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Spiritual Travel: Retreats and Pilgrimages
Providing you relaxing, uplifting, and spiritually deep vacations and pilgrimages
We journey to places of authentic spiritual magnetism. Our leaders are joyful, knowledgeable, and experienced pilgrims who offer very personal attention to each guest to help you achieve your piligrimage vision.
We offer uplifting vacations so that you can rest and renew your body, mind, and spirit. Lovely accomodations that are affordably priced at times of the year when the weather is good but the crowds are less.
Healing Retreats
Our lives are can be more expansive when we are healthy and calm. These healing retreats bring you to the highest quality healing locations with excellent food, treatments, and time for enjoyable activities.
Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage, Spain
A Sacred Himalayan Pilgrimage
Pilgrimage to Spain: Sacred Sites in Southern Europe
Enjoy truly relaxing travel that supports your spiritual life in all ways. We choose inspiring sites and lovely accommodations. Our experienced Expanding Light staff leaders create travel that strengthens your spiritual practice, and a journey that leaves you feeling uplifted and renewed.
We plan trips using the following criteria:
- Journey to a place of magnetism
- Lovely accommodations that are reasonably priced
- Travel at affordable times with pleasant weather
- Programs consistent with the Ananda vibration
- Personal contact with leaders and like-minded people
- Programs that support a spiritual vibration and spiritual practice
I can't say enough about the many wonderful and powerful experiences I had on our pilgrimage! Feeling the amazing power of the several sacred places stands out. And being a part of a group of like-minded people was a strong confirmation of how real our spiritual journey is. More...
—V.B., Aptos, CA
Nayaswamis Gyandev and Diksha are long-time teachers and ministers at Ananda, as well as experienced leaders of retreats at home and abroad. Diksha directs Ananda's Meditation Teacher Training program. Gyandev directs Ananda Yoga® and Ananda Yoga Teacher Training. Both lead workshops on a wide range of topics in the spiritual life. They have led retreats and pilgrimages to India, Hawaii, Costa Rica and Israel.
Nayaswamis Krishnadas and Mantradevi are longtime teachers and ministers of Ananda, Krishnadas and Mantradevi have helped establish Ananda communities in Seattle, Portland, Dallas, and Los Angeles. Currently, they both work at The Expanding Light, regularly leading pilgrimages to India, Europe, and other places of inspiration. They have been sharing Yogananda's teachings for decades and lead many workshops at The Expanding Light.
Keshava Taylor is the spiritual co-director of Ananda's meditation center in Delhi, and he has been leading pilgrimages in India for the past 13 years. In 1984, Keshava became a founding member of Ananda's European center in Assisi Italy. There he began his love of leading pilgrimages while guiding groups in the footsteps of St. Francis and tours of Renaissance cities. Keshava and his wife Daya have lived in India since Ananda's work began there in 2003.
Sitabai has decades of experience as a walker and hiker in the California Sierra Mountains leading children and families and has twice completed the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage.
Nayaswami Lalaan is an experienced pilgrim who has traveled in Spain, Italy and Ireland in search of the Divine. Lalaan is an experienced walker and has many years experience interacting with and supporting guests of the Expanding Light Retreat.


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How to Solve Nokia Lumia 800 Network Problems?
- No network in your phone.
- Low signals.
- Phone only searching for network but not connecting.
- Constantly dropping signals.
- Call dropping issue.
Reasons of Problems
- Your SIM card might be faulty.
- Your Network Carrier might be having any temporary difficulties.
- GSM antenna contact might be rusted or might have encountered some kind of dust.
- Antenna contact pins are not properly in contact with your GSM antenna contacts.
- Any of the coils and capacitors of Network Antenna or Power Amp IC might be faulty.
- Secondary antenna's coil might be faulty.
- Restart your Nokia Lumia 800 phone and check.
- Remove and Re-insert your SIM card and check.
- Toggle between different network modes and check.
- Check with any other working SIM Card, as your SIM card or your network carrier might be having issues.
Tools Required
- Multi-meter
- Soldering Gun
- Copper Wire (To be used as a jumper)
- Heat gun.
- Star Screw Driver (For Phone Disassembling).
- Plastic Separation Tool (For Phone Disassembling).
Hardware Solution
- The very first thing that you need to do is to clean GSM antenna contacts and check, as most of the time dust or rust becomes the cause of low or no network.
- Now pull up GSM antenna contacts pins and check, as most of them time network problem arises due to the fact that GSM antenna pins and contacts are not in contact properly.
- Check all the components of antenna contact pins. Components comprise of one Coil (we named it as Coil – 1) and multiple Capacitors.
- Check continuity of secondary antenna. If there is no continuity then place a jumper across.
- Check continuity of Coil – 2, if it is found to be damaged then replace it.
- Now gently heat Network Antenna and check, if it is still faulty replace it.
- Check all the components of Power Amp IC, replace all the faulty components.
- Gently heat Power Amp IC, remove, fix it again and check.
- If Power Amp IC is still not working then replace it.
All the above methods will help you to resolve all the above mentioned Network problems in the best possible manner. Before going with hardware method make sure that you have tried all of the work around methods in first place, as this will help you to save your time, money as well as energy which you will spend in overcoming the problem via hardware method.

subset: commoncrawl


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Following a review by the WEDINOS Programme Board, it has been decided that as of 25th July 2014, no further samples of Steroids and/or Image Enhancing drugs (SIEDs) will be tested by WEDINOS.The decision has had to be taken for the following reasons:
- Saturation - the number of samples received exceeds the capacity of WEDINOS staff to test
- New findings - Analytical findings indicating consistently that around one third of samples received contained either: no active compounds; compounds other than those indicated; some but not all named compounds or named and other compounds. This information will be formally reported and used to support the requirement for additional health, analytic and support services for those using these substances.
It is hoped that in the future, this service may be reinstated in order to ensure no new compounds or issues of concern regarding available compounds are missed.
The WEDINOS project would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has contributed with the submission of samples and effects records in relation to SIEDS.


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CSFS: 800 Million Standing Dead Trees in Colorado
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – February 15, 2017 – Over the last seven years, the number of dead standing trees in Colorado forests increased almost 30 percent, to an estimated 834 million trees – or nearly one in every 14 standing trees. And this trend of increasing tree mortality – which is most observable in spruce-fir and lodgepole pine forests impacted by bark beetles – may result in forests conducive to large, intense wildfires like the 2016 Beaver Creek Fire that burned through beetle-kill timber northwest of Walden.
The 2016 Report on the Health of Colorado's Forests, distributed today by the Colorado State Forest Service at the annual Joint Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee Hearing at the State Capitol, highlighted this and other observed forest trends for the state. The theme of this year's report is "Fire and Water," focusing on how wildfires and unhealthy forest conditions impact human populations, water supplies and forested environments.
"When so many trees die and large wildfires follow, our forests quickly turn from a carbon sink into a carbon source," said Mike Lester, State Forester and Director of the CSFS. "Beyond the implications for our atmosphere, forests in poor health have implications for our water supplies, public safety, wildlife and recreation opportunities."
Highlights from this year's report include: Continue reading


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During the course of clinical education, the clinical instructor (CI) may encounter a student who has difficulty meeting the objectives of his/her clinical experience. Although this can happen at any time during the educational process, it occurs most often during the final full-time clinical experiences. Successful management of performance problems involves problem identification and analysis, development of goals, formulation of a plan for remediation, selection of a learning experience, and assessing progress towards goal achievement. The CCCE and the ACCE can provide information and resources and offer support for the CI and the student, and thus should be involved in the problem-solving process.
Problem situations may first manifest themselves as a series of apparently unrelated, minor incidents. Careful documentation initiated early in the clinical experience may highlight performance problems and allow student learning to be redirected. Thus, the problems should be addressed as soon as they are recognized rather than waiting until midterm or final performance reporting. If these problems are related to any of the first five items in the Clinical Performance Instrument (red flag items), the ACCE should be contacted as soon as possible.
Documentation of problem learning situations can be accomplished in several ways. A chronological diary of observations is one method for recording unsatisfactory performance. An anecdotal record, which includes the incident, the student's behavior, the CI's interpretation, signatures of the student and CI, and the student's comments, is another option. Performance problems and progress towards resolution must be addressed at midterm and final student evaluations.
Once a problem is identified and analyzed, goals and a plan for problem resolution must be determined. The student and the CI should develop the plan for remediation and goals jointly, with input from the CCCE and ACCE as needed. In addition, minimal acceptance performance should also be specified. After the goals and performance level are determined, the CI designs a learning experience which will allow the student the best chance to achieve the established goals. The student and CI should meet at least weekly to discuss progress towards goal achievement.
If the student is still unable to demonstrate satisfactory performance, then the CI should specifically document the student problems on the final performance report. The ACCE will then communicate this information to the faculty, who will meet to discuss the most appropriate course of action. A likely decision may be to require the student to repeat or extend one of his/her clinical experiences. If this does not provide the faculty with specific documentation of the student's problem, then the faculty cannot legally require the student to repeat the experience.
The cooperation and communication between the student, the CI, the CCCE, and the ACCE are essential for successful management of performance problems. The clinical education "team" can collaborate on the development of goals and plans for correction of problems and establishment of expectations.


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Reaping the benefits of digital imaging on apparel requires command of art preparation. This article describes how to set up garment graphics for inkjet printing and examines the variables associated with this method of decoration.
The fine points of artwork revision for digital printing are not that dissimilar to prepping for offset or screen printing. The only real difference is that the file needs to be of a higher resolution than for screen printing, and you may have to adjust the gamut and hue range (as discussed earlier in the gamut section). Many printers strive to have graphics that are at least twice the resolution necessary for the output device. So if your printer can reproduce 150 dpi on the shirt, then you should start with a 300-dpi file. Fortunately, the weave of garment fabric is such that the results from an inkjet print are usually a little more forgiving. You can have a 250-dpi file for DTG output (that is at actual size, of course). Make sure that your file isn't too big, either, as some of the printers can get stuck or not print properly if the file resolution is too high. Check your specs and make sure to review the quality of the file for the following:
Edge quality The sharpest areas of contrast in an image, such as an outline on a cartoon, should have a clean edge if possible. Try to avoid or correct ghosting and compression glows or distortions. Low-quality images that are enlarged may need to be redrawn on the edges or at least sharpened in places. Sometimes a Sharpen filter that is used on the black channel in CMYK or the lightness channel in L*a*b* color mode can give good results without all of the extra work.
Color blends If the image has smooth transitions of color, then it's important to pay specific attention to these areas because viewers' eyes will be drawn to any imperfections in gradient blends. Careful selection and replacement, or blurring using a Gaussian blur to just the affected area, can fix such issues.
Contrast If the image looks dirty and washed out on the computer, it is unlikely to be vibrant on the printed shirt. One thing to try is to boost the contrast by 10-15 points, just to see what happens. Be careful that this procedure does not knock a bunch of colors out of gamut. Changing contrast can really brighten up a dull image—if you don't overdo it.
Creating the underbase white
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As it is Black Friday on Friday I have decided to offer a whopping 25% discount across my Etsy store at Knitterscarlet.
To get this discount use coupon code "XMAS2011" at checkout.
The sale will last for 2 weeks so it would be a great time to make a headway on those Christmas presents. I will also offer free gift wrapping if you request it to make life easier for you.
If you have a partner who is into spinning/knitting then please feel free to message me and I will give you as much help as I can to buy them something they will love. Take it from me every knitter/spinner loves surprise gifts which has something to do with their hobbies.
You can also get to my Etsy shop by clicking on the link on the left hand side of this post where it has pictures of some of the things I sell in my shop.
Hope you find something you like and if you have any questions please feel free to message me.


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Long Distance Buses
Various different companies have long-distance buses from Sendai, traveling within Miyagi and as far away as Osaka. Most depart from close to Sendai Station, although some also leave from Izumi Chuo Subway Station and Nagamachi JR Station.
If you have a specific departure point and destination in mind, your best bet is to call the English Hotline
at Sendai International Centre: (022) 224-1919
Staff will be more than happy to find out which bus is best for you.
Long Distance Bus Stops near Sendai Station Long Distance Bus Destinations
Long distance Bus destinations
*Buses to Murata leave from Sendai Eki Nishi-guchi Bus Pool See Long Distance Bus Stops near Sendai Station for other departure points.
Reservations are required for the buses going to:
A Aomori (4hr 50 mins)
A Hirosaki (4hr 20 mins)
A Hachinohe (4hr 10 mins)
A Akita (3hr 40 mins)
C Odate (4hr 20 mins)
C Omagari (3hr 35 mins)
C Yokote (2hr 50 mins)
C Yuzawa (3hr 25 mins)
A Sakata (3hr)
A Narita Airport (7hr 20 mins)
A Tokyo Disney Land (8hr 20 mins)
B Hamamatsucho (5hr 50 mins)
C Shinjuku (5hr 30 mins)
C Niigata (4hr mins)
A Kanazawa (8hr 30 mins)
A Nagoya (10hr mins)
A Kyoto (10hr 40 mins)
A Osaka (12hr 15 mins)
Reservations are not required for the buses going to:
A Morioka (2hr 40 mins)
A Ofunato (3hr 20 mins)
C Hanamaki (2hr 30 mins)
C Mizusawa, Esashi (2hr)
F Ichinoseki (1hr 20 mins)
F Tendo, Sagae (1hr 30 mins)
C Yonezawa (1hr 55 mins)
E Yamagata (1hr)
E Shinjo (2hr 15 mins)
A Fukushima (1hr 10 mins)
A Koriyama (1hr 50 mins)
C Aizuwakamatsu (2hr 30 mins)
Useful Websites
Miyagi Kotsu Bus Information (Japanese only):
Long distance buses departing from near Sendai Station for various locations in Miyagi; Sendai local buses departing from various locations.
Higashi Nippon Express Bus Information (Japanese only):
Buses departing from near Sendai Station for various locations in Miyagi.
JR Bus Tohoku Information (mostly Japanese):
Buses departing from near Sendai Station for various locations in Honshu; buses departing from Izumi Chuo Subway Station for Tokyo; and from Nagamachi JR Station for Tokyo, Yokohama, Shinagawa, Shinjuku.
Miyagi Tourist Information:
Information on local and long-distance buses departing from Sendai and other parts of Miyagi.


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Minnesota Angel Tax Credit Program available for state startups
MINNESOTA — The Minnesota Angel Tax Credit Program now has $15 million in credits available for state tech startups and is accepting applications for 2016. Of the $15 million in credits, $7.5 million is reserved for investors or investment groups funding minority-owned and -managed businesses, women-owned and -managed businesses or businesses located in Greater Minnesota.
"The Angel Tax Credit helps Minnesota high-tech startup companies raise investment capital during the early stages of company growth," said Lt. Gov. Tina Smith. "The Angel Tax Credit not only helps startup companies, it also has attracted more than $300 million in private investment to Minnesota over the last six years, and added hundreds of jobs to our economy."
The Angel Tax Credit Program was created six years ago to provide an incentive for making equity capital investments in high-tech startups – software, medical device and biotechnology businesses that need cash but are considered too risky for conventional bank loans. The program has expanded beyond high tech. Now businesses developing new proprietary products or services in the fields of agriculture, tourism, forestry, mining, manufacturing or transportation are also eligible to participate.
Under the program, qualified investors receive a state tax credit of 25 percent for investing in qualified businesses. As every $1 in tax credits awarded to private investors generates $4 in investments for startup businesses, this translates into $60 million in investment in Minnesota startups.
Businesses that receive angel funding must be headquartered in Minnesota and certified to participate in the program. They must have fewer than 25 employees, with at least 51 percent of the workers and total payroll based in the state. They also must have been operating for no more than 10 years and cannot have received previous equity investments exceeding $4 million.
Source: Minnesota DEED


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You've already heard Affection, Plague, Wrath of God, and "Sad Eyes", and now the other eight tracks making up Crystal Castles' third album (III) have made their way online. Spotify users can now stream the 12-track effort is full using the widget below.
(III) arrives officially on November 12th via Casablanca/Fiction/Universal Republic.


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|Address by Prime Minister, Rt. Hon. Dean Barrow at the Ceremonial Opening of the National Assembly of Belize
|Written by Administrator
|Thursday, 22 March 2012 00:00
Mr. Speaker,
We will strengthen our Democracy by making citizens' rights more effective. For example, we will pass regulations to make the triggering of referendums and recall elections by constituents and advocacy groups more user-friendly and hassle free.


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About this course:
Watch this free online course on Angle Grinder Safety, and learn how to safely and correctly handle an angle grinder.
With the vision to unify and educate others about power tools, the Power Tool Institute (PTI) has established itself as the leading organization for building global understanding of power tools and for maintaining high standards of safety in the industry.
Click here to learn more about PTI.


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While a citizen petition failed to gain traction at Scottsdale City Council Monday, Sept. 19 two community advocates — Howard Myers and Jason Alexander — remain steadfast in their assertion the public must decide what occurs in the McDowell Sonoran Preserve.
The city's stance: Section 8, Article 8 of the Scottsdale City Charter provides the council with the authority to designate or not to designate lands owned by the city as Preserve lands therefore framing development constraints on defined lands.
The proposal of a desert-appreciation venue coined — the Scottsdale Desert Discovery Center — has become the focal point of local politics with citizen factions now fully sprung on both sides of the issue.
Mr. Alexander, the public face of the anonymous "No DDC" community group, now finds himself at the helm of a political action committee, which he says is meant to throw support behind certain political candidates in the upcoming November city council election.
The No DDC effort became a PAC as of Tuesday, Sept. 20 with Mr. Alexander noted as the chairman, according to the Scottsdale City Clerk's Office.
Mr. Meyers, who started the "Protect our Preserve" effort, says while he was hopeful his group's petition would spark an about-face from city council on construction pursued within the Preserve he was not surprised by the outcome.
Both men say a public vote will happen on the proposed construction of a Desert Discovery Center at the Gateway to the McDowell Sonoran Preserve either by legal challenge or through referendum.
They also assert they are waiting for the next step from the Desert Discovery Center Scottsdale outfit, which was given $1.69 million by city council last January to develop a business plan for the proposed desert appreciation venue.
Sam Campana, executive director of the DDCS, says by early 2017 formal designs should be in the hands of DDC proponents with a final report and business plan expected at Scottsdale City Council in July of next year.
The Preserve itself, advocates of the Discovery Center say, is not enough for visitors to appreciate the McDowell Sonoran Preserve while detractors say the proposed facility is nothing more than a pet project of a handful of the community's elite.
The Scottsdale McDowell Sonoran Preserve encompasses 30,000 acres of land within the rough boundaries of the Pima Road alignment to the west, McDowell Mountain Regional Park to the east, Stagecoach Road to the north and Via Linda Road alignment to the south.
Although the Sept. 19 city council meeting did not address the Discovery Center project directly the petition and ensuing conversation at the local dais was clearly motivated by community concerns now fully bloomed.
Specifically, the city council was asked to evaluate these two items:
- The construction of anything in the Preserve other than trails, minimal facilities required for trail heads used for trail access, and the land bridge over Dynamite Boulevard only occur with a public vote;
- The usage of preserve tax funds for anything other than land acquisition, the building of trails, minimal facilities required for trail heads used for trail access, and the land bridge over Dynamite Boulevard only occur with a public vote.
Scottsdale Councilwoman Linda Milhaven — who made one of three motions offered — asked that her colleagues do nothing regarding the citizen petition.
Her motion carried 4 to 3 with council members Kathy Littlefield, Guy Phillips and Mayor Jim Lane dissenting.
A motion about nothing
Councilwoman Milhaven says the Discovery Center has drawn a line in the sand for some.
"There are people, neighbors who live nearby and next to the Preserve, are very concerned what we are going to do there," she said in a Sept. 20 phone interview.
"I think that they have been given false information — from folks who are trying to stop the project."
Councilwoman Milhaven says if Scottsdale City Council were to have entertained the citizen petition there could be unintended consequences nobody wants.
"For us to set guidelines for citizen votes for all of those kinds of things, housekeeping items, there are lot of unintended consequences that could stop us from doing some really basic things," she said.
"I don't see a Charter amendment being the solution to this issue. In my mind, the petition was a way to create some conditions that would prohibit the construction of the DDC."
Councilwoman Milhaven says the city of Scottsdale has embarked on a process to discover the right kind of venue for a desert appreciation facility.
"While folks may have been there advocating for a public vote a Charter amendment is not the right way to stop a project," she pointed out.
"I think the Desert Discovery Center can be an amazing amenity for all of us to enjoy, but we need to let the work continue. People should find out what's going on, get updates and be a part of the process."
Citizens on patrol
Mr. Alexander says there were no surprises at this past Monday's city council work session discussion.
"My initial reaction is that it went exactly how we thought it would go," he said in a Sept. 20 phone interview.
"We expected Guy Phillips and Kathy to support the petition and we fully expected Mayor Lane to hem and haw and hide behind Phillips and Littlefield."
Mr. Alexander says certain comments regarding the legality of both the citizen petition and the city's stance regarding construction within the bounds of the Preserve can be challenged — and will be.
"I think at the very least, he is opening up the city to a lawsuit," he said of comments made by City Attorney Bruce Washburn. "The biggest one is that tax law cannot supersede the city Charter."
Proponents of the Discovery Center have made this political, Mr. Alexander contends.
"They have made this a political issue — who you elect determines the fate of the DDC," he said. "We are going to get into this election and support candidates."
The petition defeat was more of a rallying cry than dead end, Mr. Alexander says of the No DDC effort.
"This was not a disappointment and actually was kind of inspirational to be a part of the 200 people from all over and from different groups joining together," he said.
"I think we have hundreds of people ready to take the next step and if our PAC is approved, I would be worried."
Mr. Meyers says regardless of political pandering both a legal challenge and a citizen referendum will be pursued at whenever, and however the city council OKs the construction of the Discovery Center.
"Clearly they made a huge mistake because the citizens are the ones who created the Preserve," he said in a Sept. 20 phone interview.
"Citizens formed the Preserve and voted twice to tax themselves to maintain and grow it. We have a whole list of strategies depending on what happens. It should be the citizens that decide what goes on in the Preserve."
Mr. Meyers says his group is laying the ground work to be able to gather enough signatures within a 30-day period — in this case that number would 8,000 of qualified Scottsdale voters —following a city council vote to approve the Discovery Center.
"All that happened is this just means we are going to have to take a different tact," he said. "We do believe there are a ton of legal issues and I don't believe their legal explanation at all for being allowed to build in the Preserve."
Independent Newsmedia Arizona Managing Editor Terrance Thornton can be contacted at firstname.lastname@example.com


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This unused postcard was printed in 1987. (aka 9teen87 ;-)
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Humphrey DeForest Bogart (December 25, 1899 – January 14, 1957) was an American screen actor who performed in such iconic films as The Maltese Falcon, Casablanca, and The Big Sleep. Over his career he received three Academy Award nominations for Best Actor, winning one. He was nominated for Casablanca and The Caine Mutiny and he won for The African Queen.


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The Philippines Department of National Defense (DND) plans to seek additional funding from Congress to beef up the military's various intelligence networks with biometric tools.
DND Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said this includes long-range drones which can fly day-and-night missions and facial recognition devices which the military presently lacks.
"We are trying to get the exact figure (because) we would like to acquire (these) equipment for our intelligence gathering," Lorenzana said in Filipino.
Lorenzana , however, declined to detail the plan, including the amount needed as the department was still determining the prices of equipment to be acquired for intelligence works.
The DND chief is expected to face the House of Representatives within the month for the annual budget hearing. The defense department's budget for 2016 is PHP126.64 billion.
And while the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has received two intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance Cessna 208Bs from the US, the DND chief said more similar equipment were needed to further beef up the country's ISR capabilities.


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- Research
- Open Access
School related factors and 1yr change in physical activity amongst 9–11 year old English schoolchildren
© Mantjes et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2012
- Received: 25 June 2012
- Accepted: 20 December 2012
- Published: 31 December 2012
Activity levels are known to decline with age and there is growing evidence of associations between the school environment and physical activity. In this study we investigated how objectively measured one-year changes in physical activity may be associated with school-related factors in 9- to 10-year-old British children.
Data were analysed from 839 children attending 89 schools in the SPEEDY (Sport, Physical Activity, and Eating behaviours: Environmental Determinants in Young People) study. Outcomes variables were one year changes in objectively measured sedentary, moderate, and vigorous physical activity, with baseline measures taken when the children were 9–10 years old. School characteristics hypothesised to be associated with change in physical activity were identified from questionnaires, grounds audits, and computer mapping. Associations were examined using simple and multivariable multilevel regression models for both school (9 am – 3 pm) and travel (8–9 am and 3–4 pm) time.
Significant associations during school time included the length of the morning break which was found to be supportive of moderate (β coefficient: 0.68 [p: 0.003]) and vigorous (β coefficient: 0.52 [p: 0.002]) activities and helps to prevent adverse changes in sedentary time (β coefficient: -2.52 [p: 0.001]). During travel time, positive associations were found between the presence of safe places to cross roads around the school and changes in moderate (β coefficient: 0.83 [p:0.022]) and vigorous (β coefficient: 0.56 [p:0.001]) activity, as well as sedentary time (β coefficient: -1.61 [p:0.005]).
This study suggests that having longer morning school breaks and providing road safety features such as cycling infrastructure, a crossing guard, and safe places for children to cross the road may have a role to play in supporting the maintenance of moderate and vigorous activity behaviours, and preventing the development of sedentary behaviours in children.
- Physical activity
- School
- Change
- Children
- Determinants
Despite the well-known health benefits of physical activity in children [1–3], activity levels are known to decline with age [4–8]. In the SPEEDY (Sport, Physical Activity, and Eating behaviours: Environmental Determinants in Young People) study, a longitudinal study of 9 to 10 year old British children which also forms the basis for the present analyses, a significant decrease in physical activity outside school was observed over a period as short as one year [9]. To prevent such declines, it is important to identify potential causal factors that may be driving them. Social-ecological models of health suggest that the physical and policy environment contexts are likely to be an important driver of general health related behaviours [10] and physical activity specifically [11]. Given that children spend much of their time at school during significant parts of the year, social-ecological models posit that factors relating to the physical and policy environments of schools may be important determinants of their physical activity levels [12].
In two recent studies, features of the school environment have been significantly related to accelerometer counts in adolescent girls [13] and in primary school students [14]. Moreover, variation in physical activity between schools has been reported, with a distinction being apparent between those offering interschool physical activity programs [14]. Furthermore, cross-sectional positive associations have previously been observed between moderate and vigorous activity and the provision of school sports facilities and active travel infrastructure in the sample used for the present analyses (SPEEDY) [15].
Whilst the current evidence suggests that the school may be an important influence on activity levels, the cross-sectional nature of many studies is a limitation. Previous studies found a decline of physical activity as children get older, continuing into adolescence and adulthood [9, 16, 17]. However it is not known what factors are associated with this decline and hence how to prevent it. Few studies have been undertaken that attempt to identify potential environmental determinants of changes of physical activity in children, and none have had a specific focus on the role of the school [18]. This is despite the fact that there is some evidence of the potential of school based interventions to increase physical activity in children and adolescents [19]. Successful interventions have included the redesign of school grounds, and the provision of additional play equipment and lessons to promote healthy behaviours [19–21]. These studies highlight the potentially important role schools may play in changing physical activity, as well as their untested potential in preventing declines in the first place.
With the growing evidence for associations between the school environment and physical activity, it is timely to consider how observed changes in physical activity in child cohorts may be associated with school-related factors. Therefore, the aim of this study was to build upon our previous cross-sectional work examining the school-level correlates of physical activity in SPEEDY [15] by investigating the relationship between school policy and environment-related factors, and 1 year changes in objectively measured school time physical activity in 9- to 10-year-old British children.
Study design & sample
SPEEDY was set up to identify determinants of physical activity and dietary habits in 9–10 year old (school Year 5) British school children in the county of Norfolk, United Kingdom. Ethical approval for the study was obtained from the University of East Anglia research ethics committee. A detailed overview of the study methods and sampling are described elsewhere [22]. Briefly, after purposively sampling schools to achieve urban–rural heterogeneity, 92 schools were recruited from 157 initially approached. Each school was visited and information packs were distributed to 3619 eligible children, resulting in 2064 children (57% of the eligible sample) participating in baseline measurement between April and July 2007. Follow-up was undertaken between April and July 2008, whereby information sheets and consent forms were mailed to all 2064 children. An accelerometer and instruction sheets were mailed to those who consented to participate in follow-up.
Physical activity
Physical activity was measured at both baseline and follow-up using an Actigraph accelerometer (model GT1M [Actipraph, Pensacola, FL]). At baseline the Actigraphs were fitted on the children at school, whilst at follow-up they were sent to the children by post. Children received wearing instructions and were asked to wear the monitors during waking hours for 7 days except when bathing, showering and swimming. The monitors were set to store activity data at 5-second intervals. A bespoke programme (MAHUffe [Medical Research Council Epidemiology Unit, Cambridge, United Kingdom]) was used for processing activity data. The outcome variables recorded were minutes of sedentary time (≤100 counts/minute), moderate activity (2000–3999 counts/minute), and vigorous activity (>4000 counts/min) [23, 24] on weekdays between 8am and 4pm (school and travel time). Periods of ≥ 10 minutes of zero activity were classed as non-wear time. Days with <500 minutes of recording, and participants with <3 days out of 7 of recording for baseline, follow-up, or both were excluded. These exclusion criteria have been previously found to improve the reliability of estimates of children's physical activity [25].
Biological & demographic factors
At baseline, children self-reported their date of birth and age was subsequently calculated using the measurement date. Also at baseline, child height and weight was measured by trained researchers visiting each school. Weight was measured to the nearest 0.1 kilogram using a non-segmental bio impedance scale (Tanita type TBF-300A). Portable Leicester height measures were used to measure height to the nearest millimetre. From this, Body Mass Index (BMI) was calculated. In terms of demographic covariates, parents self-reported level of education and reported ethnicity were obtained from a questionnaire survey.
School environment
In order to inform sampling, general school information was provided by Norfolk County Council. This included whether schools participated in the Healthy Norfolk Schools (health education) programme, as well as the number of pupils in the study's target year group (the number of pupils in Year 4 during the 2005–2006 academic year who would be in Year 5 during data collection). Based on the school postcode (zipcode), an urban/rural classification was determined using the four population density profiles of Bibby and Shepherd's classification of rurality [26].
Several methods were used to obtain information about the schools regarding policies, facilities, grounds and the neighbourhood. A questionnaire was completed at baseline by the head teacher of each school which requested information on physical activity opportunities at school, school rules and attitudes, and certain features of the physical environment around the school such as the availability of changing facilities, sports equipment and the presence of heavy traffic. More information on the measures used in this questionnaire is available elsewhere [15]. To measure the suitability of the school grounds for physical activity, a validated grounds audit (completed by five trained auditors) was completed at baseline (see Jones et al. for details on development, validity and reliability [27]). The audit contained 44 items and provided six composite scores which described different elements of environmental supportiveness for physical activity. A higher value on each score indicated greater supportiveness. The six composite scores were: walking provision (e.g. existence of pavements/sidewalks), cycling provision (e.g. existence of cycle parking facilities), sports and play provision (e.g. number of sports pitches), other non-activity facility provision (e.g. number of benches for seating), design of the school grounds (e.g. if the school is on a split-site), and aesthetics (e.g. presence of trees). Reliability testing showed that all except one of the components had mean inter-rater percentage agreements of 90% or above, with just walking provision being lower at 76%, but still indicating better than fair agreement [27].
At baseline, objective measures of the supportiveness of the neighbourhood around the school for physical activity were computed using ArcGIS 9.2 Geographic Information System (GIS). For these indicators, the neighbourhood was defined as the area within 800m (roughly equating to a 10 minute walk) along the pedestrian network (streets and footpaths) from the school boundary. The variables computed have been published previously [28] and included measures of the presence of physical activity facilities, accessible open land, road traffic accidents, the presence of major roads, density of verges, effective walkable area (defined as the ratio of the area within an 800m walking distance along the pedestrian network from the school to the area within an 800m radius of the school), connected node ratio (the ratio of junctions to junctions and cul-de-sacs; an indicator of the connectivity of the street network), and the Herfindahl-Hirschman index (a measure of the diversity of land uses in the school neighbourhood). These measures have been commonly employed to measure environmental supportiveness in other studies and were computed according to standard procedures [29].
Statistical analysis
Associations between school characteristics and changes in the percentage of time spent in sedentary, moderate, and vigorous activity between baseline and follow-up were examined using regression models. Both baseline and follow-up values were calculated as a percentage of accelerometer wear time to adjust for different wear times at baseline and follow-up. Change in physical activity was then calculated as the difference between these follow-up and baseline percentages (i.e. percentage sedentary activity follow-up – percentage sedentary activity baseline) using the methodology of Corder et al. [9]. Changes in percentages were fitted as the dependent variables in all models, with the baseline percentage value being modelled as a covariate.
Separate analyses were undertaken for each activity intensity and different times of the day. School time was defined as the period between 9 am and 3 pm, whilst travel time was the combined periods between 8 am – 9 am and 3 pm – 4 pm. Relevant explanatory variables were selected for each of these two time periods based on the theoretical relevance of the items considered (i.e. policy regarding travelling was only examined for travel time physical activity). As children were sampled within schools, 2-level multilevel models were fitted using the 'xtmixed' command in Stata 11.0 (Statacorp Inc), with child at level 1 and school at level 2.
To fit the regression models, partially adjusted associations were examined for each school variable, where adjustment was made for sex, age, BMI, parental education, ethnicity and baseline physical activity. As a large number of variables were tested, rather than enter them all into a multivariable model, separate multivariable multilevel models were initially constructed for all variables grouped under the categories of school characteristics (6 factors), school policy (17 factors), school facilities (11 factors), school grounds (7 factors), and school neighbourhood (15 factors). From each model, non-significant variables were removed by manual backward elimination based on p<0.1. Finally, remaining variables in these four models were added to a fully adjusted model and again backwards elimination was used until only items that were statistically significant at p<0.05 remained. For all associations, a positive regression coefficient indicates less of a decrease or more of an increase in physical activity, whilst a negative association means more of a decrease or less of an increase in physical activity. The amount of residual variation in the outcomes that was associated with the school each child attended was calculated in the form of intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs).
Of the 2064 children providing baseline measures, 1019 (49.4%) provided some follow-up measurements, of which 954 (93.6%) returned an activity monitor containing data. After exclusion of invalid accelerometry, a total of 839 (40.6% of the original sample) children in 89 (96.7% of original sample) different schools remained for analysis.
Baseline characteristics of the SPEEDY study sample for participants with valid physical activity (PA) data (N=839), baseline PA values (% of worn time) and changes in PA % for school time and travel time
Proportion/mean (SD)
Activity intensity
Total (N = 839)
Boys (N = 349)
Girls (N = 490)
Age (years)
10.23 (0.30)
10.22 (0.29)
10.24 (0.31)
BMI (kg/m2)
18.00 (3.04)
17.74 (2.74)
18.18 (3.23)
Parental education: a-levels or higher
White ethnicity
School time (9-15h)
Baseline PA (% of worn time)
69.49 (5.82)
66.99 (5.99)
71.27 (4.98)
5.23 (1.58)
6.09 (1.62)
4.62 (1.23)
2.96 (1.53)
3.67 (1.70)
2.45 (1.16)
Change PA (change in %)
−0.19 (6.08)
−0.75 (6.42)+
0.20 (5.80)
0.18 (1.75)++
0.27 (1.88)++
0.11 (1.65)
−0.04 (1.50)
0.10 (1.79)
−0.13 (1.25)+
Travel time (8-9h, 15-16h)
Baseline PA (% of worn time)
55.92 (8.12)
54.33 (8.65)
57.06 (7.52)
10.52 (4.78)
10.82 (4.72)
10.31 (4.81)
3.41 (2.55)
4.07 (2.81)
2.95 (2.24)
Change PA (change in %)
0.40 (8.30)
−0.30 (8.61)
0.90 (8.04)+
0.07 (4.69)
0.29 (4.39)
−0.08 (4.89)
0.07 (4.69)
0.33 (2.67)+
−0.12 (2.23)
Associations with school factors in partially adjusted multilevel linear regression models predicting change in percentage of sedentary, moderate and vigorous physical activity during school time (9-15h)
Exposure variables
Percentage prevalence/mean (SD)
Sedentary (% change)
Moderate (% change)
Vigorous (% change)
β Coefficient (95% CI)
β Coefficient (95% CI)
β Coefficient (95% CI)
School characteristics
Location town fringe (y/n [reference: urban])a
0.84 (−0.52 – 2.21)
−0.37 (−0.78 – 0.05)
−0.09 (−0.39 – 0.20)
Location village/hamlet dwelling (y/n [reference: urban])a
−1.14 (−2.40 – 0.12)
0.27 (−0.12 – 0.65)
0.26 (−0.01 – 0.53)
Number of year 4 children in 2006 a
54.41 (34.29)
0.01 (−0.01 – 0.03)
−0.00 (−0.01 – 0.01)
−0.00 (−0.01 – 0.00)
Participation in healthy school program (y/n)a
0.94 (−0.33 – 2.21)
−0.17 (−0.56 – 0.23)
−0.12 (−0.41 – 0.16)
Morning break length >15 minutes (y/n)b
−2.36 (−4.05 - -0.67)++
0.84 (0.34 – 1.34)++
0.64 (0.28 – 0.99)
Lunch break length (minutes)b
57.89 (6.68)
−0.10 (−0.19 - -0.02)+
0.03 (0.00 – 0.05)
−0.00 (−0.02 – 0.02)
School policy
Breaks: allowed to play outside in bad weather (y/n)b
−0.40 (−2.89 – 2.08)
0.36 (−0.39 – 1.11)
−0.11 (−0.65 – 0.43)
Breaks: screen play allowed (y/n)b
0.68 (−0.65 – 2.02)
−0.27 (−0.68 – 0.14)
0.04 (−0.26 – 0.33)
Breaks: ≥ 2 physical activities allowed (y/n)b
0.01 (−1.23 – 1.26)
0.10 (−0.27 – 0.48)
−0.24 (−0.51 – 0.02)
Provide …physical activity information (y/n)b
0.76 (−1.27 – 2.80)
−0.09 (−0.72 – 0.53)
−0.06 (−0.50 – 0.38)
…health promotion information (y/n)b
1.94 (0.44 – 3.44)+
−0.39 (−0.86 – 0.07)
−0.33 (−0.67 – -0.00)+
…risks of unhealthy lifestyle information (y/n)b
1.00 (−0.40 – 2.39)
−0.22 (−0.65 – 0.20)
−0.09 (−0.39 – 0.21)
Hours of physical education b
2.08 (0.49)
1.52 (0.35 – 2.69)+
−0.28 (−0.64 – 0.08)
−0.10 (−0.36 – 0.17)
Extracurricular PA available lunch breaks (y/n)b
1.14 (−0.13 – 2.42)
−0.36 (−0.74 – 0.03)
−0.27 (−0.55 – 0.00)
School facilities
Existence of …gym facility (y/n)b
−0.34 (−1.66 – 0.97)
0.17 (−0.22 – 0.57)
0.28 (−0.00 – 0.56)
…indoor sports facility (y/n)b
−0.45 (−1.81 – 0.90)
−0.00 (−0.41 – 0.41)
−0.11 (−0.39 – 0.18)
… sports field/pitch facility (y/n)b
−0.39 (−3.14 – 2.37)
−0.18 (−1.02 – 0.65)
0.20 (−0.40 – 0.79)
… pool facility (y/n)b
−0.31 (−1.60 – 0.99)
0.17 (−0.23 – 0.56)
0.04 (−0.24 – 0.32)
… changing facilities (y/n)b
1.24 (0.02 – 2.45)+
−0.41 (−0.78 – -0.05)+
−0.27 (−0.53 – -0.00)+
… play equipment (y/n)b
3.71 (0.06 – 7.36)+
−0.47 (−1.61 – 0.68)
−0.05 (−0.86 – 0.75)
… sports equipment (y/n)b
9.04 (3.93 – 14.16)++
−3.52 (−5.00 – -2.04)+++
−2.52 (−3.54 – -1.50)+++
Use of local park or playground (y/n)b
−0.30 (−1.90 – 1.30)
0.13 (−0.35 – 0.62)
0.21 (−0.14 – 0.56)
Medium or high quality of sports facilities (y/n)b
1.01 (−0.39 – 2.42)
−0.46 (−0.90 – -0.01)+
−0.29 (−0.59 – 0.01)
Physical activity facility score (max: 17)c
8.30 (1.91)
0.06 (−0.28 – 0.39)
−0.03 (−0.14 – 0.07)
−0.05 (−0.12 – 0.02)
Other facility score (max: 12)c
3.49 (1.59)
−0.08 (−0.48 – 0.32)
0.02 (−0.10 – 0.15)
−0.04 (−0.13 – 0.04)
School grounds
Playground area (km2)b
11.82 (7.38)
0.07 (−0.01 – 0.15)
−0.02 (−0.04 – 0.00)
−0.01 (−0.03 – 0.01)
School ground score (min: 1, max: 10)c
9.14 (0.80)
−0.12 (−0.92 – 0.68)
0.02 (−0.21 – 0.26)
−0.05 (−0.22 – 0.13)
Aesthetics score (min: 3, max: 28)c
21.54 (2.24)
−0.11 (−0.39 – 0.16)
0.02 (−0.06 – 0.11)
0.03 (−0.03 – 0.09)
Associations with school factors in partially adjusted multilevel linear regression models predicting changes in percentage of sedentary, moderate and vigorous physical activity (PA) during travel time (8–9, 15-16h)
Exposure variables
Percentage prevalence/mean (SD)
Sedentary (% change)
Moderate (% change)
Vigorous (% change)
β Coefficient (95% CI)
β Coefficient (95% CI)
β Coefficient (95% CI)
School characteristics
Location town fringe (y/n [reference: urban])a
−1.05 (−2.34 – 0.23)
0.59 (−0.23 – 1.41)
0.10 (−0.27 – 0.47)
Location village/hamlet dwelling (y/n [reference: urban])a
1.84 (0.62 – 3.07)++
−1.62 (−2.39 - -0.85)+++
−0.50 (−0.86 - -0.15)++
Number of year 4 children in 2006 a
54.41 (34.29)
−0.04 (−0.05 – -0.02)+++
0.03 (0.02 – 0.04)+++
0.01 (0.00 – 0.01)++
Participation in healthy school program (y/n)a
0.11 (−1.17 – 1.39)
0.05 (−0.76 – 0.86)
0.11 (−0.24 – 0.47)
School policy
Existence of …travel plan (y/n)b
0.50 (−1.44 – 2.45)
0.31 (−0.90 – 1.53)
0.49 (−0.06 – 1.04)
…walking bus (y/n)b
0.60 (−3.65 – 4.84)
0.06 (−2.57 – 2.70)
−0.41 (−1.62– 0.79)
…park and stride (y/n)b
0.54 (−1.06 – 2.14)
−0.52 (−1.52 – 0.48)
−0.11 (−0.57 – 0.34)
… breakfast club (y/n)b
−0.33 (−1.59 – 0.93)
0.36 (−0.44 – 1.15)
0.18 (−0.17 – 0.54)
… lollypop person (y/n)b
−1.74 (−2.91 – -0.57)++
1.40 (0.67 – 2.12)+++
0.37 (0.03 – 0.70)+
Provide …physical activity information (y/n)b
−0.36 (−2.29 – 1.56)
0.30 (−0.91 – 1.51)
0.06 (−0.48 – 0.60)
…health promotion information (y/n)b
0.83 (−0.65 – 2.32)
−0.13 (−1.08 – 0.82)
0.16 (−0.27 – 0.58)
…risks of unhealthy lifestyle information (y/n)b
−0.39 (−1.77 – 0.98)
0.33 (−0.53 – 1.19)
0.15 (−0.24 – 0.53)
… cycle training (y/n)b
−0.89 (−3.27 – 1.48)
0.95 (−0.52 – 2.41)
0.04 (−0.63 – 0.70)
… pedestrian training (y/n)b
1.34 (0.15 – 2.54)+
−1.28 (−2.02 – -0.54)++
−0.21 (−0.56 – 0.14)
Extracurricular PA available before school (y/n)b
−0.37 (−2.46 – 1.72)
0.66 (−0.65 – 1.97)
0.25 (−0.33 – 0.82)
Extracurricular PA available weekends (y/n)b
−1.77 (−3.03 – -0.51)++
1.14 (0.34 – 1.94)++
0.21 (−0.16 – 0.58)
School grounds
Existence of a bike rack (y/n)b
−1.12 (−2.99 – 0.74)
0.97 (−0.19 – 2.13)
−0.05 (−0.58 – 0.48)
Existence of an entrance for pedestrians/cyclists only (y/n)b
0.27 (−1.08 – 1.61)
−0.11 (−0.94 – 0.72)
0.02 (−0.36 – 0.41)
Playground area (km2)b
11.82 (7.38)
−0.08 (−0.16 – 0.00)
0.05 (−0.00 – 0.10)
0.01 (−0.02 – 0.03)
School ground score (min: 1, max: 10)c
9.14 (0.80)
−0.18 (−0.96 – 0.60)
0.08 (−0.41 – 0.57)
−0.10 (−0.32 – 0.13)
Walking access score (max: 5)c
2.24 (0.74)
−0.49 (−1.30 – 0.33)
0.44 (−0.07 – 0.96)
0.26 (0.04 – 0.48)+
Cycling access score (max: 9)c
3.70 (1.25)
−0.60 (−1.06 – -0.14)+
0.48 (0.19 – 0.76)++
0.11 (−0.02 – 0.25)
Aesthetics score (min: 3, max: 28)c
21.54 (2.24)
0.14 (−0.13 – 0.41)
−0.12 (−0.29 – 0.05)
−0.02 (−0.10 – 0.06)
School neighbourhood
Existence of …heavy traffic (y/n)b
−1.19 (−2.40 – 0.02)
0.76 (−0.00 – 1.52)
0.26 (−0.09 – 0.60)
…pathways near school (y/n)b
−1.06 (−2.65 – 0.54)
0.89 (−0.11 – 1.89)
−0.04 (−0.50 – 0.42)
…safe places to cross roads (y/n)b
−1.76 (−3.01 – -0.52)++
1.33 (0.53 – 2.12)++
0.66 (0.32 – 1.00)+++
Cars drive slowly (y/n)b
1.48 (−0.01 – 2.98)
−0.70 (−1.64 – 0.24)
0.07 (−0.37 – 0.50)
Streets are safe to walk or ride (y/n)b
0.58 (−0.73 – 1.89)
−0.37 (−1.20 – 0.45)
0.11 (−0.27 – 0.48)
Streets are free from rubbish (y/n)b
0.88 (−0.46 – 2.22)
−0.53 (−1.39 – 0.32)
−0.26 (−0.63 – 0.12)
Easy to get to school by foot (y/n)b
−1.30 (−2.70 – 0.10)
0.70 (−0.20 – 1.59)
0.20 (−0.20 – 0.60)
Number of PA facilities per km2 d
2.69 (2.84)
−0.19 (−0.39 – 0.02)
0.17 (0.04 – 0.30)++
0.05 (−0.01 – 0.11)
Percentage of accessible land d
1.90 (5.33)
0.00 (−0.10 – 0.11)
−0.01 (−0.07 – 0.06)
0.00 (−0.03 – 0.03)
Number of traffic accidents per km of road d
1.88 (1.76)
−0.30 (−0.63 – 0.02)
0.31 (0.10 – 0.51)++
0.11 (0.02 – 0.20)+
Proportion of roads that are A roads d
0.06 (0.08)
−6.27 (−13.63 – 1.08)
3.02 (−1.69 – 7.73)
1.44 (−0.63 – 3.51)
m2 verge per m of road d
1.85 (0.93)
0.31 (−0.31 – 0.94)
−0.42 (−0.81 – -0.03)+
−0.19 (−0.36 – -0.02)+
Effective walkable area ratio d
0.52 (0.13)
3.67 (−1.01 – 8.35)
−2.30 (−5.25 – 0.66)
−0.41 (−1.74 – 0.92)
Connected node ratio d
0.71 (0.09)
7.83 (1.49 – 14.18)+
−4.23 (−8.32 – -0.13)+
−0.01 (−1.88 – 1.86)
Herfindahl-hirschman index d
2.72 (1.08)
0.56 (0.04 – 1.08)+
−0.38 (−0.70 – -0.05)+
−0.20 (−0.35 – -0.06)++
Results from fully-adjusted multivariable multilevel linear regressions for changes in sedentary, moderate and vigorous physical activity (PA), during school time (9-15h) and travel time (8–9, 15-16h)*
Time period
Predictors of activity intensity change
β Coefficient
School time (9-15h)
Sedentary time change
3.76 – 34.13
Morning break length >15 minutes (y/n)b
−4.00 - -1.04
Lunch break length (minutes)b
−0.16 - -0.00
Provide health promotion information (y/n)b
0.72 – 3.15
Hours of physical education b
0.23 – 2.31
Existence of play equipment (y/n)b
0.51 – 6.07
Existence of sports equipment (y/n)b
2.81 – 11.49
Moderate activity change
1.49 – 9.27
Morning break length >15 minutes (y/n)b
0.23 – 1.13
Lunch break length (minutes) b
0.00 – 0.05
Existence of changing facilities (y/n)b
−0.64 - -0.02
Existence of sports equipment (y/n)b
−4.10 - -1.33
Vigorous activity change
4.48 – 10.77
Morning break length >15 minutes (y/n)b
0.19 – 0.85
Provide health promotion information (y/n)b
−0.66 - -0.11
Existence of sports equipment (y/n)b
−3.13 - -1.17
Travel time (8–9, 15-16h)
Sedentary time change
19.42 – 54.79
Number of year 4 children in 2006 a
−0.03 - -0.00
Provide physical activity information (y/n)b
−3.81 - -0.22
Provide health promotion information (y/n)b
0.61 – 3.68
Extracurricular PA available weekends (y/n)b
−2.47 - -0.23
Existence of safe places to cross roads (y/n)b
−2.73 - -0.49
Moderate activity change
−13.20 – 7.67
Number of year 4 children in 2006 a
0.01 – 0.03
Provide physical activity information (y/n)b
0.10 – 2.21
Provide health promotion information (y/n)b
−1.84 - -0.03
Extracurricular PA available weekends (y/n)b
0.02 – 1.34
Existence of a lollypop person (y/n)b
0.04 – 1.33
Existence of safe places to cross roads (y/n)b
0.12 – 1.54
Vigorous activity change
0.72 – 10.54
Number of year 4 children in 2006 a
0.00 – 0.01
Existence of safe places to cross roads (y/n)b
0.22 – 0.90
Physical activity is known to decrease as children age and with the growing evidence for associations between the school environment and physical activity, the aim of this study was to examine the relationship between school-related factors and changes in physical activity during both school and travel time. As reported previously, only limited changes in activity were observed during time spent at school and the travel period [9]. However, although the effects were not large, some of the changes that we observed were associated with characteristics of the environment of the school children attended. Overall, more associations were found for sedentary and moderate activity behaviours compared to vigorous physical activity.
During the school day there was evidence that the length of break time may be important in preventing increases in sedentary time and decreases in moderate and vigorous activity, with more favourable outcomes being observed in children attending schools with a break of over 15 minutes. There is evidence that break-time play contributes to overall activity levels in children [30], and thus we suggest that children at schools with longer breaks have the opportunity to play more. Counterintuitive associations were recorded with the existence of changing facilities, and play and sports equipment, with the presence of these facilities being associated with detrimental changes in activity. This might in part be due to the fact that only two schools reported providing no play equipment (32 children) and only one no sports equipment (11 children).
Counter-intuitive negative relationships during the school day were also found with the provision of health promotion information and hours of PE. The association with the provision of information may reflect the fact that the information is more likely to be provided in schools with poorer physical activity outcomes. This is in accordance with previous results of a cross sectional analysis in this sample where a negative association was found between the presence of a physical activity policy and vigorous activity [15]. The association with PE is particularly surprising given that the activity during these lessons should have been recorded by the accelerometry. There is some evidence that the intensity of activity undertaken during PE sessions is surprisingly low [31]. It may be that these compulsory activities do not result in more active children, particularly if children participating in more PE are less active at other times. After adjustment for all the factors in the models, statistically significant between school ICCs remained for the models of change in school-day physical activity. Although their magnitude was small, this suggests that some factors associated with the school were not accounted for in our models. In particular, we did not assess curriculum-based influences, which may be particularly important for time spent sedentary in the classroom.
When changes in travel time physical activity were considered, there was evidence that the number of same age children at the school was supportive of the maintenance of moderate and vigorous activity and helped prevent adverse changes in sedentary behaviours. Schools with more children were more likely to be located in urban areas, and children attending urban schools have previously been shown to be more likely to walk or cycle [32], although the measure of urban–rural status was not significantly associated with change in travel time physical activity in our analysis. One possibility is that more same age children provide better social support for active travel to school, for example by facilitating walking groups or walking with friends. It may also be that some of the physical activity recorded during the travel period was actually from play at either the beginning or end of the journey, and children attending schools with a greater number of friends would be more likely to play. There is evidence that girls attending schools with a greater number of peers have a lower fat mass index [33] and this may be associated with higher levels of active play.
Positive associations with physical activity change during the travel period were also found with two measures of safety (a lollypop person, and reporting of safe crossings) which is in accordance with previous research about associations between physical activity and safety on the route to school [18, 34, 35]. Whether these provisions are actually promoting active travel or whether the provision of these features is associated with the existing prevalence of active travel to school, requires further investigation.
Although some statistically significant associations were detected, it is noteworthy that many of the variables we tested were not found to be associated with changes in the physical activity outcomes we studied. Although the school audit tool we used had been validated and we measured change in physical activity objectively via accelerometers, it is possible that the lack of associations detected could be due to measurement error with our exposures or outcomes. The fact that many of our exposures showed some associations with each other (for example schools that scored badly on one indicator were more likely to score badly on others) could also explain the lack of associations after adjustment. Alternatively, it could indicate the relative unimportance of the school environment as a determinant of change in physical activity in these intensities. We note that a previous study only found associations with the school environment and overall activity in girls, but not with moderate to vigorous physical activity [13]. This was explained by a possible contribution of the school environment to low intensity activity rather than to activities of moderate to vigorous intensity.
Strengths of this study include the large sample size, and the fact that matched longitudinal data on physical activity and sedentary behaviour change was available for participating children. In addition, change in physical activity was objectively measured using an accelerometer and we made a distinction between behaviours of different intensities. In particular we included sedentary behaviour, which may have an important association with health outcomes [36] but which is often not considered alongside physical activity. A further strength is that we used a wide range of methods (questionnaire, audit, GIS) to characterise components of the school environment with a high degree of detail.
There are however a number of weaknesses. For the analyses, school time was defined as the time between 9 am and 3 pm and travel time as the time between 8 and 9 am and between 3 and 4 pm. However, the precise time at which the school day begins and ends will differ by a small amount between schools (median time schools began: 8.50 am, median time schools ended: 3.15 pm) and some of the activity we recorded during these times may have been at home, in the home neighbourhood, or in the school playground rather than on the journey. A further limitation is that, whilst the accelerometry provides a validated measure of activity intensity, it does not tell us what types of activities the children were engaging in. In addition, we did not have confirmation that the children were still attending the same schools at follow-up measurement compared to the baseline measure, although only 47 of the children taking part in SPEEDY-2 changed address and hence it is unlikely that many attended a different school at follow-up. Our measures of school policy were taken at baseline, and we do not know if they may have changed for the children at follow-up. Some of our exposure measures, in particular the provision of sports and play equipment, varied little between schools, limiting our ability to detect associations. Although limited changes in physical activity levels were observed, sufficient heterogeneity in change was available to study associations. A final limitation is that the large number of tests we undertook means that some of the associations we detected may have been due to chance, although we actually found rather few associations given the large number of variables we tested.
In conclusion, this study found a number of school factors to be associated with 1-year changes in physical activity and sedentary behaviours amongst this sample of British children. It appears that the provision of longer breaks, and more safety features on the route to school may help support maintenance of activity levels in children, as may having more same-age peers. The findings suggest how schools have an important role to play in preventing declines in children's physical activity. Further work is needed to confirm our findings in other settings and investigate the counter-intuitive associations we observed.
We thank the schools, the children and parents for their participation in the SPEEDY study. In addition, we thank everyone who helped with the data collection and Norfolk Children's Services for their invaluable input and support. This work was supported by the Centre for Diet and Activity Research (CEDAR), a UK Clinical Research Collaboration Public Health Research Centre of Excellence. The SPEEDY study is funded by the National Prevention Research Initiative, consisting of the following funding partners: British Heart Foundation; Cancer Research UK; Department of Health; Diabetes UK; Economic and Social Research Council; Medical Research Council; Research and Development Office for the Northern Ireland Health and Social Services; Chief Scientist Office, Scottish Executive Health Department; Welsh Assembly Government and World Cancer Research Fund.
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This article is published under license to BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.


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Mindfulness Journeys offers classes, workshops and events on meditation, yoga and sound healing. Explore our calendar to discover a rich array of offerings. Add the class of your choice directly to google calendar by pressing the GOOGLE CALENDAR button, or add to your computer's calendar by pressing ICAL IMPORT, located below the event of your choice.
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The Journey of Meditation | 6 Week Course | Woluwe St Lambert, Brussels
20 January @ 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm
An event every week that begins at 5:30pm on Sunday, repeating until 24 February 2019
"Everything is an island of gold."
– Lady Niguma
Discover a new way of living by learning to appreciate the wonder of your life. Imagine that every moment is a fresh new experience. Glimpse your uniqueness and potential which bring inspiration and joy, no matter what. Gain confidence that you can dance with everyday challenges. Realise that limitations are the fertile ground of life. This precious journey takes you home to your true self, one breath at a time.
The course will feature a number of study and contemplation topics :
– Cutting through spiritual materialism
– Yoga and meditation
– Meditation in daily life
– Highlights from the Shambhala tradition
– Healing through intention and sound
– Stories and songs from famous masters
This six week course joins meditation instruction and sitting practice with a solid understanding of theory behind meditation. It is based on a 2,600 year tradition, with a view that will take you beyond current popular mindfulness programs. The course will include:
– Sitting and walking meditation instruction
– Group and home practice
– recommended readings
– innovative exercises
– talks
– group discussions
You get full immersion and everything you need to begin your journey


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Mining can be a blessing for foreign aid: UN
United Nations Development Program (UNDP) head Helen Clark is focused on making mining "a blessing, not a curse, for [developing] countries."
At a conference held jointly by the Canadian Government and the World Economic Forum this past weekend, Clark spoke about the positive role that Canadian mining companies can play in international development. Partnering mining with foreign aid is part of a broader Canadian foreign policy shift towards private-sector development.
But the policy shift has not been smooth.
In 2011, Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) supported partnerships between three NGOs and Canadian mining companies operating in Burkina Faso, Ghana and Peru. One of the NGOs working in Burkina Faso, Plan Canada, claimed that its financing dried up as a result of donors who disapproved of its association with mining.
Opposition to mining in the province of Quebec has intensified recently and the province is taking initial steps to build a foreign aid agency that would run parallel to the Government of Canada's.
Private-sector development projects, however, are on trend.
International outfits from the World Bank and the OECD to the smallest of NGOs have increasingly focused on private-sector development as way to grow and sustain local business and industry.
This recent nod from UNDP's chief, who realizes Canada's competitive advantage in mining, cannot hurt Canada's private-sector push.
Clark highlighted that Canada has "very big companies in the extractive industries, and they're out there around the world. Now what Canada can be is a leader in companies which are environmentally and socially responsible."
Given that the companies are already out there, Clark said that the focus should be on training local people and conducting business with local companies.
"Make it work for development. Give these small companies in countries a chance to enter the value chain as suppliers to the big multi-national companies, if the multi-national skills will invest in the local skills of people, that's very, very powerful for the whole economy…[a] private sector actively engaged in thinking about the development spinoffs from its activity can be very, very helpful."


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"Hello, goats!"
"Hey, are you coming to see me?"
"Well, hi there! You guys are kinda nosy, huh?"
"Ok, maybe A LOT nosy!"
We live in the country, as most of you know....and there are LOTS of goats around here!
I went on a walk yesterday to specifically take pictures of some sheep and their adorable little lambs....but by the time I got to their field, they were in a back pasture.
I'll try again another day!
For now, enjoy these funny and very curious, nosy goats!


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The city of Berkeley issued a warning to residents Thursday, urging them not to be "baited by provocateurs" and to "keep a distance from violence."
"Mass gatherings of any kind attract a broad variety of people and, inevitably, that means an array of different motives and intentions," read a statement posted by the city manager's office. "The overwhelming majority come with a peaceful purpose."
"However, in recent protests in Berkeley, we have seen a small portion who come seeking to hurt others or to destroy property. We have seen that individuals who come armed and armored use peaceful protesters as a cover for their violent actions."
Police arrested five people and confiscated numerous weapons Thursday during demonstrations in Berkeley.
The Berkeley Police Department said the arrests were "part of a coordinated effort to manage large scale demonstrations in the downtown and South Campus neighborhoods and on the UC Berkeley campus."
According to police, a few hundred people had peacefully gathered at the Civic Center Park, where speakers held a "Free Speech" rally.
The UC Berkeley Police Department on Thursday afternoon issued a list of items of banned from a gathering space on campus.
According to the department, Sproul Plaza was designated as an event area and those wanting to enter could be searched for restricted items.
Some items, including weapons, fireworks, chains, sticks and explosives, were obvious no-nos. Masks are also prohibited.
At least two demonstrators have been arrested Thursday at UC Berkeley, according to the university.
"Both individuals' affiliation to UC Berkeley is unknown at this time," the university tweeted.
A San Francisco Chronicle reporter recorded video of one of the arrests as it unfolded on campus.
While I stand in firm opposition to the hateful ideology that fuels extremists like Ann Coulter, we must ensure that all parties can peacefully and safely exercise their First Amendment rights. We cannot allow outside agitators to undermine the work of nonviolent protestors and students exercising their constitutional rights. Recognizing that the battle of ideas cannot be won with violence, I urge everyone to protest peacefully.
From his fifth-floor suite of offices overlooking the park, Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguin had a first-hand view of the gathering of far right demonstrators.
He has struggled to come to terms with how to deal with the combatants who continue to use Berkeley as their stage.
"We're a surrogate for the resistance against the Trump administration certainly, and for progressive values, " he said.
Groups of demonstrators began trickling into Martin Luther King Jr. Civic Center Park in downtown Berkeley on Thursday as police swarmed the city.
Among the activists at the park was Stewart Rhodes, founder of the citizen militia group known as the Oath Keepers. Rhodes and his group had also gathered in Berkeley on April 15, when a planned "Patriots Day" rally erupted in clashes between pro-Trump demonstrators and counter-protesters.
"We are only here for self-defense," Rhodes said. His role, he said, was "to keep the hotheads in check."
Berkeley officials warned students and residents to "keep a distance from violence" Thursday as police prepared for clashes between supporters and opponents of conservative commentator Ann Coulter.
Despite Coulter's announcement a day earlier that she would not speak at UC Berkeley on Thursday, students and residents were told to expect a heavy police presence and asked to take precautions to remain safe.
By 10:30 a.m. Thursday, a police helicopter hovered over Martin Luther King Jr. Civic Center Park in downtown Berkeley as demonstrators in helmets and carrying flags on poles began to converge on the park.


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Looking for a way to use webservices to provision an accounts in AD, similar to the experience that happens in Azure B2B/B2C. On premises AD is 2012 R2 and we are considering deploying MIM if it makes this possible.
For the account creation process through a web portal there needs to be workflow in the process, basically when the user signs up through a website they will must enter unique invite information, this information will be checked and if
validated the user account will be auto provisioned in AD. At least this is the intent.
Any advice or experience with similar solutions is greatly appreciated!


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Great podcast - listen to live Planet Philadelphia show that was streamed on Gtown Radio yesterday to hear:
Podcasts of the shows become available the day after they broadcast. Please tell all your friends that they too can hear great shows about our environment – after all it's where we all live, work, and play. To make a comment about what you hear on Planet Philadelphia or if you have a question, please call the listener Comment Line: (484)278-1846. It would be great to hear what you have to say. To find out more about Planet Philadelphia go to http://www.planetphila.com or http://www.gtownradio.com/.
@planetphila | @gtownradio | Facebook
Keep Planet Philadelphia going strong.
Leave a Reply.
Please help keep Planet Philadelphia going and growing, become a supporter.
Listen to Planet Philadelphia
Please tune in to http://www.gtownradio.com/ 1st and 3rd Fridays each month at 4:00 to 5:00 pm for Planet Philadelphia and listen to a super show.
May 2019


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Category Archives: News updates on DWI / DUI
Maryland: double murder charges loom for DUI killer Sam Ellis in deaths of Alex Murk & Calvin Li;
Sources confirm to WUSA9 that the party was held at the home of Kenneth Saltzman, whose daughter was the host. Documents reveal that one partygoer brought two 30-packs of beer and Salzman jokingly asked if one of those cases was for him
Louisiana: State Police say DWI likely in death of Seth Orcutt in I-10 crash
Orcutt was properly restrained but received fatal injuries as a result of the crash. He was pronounced deceased at the scene by the Ascension Parish Coroner's Office. Impairment is suspected to be a factor in the crash. A toxicology test will be conducted by the Ascension Parish Coroner's Office.
California: Lorenzo Renteria Lopez – a one man demolition derby booked on hit and run and DUI
According to Riverside County Calif. Sheriff's Department, at 6:48 PM, on May 1, 2014, Sheriff's Dispatch received calls of a possible intoxicated driver that had struck several cars, on Hwy. 111 and in a private property parking lot north of Hwy. 111, in La Quinta. The suspect attempted to park his vehicle in the private property parking lot, and tried to leave the scene on foot. Witnesses kept the suspect under observation.
North Carolina: Mayor Lee Bettis's DWI arrest a sham
Bettis registered 0.00 percent on the Breathalyzer, which measures blood alcohol level.
He was taken before a magistrate, who found probable cause to issue a warrant for DWI, and then was released.
North Carolina: Judge Jerry A. Jolly dumped 28 DWI arrests after bozo Brunswick County Sheriff officials failed to have arresting officers in court…
Sean Magill · Top Commenter
This is nothing unusual. There are judges who don't like the DWI laws and will dismiss at the drop of a hat. There are lawyers who judge shop with multiple continuances until they can get to the soft-on-crime judges. Judges are elected, but most citizens don't know what their records are. Judges are THE weakest link in the process of getting impaired drivers off the road.
Minnesota: over 300 retailers can't renew their licenses to purchase for re-sale due to budget stalemate…could this be the summer of zero beer?
From KAAL TV ABC 6 NEWS – The budget stalemate is forcing Miller-Coors to pull […]
Texas: newspaper lists names of 8 DWI drivers
From LubbockOnline.com: Lubbock police made eight arrests last week for driving while intoxicated. ■ Feb. […]
New York: Tough DA fights back at swelling number of DWI drivers by seizing their vehicles
From LoHud.com Hoping to send just that to drivers, lawmakers in the region, including Westchester […]
Texas: Loopy cowboys busted for roundup while liquored up in Austin
From NBCDFW.com: Austin's 6th Street attracts some pretty odd behavior, and it probably doesn't get […]


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Balboa Park Plaque Ceremony with Todd Gloria
Congratulations to the twelve BPCP members who achieved LEED Silver certification in six Balboa Park buildings last year.
BPCP is hosting a LEED Plaque Ceremony on Thursday, March 17 from 5 - 7 p.m. for those who helped with the 2015 LEED certifications.
Council-member Todd Gloria, the San Diego Green Building Council and BPCP will recognize the LEED Silver accomplishments of:
Casa de Balboa
Casa del Prado
Federal Building
House of Charm
Reuben H. Fleet Science Center
The Old Globe
We will serve celebratory refreshments and light appetizers and we encourage attendees to wear green in spirit of the green building movement and St. Patrick's Day.
Join in the celebrations with staff and volunteers from these six LEED buildings, SDGBC and City of San Diego, and funders including SDG&E and in-kind corporate donors.
We hope to see you there!
Please note that this event is Invite-Only for GAP team volunteers on the Old Globe and Federal Building projects. If you feel that we missed your name on the invite list, our apologies, please contact email@example.com.


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Owen W Brown
Information Technology and Services, Banking
Owen W Brown
Owen W Brown's Bio:
Manage cross-functional teams tasked with identifying, documenting, and eliminating the causes of Service Interruption. 15-year Information Technology Professional who specializes in Highly Collaborative Meeting Facilitation, Root Cause Analysis, Problem Management, Incident Management, Report Development, and Trend Analysis.
Owen W Brown's Experience:
Vice President; Business Technology Integration; Global Event & Problem Management at Bank of AmericaFebruary 2014 - Present | Maricopa, Arizona
Collaborate with business executives, and infrastructure subject matter experts. Research, coordinate, and facilitate reviews of high profile interruptions of service. Ensure the effectiveness of review meetings with groups from ten to a hundred participants. Manage and direct investigations to identify, document, and manage corrective actions to ultimately eliminate causes of service interruption.
Supervisor - Application Support at Countrywide FinancialOctober 2006 - Present | Chandler, Arizona
Managed a team responsible for providing Tier 2 support for enterprise level applications. Collaborated with senior management to lower cost per escalation and increase operating efficiencies. Supported ITSM Remedy Service Desk, as well as communications and reporting applications.
Supervisor - Technical Trainer and Knowledge Administration at Countrywide FinancialJune 2003 - Present | Agoura Hills, California
Partnered with senior management to determine training requirements, identify and utilize subject matter experts to design, develop, write, publish and deliver new training programs. Developed a standardized process for assessing needs and producing meaningful, measurable results for Tier 1 and 2 Support teams.
Problem Management Analyst at CountrywideAugust 2008 - April 2009
Applications Trainer at New Horizons Computer Learning CentersJuly 2001 - June 2003 | Southern California
Facilitated positive classroom based learning experiences. Collaborated with local and federal government, small business, and Fortune 500 companies.
Consultant - Technical Operations Trainer at LennoxMay 1999 - July 2001 | United States and Canada
Project team successfully deployed operations software to over fifty branch locations across the United States and Canada. Successfully migrated in house systems to corporate standard. Added corporate governance to branch operations.
Owen W Brown's Education:
CSME2012 – 2012ITIL Foundations v3
ThinkReliability2010 – 2010Concentration: Cause Mapping I
Dream Catchers, Inc2007 – 2007Concentration: ITIL Foundations v2
Western Kentucky University1992 – 1997BSConcentration: Marketing, EconomicsActivities: Sigma Chi
Ezell Harding Christian High School1990 – 1996
Fred J Page High School1988 – 1990
Owen W Brown's Interests & Activities:
Most of my free time is spent with my wife and toddler. What is left I spend swimming, bicycling, running, or reading. In the summer when it is too hot in the Phoenix area to be outside, I enjoy Crossfit.


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Living History Groups
Camp River Dubois Detachment
Area: Lewis and Clark State Historic Site (Camp River Dubois) near Alton, Illinois and northeast of St. Louis, Missouri.
- Point of Departure: weekend near May 14
- Arrival at Camp River Dubois: weekend near December 12
Contact Info
The Discovery Expedition of St. Charles, Missouri (DESC)
Area: Lewis & Clark Boat House and Nature Center, St. Charles, Missouri. This group travels all through the mid-west and eastern legacy states.
- Heritage Days
- Photo logs of past events: www.lewisandclark.net/photologs.html
Other Info
- Group history: www.lewisandclark.net/history.html
- Living history manuals: www.lewisandclark.net/manual.html
Contact Info
- www.lewisandclark.net
- firstname.lastname@example.com
Sgt. Floyd Honor Guard/Discovery Corps Reenactors
Based in Sioux Falls, this group participates in the annual Annual Encampment and Burial of Sergeant Floyd held mid-August.
Facebook: Facebook: www.facebook.com/Sergeant-Floyd-Honor-Guard-Discovery-Corps-725412937557670
The Lewis and Clark Honor Guard
This group is available to schools and community events in the Great Falls, Montana area. Members also work closely with the Lewis Clark Interpretive Center in Great Falls.
Website: lchg.weebly.com
Living history manual: lchg.weebly.com/reenactors-manual.html
Email: lchg.weebly.com/contact-us.html
P.O. Box 125
Great Falls, MT 59403
Lolo Brigade
Based in Lolo, Montana, the Lolo Brigade works with Travelers' Rest State Park, the LCTHF Travelers' Rest Chapter, and the Travelers' Rest Preservation & Heritage Association.
Website: travelersrestchapter.org/brigade.html
Hog Heaven Muzzle Loaders
Area: Idaho panhandle
Facebook: www.facebook.com/hogheaven.muzzleloaders
Pacific Northwest Living Historians
Area: Oregon and Washington.
- Fort Walla Walla Days, first weekend in June
- Hertiage Days, Sacajawea State Park, last weekend in September
- O! How horiable the day. Knappton Cove, second weekend in November
Contact: email@example.com


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Hello and Good morning everyone,
I can't actually believe that I have my own blog!!!!!
Yesterday I had a trip to the Kanban outlet with a friend and had a great days shopping. I have already put some of my purchases to use as you will see. I am still a relative novice at the card making so any tips or comments will be gratefully received. I hope you will like some of my cards.
Bye for now
1 year ago


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The Crime of the Century: What BP and US Government Don't Want You to Know…With Pics
by Alexander Higgins
August 7, 2010
Environmental activist Jerry Cope has spent the last few weeks traveling along the Gulf Coast and experiencing firsthand the contamination in the air and water. In an article published on Huffington Post, Cope argues that instead of celebrating the allegedly vanishing oil, we should be concerned about the disappearance of marine life in the Gulf. He describes the Gulf as a "kill zone" and looks into where the marine animals have gone, given that BP has reported a relatively low number of dead animals from the spill.
The unprecedented disaster caused by the BP oil spill at the Deepwater Horizon Mississippi Canyon 252 site continues to expand even as National Incident Commander Thad Allen and BP assert that the situation is improving, the blown-out source capped and holding steady, the situation well in hand and cleanup operations are being scaled back. The New York Times declared on the front page this past week that the oil was disolving more rapidly than anticipated. Time magazine reported that environmental anti-advocate Rush Limbaugh had a point when he said the spill was a "leak". Thad Allen pointed out in a press conference that boats are still skimming on the surface, a futile gesture when the dispersant Corexit is being used to break down oil on the surface. As the oil is broken down, it mixes with the dispersant and flows under or over any booming operations.
To judge from most media coverage, the beaches are open, the fishing restrictions being lifted and the Gulf resorts open for business in a healthy, safe environment. We, along with Pierre LeBlanc, spent the last few weeks along the Gulf coast from Louisiana to Florida, and the reality is distinctly different. The coastal communities of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida have been inundated by the oil and toxic dispersant Corexit 9500, and the entire region is contaminated. The once pristine white beaches that have been subject to intense cleaning operations now contain the oil/dispersant contamination to an unknown depth. The economic impacts potentially exceed even the devastation of a major hurricane like Katrina, the adverse impacts on health and welfare of human populations are increasing every minute of every day and the long-term effects are potentially life threatening.
Over the Gulf from the Source (official term for the Deepwater Horizon spill site) in to shore there is virtually no sign of life anywhere in the vast areas covered by the dispersed oil and Corexit. This in a region previously abundant with life above and below the ocean's surface in all its diversity. For months now, scientists and environmental organizations have been asking where all the animals are. The reported numbers of marine animals lost from BP fall far short of the observed loss. The water has a heavy appearance and the slightly iridescent greenish yellow color that extends as far as the eye can see.
The Rest…HERE


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Libya's PM to Step Down
That was fast. Libya's prime minister–elect, Mustafa Abu Shagur, is stepping down after he failed to win parliamentary approval to form a new cabinet. His latest offer had called for the formation of an "emergency government" with just 10 ministries, down from his earlier offer, which had called for 29. The General Congress voted 125-44 against the proposal. Last week, protesters stormed the Congress building, demanding Shagur's resignation. Shagur was elected in September, beating out interim prime minister Mahmoud Jibril.


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Neil Nitin Mukesh turns music composer
Mumbai: Actor Neil Nitin Mukesh, who hails from a musical family, reveals he has recently composed and recorded six tracks for a film.
"I compose music and I play the piano. Recently, I composed and recorded six songs for a film. Right now, it's too early to talk about it. Hopefully, by the end of this year or the next year, you will get to listen to those songs," the 31-year-old said here Tuesday at the launch of the Volkswagen coffee table book.
Neil is the grandson of legendary singer Mukesh, and his father Nitin Mukesh is also a singer.
Meanwhile, the actor also talked about his character in his forthcoming release "3G", and says it has many shades, just like a chameleon.
"My character is one, but it has many different shades. When you will see the film, you will know that how many colour variants are there in the character. He is a kind of chameleon, who changes himself according to everything and adjusts to the environment he is put in," Neil said.
"Sometimes, it seems as if he is a vampire, sometimes schizophrenic and sometimes mad," he added.
Directed by Sheershak Anand Shantanu Ray Chhibber, 3G also stars Sonal Chauhan and is slated to release March 15.
Updated Date: Feb 20, 2013 18:15:14 IST


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It's been a lousy week already for nature's icons. First the Tettegouche arch up on Lake Superior collapsed (See Five by Eight today). Now comes word that a chestnut tree in Amsterdam has fallen.
"Nearly every morning I go to the attic to blow the stuffy air out of my lungs," she wrote on Feb. 23, 1944. "From my favorite spot on the floor I look up at the blue sky and the bare chestnut tree, on whose branches little raindrops shine, appearing like silver, and at the seagulls and other birds as they glide on the wind."
Anne Frank wrote that. It was that chestnut tree.


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Imagine a HipHop culture in which each active participant, successful in their own right, undenianly talented in the arts and/ or business of the culture taking a protégée; imagine the master and apprentice leading study and practice groupsamong the youngest in art-and-culture cwntered schhols founded by practicioners of the culture instead of just the university-approved pop culture professor and rap star guest lecturer.
Imagine organizations like the Universal Zulu Nation, Rock Steady Crew, Temple of HipHop at the forefront of this effort.
Now… If we can continueto imagine, we can biild.