text:
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Guest Blogger, Stephanie Gallentine
Greetings! This is Debra and I'm stepping in today to introduce our guest blogger.
This week is our current blogger Shirley Harkins week, but our critique partner, Stephanie Gallentine will blog in her place today. I've uploaded a picture of us together at Stephanie's recent booksigning. From left to right, Stephanie, myself, Sue, and Shirley (not pictured Janet Brown).
So, without further ado, let me present our guest blogger, Stephanie Gallentine...
Raised in North Texas, Stephanie spent much of her childhood making up stories filled with action, adventure, and angst. From the time she was a young teenager, she started scribbling those adventures down on paper.
Years later, she met and married her husband, Robert. They have two fabulous children, Heather and Andy. Now, by day, Stephanie serves up lunches in her local school cafeteria. By night, she enjoys serving up stories filled with mystery, mayhem, and salted with the often mysterious yet always miraculous hand of God in the lives of teenagers.
Her first story, Refuge, is due out this August from Word Aflame Press.
Being a plot-first writer, I often find myself struggling with character depth. This week my friend sent me a CD of almost five hours of lessons from the 2009 ACFW conference called Pinpoint, Diagnose, and Heal the Broken Places in Your Novel presented by Susan May Warren and Rachel Hauck.
All I can say is wow! I couldn't take notes fast enough as she went through common diagnoses from critique partners, editors, or agents. Topics dealing with character goals and the lies they tell themselves suddenly became clear, whereas before I struggled to really grasp the concept enough for it to benefit my own writing.
Other topics covered included discovering your characters noble cause, their goals, how to write an imperfect yet believable Christian character, plot problems, the heroes journey, the writer's voice, and writing dialogue that 'snaps'.
They also have a website called Mybooktherapy.com where you can look up topics like these in their archives. If you are ready to inject life into your novel, the doctor is in the house and ready to help your novel be the best it can be.
3 comments:
Thank you, Stephanie for your contribution to our blog today.ReplyDelete
I've sat under Susan's teaching @ ACFW conference. She's a fantastic teacher. I subscribe to her & Rachel's booktherapy site & gain much good insights. Good recommendation, Stephanie, and thanks for blogging on our site this week.ReplyDelete
You reminded me that I want to order the tapes. I attended one of Susan's workshops in the past. She is an awesome teacher. Rachel brings wonderful praise music to the conferences. Good job, Stephanie. Thanks for being our guest blogger.ReplyDelete
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


text:
Year-End Rush to Use It or Lose It Leads to Bad Government Spending
U.S. government agencies face use-it-or-lose-it budget rules each fiscal year. They either spend the funds Congress has allocated or return them to the Treasury.
The result? Not just more spending, but often bad spending, according to a new paper published by the National Bureau of Economic Research.
Monday is the last day of the federal government's fiscal year. Of course, it isn't yet clear when Congress will fund the 2014 fiscal year. But even when the process proceeds normally, it appears to lead to a less-than-ideal use of taxpayer funds.
The paper, by Harvard University's Jeffrey Liebman and the University of Chicago's Neale Mahoney, supplants anecdotal evidence on spending with hard data.
First, the authors examined contract-level information on 14.6 million purchases, totaling $2.6 trillion in government expenditures, from 2004 to 2009. That shows timing: spending in the last week of the year is almost five times higher than the average week during the rest of the year.
Next, they checked the performance of 686 major information-technology projects, accounting for $130 billion in spending. That offers an assessment of the project.
"These data show a sharp drop-off in quality at the end of the year. Projects that originate in the last week of the fiscal year have 2.2 to 5.6 times higher odds of having a lower quality score," Messrs. Liebman and Mahoney said.
That could be due to a lack of competitive bidding or the use of cost-reimbursement rather than fixed-cost pricing during an end-of-year rush.
The authors offer a solution: allow agencies to roll over unused funding into the subsequent fiscal year.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Chinese 'iPhone' factory workers hospitalised following 'harmful chemical exposure'By ANI
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
BEIJING - Workers in a Chinese factory were hospitalized for more than six months after reportedly being exposed to a harmful chemical while assembling Apple laptops and iPhones.ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW
An Australian journalist said that he gained access to the Number Five People's Hospital in Suzhou where a group of women patients claimed that they were left unable to walk after being exposed to n-hexane, News.com.au reported.
"At first the symptoms were pretty obvious," said a woman, referring to her reaction to breathing in the chemical, which was used to clean and stick logos on products.
"My hands were numb. I could hardly walk or run," she added.
According to the report, the women had been in hospital for more than six months after working in a cramped and airless factory producing what they believed to be genuine Apple gadgets.
Meanwhile, Apple did not confirm that it had sourced products from factories in Suzhou, but said that it had strict workplace safety requirements for all its suppliers.
Apple took workers' health very seriously and conducted audits to check conditions as well as required training in on-site health and safety, an Australian spokeswoman for the US-based company said.
Labour activists have previously also raised concerns over conditions in Chinese factories producing iPhones, arguing that millions of employees endure long hours, low pay and high pressure while producing the smartphones.
It is noteworthy that Taiwanese firm Foxconn, which makes electronic goods for Apple and other Western technology firms, has seen a spate of suicides at its Chinese plants this year. (ANI)


text:
Welcome to Naylors Sign In or Register
Recently added item(s)
You have no items in your shopping basket.
Find Out More
Click for full details
Sign up to our newsletter
Out of stock
Item Code: 115542ORG
Woof Wear Hat Cover Orange
Whether its to match a set, or simply add a pop of colour, the Woof Wear Hat Cover is the perfect addition to any rider's wardrobe.
The fresh colour and navy contrast is perfect for everyday or colourful events. You'll be hard to miss wearing one of these! The flexible lycra material is designed for a sleek, cosy fit, complete with a rigid peak for bonus style points.
Fabric & Care
Everything in stock - everything available to order on our site is held in stock.
Call our stores to check local availability - we may have more stock in store!
See our delivery information page for full details.
Spend £75 or more to get free standard delivery (restrictions apply).
You can choose to collect your order from one of our stores for free. Collect from store orders will be available within 7 working days. We will contact you once your order is available for collection.
Please see our delivery page for full details. Surcharges may apply to orders which are heavier or larger than normal. You are responsible for paying any taxes, fees and levies due at the destination country. You can email us for a quote if you think your parcel will be lightweight. We can't ship to all countries but you can email us for a quote if your country is not listed below. Include details of all the items you wish to order as we cannot provide a quote without this information.
Shop with the peace of mind that you can return items to us if they are unsuitable. Whether the size is wrong or you just don't like the colour, you can make a request to return any of your items within 28 days of receiving them. See our full returns policy for details.
The Woof Wear size guide has been developed to help you select the right size boots for your horse. The sizes below refer to an average type of horse or pony and would suit most breeds. If your horse is a not a standard type please contact us for additional advice.


text:
1st Popup Killer & IE Assistant 1.6
1st Popup Killer & IE Assistant is a light-weight plug-in for Internet Explorer. With special filter engine, 1st Popup Killer & IE Assistant intelligently kills advertising popup windows, block macromedia flash. It may automatically refresh your favorite web page at any predefined intervals. The pop-up blocking function can be temporarily disabled by holding down the CTRL key. Residing on the IE toolbar with an icon button, this utility is small and easy to use, never interferes with normal browsing and slows your browser.
Info updated on:


text:
Definition of vasectomy
Vasectomy is a form of male birth control that cuts the supply of sperm to your semen. It's done by cutting and sealing the tubes that carry sperm. Vasectomy has a low risk of problems and can usually be performed in an outpatient setting under local anesthesia.
Before getting a vasectomy, however, you need to be certain you don't want to father a child in the future. Vasectomy is considered a permanent form of male birth control.
Vasectomy offers no protection from sexually transmitted infections.
Why it's done
Vasectomy is a safe and effective birth control choice for men who are certain they don't want to father a child.
- Vasectomy is nearly 100 percent effective in preventing pregnancy.
- Vasectomy is an outpatient surgery with a low risk of complications or side effects.
- The cost of a vasectomy is far less than the cost of female sterilization (tubal ligation) or the long-term cost of birth control medications for women.
- You won't need to take birth control steps before sex, such as putting on a condom.
Risks of vasectomy
A potential concern with vasectomy is that you may later change your mind about wanting to father a child. Although it may be possible to reverse your vasectomy, there's no guarantee it will work. Reversal surgery is more complicated than vasectomy, can be expensive and is ineffective for many men. Before you get a vasectomy, you should be certain you don't want to father a child in the future.
For most men, a vasectomy doesn't cause any noticeable side effects, and serious complications are rare.
Side effects right after surgery can include:
- Bleeding or a blood clot (hematoma) inside the scrotum
- Blood in your semen
- Bruising of your scrotum
- Infection of the surgery site
- Mild pain or discomfort
- Swelling
Delayed complications can include:
- Chronic pain (rare)
- Fluid buildup in the testicle, which can cause a dull ache that gets worse with ejaculation
- Inflammation caused by leaking sperm (granuloma)
- Pregnancy, in the event that your vasectomy fails (rare)
Unfounded concerns
Many men worry that a vasectomy could cause serious problems — but these fears are unfounded. For example, a vasectomy won't:
- Affect your sexual performance. A vasectomy won't affect your sex drive or your masculinity in any way other than preventing you from fathering a child.
- Permanently damage your sexual organs. There's very little risk that your testicles, penis or other parts of your reproductive system will be injured during surgery.
- Increase your risk of certain cancers. Although there have been some concerns about a possible link between vasectomy and prostate and testicular cancer in the past, there's no proven link.
- Increase your risk of heart disease. As with cancer fears, there doesn't appear to be any link between vasectomy and heart problems.
- Cause severe pain. You may feel minor pain and pulling or tugging during surgery, but severe pain is rare. Likewise, after surgery you may have some pain, but for most men it's minor and goes away after a few days.
How you prepare for vasectomy
Some family medicine or general practice doctors do vasectomies, but most are done by doctors who specialize in the male reproductive system (urologists).
Talking to your doctor
Deciding to get a vasectomy can be a tough decision, since you won't be able to father a child in the future. Before doing a vasectomy, your doctor will want to meet with you to be sure it's the right form of birth control for you.
At the initial appointment (consultative visit) be prepared to discuss:
- Your understanding that vasectomy is permanent, and that it isn't a good choice if there's any chance you might want to father a child in the future
- Whether you have children and how your partner feels about the decision, if you're in a relationship
- Other methods of birth control available to you
- What vasectomy surgery and recovery involves, and possible complications
Before surgery
Your doctor will give you instructions on how to prepare. You may need to:
- Stop taking aspirin or other blood-thinning medications several days before your surgery. These can include warfarin (Coumadin), heparin and aspirin and other over-the-counter pain medications such as ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin, others).
- The day of the surgery, use scissors to cut the hair around the surgery area. Then shower or bathe, being sure to wash your genital area thoroughly.
- Bring a pair of tightfitting underwear or an athletic supporter to wear after the procedure to support the scrotum and minimize swelling.
- Arrange for a ride home to avoid movement and pressure on the surgery area caused by driving.
What you can expect
A vasectomy is usually done at a doctor's office or surgery center under local anesthesia, which means you'll be awake and have medicine to numb the surgery area.
During surgery
Vasectomy surgery usually takes about 15 to 20 minutes. To perform a vasectomy, your doctor will likely follow these steps:
- Numb the surgery area by injecting a local anesthetic into the skin of your scrotum with a small needle.
- Make a small cut (incision) in the upper part of your scrotum once the surgery area is numb. Or with the "no-scalpel" technique, make a small puncture in the scrotum instead of an incision.
- Locate the tube that carries semen from your testicle (vas deferens).
- Withdraw part of the vas deferens through the incision or puncture.
- Cut the vas deferens where it has been pulled out of the scrotum.
- Seal the vas deferens by tying it, using heat (cauterizing) or surgical clips. Then your doctor will return the ends of the vas deferens to the scrotum.
- Stitch up the incision at the surgery area. Stiches aren't necessary if your doctor has used the no-scalpel technique.
After surgery
Following a vasectomy, you'll have some bruising, swelling and pain. It usually gets better within a few days. Your doctor will give you instructions for recovery. Your doctor may tell you to:
- Call right away if you have signs of infection, such as blood oozing from the surgery site; a temperature of more than 100.4 F (38 C), or worsening pain or swelling.
- Support your scrotum with a bandage and tightfitting underwear for at least 48 hours after your vasectomy.
- Apply ice packs to the scrotum for the first two days.
- Limit activity after surgery. You'll need to rest for 24 hours after surgery. You can probably do light activity after two or three days, but you'll need to avoid sports, lifting and heavy work for a week or so. Overdoing it could cause pain or bleeding inside the scrotum.
- Refrain from bathing or swimming for at least 24 hours after surgery.
Avoid any sexual activity for a week or so. If you do ejaculate, you may feel pain or notice blood in your semen. If you have sexual intercourse, use another form of birth control until your doctor confirms that sperm are no longer present in your semen.
Results of vasectomy
A vasectomy doesn't provide immediate protection against pregnancy. Use an alternative form of birth control until your doctor confirms there are no sperm in your semen. Before having unprotected sex, you'll need to wait up to three months or longer and ejaculate 20 times or more to clear any sperm from your semen.
Most doctors do a post-surgery check three months after surgery to be certain that no sperm are present. You'll need to give your doctor sperm samples to examine. To produce a sperm sample, your doctor will have you masturbate and ejaculate into a container. Your semen is then examined under a microscope to see whether sperm are present.
Vasectomy is an effective form of birth control, but it won't protect you or your partner from sexually transmitted infections, such as chlamydia or HIV/AIDS. For that reason, you should use condoms if you're not in a committed relationship — even after you have a vasectomy.


text:
More views
The timeless ball & collar design receives additional personality from the blacksmith's hammer. Hand crafted in mild steel, the hammered ball & collar retains the integrity and character of authentic material and craft.
The piece is polished and prepared by hand, to achieve exactly the right degree of natural lustre in the steel prior to the application of the specialist coating. The coating provides both beauty and durability in this honestly crafted piece, which is designed to last a lifetime.
For further inspiration search Instagram for #bradleyfinial
Available finishes: waxed, polished, brass toned, polished copper tint, bronze, oil rubbed, flint (satin)
Available diameters: 19mm (3/4″) 25mm (1″)
Request up to three complimentary finish samples.


text:
the summer post
Today is my fourth day of being laid-up with a sickness that I learned today to be bronchitis, so, I write.
I slept, whined and moaned my way through the week until last night, when I felt well enough to go to a friend's wedding. And I actually felt a LOT better, especially after chasing my cold medicine with wine and dancing for hours on end. Apparently that was the eye of the storm of my sickness and I awoke with no voice and flaming glands this morning. I need to get well enough to work next week, so I headed for urgent care this morning, armed with a days worth of reading material. I was pleased to wait less than an hour to see a super-friendly doctor who sent me on my way with amoxicillin and the promise that I'll feel much better tomorrow. I sure hope super-friendly doctor is right. Since I work outside, I almost never get sick. But when I do, I'm always so miserably incapacitated and unprepared. It's days like these I realize that I take my day-to-day well being for granted, and, how incredibly fortunate I am to have health insurance.
And now my bout with bronchitis has been forever immortalized in our almost quarterly updated blog, how pathetic! On to the big update….
June brought the wedding of Kristen – Rick's sister – and her now-husband Chris Giangregorio. It was a fantastic weekend of wonderful family and friends, culminating in a very exciting day. Rick was a groomsman and I was the matron of honor. It was a true honor to stand next to Kristen that day – I am blessed to have her in my life as a sister and one of my very best friends.
Parker Jane was a flower girl alongside her cousin Mya.
post wedding cracker time
We had decided that the girls would be carried down the aisle and it turned out to be a good call – as Rick was walking PJ in, she was busily tossing petals from her basket, but when she looked up to see all eyes on her, she froze with a single petal in her hand, expressionless, for the rest of the procession.
Parker Jane's little cousin Amanda had her first birthday party in July. It was fun to watch as PJ got caught up in the excitement with the other toddlers. For the most part she hangs back in a group of kids and is amused by just by watching them. She's particularly interested in older boys – she'll just stare at them in awe. Amanda wasn't too keen on her birthday cake and poked at it a few times. Apparently, this sign is a green light for other toddlers to move in on the cake. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Parker Jane lick her lips and saunter up to where Amanda was sitting… I was able to intercept before the coup.
The absolute highlight of the summer was our four weeks spent at Corbal's Casa Serena in July and August. Earlier this year, Rick and I had kicked around the idea of taking an extended period of time off to unplug and unwind in the mountains. We had spent two very busy weeks at the cabin last August when Parker Jane was just 6 months old (!) and wanted to try to do it again this year… just for a little bit longer. So, we made it happen, and it turned out to be such an invaluable time.
Over the last few years, the family had undertaken the project of updating the cabin's 1981 interior. Last year we changed out curtains and installed some ceiling fans. This year though, with such a significant amount of time on our hands, Rick and I felt that it was only right that we make a significant contribution to the effort. Our project: paint the inside of the house. This was not daunting to someone (me) who hasn't painted a wall – much less a two story house – in many years. It took only one full day – I mean dawn till dusk – of painting for us to realize that we'd never finish the whole house in the limited time we had without company. So we set our goal for at least finishing the downstairs, and we did it! We probably could have gotten a good part of the upstairs done as well if we hadn't decided to paint all the ceilings as well. Yes, we (Rick) painted the ceilings too. We were crazed and covered in paint specks for five days, but we finished it, and it looks fabulous, and in retrospect, we had fun doing it. This and the several other home improvement projects we completed made us feel confident that whenever we're able to buy our first house – which will most certainly be a junker – we'll be able to do a lot of the work ourselves, just as we would like it.
We had planned for family and some friends to come and visit during our stay, and rightly so, the majority of our four weeks were spent with company coming and going. While we were initially conflicted by not having as much "alone time" as we had originally imagined, the time we spent with our loved ones was priceless – we shared unique experiences with each group or individual that allowed time for us to connect and truly enjoy each other's company. As it turns out, we spent most of the eight days we did have alone together working on the house, which was an equally valuable experience. We made a point to get out in the evenings and stretch our legs, and of course Parker Jane provided non-stop entertainment so that made it all the better. It is refreshing to live – even briefly – in a state where time doesn't matter. Time was everything and nothing to us for four weeks. Absolutely reinvigorating. I highly recommend it!
We would have stayed longer had we not had tickets to see Radiohead at the Hollywood Bowl in late August. This band continues to blow my mind, and the show was accompanied by an especially fascinating "light show" – a term which does the phenomenon itself no service whatsoever. It was a great show despite the snoozer LA crowd, and the surprise cover of Neil Young's "Tell Me Why" was as delicate as lace.
Parker Jane is now 18 months old, and such a significant age requires the customary trip to the doctor for a check-up. Since the beginning of her life, PJ has seen two different doctors at these benchmarks; one her pediatrician, and the other her cardiologist. We learned at her recent cardiologist visit that it would be the last one. Her doctor feels that the slight murmur that remained after the surgery is normal and insignificant compared to what it used to be. Needless to say, this is very good news, and I feel like we can finally close the door on that scary chapter of our lives.
this picture was taken five days ago, and that is a disco ball in a birdcage behind Parker Jane
The bad news is that she's developed a fear of doctor's offices and screams bloody murder before we even get to the examination room. I've learned from our last visit NOT to tell her that she won't be hurt if there are vaccinations to be given. The way she looked at me after… Anyway, all is well with her – she's still on the small size for her age – 22lbs, 31inches. From what I can tell she's growing up as opposed to out – that belly isn't quite as rotund, and her arms and legs are getting so long. Baby features are giving way to little girl looks. Her hair has a lot to do with it. When we were in the mountains, her hair was getting in her eyes and bothering her so I cut some quick bangs. They really suit her and make her look so grown up… sassy even.
pre bangs
Somewhere between last week and this week Parker Jane started putting together two and three word sentences. I'm constantly impressed by her growing vocabulary, sharp memory (very, very sharp!), and unmistakable self confidence. She has chosen her blankie – a soft nubby green blanket with satin backing. I'm now on the hunt for a replacement should something ever happen to the original. She loves it, like her favorite stuffed animals, fiercely. And, as always, she's crazy about Shara (Shay-da!)
bangs (with Shara, with bangs)


text:
Zoning laws cause lawsuits between houses of worship and cities
As houses of worship across the country file lawsuits against cities trying to ban them, South Florida could see more conflicts similar to the battle between a Chabad synagogue and Cooper City, Fla.
Last week, Franklin Zemel, an attorney who won a $2 million settlement on behalf of a Chabad synagogue from the city of Hollywood in 2006, threatened to file a similar lawsuit against Cooper City.
Zemel is representing the Chabad of Nova Outreach Center, which wants to open an Orthodox synagogue at the Timberlake shopping plaza in Cooper City.
The Cooper City Commission is poised to vote on a zoning law Tuesday night that restricts locations for places of worship. The commission tentatively approved the law May 27.
Hundreds of such lawsuits have been filed nationwide since the federal government passed the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act in 2000, according to Eric Rassbach, an attorney with The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, a Washington, D.C., law firm that represents houses of worship.
Read the complete story at miamiherald.com.


text:
The little things we do in our daily life and what we eat is what contributes to the fitness and health of our body. More importantly, we can eliminate risks of various diseases by keeping fit and taking healthy diets. Changing your lifestyle is worth a thing to do for your health. Your body needs to be active all the time, and it requires strength to fight infections and get the energy to be health conscious.
There are many health elements that people of all kinds can do to improve health and stay fit. However, you need to be determined and maintain the best strategies in the path to good health. The following are some of the best ways to stay fit and healthy.
Get Your Checkups Regularly
Some people assume that they are doing great even without the checkups, but this is a wrong idea. You need to get o your doctor more often and find out if your body is as it should be. It is essential to have insurance to cover for your checkups so that you can take full advantage of your benefits.
Remember that some diseases take time before they show their symptoms. Therefore, you need to catch up with your doctor for earlier treatment before suffering long-term consequences of particular conditions. Healthy exams are essential even when you are healthy, and you might discover something abnormal in your body and take early action with the help of your doctor.
Get Enough Sleep
Sleep directly affects your physical and mental functioning. When you sleep, the muscles of your body get to relax and allow metabolism to take place. Sleep helps you to regain your concentration whenever you feel tired.
The stress hormones, memory, moods and even the immune system will function properly if you have enough sleep. It is recommended that you take enough rest to allow your body to heal, rejuvenate itself and repair any broken tissues and cell in a way it cannot when you are awake.
Get Enough Exercises
Exercises are the best solution to keep you fit and healthy. You need to just spare time and work out your body to get rid of the fats and cholesterol that may cause obesity and related diseases. You can choose from the various options of exercises to improve your fitness.
For instance, having the cardiovascular exercises will provide strength to the heart and lungs while the strength training will keep your muscles healthy and reduce the risk of prone to injuries by increasing flexibility.
Take Healthy Meals
You need to eat healthy foods that will keep your body away from the risk of acquiring various diseases. Get some fruits, vegetables and whole grains as part of your daily meals. Ensure you take a balanced diet so that you can include all sources of proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins among other nutrients into the body.
However, you should not overeat because you might attract digestive complications. Ensure you consistently take natural foods and eliminate chemically processed foods that might be harmful to your health.


text:
Clinical trials of a breast cancer vaccine "could begin within the next two years", according to The Guardian.
The news comes after mouse testing of a new vaccine that prompts the immune system to attack cells possessing a protein called alpha-lactalbumin, which is found in most breast cancer cells. Tests on cancer-prone mice showed that, while six mice receiving the vaccine did not develop breast tumours by the age of 10 months, six mice receiving a sham vaccine all developed tumours. The alpha-lactalbumin protein is also found in the breast tissue of women currently lactating (producing milk). This means that any human vaccine targeting the protein would not be appropriate for women who are likely to become pregnant in the future.
This research is at an early stage, and it is likely that more animal research will be needed before the vaccine could be considered for testing in humans. This research will take time, and it is not clear whether the two-year timescale for human testing is realistic. While awaiting the results, women can reduce their chances of developing breast cancer by limiting their consumption of alcohol, maintaining a healthy weight and taking regular exercise.
Where did the story come from?
The study was carried out by researchers from the Cleveland Clinic and Cleveland State University, and funded by the US National Institutes of Health. The study was published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Medicine .
BBC News, The Guardian, The Times and the Daily Mirror reported on this research. BBC News, The Guardian and The Times all report that this study was in mice, however, the Daily Mirror does not. The Times covers the limitations of the study well, and highlights the fact that the study was in mice in its headline: "The breast cancer vaccine is great news – for mice". The Guardian suggests that the vaccine could be tested in humans "within the next two years", while the Mirror says tests could begin "as early as next year". It is not clear how these timescales have been arrived at, or whether they are realistic.
What kind of research was this?
This was animal research aimed at developing a breast cancer vaccine. A vaccine primes the immune system to attack a specific target. It does this by presenting the immune system with a molecule from that target, such as a cancer, so that the body can 'recognise' the target and mount a response against it quickly if it encounters it again. For their potential breast cancer vaccine, the researchers selected a protein called alpha-lactalbumin (a-lactalbumin) as the molecule to be targeted. This protein is produced at high levels in most human breast cancers, as well as in breast tissue that is producing milk.
Using an a-lactalbumin vaccine to prevent breast cancer is a new approach, and testing it in animals is an important first step in determining whether this approach might work. If the vaccine looks effective and safe in animals, then it may go on to be tested in humans. However, there is a possibility that the vaccine may not prove effective or safe enough for testing in humans. If the vaccine does reach human testing, researchers will then need to prove that it is safe in humans and that it can reduce the risk of breast cancer, before it could be made commercially available. Such testing could take many years.
What did the research involve?
The researchers first assessed the immune response that occurred when mice were vaccinated with a-lactalbumin. They found that mice did mount an immune response against this protein, and that this caused inflammation of breast tissue in lactating mice but not in non-lactating mice (a-lactalbumin is found in breast tissue that is producing milk).
They then tested the effect of the a-lactalbumin vaccine in a strain of mice that have a high risk (a 50% chance) of spontaneously developing breast tumours by the age of 205 days. They immunised a total of 12 of these mice with either a-lactalbumin vaccine or a control solution at eight weeks of age and monitored them to see how many developed breast tumours.
The researchers also assessed the effects of the a-lactalbumin vaccine or control injections on normal mice injected with breast tumour cells. Injections of either a-lactalbumin vaccine or a control vaccination containing no a-lactalbumin were given either 13 days before, or 5, 13 or 21 days after the mice were injected with the tumour cells. The researchers looked at the tumours in these mice to determine whether the immune system appeared to be attacking them. The researchers also looked at how cancer-prone mice with aggressive breast tumours were affected by an injection of a-lactalbumin vaccine or a control vaccination containing no a-lactalbumin given at six weeks of age.
Each individual experiment compared up to eight mice treated with the a-lactalbumin vaccination and eight control mice.
What were the basic results?
The researchers found that none of the six breast-cancer-prone mice immunised with a-lactalbumin vaccine developed detectable breast tumours by the age of 10 months. However, all six of the breast-cancer-prone mice given the control injection did develop breast tumours by this age.
The researchers also found that the a-lactalbumin vaccine given either 5 or 13 days after, or 13 days before injection with breast tumour cells reduced the growth of tumours in the mice. The tumours of mice injected with a-lactalbumin vaccine had been infiltrated by immune system cells. Injection of the mice with a-lactalbumin vaccine 21 days after the tumour cell injection did not reduce the growth of tumours.
Giving cancer-prone mice with pre-existing aggressive breast tumours injections of a-lactalbumin vaccine at the age of six weeks also reduced the growth of these tumours.
In normal, non-lactating mice, an injection of a-lactalbumin vaccine did not lead to inflammation of the normal breast tissue, as the a-lactalbumin protein is only produced in breast tissue that is producing milk. In normal, lactating mice, injection of a-lactalbumin vaccine caused the immune system to attack the milk-producing breast tissue.
How did the researchers interpret the results?
The researchers concluded that "a-lactalbumin vaccination may provide safe and effective protection against the development of breast cancer for women in their post-child-bearing, premenopausal years, when lactation is readily avoidable and risk for developing breast cancer is high".
This study has shown that a-lactalbumin vaccination can reduce the risk of developing breast tumours and slow the growth of existing breast tumours in cancer-prone mice or mice injected with breast-tumour cells. The experiments also suggest that vaccination with a-lactalbumin does not affect normal breast tissue in mice not producing milk, which is an advantage from a safety perspective. The fact that the vaccine did cause the immune system to respond to lactating breast tissue means that (should this type of vaccination ever reach human testing) it would probably be appropriate only for women unlikely or unable to become pregnant.
It is worth bearing in mind that this is early research in a small number of mice, and much further research will be needed to determine whether this a-lactalbumin vaccination might be safe to try in humans. A spokesperson for the charity Breakthrough Breast Cancer has added that women can reduce their risk of breast cancer by limiting alcohol consumption, maintaining a healthy weight and taking regular exercise.


text:
Maharashtra locates "happy-go-lucky" Jai
Forest Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar recently said there are preliminary reports suggesting Jai, the biggest tiger in the state, has wandered in the neighbourhood corridor of Pauni (Bhandara district) in Vidarbha region. Jai, who is tagged as a head turner, went missing from his home location Umred-Karhandla Wildlife Sanctuary for the last few months, causing panic amongst the forest department.
The government had scaled up search operations ahead of the World Tiger Day, July 29. Maharashtra which has one of the finest tiger corridors is planning to bring its tourism on the global map. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Mungantiwar have also rolled out an elaborate plan for tiger tourism. However, disappearance of state's biggest tiger has given some anxious moments to the forest department.
According to Mungantiwar, "The reports from the field suggest that Jai has again embarked on an adventure straying from his present location to wander into deeper jungle corridor." Based on the forest officials input, he said, "There are reports that village sarpanchs have spotted Jai near Pauni (bhandara)." The forest minister revealed that Jai is known for springing surprises through his wandering habits. He even described Jai as "happy-go-lucky".
Source: The Indian Express
Mandatory for doctors to write legibly
The Indian government said recently that it has proposed a regulation to ensure that there is a rational prescription and use of drugs.The ethics committee regulation of the Medical Council of India is proposed to read: "Every physician should prescribe drugs with generic names legibly and preferably in capital letters and he/she shall ensure that there is a rational prescription and use of drugs," said the minister for chemicals and fertilizers, Ananth Kumar.
The opposition members, while alleging that doctors write in ineligible handwriting that can be read by none other than chemists, also asked the government how it is going to ensure and implement the decision that it says has made mandatory for doctors to write generic names and not the branded names of medicines..
Responding to a calling attention motion in the Rajya Sabha on high price of essential medicines by Samajwadi Party MP, Naresh Agarwal, the minister said, since drug price control order of 2013, a total of 1040 essential medicines have been brought under national list of essential medicine leading to savings of Rs 4,988 crore to the consumers.
The government is also increasing the number of Jan Aushudi outlets from 350 to 3000 in the country by the end of the year for free sale of essential drugs to the needy and has specifically asked the ministry of health to allow pharmacists to substitute generic medicines for prescription in brand name medicines, added Kumar.
Source: dnaindia.com
New space boots to help astronauts
Scientists are developing a new space boot that can prevent astronauts or visually impaired people from tripping by using vibrations to guide the wearer around and over obstacles. Most falls happen because spacesuits limit astronauts' ability to both see and feel the terrain around them, researchers said.
The space boot being developed by researchers from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Charles Stark Draper Laboratory in the US has built-in sensors and tiny "haptic" motors, whose vibrations can guide the wearer around obstacles.
In a preliminary study, researchers determined what types of stimuli, administered to what parts of the foot, could provide the best navigation cues. On the basis of that study, they are planning trials using a prototype of the boot.
The work could also have applications in the design of navigation systems for the visually impaired. The development of such systems has been hampered by a lack of efficient and reliable means of communicating spatial information to users.
Police officers help blind homeless man
It's easy to believe that all cops are monsters, but it's important to remember that the individuals behind the badges are just people, too.Thankfully, police officers who strive to make the world a better place do exist.
Recently, two Texas police officers were making rounds when they came across a man named Quintius, who obviously needed help. Recognizing this, Sgt. Stephen Wick and Officer Colin Mansfield wasted no time.
Insider Edition reports that the two men could see from the elderly, blind man's appearance that his health wasn't in good condition and that he was living on the streets. His feet, in addition to being dirty, had toenails that were so long that they cut into his own feet.
The first order of business was to buy new clothes and shoes for Quintius. Then, Sgt. Wick humbly kneeled down to wash the blind man's feet and give him a pedicure. Their last combined effort was to find him permanent housing.
Source: trueactivist.com
New 'veritable wonder' to make water clean
In a bid to make dirty water fit for drinking, a team of scientists have come up with a device made up of "veritable wonder material" graphene oxide sheets. The team of researchers developed the new device at Washington University in St. Louis.
The graphene oxide sheets have been used in the device due to the fact that it is a good conductor of heat and electricity and turns out to be very useful in treating contaminated water. "We hope that for countries where there is ample sunlight, such as India, you'll be able to take some dirty water, evaporate it using our material, and collect fresh water." said Srikanth Singamaneni, one of the researcher.
As per the new experiment, newly developed graphene-based biofoam sheets are laid on contaminated water, and with use on sun-rays the bacteria-produced cellulose and graphene oxide to form a bi-layered biofoam to convert filthy water into drinkable.
"The design of the material is novel here. You have a bi-layered structure with light-absorbing graphene oxide filled nanocellulose at the top and pristine nanocellulose at the bottom. When you suspend this entire thing on water, the water is actually able to reach the top surface where evaporation happens, " Singamaneni said.
Source: The Financial Express


text:
"What were you doing when (insert important rock musician here) died?" Is a familiar question. Everybody likes to ask it, and everybody likes to answer it. It's always fun to talk about sadness, especially in retrospect. Can you imagine what it must have felt like to be in Central Park the night John Lennon died? Everyone crying in unison, singing "Strawberry Fields Forever" for hours on end, wouldn't that have been fun? That kind of grand scale, forlorn adoration for a fallen hero is similar in action to when Kobe hits a game-winning jumper at home—EVERYONE cheers, except in Lennon's case, everyone cried. Sometimes it's nice to experience sadness with others, for a change.
Whenever a musician dies, their fans almost always crave that kind of company. Taken prisoner by their sadness—or at least wanting to be—they are always in search of cellmates. The kind of people whom they see eye-to-eye with, the kind of person that says, "Yes, Saves the Day was the only thing that made sense to me when I was 14, too," for example.
As we all know, there are varying degrees of fan hood; however, there's really only one degree of sadness, so some overcompensate. If Chris Conley gets killed in a figurative plane crash, these overcompensators will also say out loud that his band was the only thing that made sense to them when they were 14, but it wasn't. The overcompensation comes when people update their Facebook Statuses and Tweet their own eulogies and talk about what this means in the 21st century. When, in fact, the other guys, those guys that see eye-to-eye, are sitting at home spinning what they once thought to be the true voice of reason in the wretched world of adolescence—and maybe they still do. The latter is what every music fan secretly wants, their own personal December 8th. It's hard to obtain, because you actually have to love the musician in question. Why do they want it? That's easy, so that one day when someone asks, they can tell them in full detail about the night their favorite noise-rock guitarist died.
Which (finally) brings me to my point. Yesterday, Christopher Reimer, guitarist for the Canadian band Women, passed away in his sleep. This is shocking really, mainly because he was only 26 and the cause of his death is still unknown. The band's relative obscurity didn't seem to bother them—they put out two well-regarded guitar albums and played noisy 200 capacity shows all over North America for the better part of four years. What did bother Women, though, was Women. It seems they all hated each other, and one can kind of detect this in their music.
Numerous stories have been made of the bands well documented distaste for one another, including an on stage fist fight in Canada in 2010 that prompted an indefinite hiatus. However, after last night, it's possible that Women is forever finished, as Reimer was purportedly an integral part, possibly be the most. I say purportedly because, with noise-rock it's always hard to tell who is doing what, and, as an extension, what bands are important. Personally, I don't think any band who bases their entire catalogue off ten seconds of a Sonic Youth tune can be considered 'important'—that means you too, post-rock bands. I have been watching enough Youtube videos this morning to understand that Women's music didn't require as much talent as it required a sort of focused intensity, a fiery dissonance that obviously required a lot of rehearsal, and conceivably was just too hot to handle for the members of Women.
The band's songs are rife with interplayed reverb-guitars, tension between the muddy drums and indiscernible vocals. Think early Pavement trying to cover "Marquee Moon." That off-kilter crud is attractive to some. So it's no doubt there are a lot of people mourning the mysterious death of the band's fallen guitar god, this is obviously a testament to their fan hood, and I've already seen numerous Facebook posts about how chilling the passing of this young guitarist truly is. What I don't know about though, are the thousands of die-hards, who haven't taken to the 'net to publish their blood-curdling eulogies, rather, spent their night soaking their cheeks to the distorted sound of four guys-turned-enemies duke it out with soaking reverb and insufficient drum sounds.
And then there are people like me, who never enjoyed the man's music, had to look up his name when he died, but still are moved by his unexpected passing because it reminds them that their favorite living musicians can die at anytime. Maybe I'm just jealous though, because I haven't had my December 8th yet. And last night, a lot of people who saw eye-to-eye on a now defunct band from Calgary did.


text: HKSS.com | Community > Discussion Forum > View topic - Hilary Duff Home Community Superstars Music | What's New | Help HKSS | Search* Discussions | HKE Chat | Reflections of Life | Virtual Cards | Member Galleries Please excuse our mess. HKSS is currently under re-construction and some links/sections don't work yet. What's New: Latest updates | Member Galleries | Music | HKE Chat | About HKSS.com Community Discussions HKE Chat Reflections of Life Member Galleries Virtual Cards* Play Music Superstars Profiles* Galleries* Reviews Gossip & News Other Privacy Policy Terms of Use Link to HKSS* HKSS.com What's New About Contact* Advertise* Help HKSS Links YesAsia yuenStudios Do you like HKSS? My Watched Topics | My Favorites | My Profile Private IMs Register Log in Help | Stats | Members | Groups Search Forum Hilary Duff HKSS.com Forum Index -> Music View previous topic :: View next topic Author Message SaMmiLoVerCrazed FanJoined: 09 Aug 2006Posts: 130Location: Markham, Ontario, Canada Posted: Tue Apr 03, 2007 8:47 pm Post subject: Hilary Duff Believe it or not, besides listenin' to 80's music and hip/hop & r & b, I luv Hilary Duff and her music. I just got her latest deluxe format CD and I can't wait to pop it in the player in the car! And if u've got a problem with that...At least I ain't afraid to admit that I still luv "bubblegum" music! _________________Ah Goo Goo...This Baby's Been Around Since '72! Back to top EddyInsane MemberJoined: 04 Oct 2003Posts: 327 Posted: Tue Apr 03, 2007 8:52 pm Post subject: she is very hot ! oh i love joss stone, james blunt, i'm still very into backstreet boys, i grew up with them ! Back to top SaMmiLoVerCrazed FanJoined: 09 Aug 2006Posts: 130Location: Markham, Ontario, Canada Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2007 9:30 am Post subject: For me it was NKOTB...New Kids On The Block...Who would've guess that Donnie Wahlberg would be in such movies as SAW and DEAD SILENCE? While his lil' bro Mark (aka Marky Mark) would turn into a supastar like he is now!_________________Ah Goo Goo...This Baby's Been Around Since '72! Back to top Display posts from previous: All Posts1 Day7 Days2 Weeks1 Month3 Months6 Months1 Year Oldest FirstNewest First HKSS.com Forum Index -> Music All times are GMT - 8 Hours Page 1 of 1 Jump to: Select a forum Entertainment----------------All EntertainmentReviewsGossip and NewsIdol DiscussionsMusicMoviesTV Shows Non-Entertainment----------------General DiscussionsNew MembersFun and GamesReflections of LifeHobbies, TravelFood and CookingHelp!Websites HKSS.com----------------Announcements/ What's New?Help HKSS.comFeedback/ Contact HKSS.comWishlist You cannot post new topics in this forumYou cannot reply to topics in this forumYou cannot edit your posts in this forumYou cannot delete your posts in this forumYou cannot vote in polls in this forum Back to top Copyright © 1996-2014 HKSS.com™. All Rights Reserved. About | Link to HKSS.com | Advertise | Contact | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use Information and images accessed from this site are protected by international copyright and/or other intellectual property rights. You may infringe these rights if you download, copy, publish, distribute, transmit, or exploit such content without the explicit consent of HKSS.com. > Site design by yuenStudios.com (2006)


text:
In-Take Session for SITE BC Membership Application on January19, 2011 Wednesday started from 6:00pm
Society of Internationally Trained Engineers of British Columbia
InTake Session for Applying SITE BC Membership
In-Take Session, organized by SITE BC
(Society of Internationally Trained Engineers of British Columbia, www.sitebc.ca)
· Are you an Internationally Trained Engineer?
· Do you want to join us for job referrals, networking, free seminars,
and lots of other benefits?
1. Check the criteria to be a SITE BC Member at:
2. Fill out the Application Form for Membership of SITE BC and bring it to the In-Take
(downloaded from: http://sitebc.ca/downloads/membership_application_form.pdf)
3. Please come to the In-Take Session on January 19, 2011 (Wednesday) with the
following documents (the original documents and photo-copies – these are crucial)
a) Your original ID (with your personal picture on it) and a photocopy
b) The completed Application Forms of SITE BC
c) Original documents of your Engineering Degree with a photocopy
d) If your Original Degree Certificate is not in English, then bring along with a Translation
which is translated by a BC Certified Translator (or by a Public Notary) and its photocopy.
e) A copy of your Resume with details of your qualifications and work experience.
4. Come to the following location: (PICS office on Main Street)
8161 Main Street, Vancouver, B.C., V5X 3L2
Date: January 19, 2011 (Wednesday)
Time: 6:00 p.m. (No admission before 6:00 p.m. and after 7:00 p.m.)
(All Attendees must reqister before the deadline and no walk-in attendances accepted.)
(P.S.: IMPORTANT Please note: There will be no photo-copying service provided, therefore you must bring along all the original and photocopies of all abovementioned relevant documents or you may need to leave and wait for the next InTake Session again if your documents are not completely submitted.)K. C. Chau B.Sc.; LL.B.; Dip.Tech.Sc.; MBA
P.O. Box 2230 Station Main, Vancouver, BC V6B 3W2 www.sitebc.ca


text:
Server IP
Players Online
Server Rank
Votes this Month
|Server Information
|Server IP
|Current Rank
|Online Players
|Server Version
|Paper 1.13.2
|Host Location
|United States
|Votes this month
|Votes since join
|Last Update
|946 minutes ago
|Join Date
|2017-05-30 09:55:45
|Game Modes
|Economy Feed the Beast Minigames Pixelmon Survival Technic Launcher
Apocalyptic Gaming 1.5.2 - 1.13.x
Website: [urlhttp://apocgaming.org]http://apocgaming.org[/url] Forums: [urlhttp://apocgaming.org/forums]http://apocgaming.org/forums[/url] Servers: [urlhttp://apocgaming.org/servers]http://apocgaming.org/servers[/url] Vote Review: [urlhttp://apocgaming.org/vote]http://apocgaming.org/vote[/url] Discord: [urlhttps://discord.gg/uctbDQb]https://discord.gg/uctbDQb[/url] APOC Gaming is a large, multi-server modded and vanilla, minecraft server network. We host a range of servers from 1.5.2 to 1.13.x versions of minecraft. All of our servers are independently hosted and maintained. Our servers are 24/7 and 365, and connected together via BungeeCord. We host monthly events and have many custom plugins and game modes. - Enjoy Griefing and PVP Got you covered with Factions Towny worlds. - Prefer PvE, Building Surviving the wilderness Enjoy our Survival worlds. - Like Skyblock Enjoy our skyblock world or Agrarian Skies modpacks - Our bespoke economy plugin, APOC Payday, rewards you for everything you do on the server, from breaking blocks to killing mobs. It even tracks and rewards you for voting for the network on vote sites where just 35 votes will rank you up through 12 Voter Ranks, unlocking additional benefits on your respective server. - 80 item rewards awarded per vote, for being online, logging in, and more ways to earn rewards. Each reward gives you a KEY which you redeem for a random prize. - Vote inspired network. You vote, you earn rewards and ranks. Vote a lot and earn voter points on the website to purchase donor ranks for free. ALL donor ranks can be gained for free via voter points. - Non-Pay2Win, Everything donors can obtain you can obtain free by voting. Monthly events sometimes include free ranks or large sums of voter points as a reward. - Non-Ban4Profit, unlike other networks we do not force players to donate inorder to obtain rewards. We only ban the items or mods that affect server performance or gameplay. Such as chunk loaders. - Keeping it fair since 2010. We have never been Pay2Win or Ban4Profit, ever. And while it may be a rare concept these days we intend on keeping that stance. - Global Communication: Communicate with others across servers and even across modpack. This makes it easy to ask for help or to get staff to help you with your problem. - Global staff: All of our staff are ranked on every server across the network. If you need help they can go to your server and help you with whatever you need. - Multiple ways to contact us. We have our own website chatbox, website forums, website support ticket system, skype, teamspeak server, and discord server. Contact us on the platform you are most comfortable with Come join a network of choices, not restrictions, join APOC Gaming Our Servers: 1.5.2 - Hexxit: HEX.APOCGAMING.ORG - Voltz: VOL.APOCGAMING.ORG 1.6.4 - Agrarian Skies - Attack of the B-Team - Tekkit Main - Test Pack Please Ignore - YogsCast Complete ANY of the above 5 servers can be connected to via 1.6.4.APOCGAMING.ORG and typing /server to select your server. 1.7.10 - 1.13.x - Apocalyptic Tech RPG - Agrarian Skies 2 - FTB Infinity Evolved - Vanilla Minecraft ANY of the above 4 servers can be connected to via PLAY.APOCGAMING.ORG and typing /server to select your server.


text:
Our week started with our first Preview service.
Two drivers down. Seven to go. Emma took her permit test and started driving lessons last week.
I love having neighbors who just drop by for a visit. Addison loves having a little someone his size to play with.
He and baby Aidan spent an hour climbing in and out of this cart and playing peek a boo.
And play dress up
With all classes and lessons officially over until fall we shifted into full summer mode last week. So. Very. Happy.


text:
101 Acoustic Hits For Buskers
101 Acoustic Hits For Buskers
Description of 101 Acoustic Hits For Buskers
We are delighted to present the brilliant 101 Acoustic Hits For Buskers Mlc.
With so many available right now, it is good to have a make you can trust. The 101 Acoustic Hits For Buskers Mlc is certainly that and will be a perfect buy.
For this reduced price, the 101 Acoustic Hits For Buskers Mlc comes highly recommended and is always a popular choice amongst many people. Music Sales Own have added some great touches and this means good value for money.
Product Features
New Mint Condition Dispatch same day for order received before 12 noon Guaranteed packaging No quibbles returns
Sing and play the best songs from the biggest names in rock and pop with this new addition to the popular Buskers series. This comprehensive songbook contains 101 acoustic classics by artists ranging from the Beatles and Joan Baez to KT Tunstall and Jeff Buckley. All your favourite songs are arranged with lyrics, melody and chord boxes, in a ring-bound, conveniently-sized book that can be used for gigs, practise or just for fun! Contents: Crazy [Cline, Patsy] Yesterday [Beatles, The] How Deep Is Your Love [Bee Gees, The] Don't Know Why [Jones, Norah] Constant Craving [Lang, K.D.] Tears In Heaven [Clapton, Eric] Funny How Time Slips Away [Nelson, Willie] Michelle [Beatles, The] Angels [Williams, Robbie] Wild Wood [Weller, Paul] Love Is All Around [Troggs, The] Fernando [Abba] Not Fade Away [Rolling Stones, The] In The Summertime [Mungo Jerry] Goodbye Yellow Brick Road [John, Elton] Imagine [Lennon, John] Mr Tambourine Man [Dylan, Bob] That's Entertainment [Jam, The] Wild World [Stevens, Cat] Ticket To Ride [Beatles, The] There She Goes [La's, The] (Marie's The Name) His Latest Flame [Presley, Elvis] Stay (I Missed You) [Loeb, Lisa] [Nine Stories] Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) [Beatles, The] Bye Bye Love [Everly Brothers, The] Homeward Bound [Simon And Garfunkel] Diamonds And Rust [Baez, Joan] Love Me Tender [Presley, Elvis] Romeo And Juliet [Dire Straits] Blackbird [Beatles, The]


text:
Offering sessions from as short as 10 minutes up to full days our programs are designed to inspire you, your staff, clients, community members or customers to re-focus and become re-energised about their own health and well-being and the health and well-being of their families, communities and workplaces.
Our popular programs include:
Laughter Yoga: a laughter filled combination of laughter yoga exercises, deep breathing, gentle stretching fun. Suitable for everyone of every age and ability Laughter Yoga is a must have short program for conferences, staff training days, festivals and when a little team based fun is called for.
Laughter Yoga Wellbeing: a fun filled combination of neuroscience, positive psychology, cognitive and behavioural theory, Bron's indepth understanding of the mind/bodyconnection and Laughter Yoga and Let's Laugh laughter exercises that help you discover just how simple changing our mindset from stressed to flourishing can be.
Mindfulness and Meditation: including Mediation Anywhere and One minute Meditation. These popular, simple and effective meditation and mindfulness strategies have helped people from all walks of life to find inner calm and discover the joy and benefits of inner peace.
Happiness: aka Happiness, stress and resilience mastery. Discover the biology of stress; how you thoughts, your actions, and your environment effect not only your health and wellbeing but the health and wellbeing of those around you and your organisation as a whole. Discover simple, effective and proven techniques that will have you mastering your stress in no time and mastering your resilience for the journey ahead.


text:
Sometimes, even with utmost care and maintenance, air conditioning units still bog down. It could be because of typical wear and tear, or it could be because of an external factor or damage. When these happen, it's important to call a company that provides air conditioning repair services so the problem can be addressed promptly.
While there are certain instances when you can take care of the matter on your own, it is usually much better to leave it in the hands of professionals. This way, you mitigate the probability of causing more damage to the unit. That said, here are some of the more common scenarios you should pay attention to. Read more on this article. http://bit.ly/2s9YfH4
Leave a Reply.
June 2017


text:
Everybody knows exercise is useful. It speeds up the metabolism and helps prevent a variety of diseases, such as diabetes and obesity. However, if you spend too much time in the gym, you risk many negative consequences for your health.
- Risk of Injury
Training injuries can lead to complications. Severe fractures, frequent dislocations, sprains, torn ligaments – all these unpleasant things can happen if you work out excessively. Boxing is the most dangerous in this regard. There's even a special condition called "Boxer's Dementia", which develops slowly, after numerous blows to the head. The most dangerous blows are knockouts – these are so strong they lead to a temporary loss of consciousness.
- Risk of Hemorrhoids
Increased pressure inside the abdominal cavity leads to increased pressure in the pelvis, and to compression of the veins which divert blood-flow from the rectum. As a result, blood accumulates in the veins and they expand. The more intense and long-lasting the impact, the greater the expansion of the veins. With frequent excessive workouts, hemorrhoid nodes can form. This is a serious problem, which requires a lot of research. Check out Dr. Andrew Lodzinski's blog: http://www.thrombosedhemorrhoidsinfo.com.
- Risk of Heart Diseases
During exercise, all your muscles are working, including the heart muscle. Regular training is good for the heart; your pulse rate decreases, which indicates an improvement in your heart's performance. However, in the case of irregular training or an abrupt increase in weights, you can experience problems such as the hypertrophy of the heart muscles, arteriosclerosis of blood vessels, and lowering blood pressure.
- Rick of Menstrual Disorders
If you're female, this can be a serious problem. Look at professional athletes; because of their enormous physical exertion, they often have problems with their thyroid gland functioning, as their body directs all force to recovery after training. These women are constantly experiencing excessive stress and fatigue, which leads to hormonal imbalance and menstrual disorders.
In short, there are many risks of exercising too intensely. To avoid the dangers, do some research and consult a fitness instructor before starting your training.


text:
Published August 25, 2016
UB faculty and staff are invited to take part in Cyclovia at UB, a free cycling and street festival taking place on Sunday as part of Opening Weekend activities.
Named for the Spanish word for the closing of streets to automobiles for cyclists and pedestrians, Cyclovia will be held from 3-5 p.m. along Lee Road and on the Special Events Field near the UB Bookstore on the North Campus.
The event begins at 3 p.m. with a group bike ride around the North Campus led by Scott Weber, senior vice provost for academic affairs. The ride will highlight bicycle lanes around campus.
Other activities, beginning at 3:30 p.m., spotlight UB student clubs and community organizations. They include skating demonstrations, a BMX stunt show, yoga instruction, paddling on Lake LaSalle, street art and performance, and bike safety and registration information. UB's Big Blue food truck also will be on site.
Cyclovia is sponsored by Blackstone LaunchPad at UB, a program that encourages entrepreneurial thinking, and UB Parking and Transportation Services. Co-sponsors are the undergraduate Student Association, UB Sustainability, University Police Department, Campus Living, Outdoor Pursuits, Wellness Education Services, UB Athletics, Campus Life and the Professional Staff Senate.
Participants interested in taking the bike ride are asked to register online. Bikes will be provided to those who do not have them. All registered Cyclovia participants will be entered to win one of 10 one-year Bikeshare memberships.


text: NPE2018 - DEKKER Has it Covered DEKKER Vacuum Technologies Has Plastics Covered at NPE2018 Michigan City, IN (March 2018) – DEKKER Vacuum Technologies, world leader in vacuum solutions for the plastics industry, will be represented at the industry's premier trade show, NPE2018: The Plastics Show. NPE2018, produced by the Plastics Industry Association (PLASTICS), is the only international plastics event produced by the industry for the industry, and is recognized as the world's largest plastics trade show and conference. With the theme, "We've Got It Covered," NPE2018 will be held May 7 – 11, 2018, in Orlando, Florida. DEKKER will be located at booth W8286 in Hall E of West Hall Level 2 – Expo Hall of NPE2018. Blue dot represents DEKKER Vacuum's booth (W8286) DEKKER Meets the Industry at NPE2018 With its presence at NPE2018, DEKKER connects with customers and other top-echelon industry professionals who can benefit from DEKKER's superior product lines, custom solutions and "gold-level" service. NPE2018 will be attended by more than 65,000 professionals from 128 countries, representing more than 20,000 companies from every segment of the plastics industry. Top industries represented include: Chemicals and Plastics Automotive/Transportation Bottling and Beverages Building and Construction Consumer Products Packaging Medical Appliances The DEKKER team that will be on hand at the event: Rodney Weeks, Business Development Manager – Western U.S. / Canada West: Over 20 years of experience in mechanical sales, with a background in rotary equipment, specializing in vacuum technology for a wide range of applications including wood working, thermoforming, graphic arts, and healthcare. Chris Kauffman, Business Development Manager – Midwest: Over 25 years of sales and industrial experience with mechanical equipment, with emphasis in vacuum pumps and compressors for the medical, plastics, woodworking, food, and beverage industry. John Hyrb, PE, PMP, Business Development Manager – Eastern U.S. / Canada East: More than 25 years of experience with vacuum and compressed gas systems as an accomplished engineering specialist, project manager and technical sales manager, in chemical, oil and gas, pharmaceutical, semiconductor, power, pulp and paper, mining, wastewater treatment and food and beverage process industries. David Cruz, Business Development Manager – Latin America: Nearly a decade of experience in industrial and mechanical sales as a Sales Engineer, Product Manager and Sales Manager, with a focus on vacuum pumps and systems. David is responsible for developing and consolidating new business channels in Mexico and Central & South America. Kim Baxter, Business Development Manager – OEM: Over 20 years of experience in distribution, sales and entrepreneurism in the automotive industry, working with industry manufacturers such as Firestone, Black & Decker, Plasticolor, DeWalt, and Viair. DEKKER Has Plastics Covered Vacuum has numerous applications that are essential to the manufacture of plastics. DEKKER sets the standard in meeting application requirements with superbly engineered product lines that are the workhorses of the industry, delivering solidly reliable vacuum under all conditions. DEKKER product lines include: TiTAN™ series high-efficiency liquid ring vacuum pumps Ideal for the following Plastics applications: Pelletizing, conveying, blending/moisture removal, degassing, extruding, calibrating tables/plastic profiling, CNC routers Single-stage capacities ranging from 6 to 1200 CFM Two-stage capacities from 15 to 2000 CFM Can operate using various seal-fluids AquaSeal™ water-sealed liquid ring vacuum pump systems Ideal for the following Plastics applications: Pelletizing, conveying, blending/moisture removal, degassing, extruding, calibrating tables/plastic profiling Capacities ranging from 15 - 39,000 CFM No recovery systems Partial recovery systems Full recovery systems Uses water as the seal-liquid V-Max™ oil-sealed liquid ring vacuum pumps and systems Ideal for the following Plastics applications: Conveying, blending/moisture removal, degassing, extruding, calibrating tables/plastic profiling, thermoforming, CNC routers Capacities ranging from 35 - 5,000 CFM The only system on the market with a full 3-year warranty DuraVane™ rotary vane vacuum pumps and systems Ideal for the following Plastics applications: Conveying, calibrating tables/plastic profiling, thermoforming, CNC routers Available as: Lubricated single-stage pumps in capacities ranging from 2 – 710 FM Dry (oil-free) pumps in capacities ranging from 2 – 71 CFM High vacuum pumps for operating in the pressure range of 7.5 x 10-1 down to 7.5 x 10-3 Torr (total final pressure unless otherwise specified), in capacities ranging from 2 – 12 CFM An Essential Industry That's Growing According to the PLASTICS report "2017 Size & Impact," plastics is the third largest manufacturing industry in the United States. It is a $418 billion industry that employs nearly 1 million workers.Employment in the plastics industry has grown 1.4 percent since 2012, and the industry has enjoyed 1.6 percent growth per year in real value added from 2012 to 2016. The plastics industry is found in all 50 states. As a percentage of total non-farm employment, the plastics industry is most important to Indiana, where it accounts for 16.5 of every 1,000 non-farm jobs. Michigan is a close second. For more information on NPE2018 and plastics, please go to www.npe.org/ To download the DEKKER brochure on Plastics Manufacturing Solutions, click here: Plastics Manufacturing Brochure. Established in 1998, Dekker Vacuum Technologies manufactures and packages liquid ring vacuum pumps and compressors, rotary piston and rotary vane vacuum pumps and systems for markets such as plastics, packaging, pharmaceuticals, laboratories, metal processing, food processing, chemical, power generation, aerospace and many others. DEKKER is ISO 9001:2008 certified, and can build to API 681, PIP 004 and NFPA 99 for healthcare and laboratories. DEKKER is a privately held company with more than 60 employees, operating in an 81,000 square foot manufacturing, distribution and warehouse facility in Michigan City, Indiana. # # # Dekker Vacuum Technologies is either a registered trademark or trademark of Dekker Vacuum Technologies in the United States and/or other countries. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners. For more information, press only: Pamela Knight Marketing Coordinator Dekker Vacuum Technologies, Inc. Tel: 219-861-0661 X167 Back to news


text:
Hi everyone,
I have managed to get the presentation that Iain Williams and I delievered at the National Learning Platforms conference uploaded onto Slideshare, ready for delegates (and anyone else!) to access. I'm sorry that are presentation was cut short by the previous session over running. I will be adding a narrative to the Slideshare when I get back in addition to fleshing out this post in a little more detail. Hope you are enjoying the day, oh and you may want to subscribe to my feed 🙂
[slideshare id=8300699&doc=1040conf2011finalpresentation3-110614022639-phpapp02]


text:
Mar 5, 201305:19 PM
Cheat Sheet: March 5, 2013
Male found shot in Suffolk neighborhood
Police were called in Suffolk around 11:50 a.m. due to suspicious activity. When officers arrived at the Respass Beach Road and Burbage Lake Circle area, they found a man in the street suffering from a gunshot wound. The victim has since died and nearby Northern Shores Elementary has been placed on lockdown. Buses in the area are also being rerouted through the Burbage Grant neighborhood. Anyone with information regarding this shooting is asked to call the Crime Line at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP. (Source)
Arson count on Eastern Shore continues to increase
Two new fires on the Eastern shore started last night have been confirmed to be arsons, raising the total number of arsons on the shore to 60 in the past four months. No injuries have been reported, but two structures, both abandoned buildings, have sustained major fire damage. There is still a $25,000 reward available for anyone able to provide information that will lead to a conviction in this ongoing arson investigation. (Source)
White House closes its doors
Tours of the White House have been cancelled until further notice as of Saturday, March 9. The White House has announced the cancellation is a result of the budget cuts from the sequestration, which was signed into law last Friday. The sequester calls for $85 billion in cuts. The ending of the tours is allegedly due to staffing cuts being made within the White House as part of the spending reductions. (Source)
Airport security relaxes on pocketknives
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) might be getting more lenient this April. The agency has said it will allow passengers on small passenger planes to bring pocketknives with retractable blades shorter than 6 cm, as well as golf clubs, hockey sticks and plastic Wiffle Ball bats. These items have been banned by the TSA since the increased regulations sparked by the September 11 terrorist attacks. The changes are set to take effect April 25 of this year. (Source)


text: First things first – Crystal Mountain does not sell or exchange your personal information to third parties. Occasionally Crystal Mountain will send out special offers which may include promotions or deals from our resort or lodging partners. Sign up for E-News & Events to be in the know on all things happening around the mountain. We will send a bi-weekly email to keep you apprised with the latest news and special offers around the resort.


text:
Get DVD Talk Feeds
Eisenberg plays Nick, a twenty-something slacker living in Grand Rapids, MI, still sneaking by on a minimum-wage pizza delivery job while his best friend Chet (Aziz Ansari) has moved from substitute teaching to full-time, and his girlfriend Kate (Dilshad Vadsaria) -- also Chet's twin sister -- is gearing up for a job offer in Atlanta. One evening, forced to go out on a final run, Nick is attacked by two thugs in gorilla masks and knocked unconscious. The two men, Dwayne (Danny McBride) and Travis (Nick Swardson), are plotting to knock off Dwayne's dad "The Major" (Fred Ward) so Dwayne can inherit some of his father's Lotto winnings. Rather than do the deed themselves, they hire a $10,000 hitman named Chango (Michael Peña), and to pay him off, they strap a bomb to Nick and give him ten hours to rob a bank, or they blow him up. Nick enlists Chet's help, and off they go.
The controversy in the last couple of weeks is whether 30 Minutes or Less is based off of the story of Brian Wells, a real-life pizza delivery guy who robbed a bank with a bomb strapped to his chest, a bomb that later exploded and killed him on live television while the police just watched (the guys who attached the bomb would both go on to testify that Wells was in on the crime, under the impression everything would be the same, except it wouldn't be a real bomb). Although it seems wholly possible that Fleischer and the cast committed to the project without knowing (I've known this movie was coming out for more than a year and didn't hear about Wells until two weeks ago), there's no question the writers had full knowledge of the real crime, given the convoluted, true-to-life detail about Dwayne and Travis killing "The Major" for his Lotto money rather than just wanting the bank robbery cash. On the other hand, 30 Minutes or Less is the kind of movie where characters survive a car accident with one tiny piece of glass in somebody's shoulder; everything that happens feels so far removed from "reality" that it's hard to get too worked up about it.
The most disappointing thing about 30 Minutes is that Fleischer exhibits significantly less directorial style. He still has a fun opening credit sequence (set to The Hives), and the film looks fine and moves at a good pace (including the bank robbery and subsequent car chase in the middle of the film), without any confusing or over-cut sequences, but it lacks that flair that made Zombieland feel unique. This is a small movie where small characters have small conflicts, and there's never a sense that we're supposed to relate and care about Nick or Chet in the way Zombieland invests in Columbus and Tallahassee. Additionally, the first half of 30 Minutes is almost entirely devoted to crude sex comedy that feels less like it's ingrained in the film as opposed to laid on top of it, as if someone at the studio requested an extra layer of low-brow humor as the finishing touch.
However, once Nick's recruited Chet and the two are off to rob the bank, the film takes off, almost entirely on the shoulders of co-star Aziz Ansari. McBride and Swardson are fine, but their comedy never quite goes as big as one hopes from seeing them together, and Eisenberg plays it mostly straight, selling the intensity of the bomb. But Ansari has no on-screen obligations to anything but comedy, and he knocks it out of the park, scoring one great one-liner after another without overreaching or actively hogging the spotlight. He cleverly adds consistency to his character by spreading throwaway jokes like Chet being hungry or his fake criminal name out across several scenes, and even injects some unexpected emotional complexity into moments like an agonized roadside confession to Nick about a rumor he accidentally spread as a child. Behind Ansari, if only for his limited screen time, comedy MVP Michael Peña is hilarious as Chango, who acts like a meaner, slightly dumber cousin to his character in Observe and Report.
Although there are a few slow patches here and there -- it's almost like a 60-minute move padded to 90 minutes -- but the 50 or so minutes following the bank robbery is one big laugh after another, leaving 30 Minutes or Less as forgettable fluff, lacking the character weight of Zombieland, while still bringing the same or potentially even more comedy to the table. There's a pretty obvious pizza metaphor there, but, you know, let's not go overboard.


text:
Use this Lawn Service Business package to improve and maintain your customers' lawns to be a lush green.
Serious lawn service business contractors know that green, lush lawns begin with the right products. We've put together a package that includes organically-friendly, green fertilizers that will help you capture the environmentally conscious homeowner's business.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the recommended Application Rate?
- Aerator Blend: One ounce per 1,000 square feet.
- Soil Booster: Six ounces per 1,000 square feet
- Green Sustaining Blend: Ten ounces per 1,000 square feet.
The package begins with our trailer sprayer, suitable for pulling behind an ATV or riding lawn mower. It's ideal for large residential lots or commercial properties.
To go in the sprayer, we've added 5 gallons of our Liquid Aerator to get soil loosened up and ready to absorb oxygen, water, and nutrients. You will notice an instant boost in your customers' lawns. This product uses just 1 ounce per 1,000 feet, so you'll be able to do a lot of properties with 5 Gallons.
Next, we've added 30 gallons of Soil Booster, and 30 gallons of Green Sustaining Blend, which is a 16-4-8 N-P-K fertilizer (application rate 10 ounces per 1,000 sq ft). Quick Greening Blend is a liquid iron that works extremely well, but it shouldn't be mixed in the tank with Soil Booster or MIneral Blend (not a disaster, just doesn't work as well). It can also stain walkways, concrete, etc. because it's iron - it's an excellent product, but better offered on it's own in late summer when people need to green up their lawn but don't necessarily need to use a nitrogen fertilizer.
Lawn Service Business Package includes
- Trailer Sprayer
- Aerator Blend - 5 Gallons
- Soil Booster - 30 Gallons
- Green Sustaining Blend - 30 Gallons
*All specifications subject to change without notice.
LC-T25TS Trailer Sprayer
This trailer sprayer is designed to be pulled behind of a lawn tractor working from the 12Vdc power source. Ideal for large residential lots, small farms or commercial properties.
Liquid Aerator (5 Gallons)
Natural liquid aerator is mixed with water, sprayed onto lawns and landscapes to loosen all compacted soil types with ease.
Soil Booster Liquid Lawn Fertilizer
Improve your soil naturally with Soil Booster liquid lawn fertilizer.
Green Sustaining Blend 30 Gallon
Green Sustaining Blend is an organic grass fertilizer that can be used any time of the year to fertilize your lawn.


text:
Sky Vista
Villa Sky Vista is located high up in the hills of Gustavia, St. Barts with fabulous views over the ocean and neighboring islands of Saba, St. Eustatius and St. Kitts. Unbelievable sunsets adorn this villa year round. Sky is a stunning villa just minutes to the restaurants, couture shopping and cafes of Gustavia.
The villa boasts dark wooden floors throughout. The living area has a collage of styles, colonial and Asian with a bit of a modern flair. The covered terrace has an outside living area with hand-carved wooden sofa and chairs of the Indian origin. The brass hurricane lamps and wooden deck give the outside living space a nautical touch.
The two bedrooms are private and overlook the ocean and are separated by the deck and pool. Both bathrooms have stylish tile work, and the guest bathroom off the living room has mosaic tile.
Come and enjoy the unforgettable views and everything that St. Barts has to offer.


text:
A message from our VP-Academic, Jaffra.
Getting involved in your local community association planning committee is a great way of gaining valuable experience in urban planning and giving back to the community in which you live. If you are looking to better understand the urban planning process and how residents can influence development in their area I highly recommend getting involved!
Obviously some community associations are more active than others and have more development than others, so it may be worth asking a community other than the one you reside in if they will allow you to volunteer on the planning committee. Many of the inner city communities are facing significant development pressures and have a strong need for dedicated volunteers to help advocate for the needs and desires of the community.
Volunteering is a great way to build up your resume while networking with different people and organizations that provide future career opportunities, but I strongly recommend that you only volunteer if you are willing to commit to helping out for a longer period of time. Many of the projects that community planning committees are working on are long-term projects, and they rely on motivated and dedicated people to see these projects through to the end. As Calgary residents and people who are interested in urban development, politics and social issues in your city you are a great asset to these organizations if you are willing to commit the time.
In addition to learning about the planning process through volunteering at community associations, there are also workshops that are put on by the Federation of Calgary Communities. The Partners in Planning Program (PIP) is an award-winning planning certificate training program offered by the Federation of Calgary Communities in partnership with The City of Calgary. It is geared towards helping community association planning volunteers and the public develop skills for effective participation in the planning process. The workshops occur on Saturday mornings and free as long as you pre-register and are a member or volunteer for a community association that is a part of the Federation.


text:
About Us
X2 Elite is the premier network of independent logistics and freight professionals representing major air and seaports around the world. X2 Elite is the world's most professional general freight forwarding network and we value the professional quality in our membership.
All companies within the group understand the requirements of customers and are able to provide comprehensive and competitive logistics solutions in all major markets around the world.
X2 Elite members benefit from:
• Trusted and Professional Global Freight Forwarding Partners
• Financial Protection
• Limited Membership per Market
• Free PR/Marketing Opportunities and Services
X2 Elite was established in 2012 and was the first of the 5 groups under the X2 Logistics Networks umbrella.
X2 is dedicated to growing a professional network of reliable and capable logistics professionals and is actively pushing to further develop our networks and assist members for the greater benefit of each member. With our vision to professionally develop and manage a dynamic group, our aim is to deliver results for our members.
The X2 Team is continuously improving the network and in turn the benefits reaped by our members. Our team and management has more than 50 years of combined logistics experience, is capable of conversing in more than 15 different languages, and brings with them the experience and skill acquired from a wide range of business development and networking experience needed to run a group of successful networks.


text:
Product management is involved with most internal groups, but not equally and not all at the same time. PMs need to exert enough gravitational pull to keep each organization in its correct orbit, and still save some energy for customers. So let's give our planetary analogy a spin. Starting with Engineering… In the traditional waterfall model, a typical project is scheduled for 9 months, but inevitably takes a year to complete. So we'll assign classic software development groups to Earth in our product solar system, with a 365 day cycle.
This article captured an April 2007 talk I did at SVPMA. The original slide deck is here. I'm talking with more and more with companies considering a shift from traditional licensing models to hosted software-as-a-service (SaaS). It's important to recognize the radical changes such a move may force within your entire company. This column serves up a metaphor for the mental and organizational adjustments needed to move from a "product" model to a service business.
Much of my consulting lately involves on-demand services (aka software-as-a-service, or "SaaS"). I'm seeing ever-growing interest from business customers in subscription pricing and online services, especially since they pay much less "up front" versus software licensing. This necessarily slows down early revenue to the vendor and intensifies the need to upsell your installed base.


text:
Reflecting on my winding journey along the path to proficiency, I think my big accomplishment this year was to include my students in the process. We spent time defining proficiency levels in the fall, aiming right at our course's proficiency target all year long, and self-assessing writing samples against the levels at midyear and in the spring. Here were my major pitstops on this path:
1. Get a big bulletin board going. I devoted one long wall to the path and defined relevant proficiency targets in student-friendly language. To keep it fun and stay with the "path" metaphor, I put cheap, clunky cars at the lowest levels and fancy, speedy ones at the highest levels. Did anyone notice this but me? Hard to say.
2. Spend a whole class period working in English (which requires spending 9 others 100% in the TL, of course) to define the proficiency levels with students. I followed the Creative Language Class' lesson plan and used their handy cards (see below) for explaining the levels to kids.
Each group of 3 students got 1 card and described our school's beloved Turkey Promenade, writing in that proficiency level. Students enjoyed being told to make spelling errors and such.
Here are examples of student writing for Novice Low (left) and Novice High (below):
I had students read their posters aloud and then asked the rest of the class to assign them a spot on the proficiency path. This gave us a chance to delve into the definitions. As we visited each level in this manner, I asked students if they thought this was a level they'd already been at (and if so, I asked when - for Novice Low, they said September of last year, for example), were at now, or had not yet reached. If their estimations were too ambitious, I asked them if they could say the same thing in French as was written in English. That seemed to help them be more realistic. After class, I created a one-page summary of all their writing labeled by proficiency level, which they kept in their binders as a reference for the rest of the year. I also left up their English posters for a few months so that we could refer to them.
3. Ask students to assign their own work a proficiency level. We do 10-minute fluency counts ("free writes") monthly, and students keep them in a folder in my classroom. In December, I gave out this worksheet in which I described NM, NH, IL, and IM and asked them to check the one that best described their writing. Even then, I knew that my descriptions were far too detailed and sophisticated for students to really understand, much less read fully. Reviewing their assessments, I did not feel that they were basing their choices on my descriptors but rather what they wanted for themselves. What did work, though, was asking kids to look at the next level up and identify 3 changes they'd need to make to get there. I love this idea of having students self-identify what they need to work on, and having them really get specific about what they need to do.
4. Ask 'em again, but better. Last week I created a simpler worksheet again describing the 4 levels I see in my class. Students read through all of their fluency counts from the year and reflected on their progress and current capacities. This time I asked them to actually quote their writing as proof of the proficiency level they'd selected. While some were still off-target, most were quite accurate in their self-assessments. As I reviewed their folders and self-assessments, I was amazed to see how much their sentence complexity and flow improved this year. While most wrote just about as many sentences in 10 minutes in September as they did in June, the length and quality of those sentences were much better.
So that, folks, is one year's journey along the path to proficiency. Traveling along with my students lightened my burden because we shared the responsibility for reaching Intermediate Low together. I never intend to go it alone again.
Leave a Reply.
Who's that dame?
Middle school French teacher obsessed with building students' proficiency via thematic units & authentic materials.
Smart teacher blogs:
Madame's Musings
Creative Language Class
Language Coaching by Amy Lenord
Language Sensei


text:
So without further ado, here are the fabulous goodies that I received:
A quick peek inside that lovely sparkly bag . . . . I see beads, fabric, chocolate . . . .
Magazines, thread, beading wire, lavender . . . . .
Just look! I am so excited about this magazine. I have seen it on the newstands, but UK magazines are exorbitantly priced over here, so this is a real treat!
The fabric is so cute - I love seasidey things, so I will have fun playing with this gorgeous fabric. Philippa also included matching thread (oh, she is gooood!) as well as a plain co-ordinating fabric.
Love it. Love it all. Thank-you Kerry for organizing this fabulous swap, and thank-you Philippa for your thoughtful, fantastic gifts xx
And what did Philippa receive? Well, I know she has received the parcel, so as soon as she puts up the post, I will link to it from here.


text:
HSHS St Mary's Hospital is a 244-bed "not for profit" church-associated medical center providing services and cares for residents of Decatur and Macon County Illinois. The facility is located at:
1800 East Lake Shore Drive
Decatur, IL 62521
(217) 464-2966
Along with providing emergency medical care to the community, the facility also offers:
- Adult day services
- Laboratory services
- Cancer care
- Pain management
- Orthopedic services
- Rehabilitation
- Surgical services
- Wound care
- Vascular services
- Behavioral healthcare
- Radiology
- Neurosurgery
- Stroke care
- Women services
- Urology
- Maternal childcare
- Nutrition and diabetes
- Healthcare
National Rankings
When comparing this facility to other medical centers and hospitals in the United States, HSHS Mary's Hospital maintains an overall "B" score, ranking it in the 54th percentile. The rankings are calculated using publicly available data including patient flow, initial assessment flow, staff responsiveness, patient satisfaction and reported complications. Lowers rankings might indicate a high percentage of medical malpractice/mistakes and errors occurring at the hospital.
Like every hospital in the United States, the St. Mary's Hospital emergency room must provide a high level of care to the local community to ensure that every patient requiring emergency services is treated quickly. Analytics MD reports that the emergency department at this facility ranks low in nearly every key indicator of quality care. This includes:
- Incoming Patient Flow (17th percentile) – This low measurement indicates the level of care patients receive when being seen and evaluated in the emergency department.
- Discharge Patient Flow (48th percentile) – This low measurement indicates how the facility efficiently treats less sick patients who do not require admission to the hospital.
- Admitted Patient Flow (45th percentile) – This low measurement indicates how the facility efficiently treats sicker patients who must be admitted to the hospital.
- Frustrated Patients (35th percentile) – This measurement indicates the level of frustrated patients who leave the emergency department.
Even with these low numbers, the overall patient satisfaction involving every department in the facility rank in the 50th percentile. In addition, the inpatient cost efficiency at St. Mary's Hospital ranked in the 83rd percentile among all hospitals and medical centers in the U.S.
Illinois State Designations
HSHS St Mary's Hospital maintains three specific state designations that include:
- Perinatal II – The Level II designation indicates that the facility is a part of the Illinois Regionalized Perinatal System providing services to childbearing women and their newborns at a level that improves perinatal outcomes. The program was designed to combine needed services including medical, nursing and ancillary care to high-risk women and their newborns who require neonatal procedures. The patients have access to subspecialists, specialized equipment, and a highly-trained hospital staff.
- Emergency Department Approved for Pediatrics (EDAP) – The facility is recognized by the Illinois Department of Public Health for participating in the Emergency Medical System for Children program facilitated by professionals who have received specialized training in pediatric critical and emergency care. The designation reveals that the hospital participates in providing emergency department care to children 24 hours every day. Patients have access to essential medication, supplies, and equipment with services facilitated by adequate staff members and backup support.
- Baby Friendly – The baby-friendly designation indicates that the facility participates in the promotion of breastfeeding. As a part of the UNICEF Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative, the hospital maintains a written breastfeeding policy and educates the healthcare staff how to implement the policy. This includes informing the childbearing woman of all the benefits of breastfeeding and effective management of how to ensure optimal breastfeeding outcomes.
Bloodstream Infection Rates
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) routinely monitors the facility-acquired incident rates involving Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Clostridium difficile infections (CDI). The information is gathered by laboratory test results at the hospital involving patients who have remained at the facility for four days or longer. This information helps provide a summary measurement to determine if the bloodstream infection rates at the hospital are statistically higher or worse than the national average. For the year 2015, the bloodstream infection rate at HSHS Mary's Hospital involved:
- Facility-Acquired Incident Rates Involving M RSA Bloodstream Infections – 1 contagious infection incident out of 29,606 patient days.
- Facility Acquired Incident Rates Involving CDI Bloodstream Infections – 19 contagious infection incidents out of 27,375 patient days.
The IDPH determined that the statistical rates were not "significantly better or worse than the national average."
Decatur Illinois Medical Malpractice Lawyers
If your loved one suffered serious harm through medical errors or mistakes while a patient at St. Mary's Hospital, contact the Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers LLC law firm now. As your legal representative, our Decatur personal injury law firm can provide numerous options working on your behalf to hold those responsible for causing loved one harm both and legally and financially accountable.
Our law firm can ensure that all necessary paperwork and documentation are filed in the appropriate County Courthouse. In Macon County, the facility is located at:
253 Eastwood St.
Decatur, IL 62523
(217) 424-1454
Circuit Court Clerk Lois Durbin
We encourage you to contact our Macon County medical malpractice law offices by calling (888) 424-5757 today to schedule your free, comprehensive recompense case review. We provide immediate legal representation without any upfront payment. Our legal services are paid only after we have successfully resolved your case in a court of law or through a negotiated out-of-court settlement.