out there?
1. People Do Business With People That They LIKE, TRUST, And VALUE
There is a saying that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. What that means is people do business with people they like, trust and value. We like someone's business because we like the way they treat us or we like the way their products make us feel.
So the first thing we want to do to get customers to choose our product or service is to build up the like, trust, and value factor.
Here's a personal example: I like to visit this cafe in my neighborhood very often although it's not the only cafe in the entire neighborhood. There are so many cafes there all selling the same stuff – all of them are selling coffee, desserts, cakes, and food. But I always choose to go back to this one cafe and the reason why is because of the way they make me feel as a customer.
They make me feel like they know who I am when they recognize me and greet me by name. The staff members take the effort to remember what I always order, whereas the other cafes that that are in my neighborhood don't bother to remember my name nor my regular order. So of course I'm always going to go back to the same cafe who actually took the time and effort to remember me as a customer.
You would want to build trust by qualifying yourself or qualifying your product, by proving that you know your stuff or that your product truly delivers. And there are many ways you can do that:
One: Giving away free content and establish your brand authority and trust
There are many ways to go about giving away free content. You can create a YouTube channel sharing your knowledge so that you build trust with your target audience. You can also give away freebies like guidebooks, checklists, video series, workbooks, as well as running a podcast.
In my case, I run my YouTube channel where I post weekly videos on running online businesses and I host the Hack Your Online Business podcast. I also give away free online courses, worksheets, and guides on everything related to running and growing an online business – all because I want to build my brand authority and trust between me and my future customers.
Two: Use testimonials to prove that your product or service truly delivers
Whether you sell online products or services, I highly recommend that you gather as many testimonies from your past customers.
For example, if you sell online courses, people would want to know that this online course that they are going to spend $247 or $500 on is actually going to be worth the money. So what a lot of online course creators do is they put up lot of testimonials from past students to prove that Bill or John has been through this course and the results he achieved.
So get raving testimonials and put those testimonials on your website, on your Shopify shop, or wherever you sell your product so that you can build the like, trust, and value factor.
For all of my online conferences, I make sure that each of the homepage has a testimonial section. The homepage of Chrys Media also has testimonials from past customers.
2. Offer Something Better Or Differentiated
The second way to get people to choose you over your competitors is to offer something better, differentiated or niche.
There are different ways that you can offer something better or different. Usually, people like to differentiate by pricing or by features. For example, they might try to differentiate by being cheaper and being more affordable, or they might offer better product features or a better service.
You would want to focus on your unique selling point which is what makes your product or service unique from the other offerings available on the market.
Now, pricing is the fastest way you can differentiate yourself from your competitors, especially if you offer the same product or a similar product and service. At a lower or higher price, you are instantly differentiating
yourself from your competitors. But, it is not the best way that I'll recommend you differentiating yourself from your competitors because you don't want to get into a price war with your competitors.
You don't want to go five dollars cheaper and tomorrow your competitors would go six dollars cheaper, because eventually all of the brands involved will suffer financially (making it a matter of the largest piggy bank wins).
Pricing is also about positioning. You do not need to be the cheapest brand in order to win more customers because your pricing will help to position your service or your product.
Subconsciously, people view things and services that are of a higher price to be of better quality. Hence, if you want to position your product or service on the higher-end, a price war is definitely not what you want.
Another way to differentiate yourself is niching down. For example, if you're an online relationship specialist, instead of offering your counseling services to all couples, what you can do to win customers over the competitors is to niche down.
So you might want to focus your counselling sessions for LGBT couples or senior couples. Going niche down will help you create this huge differentiation between you and your competitors. Maybe you won't be able to go after the whole pie but now you're able to focus down your messaging and targeting, and this smaller group of people are going to seek you out because they are going to go for the specialist who understands their problem uniquely versus someone who is a generalist.
When it comes to differentiation with features, it means offering a better quality service or product, or more added stuff that your competitors aren't offering.
For example, you can go an extra mile with a 30 days money-back guarantee when the competitors aren't doing that, or offering an awesome customer service by going the extra mile. A car dealership might offer to deliver the car to your home instead of you coming over to buy it in order to stand out amongst their competitors.
Another example is Amazon's free shipping. Free shipping is so common these days and every e-commerce store offers free shipping. But Amazon really was the first one to offer the shipping for free.
I remember buying things in the pre-Amazon days and I would have to wait two weeks for it to arrive. But now with Amazon, I can get my things the next day for free. So Amazon really stood apart from other competitors by offering a feature that their target customers really, really wanted.
How are you getting your customers to choose you over your competition? Let me know your strategies below!
Chrystabelle is the founder of Chrys Media, a Facebook Messenger marketing agency focused on helping high-ticket service based businesses get more leads, engagement, and increase sales with Facebook Messenger marketing. She is also the host of the Hack Your Online Business podcast.


text:
|Two Tone Treatment Hair Color (2021)
|Two-toned hair for vivid, mystical color in 10 minutes.
|[How to use]
1. After shampooing hair, towel-dry hair without using rinse or hair treatment.
2. Wear disposable plastic gloves and evenly apply color treatment on hair.
3. After 5-10 minutes, thoroughly wash off with lukewarm water
without using shampoo or rinse.
(For more vivid color, leave it on for a couple more hours.
4. Completely dry hair with a hair dryer.
(When using a dedicated towel is recommended.)
|- Options :
|- Condition : NEW
|- Contents : 150ml
|# Please Bear in Mind That Photo May Slightly Different From Actual Item in Terms of Color
Due to the Lighting During Photo Shooting or the Monitor's Display
|# MFD or EXP?
Date on the product can be EITHER the manufactured date OR the expiration date.
If you see the Korean word "제조," then it is the manufactured date.
If you see the Korean word "까지," then it is the expiration date.


text:
What do all of these things have in common?
In one form or another, they are all quantified. By nature, humans seem to have a better sense of importance when things are weighted or categorized by numbers. The question that this post will address is this: Are the numbers the only thing that matters?
Recently, one of my clients made a social media post about the wellness journey being 80% nutrition and 20% physical fitness. At the end of the day, her point was that, yes, the nutrition is vitally important; however, the fitness is what keeps her motivated. My take is that she is willing to eat well to complement the fitness, but it is the fitness journey that is near and dear to her heart. It is the "nitty gritty" sweat and energy that tugs on her heart strings and makes her feel good about her accomplishments. That is where her passion is, and that is what gives her a positive quality of life.
Another of my wonderful clients is committed to healthy balanced nutrition. Her mission is to balance her nutrition first to protect her heart, and that makes her feel more motivated to include the physical activity component. She is determined to condition herself to maintain a healthy lifestyle, and she is working hard to balance what she enjoys with what she needs to maintain her quality of life.
Both of these ladies live in the same world that is quantified by those same numbers. Simultaneously, they are motivated by different components of the equation. At the end of the day, the numbers are the facts. They are quantifiable assessments, and although one factor might be greater than another, they show us that they are all important for healthful success. We need to eat healthy and exercise to have optimal health. Eating healthy and exercising together can decrease our risk for becoming one of the 61,000 people who have died from heart disease.
But where does quality come in?
I have learned that regardless of the scientific facts of life, QUALITY OF LIFE, reigns supreme. When I work with clients, I try to find the glimmer within those facts that will motivate them to improve their quality of life. My client who "does it for the fitness" has better success focusing on the workouts first, and as she becomes more motivated to do better, the nutrition component will be her next step. The same works in the reverse for my nutritionally motivated client. She has been learning how to balance what she eats, and she now has the desire to achieve more results by stepping up her workouts.
This is a key reason why assessments are crucial when helping clients achieve success. It is not just about body measurements. It is NOT about using numbers to convince people that they are broken and never doing the right things. It is about figuring out what is important to that client and using those factors to help them maintain or improve their quality of life.
At Tonicity Fit, it is my job to focus on the quantifiable aspects of health and wellness, but it is also important that I get to know WHO my clients are. Once I figure out what motivates them to improve, I can teach them the quantity of balance they need to have optimal quality in their lives.


text:
- Home
- About us
- Current Issue
- Archive
- Submit Article
- Certificate
- Reviewers Form
- Contact Us
Sepsis by Candida species are nowadays one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality, especially in hospitalized, immunocompromised patients and newborn with high health risk levels. The objective of this research is to investigate the incidence of candidemias in patients hospitalized at the Baixada Fluminense region, Province of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and identify species of the genus Candida which causes sepsis on these patients. Blood samples from 1213 patients with clinical suspects of sepsis were collected between January 2010 and December 2014 and seeded on the nutrient broth Brain Heart Infusion. Positive cultures for yeast cells were transplanted into Sabouraud dextrose agar medium and the fungal growth obtained was identified by biochemical tests of BioMerieux–Vitek system. 31 cases of candidemia were diagnosticated, which corresponded to a prevalence rate of PC =2,56. The isolated species of the genus Candida were: 14 cases of Candida albicans (Dominance Coefficient , DC=45,16%), two cases of C. krusei (DC=6,45%), four cases of C. stellatoidea (DC=12,90%), one case of C. glabrata (DC=3,23%), two cases of C. parapsilosis (DC=6,45%) and eight cases of C. tropicalis (DC=25,81%). The results highlighted the need for continued attention to patients hospitalized to possible infections by Candida species which causes candidemias.


text:
Dear Service Provider,
As it is coming up to the Christmas holidays and the end of 2020, it may be necessary to make important changes on your Early Years Hive portal for NCS.
As such, the following points are covered in this announcement:
We advise making any necessary changes as soon as possible to ensure payments under NCS are not affected.
Many thanks,
Early Years Team
NCS Service Calendar
If your service is closed over the Christmas and New Year's period, you must mark the closures on your NCS service calendar on the Hive accordingly. You must also note whether it is a subsidised (paid) closure or not. Services are entitled to up to 10 subsidised closures per programme year if open 50+ weeks, and pro rata downward if open less than this.
For guidance on adding closures to your NCS service calendar, please see the 'Adding closures' heading of the Service Calendar section on the Hive.
Note: If your closure is a paid closure, you must add each day of the closure individually, as there is no option on the Hive portal to mark the closure as paid if you enter it as a period, the option is present when adding single days.
Non-Term Hours
Non-Term hours can be used to cover the Christmas period for childcare needs when schools are closed. To add Non-Term hours to NCS claims, log into the Hive and follow the below steps:
For more information on NCS registrations, please see the Registrations section of Resources on the Hive. There is also a Quick Guide on Adding Non-Term Hours available and a number of videos available on our YouTube channel to offer step-by-step guides.
Remember: if you are using the attendance tracker available on the Hive, for non-term weeks you will need to enter a child's non-term hours into the 'NCS hours claimed' column. This will ensure that the tracker will generate alerts correctly against their attendance. You will need to revert to their term hours when term resumes.
Important: Changes cannot be made to service calendar opening hours or claim hours once a return for that week has been submitted on the Early Years Hive.
Bridging payments
Bridging payments are made available to services to avail of on the Early Years Hive when submitting a return. Two weeks in advance, the system recognises when a service has a subsidised closure coming up and asks the following: "You have an upcoming closure, do you want to request a Bridging Payment for the dates from "X" to "Z"? (Yes/No)"
This is paid during the week the service is closed i.e. unable to submit their returns. Service must then submit "Fast returns" for this period when they return after the closure.
Ending and re-registering 52-week CHICKs/awards
Most CHICKs/awards last for 52 weeks and many of these will have ended or be ending over the coming weeks. To ensure that payment under NCS is not affected as a result of an expired CHICK, you are encouraged to contact the parents of any children with awards ending soon to discuss their continued childcare needs. In this case, parents will receive a notification on their applicant portal, please remind them of this and see if they need to apply for a new CHICK. This should be done as soon as possible.
To check the end date of your NCS registrations' CHICK/award, log into the Early Years Hive portal and follow the below steps:
Note: When a new CHICK is received for a child and you are completing their new claim, the start date of the new claim must be after the "Claim end date" of the old claim. In cases where an NCS award is cancelled or terminated prematurely/prior to its original end date, the old claim should be ended on the last week the award was valid for and the new chick registered from its "Subsidy start date".
In the case of Sponsor CHICKs: the Sponsor will need to complete a new referral, having assessed the continuing need. When Pobal receives a new referral, a new Sponsor CHICK will issue. The parent of the Sponsored child cannot renew the CHICK.
For more information on NCS registrations, please the Registrations section of Resources on the Hive or raise a Request. Parents can contact the Parent Support Centre at 01 906 8530.
End-of-year webinar
An end-of-year webinar covering the above issues with NCS on the Early Years Hive and more was hosted this week. A full list of the topics covered is below:
A recording of this webinar can be viewed here: https://register.gotowebinar.com/recording/3929182179178706177
The slides used in this webinar can also be viewed here.


text:
Download PDF version
As the book is now regrettably out of print, extensive excerpts are reproduced here by permission of the author. It is available via the links below in PDF format* as a single document of 5.4 megabytes, or in five separate documents of maximum 1.1 megabytes:
Single document (5.4 MB)
Five separate documents
Part 1 (1.0 MB)
Part 2 (1.1 MB)
Part 3 (1.1 MB)
Part 4 (1.1 MB)
Part 5 (1.1 MB)
*PDF documents can be viewed and printed with Adobe Reader, a software program that is now standard in most computers; otherwise, it may be downloaded free of charge from the website of Adobe Systems. For additional guidelines on the use of Adobe Reader, see the book's introductory note on Viewing & Printing.
Note: Separate PDF documents can be combined into a single document with Acrobat, a program available for purchase from Adobe Systems. It should also be possible to view and print PDF documents directly, i.e. without downloading, in most web browsers; but the range of options for viewing and printing is usually limited.


text: Few things are better than make-up sex, especially when it's with Benz! Her slim feminine body laying in bed still wearing her stockings. Benz wakes up and she's a horny minx. Her playing under the covers "wakes up" the cock and Benz goes to work pleasing her new-found erection. Benz's mouth bobs up and down cramming as much dick down her throat as possible. Benz can't wait to get the salty stick up her eager ladyhole. Her cat-like reflexes spring into action and like a cat in heat climbs onto the bareback pole. She rides up and down cowgirl style, impaling herself fully. Benz's cock is HUGE, pointing up in horniness whole her ass engulfs the raw cock. Benz loves being fucked HARD, relishing the sex as the dick bottoms out in her outstretched winker. Benz widely GAPES, her asshole gazing open for full enjoyment. Benz takes this break to go ass-to-mouth and show was a perfect Ladyboy she is. Benz lays back on the bed missionary with her long legs in the air. Her stocking clad feet in full view as her asshole is ravished again and again. Benz's anus is open as it stretches around the big dick. The pressure on Benz's prostrate is intense and she cums all over herself. In order to be fully satisfied Benz must taste cum between her lips. Who can argue with that, and the POV cock spurts a gooey load of sperm form the his piss slit onto Benz's waiting tongue.


text:
Religions, religious leaders, spiritual communities, spiritual leaders operating under a false god such as sun gods/goddesses, moon gods/goddesses, or star gods/goddesses are exposed by their fruit–a mixture of good and evil–exposed by their money scandals and sexual scandals, to name just a couple
while the Living Almighty God–revealed and manifested by Jesus–is now revealed and manifested in us by the Holy Spirit…not mixed fruit but all Good with no evil; all Light with no darkness at all; all holy, righteous, pure, and complete Love
the new heaven on earth now–Christ in you–manifests the fruits of righteousness, fruit of pure Light, and fruit of the HOLY Spirit
without the HOLY Spirit there is no reverential awe, what was "fear of the Lord" in the old covenant before Jesus made The Way to HOLY God as Father and Husband; sons led by the Holy Spirit; brides filled with the Holy Spirit, carrying the Treasure of Heaven, the Splendor of God's Glory: His Presence within; His Fire around us; His River of Spirit flowing within and through us. We no longer need fear man, but only fear not being in God's book of Life.
I have experienced the dead, the false, the counterfeit, the old, and the imposters; NOTHING compares to the real, authentic, powerful, wise, gentle, loving, light-filled, HOLY Spirit that satisfies the deepest longing for love, acceptance, belonging, home, safety, security, trust, fulfillment, knowing, direct experience beyond knowledge, intimate relationship, true identity, perfect peace, fullness of Joy and ability to rest in God while the Spirit works in and through you
Once you taste the new in relationship with God, you will never go back to the old wine of religion
Once you hear the Voice of the True Shepherd you will never follow the imposter's again
Once you experience the garment of Christ Light coming around you, the garment of salvation, the robe of righteousness, the white garment Christ gives us to cover our nakedness and any shame we have picked up from the world or world religions, you never want to be clothed in the world or world religion again. Instead of being "patched up" you choose to take it off and Holy Spirit puts the new garment of Christ on you
The gold refined by the fire of God is the riches of His Glory that Jesus gives to those who give Him everything; empty to be filled with Christ, the Glory of God
The eye salve anoints your eyes to see as Christ sees; from heavenly places with God, no longer looking UP to heaven for answers, but looking DOWN from heaven with Christ's Answers that are the True Solution for every ill of mankind, relational, societal, cultural, social, tribal, governmental, religious, spiritual, mental, emotional, or physical
The King of kings and Lord of lords has all power AND authority in heaven and on earth; the Name above EVERY name in heaven and on earth; the Living Holy One from which ALL salvation, healing, deliverance and freedom flows. Jesus has NO EQUAL yet gives ALL who come to Christ the FULL inheritance of God with no partiality. Do not be deceived by those trying to please man instead of God. Jesus told us you would know them by their fruit; every other has mixed fruit.
Jesus is not a religion; Jesus is The Life of God, The Truth of God, and The Way to our Father to be robed, ringed, sandaled, celebrated as we return as prodigals to the Royal Family of God and take our place as kings carrying the authority of God, priests carrying the glory or presence of God, sons carrying the lineage of God, and brides carrying the intimate knowing of God and His glory! To God be the Glory now and forever and ever. Amen
"I write this to you about those who would deceive you; but the anointing which you receive from the Son and the Father's Spirit abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you, as His Anointing teaches you about everything, and is true and no lie" 1 John 2:26
"Do not be deceived. Every good endowment and every perfect gift is from above coming DOWN from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. Of his own will he brought us forth by the Word of Truth that we should be a kind of first fruit of his creatures" James 1:16-18
"I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of Truth comes, he will guide you into ALL the Truth" John 16:12-13
The Light exposes Truth!


text:
Lamit Group is an established supplier of roofing materials, water tanks, pvc pipes, natural stone cladding, natural stone flooring, premier bathroom fittings, and durable construction materials across a wide international market.
kurikkal pipelines manjeri for glass, plywood, lock etc
Copyright © 2019 entemalappuram.com. All rights reserved - Developed by Wap-Ads


text:
Ironically, I can't stop talking about this book.
Cain says that we have moved from a culture of character (think Lincoln) to a culture of personality (think Dale Carnegie or Zig Ziglar or any number of celebrities) in the last 100 years or so. We have gone from believing that character was of utmost importance to believing that the most gregarious among us have the best ideas, are the smartest, are the best leaders. Research says this just isn't true.
Anywhere from 1/3 to 1/2 of people are considered introverts. These are the people who prefer thinking to talking and quiet dinners over parties. They typically enjoy their own company and must recharge after interactions with groups. They may not have quick answers but generally have thoughtful answers.
We have minimized introverts in education to the point that our desks are arranged in pods and our assignments require multiple group meetings to complete. Introverts may be particularly uncomfortable for most of the school day.
Quotes from Quiet
"We need to do teacher training to educate them about what temperament means. Shyness is painful and you want to help a child with shyness – but the underlying temperament of being a careful, sensitive person is to be honoured, valued and respected."
"To some extent, we've always had an admiration for extroversion in our culture. But the extrovert ideal really came to play at the turn of the 20th century when we had the rise of big business."
"In our society, the ideal self is bold, gregarious, and comfortable in the spotlight. We like to think that we value individuality, but mostly we admire the type of individual who's comfortable 'putting himself out there."
"The bias against introversion leads to a colossal waste of talent, energy, and happiness."
"Many introverts feel there's something wrong with them, and try to pass as extroverts. But whenever you try to pass as something you're not, you lose a part of yourself along the way. You especially lose a sense of how to spend your time."
Here is a TED Talk by Susan Cain.
This reminded me about my post called Margins. You can read it here.
Let me know if you have read this. I would love to talk to you!


text:
Randomized Clinical Trial of the Effectiveness of a Home-Based Advance Practice Psychiatric Nurse Intervention
Navigating the health care system can be difficult for anyone. Trying to coordinate visits with multiple specialists and ensure that a primary care doctor has all the information she or he needs to provide appropriate care can be taxing under the best of circumstances. When the person attempting to navigate the system also struggles with severe mental illness, the obstacles can be insurmountable.
A study co-led by Nancy Hanrahan, R.N., Ph.D., a professor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing and a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) Nurse Faculty Scholar, concludes that having an advanced practice psychiatric nurse (APRN) oversee and organize care can help improve care and quality of life of these patients. The study was published in the May 2011 of Nursing Research and Practice.
The researchers found that when APRNs were highly involved in overseeing the community-based care of people with both serious mental illness and HIV, those patients had significant reductions in symptoms. The APRNs provided education and medication management and acted as advocates for their patients, helping to ensure coordinated care.
"Individuals with serious mental illness generally have difficulty socializing, planning and organizing—skills that are crucial for navigating the health care system," Hanrahan said. "Patients who also have HIV and must navigate more than one system need help to ensure that they receive high quality care and appropriate services. That help is best provided by a health care professional who has the training and background to coordinate care and ensure proper communication and social supports."
The study, conducted in Philadelphia, included a control group and an intervention group of patients. APRNs provided home-based services to patients in the intervention group over the course of a year. Patients who had the highest levels of interaction with nurses (regular face-to-face meetings) had the best outcomes. The APRNs worked with clients' case managers, boarding homes, shelters, pharmacies and clinical providers to clarify, coordinate and manage treatment regimens, and to help patients overcome any barriers to accessing or receiving the care they needed.
The study's other principal investigators were Linda H. Aiken, Ph.D., F.A.A.N., F.R.C.N., R.N., Clair M. Fagin Leadership professor of nursing, professor of sociology and director of the Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research at the University of Pennsylvania; Michael B. Blank, Ph.D., associate professor of psychology in psychiatry, Center for Mental Health Policy, School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania;


text:
Swiss star Roger Federer has now managed to reach the semifinals of the Montreal Masters. Federer hammered five aces, made just two double faults and won 81 percent of his first serve points in the 68-minute centre court match. He dominated at the net, winning 21 of 25 points.
"It pays off playing aggressively here in Montreal, plus I feel comfortable at net, so why not spend some time there instead of slugging it out from the baseline," Federer said. "I think I did a good job again, even though it was tough to control the ball. I got some decent rhythm going."
Federer advances to the semi-finals where he will face Robin Haase of the Netherlands, who defeated Diego Schwartzman 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 earlier in the day. Bautista Agut struggled on his serve as he was broken three times and won just 65 percent of his first serve points.
Federer posted his seventh consecutive win over the Spaniard and improved his season record to 34-2. He has a ATP Tour high five titles in 2017. He will face Dutchman Haas in just the second career meeting between the two. The pair met in a Davis Cup World Group play-off in 2012 with Federer winning 6-1, 6-4, 6-4.