text:
Takes me back...
Sounds like a ZX81 keyboard, or maybe an Atari 400 keyboard.
If you've had a liquid lunch will breathing heavily on the keyboard be enough to trip the alcohol sensor?
If you've read the reports about the average office keyboard being dirtier than a toilet seat, you may want to take a leaf out of the NHS' book. The healthcare body has ordered thousands of specialist germ-resistant keyboards. According to a report by the Press Association, the keyboards are completely flat and covered with a …
So the "NHS" orders 75000 keyboards, presumably under the disastrous NPfIT programme which has failed to deal with the political situation in the "NHS". I can't wait to hear of Hospital Trusts rejecting the keyboards because they can get them cheaper or have just taken a job lot from Pfizer/Glaxo/Roche in exchange for preferring to using that companies equipment/drugs.
I would hate to work in IT in the English Health Service, some of the politics in the Scottish one is bad enough.
Take a guess why Anonymous has been ticked.
"Dr Peter Wilson, a University College London Hospital consultant microbiologist and co-inventor of the cleaner keyboard, told the PA that in tests the keyboards were shown to have a positive impact on keyboard cleanliness."
The Inventor of *the* product advises the hospitals to buy *his* product?
Cor what a surprise.
Who cares what is on a keyboard when *ANY* nurse/doctor should clean their hands before touching anything/anyone that needs to be kept clean?
When hospitals are still using antibacterial handwashes, even when known to be dangerous who else is surprised what they will spend our money on.
Some IT guru at the NHS read an article stating that keyboards are the new toilet seats for germs and decided to pull out the public cheque book yet again. Its not good enough that the public purse was used recently to replace keyboards during the current failing IT project for the NHS when Card Readers were required, but now it seems that NHS staff can't be bothered to wash their hands prior to using the PC keyboard and need a specialist germ proof keyboard.
Here's hoping that some fool from the NHS doesn't read that patients hold more germs than keyboards, otherwise we will only be treating a few people a year, now there's an idea!
This is ridiculous - £133 for a PC keyboard !?!
A fix for a common problem which they feel needs a high-tech solution?
The British Veterinary Association (after intense research) have figured out the solution to this for about £10 a keyboard. (Vets really do know a thing or two about keeping crap off equipment)
See http://www.bva.co.uk/public/inpace.asp if you feel the need for professionally endorsed hygiene.
This post has been deleted by its author
So the NHS are paying 1M quid for some keyboards with a flashing LED on a time-delay at £133 each? Oh, for that price it must be self-cleaning, shirley? Nope, the staff still need to manually clean the keyboard *twice a day*. It doesn't take a fucking brain surgeon (or specialist microbiologist) to work out that if you clean *any* keyboard twice a day it will be cleaner.
FFS sake when will NPfIT programme be put out of it's misery it's just a money pit now!!
I mean, come on, you can get standard waterproof keyboards for 10% of the price. Fecking idiots the bunch of them
Clingfilm would be cumbersome, but if you google for "plastic keyboard cover" then you'll certainly find options for much less than £133.
In conjunction with Jason Hall's somewhat stunning suggestion that folks' hands should be fairly clean *before* they start typing, I think we may be able to undercut Dr Wilson by something approaching an order of magnitude.
Boffin icon because my google search phrase is obviously a work of inspired genius and not something that a mere consultant microbiologist could have come up with.
I just took my keyboard out to the kitchen to clean it with dettol surface cleaner, and when I came back I was informed that Firefox could not find www.zxcvb5%....com.
That's eight metres and three brick walls away on used batteries, AND IT DIDN'T COST ME A HUNDRED AND THIRTY QUID EITHER!!
We recently for PACs (Digital Xrays) bought a lot of mobile wireless PC carts. For use on wards with the carts we ordered a Unotron keyboard (http://www.unotron.com/UK/corded_keyboard_nokeys.htm) which are fully waterproof and can be washed under a tap. For use in Theatres we ordered an iKey keyboard (http://www.ikey.com/Medical/?productID=97&vertID=17) because they have no gaps betweens keys for dust and other particulates to collect and are also fully waterproof. I can tell you that neither of these get washed at any point. I have been called into an O.R. during an operation to fix wireless issues on a cart and the keyboard was dusty and filthy. If they think getting the keyboards in the article will make a difference they are wrong and it is a major waste of money.
I believe if they just wiped and cleaned the standard keyboards they have with alcohol wipes every couple of hours as well as washing their hands properly before use then the infection risk is minimal.
I hate to comment on this but when was the last time you tried to clean every surface of a standard keyboard? I clean my keyboard twice a month and it takes me upwards of 20 minutes. Having a flat board that can be cleaned using a wipe in 10 seconds would be far more efficient since even those plastic glove covers it takes a couple of minutes to cover every surface.
As to touch screens, have you ever tried to input data quickly on a touch screen, it isn't comfortable, fast or easy. Plus you would still have to clean the damn thing as often.
p.s. I have the patent on the version of this board that automatically sprays itself with disinfectant and then uses little wiping arms to suck up said disinfectant every time it is used!
Of infection control inside a hospital is MUCH greater than the cost of the keyboards..
Keyboards have been shown to be infection vectors in a goodly many reputable studies, and what people seem to be forgetting in this thread is that the NHS is NOT a business.
When you go into hospital, and have some pretty radical surgery (say a bad car smash that lands you in intensive care), would you rather have the medical staff using a £133 keyboard that to the best of available research and design will poke busy and distracted people to say "Clean this now, otherwise bad things may happen", and have a good chance of being as free of infectious material as possible, or would you rather have them using a 20 quid keyboard from the local shop, with an uncertain level of cleanliness?
I know which I'd rather.
There's a reason why the NHS spends shed loads on sterilization of equipment, tracking it's historical usage, and having very tight guidelines on what qualifies as medical equipment (would you like surgery performed with a modelling knife, or a surgical scalpel? The modelling knife is far cheaper!).
This isn't part of the NPfIT. It's part of the infection control process to keep people alive. It's seen as a way of keeping more people alive. Are you going to quibble over a few quid because you can get cheaper non-medically certified gear down your local shop?
And trust me, though cleaning ANY keyboard twice a day will make it cleaner, will it make it clean in a medical sense? That's where the money goes (making sure that it is 'clean' in a medical sense, not a general "it looks shiner that it was earlier, and who cares about the bits of old sandwich stuck in the cracks and gaps").
Paris, 'cos she cleans up nicely too.
These keyboards, will they include Chip and Pin style smart card readers?
Many of the new NHS systems require smart cards to access them. I know there have been big roll-outs of new keyboards with integrated smart card readers around here, and it would be utterly typical to have to endure another roll out, incorporating a step backwards in this regard.
I cannot understand this criticism of the NHS. We (the ungrateful public) should feel honoured and privileged that they spend £90BN of our money each year, and still manage to kill off an increasing number of patients themselves through unclean wards and equipment (the true figure is covered up of course by the medical establishment). At least if they start having clean keyboards, then all the managers, consultants and bureaucrats will be clean and safe - just a pity about the patients......but then again, they always come last in the scheme of things with the great god NHS
I wish people would stop using toilet seats as the ultimate benchmark for germs. Germs require debris to replicate and thrive, your average toilet seat is a smooth surface with usually nothing worse than a splash of sterile urine to contend with.
So just about every surface with nooks and crannies is "dirtier than a toilet seat". Particularly if they collect human debris. That includes keyboards, your mouse, your desk, the bit behind your monitor and the even the back of your hand.
Me: "Who cares what is on a keyboard when *ANY* nurse/doctor should clean their hands before touching anything/anyone that needs to be kept clean?"
Ken: "In conjunction with Jason Hall's somewhat stunning suggestion that folks' hands should be fairly clean *before* they start typing, I think we may be able to undercut Dr Wilson by something approaching an order of magnitude."
Notice I didn't specifically say they should clean their hands before they start typing.... I said their hands should be clean before they touch anyone/anything that needs to be kept clean.
ie. why clean the keyboard to that level so that the same nurse/doctor can pick her/his nose and then go touch a patient who needs to be kept clean?
To the person who suggested disposable gloves - do you know how much they cost? And how many pairs the average ward would go through per shift?
Some of the keyboards at [DELETED] Hospital in [DELETED] have flexible rubber covers on to keep crud out of the keys, and they work just dandy.
Unfortunately, as someone else pointed out, many of the NHS IT apps require the use of smartcards plugged into keyboards for 'authorization' and the covers don't work with the stupid bloody card-enabled keyboards.
And before anyone (Jon G, this includes but is not limited to YOU) gets too snotty about the staff within the NHS, just remember that the staff you see in the 'front lines' of the wards, clinics and reception areas are not the ones you should be ranting at; they have no control over who spends what and where, they have to make do with whatever they are given by their lords and masters.
Having worked in a hospital myself, I would say that 99.99% of the staff washed their hands whenever they went in or out of a ward or (in the case of the medical staff) handled a patient... whereas it was only about 25-30% of the "visitors" who could be bothered with it. I'd say it wasn't the staff causing the problems...
If you have to visit a hospital and there's a handwash, USE IT.
I am sure that the recent deep clean of all wards in the english NHS was meant to also include computer equipment and other desktop items. If thats the case shouldn't have all the keyboards been cleaned or replaced then. I don't recall handing out new keyboards to our wards when they were deep cleaned.
These keyboards are already in use in one hospital I know of.
Apparently they beep every 15mins to be wiped down. From what my NHS friend told me, they are as El Reg explain, basically an old school membrane keyboard, and a pain in the arse!
Paris because she has to wipe every 15mins ;)
There are, IIRC, keyboards out there that're smooth ceramic plates, using induction fields for keypress detection and a short range RF or bluetooth connection to the host.
If you added magnetic induction power supply to those devices, you could have an easy-to-clean power pad and a keyboard that was a neatly rounded slab with no cables or protrusions. You could just swap them around every day and drop them all in a bucket of disinfectant ... or with some hardening even autoclave them.
Despite that, hospitals seem to keep on using keyboards that require cables trailing everywhere (dirty!) and that have uneven surfaces (very dirty!).
i was working on a rollout,
i asked some despotic manager some questions as i was from outside thier insane culture and was trying to get my head round how thier crazy system worked.
the next day i get sacked with no notice or explanation why.
They burn thier allocated IT budgets as fast as they can so they dont go under budget and get thier yearly budgets trimmed.(sound familier)
(me thinks its not the IT hadrware budget that needs trimming) [more likley the fat cat (40k+) middle padding managers]
The NHS needs a serious head to toe audit, with no punches pulled,
Maybe the next job for Sir Alan, after he's finished sacking wannabe employes on silly TV shows. even better send a TV crew to follow him round as he tears the Excess Fat from the NHS and turns it into a lean efficient operation, that delivers on what it was set up to acheive...


text:
I'm hangin' around
Just treading the boards of my room
Yeah, looking out the window
Down at the people below
Oh yeah, the night is coming on
The walls are closing in
The air has ceased to move
I'm staring at my hands
And getting used to the silence
There's nothing left to do
'cause I'm
Hangin' around
Just hangin' around
Random from the start
Oh yeah
Is a stone you throw
An act of another dead man
Looking through the holes in his glass house window
Oh yeah
Do you know what I mean?
Have you ever been
Have you ever felt like me?
Time melts away but it feels like it's moving so slow
I am
Hangin' around
I am
Hangin' around
Random from the start
Oh yeah
I'll say it one more time
I'll say it again
I'm a broken record, broken record, broken record
Broken record, broken record, broken man
Oh yeah
I've got no leads in this case
I can't keep up the pace
I've given up the chase
Another night goes by
Now I can hear the silence
I see you laughing in my face
'cause I am
Hangin' around
Just hangin' around
Random from the start
Oh yeah
I am
Hangin' around
I am
Haging' around
Waiting for something to happen man
Can you see me?
Do you know?
Just what I'm going through
What am I gonna do?
Oh yeah
Here I go

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Heavy Multitaskers Are the Worst At Multitasking
People who multitask all the time may be the worst at doing two things at once, new research suggests.
The findings, based on performances and self-evaluations by about 275 undergraduate students, suggest many people multitask not out of a desire to boost productivity, but because they are easily distracted and can't focus on one activity. And those people turn out to be the worst at juggling different things, the researchers said.
"From a public safety perspective, it's a little alarming that the people who report using a cellphone while driving the most are the persons who are the worst at multitasking," said study co-author David Sanbonmatsu, a psychologist at the University of Utah.
The findings were published today (Jan. 23) in the journal PLoS One.
Distracted lives
In general, the ubiquity of multitasking has increased dramatically in recent decades. But all that multitasking may be reducing overall productivity. For instance, past research showed that juggling multiple things at once lowered work productivity, but made people feel good.
Sanbonmatsu and his colleagues gave the undergraduates a battery of tests and asked them to report how often they multitasked, how good they thought they were at it, and how sensation-seeking or impulsive they were.
They then evaluated the participants' multitasking ability with a tricky mental task that required the students to do simple mathematical calculations while remembering a sequence of letters.
Not surprisingly, the scientists said, most people thought they were better than average at multitasking, and those who thought they were better at it were more likely to report using a cellphone while driving or viewing multiple sources of media at once. [The 10 Most Destructive Human Behaviors]
But those who frequently juggled many things were found to perform the worst at the actual multitasking test. They also were more likely to admit to sensation-seeking and impulsive behavior, which correlates with how easily people get bored and distracted.
The findings suggest that multitasking isn't boosting people's efficiency, Sanbonmatsu told LiveScience.
"People multitask not because it's going to lead to greater productivity, but because they're distractible, and they get sucked into things that are not as important," he said.
Adam Gazzaley, a neuroscientist at the University of California San Francisco, who was not involved in the study, said one limitation of the study was that it couldn't tease out whether people who start out less focused gravitate toward multitasking or whether people's cognitive abilities change as a result of multitasking.
The findings do suggest, however, why the sensation-seekers who multitask the most may engage in risky distracted driving, said Paul Atchley, a researcher at the University of Kansas, who was not involved in the study.
"People who are multitasking are generally less sensitive to risky situations," Atchley said. "This may partly explain why people are engaging in these situations even though they're dangerous."
Follow LiveScience on Twitter@livescience. We're also on Facebook &Google+.
10 Ways to Keep Your Mind Sharp
Copyright 2013 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


text:
LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Michael Jackson's music sales keep soaring as fans purchased more than 800,000 of his albums last week, Billboard magazine said.
Fans sign a memorial wall for Michael Jackson this week near the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.
Jackson's albums hold all 10 top positions on Billboard's top pop catalog albums chart, according Nielsen SoundScan sales data released Wednesday.
That feat broke a record Jackson set last week when he had eight albums on that chart.
Jackson's albums are not eligible for the Billboard 200 chart, which is for newer albums.
Jackson's "Number Ones" sold a whooping 339,000 copies last week. Two other Jackson albums, "Thriller" and "The Essential Michael Jackson," sold more than 150,000 copies. Watch family, friends and fans pay tribute »
Physical albums constituted 82 percent of Jackson's sales last week -- 656,000 of those versus 144,000 download albums.
Downloads of Jackson's songs dropped last week compared with the week before. Fans downloaded 2.2 million Jackson songs last week compared with 2.6 million the previous week.
But the "King of Pop" still had five singles on the Top 10 list of digital downloads.
Jackson's 1988 hit "Man in the Mirror" was his most popular single, with 159,000 downloads.
All About Michael Jackson • Billboard.com


text:
I Grew Up in an Apocalyptic Christian Cult
The following article first appeared in Narrative.ly.
"Miss Edwards, do you have another shirt in your locker?" my second period Spanish teacher, Mrs. Buck, asked me on my first day of high school, making sure the whole class could clearly hear my dilemma.
I looked down at my breasts, their little white mounds pushing up and slightly out of a shirt that was low-cut and tight-fitting, but not too provocative, at least I thought.
Mrs. Buck's orders to return to class the next day only if I had appropriate clothing came as a shock for two reasons: Firstly, I didn't own a lot of clothes. Secondly, I grew up in a community where boys and girls spent a lot of time naked together. I did not understand the proper rules of dress code. Showing a little cleavage was no big deal to my teenage mind.
All my life I had been taught that constantly moving was part of our family's duty to God. I had lost count of how many places we had lived. I wanted to be normal, so I convinced my parents to let me enroll in Rowland High School, in Southern California's San Gabriel Valley. Earlier that morning I had been thrilled to start classes. At 15 years old, it was my first day at any school, anywhere, ever.
On my way home I cried profusely for being ostracized for reasons I didn't understand. I stopped at the local library, where I often went to read glossy women's magazines. An issue of "Seventeen" caught my eye. I flipped through it. In a side bar, black bold letters read, "Did you grow up in a cult? Take this quiz and find out now."
I had heard the word "cult" when I was younger and had been trained to answer that, "No, I had not grown up in a cult" or "What's a cult?" if anyone ever asked me.
Intrigued, I flipped to the story. In a sidebar black bold letters read, "Did You Grow Up in a Cult? Take this quiz and find out now."
I stopped crying. Maybe there was a reason for my being ostracized. I turned to the quiz. I had to know the truth.
First question: "Did you grow up in a secluded environment?"
I thought about my early childhood in Thailand, before we moved back to the States. Every home I lived in there was required to have walls at least eight feet high, topped with loops of barbed wire or jagged glass sealed into the cement. The gates were boarded with plywood. I lived with my family and 30 to 40 other people. I was told they were my "family in the Lord."
We called ourselves "The Children of God." I wasn't allowed to leave without permission. If I did, I would be banned from ever returning and doomed to eternal hell and condemnation in the afterlife. My parents and the other adults I lived with told me that I was allowed to leave, but if I did I'd be giving up my birthright as one of God's 144,000 chosen and would forfeit my spot in heaven come the apocalypse in 1993.
"Were you under the influence of a charismatic leader?"
I thought about David Brandt Berg. He lived in hiding. My parents followed him but were never allowed to see him. I never knew what he looked like. In photos he would white out his face and draw a picture of a lion head. He called himself "Father David," but we kids were required to call him "Grandpa."
(Editor's note: For more great content from Narrative.ly, check out these three stories: Please Punch Me, Chasing the Ghosts of Franco, The Voices in My Brother's Head)
"Were you coerced to recruit members to your group?"
I thought about the trips I'd go on, during which I was taught to tell people about Jesus and his love. We called it "witnessing." These recruiting trips were the only times I could go beyond our compound.
"Were you taught that the outside world was a forbidden place, and did you feel guilty for wanting to leave?"
The world outside was referred to as "the system." It was a scary place filled with evil, corruption and devilish temptations and desires. Father David referred to anyone who was not part of the Children of God as "systemites." He sent out comic books with illustrations of what these systemites looked like—ultra-cool boys with slicked-back hair and baggy pants, girls with dyed hair, dangling jewelry, painted fingernails and lots of make-up. They were lost and it was our job to save them. We were taught to be natural and wear our hair long with minimal fuss. Make-up and jewelry was forbidden. Boys kept their hair short and men were not allowed to grow facial hair. Father David shunned any attention to fashion or outer appearance. "Worldliness," he called it, was a device of the Devil. I was told I was special because I was born into the Children of God. Over time, I learned to believe it.
Until I picked up that issue of "Seventeen," I thought we were just part of a religious missionary group with strict rules. I followed my family and trusted them.
All of our lives, we had never been allowed to choose where to live, what clothes to wear or what food to eat. Everything had been decided for us.
For the next few weeks after taking the "Seventeen" quiz, the words ran like a manta through my mind: Oh my God ... I grew up in a cult ... Where do I go from here?
* * *
The Children of God was founded on the shores of Huntington Beach, California, in 1968. David Berg was the youngest child of evangelist Virginia Lee Brandt and Hjalmer Berg. After several attempts at following his famous mother's nationwide evangelical mission, Berg was kicked out of the Christian Missionary Alliance, a group his parents belonged to, for alleged sexual misconduct, although Berg claims he was expelled for trying to preach to Native Americans who came into the parish, as he put it, "dirty and barefoot," eager to hear the gospel.
Berg partnered up with Fred Jordan, a television evangelist and founder of the American Soul Clinic in Los Angeles, an organization dedicated to training missionaries for the foreign field. Together they promoted a television program called "Church in the Home," which broadcast sermons to people's homes via a weekly television program. Their partnership lasted for 15 years. During that time, Berg developed a philosophy that any action was justified as long as it was done in the name of God's work. This philosophy would be a founding principle of the Children of God.
Berg, along with his wife and four children, began offering assistance to a small group called Teen Challenge at the Light Club, a Christian coffeehouse near the Huntington Beach pier. Soon they were running the mission full time, keeping it open and alive seven days a week with songs about Jesus and a message of the end times.
The word "church" was never mentioned. Father David detested the church. His group of followers began to grow, as did his prophecies and revelations, which included apocalyptic visions, claims against the established church and a plethora of "laws" condoning sexual freedom.
In the 1970s he began vigilant protests against the established church. His protests were called "Woe the Church Ministry" and members dressed in sackcloth, held thick wooden staves, smeared ashes on their foreheads and stormed into Sunday morning church sermons to warn the congregation of the end of the world.
In a practice called "flirty-fishing," Father David instructed the women to use sex to entice new members to the group and gather donations. He appointed a woman named Karen Zerby as his chosen prophetess. He called her his "first wife," but he was known to sleep with any woman who had the privilege of meeting him. We learned to call Karen Zerby "Mama Maria." She headed the flirty-fishing movement, which, along with the Woe the Church Ministry, attracted attention from the media, often landing the Children of God on the front page of newspapers. As the group grew to hundreds and then thousands, it was time to organize, and according to Father David's orders, flee from the western world that would be the first to burn in hell come God's judgment and the apocalypse.
* * *
My mom was born and raised in Malmo, Sweden, to an alcoholic father and a harsh, distant mother. As a child her parents dropped her and her younger sister, Eva, off at a Lutheran church every week. Mom loved the sermons and excelled in church activities, eventually becoming a scout leader. In high school she became a full-time babysitter for one of her teachers, then quit her babysitting job to travel to Tunisia. As a young woman she was a traveler full of adventure. She told stories of traversing the Swedish slopes, getting caught in a blizzard while skiing and bravely crossing a narrow bridge swinging high above a Norwegian fjord.
On her way to buy a ticket to Tunisia, Mom met Thomas, a member of the Children of God who she described as "having eyes that were full of light." She said he was glowing with an aura she had never seen. He sat on a street corner strumming a guitar. She sat down next to him and he told her about Jesus. He invited her to come to their house that night for dinner. Fish soup was on the menu. Mom was a strict vegetarian.
When she told them about her dietary restrictions, one of the members told her, "It's O.K. Just put the fish on the side."
She was ready to either hear or deliver a lecture about conflicting dietary beliefs. To her surprise, they didn't judge her for being vegetarian, nor did they try to convince her that she should change her habits. It was then, she said, that she felt an acceptance she had never felt before. She was part of a community. She had found her family. She dropped everything she had, including a fiancé back home in Sweden, to join the Children of God. She was just one of thousands to "forsake all" and follow Father David Berg.
Shortly afterward, Mom and Dad met in Spain in 1978. Dad, a promising geology student, had dropped out of UC Davis two weeks before he would have graduated at the top of his class to follow his five older siblings into the Children of God. The McNally family lived across the street from him in South Pasadena and most of their kids also joined.
When people ask me what compelled them to join, I think back to the times in which they were living: the 1960s. It was a time of protest, political turbulence and school rebellion. Baby boomers were coming of age, exploring sex and lowering their inhibitions. Hippies on the streets of California were looking for answers and Father David believed he had them. He incorporated the movements of the '60s into his evangelical mission, even writing a letter called, "C'mon Ma! Burn Your Bra" and a series of letters on "revolutionary sex." Father David believed that we could return humanity back to the Garden of Eden, the way God intended, a world of peace with humans living close to nature and serving God. He understood that the youth of the generation were ready to believe anything.
Members were required to forsake all, cut off all ties with their families and devote their lives in service to the Lord. Father David was God's mouthpiece and claimed to be his prophet. He offered young people the promise of freedom within the confines of his leadership. If there is such a thing as a modern-day prophet, Father David fit all the requirements. He had the charisma that would lead one of the most infamous cults of all time.
The Children of God outlasted most cults formed at that time. We kids had the burden to bear. It was our job to save the world and return the pagans, all other beings outside of the group, back to God's natural state.
My family's move to Thailand in 1985 was based on a prophecy that Father David received. My family was living in Los Angeles at the time. One day Aunty Mary, who was also part of the Children of God, came running into the living room to tell us of the latest news Father David had received from God. Her hair was tied back in a little bun and she held a freshly printed magazine. She flipped through the pages and landed on a picture of a woman wearing the same spiky crown that rests atop the head of the Statue of Liberty. The woman's legs were spread open wide and she was holding a globe of the world in one hand. In her other hand rested the fate of the world, symbolized by a handful of poverty-stricken, third-world folk at the mercy of her wrath. In between her legs were the Pentagon, the White House and other buildings representing lust, sloth and greed. Father David was ordering all of his followers to move out of western civilization. The west was evil, he'd say, and would be the first to burn in hell. He'd had a revelation from God that the world was going to end in 1993 and it was our job to warn everybody. We were part of the 144,000 with spots in heaven and we could take whoever was willing with us.
* * *
I missed the '80s entirely. I had a minimal education that included learning fractions and geography, reading portions of the King James Bible, and memorizing chapters upon chapters of scripture and reciting them on command. I was forbidden from reading outside books, watching movies, listening to music or talking to anyone outside of the group.
Our days were spent taking care of the compound, raking leaves and caring for children who weren't much younger than me. We were cut off completely from family and friends who were not part of the Children of God. I never knew my grandparents. We learned to call the adults in our community "Uncle" and "Aunty."
We woke up every morning at seven a.m. By 7:30 our rooms were immaculate and spotless, the bed sheets unwrinkled and firm. We slept in rooms sometimes filled with 15 to 20 children on bunk beds, trundle beds and rollaway beds. One adult was assigned to watch us kids during the night. With little water supply and limited space, we kids showered communally and slept in tight quarters. Having to take our clothes off in the humid tropical afternoons or during nap time was not uncommon.
After morning prayer, we gathered ourselves into neat rows and stood at attention, each line containing eight to 12 children determined by age. Mom had been giving birth to a new baby every year and was now pregnant with her eighth child. We stood shortest to tallest. I was usually somewhere in the back with my twin sister, Tamar, close behind. Our sister Mary Ann, who was older than us but a bit shorter, stood in front of me. I liked being sandwiched between my two sisters. We marched in single file, quoting a verse or shouting a quote in sync with our steps.
On queue we'd file down the stairs and through the hall. We arrived at our designated tables for breakfast. We sat at our assigned seats and ate thick rice porridge or curdled powdered eggs and steamed rice sopped with soy sauce. The food was bland and tasteless. During lunch we slapped the slabs of boiled tofu under the table, where they stuck like gum or splattered to the floor. We balled up the rice in snowballs and had food fights when the adults weren't looking, until someone got hauled off to the bathroom for a spanking and we all laughed like hyenas.
The Children of God had grown to include 12,000 members spread mostly across third-world countries, and an official campus was established in Japan called The Heavenly City School. It housed up to 300 members, consisted of multiple compounds spanning a whole block and was fully equipped with a studio where they produced religious tapes, posters and videos for distribution. In Thailand, we began distributing the media they produced for a suggested donation. Father David said that since we were on a mission to save the world, people would offer us gifts and we should accept them readily. Once some of the Thai aunties talked the colonel of Southern Thailand into letting us stay in his island property on Phuket for reduced rent. We enthusiastically agreed.
* * *
It was at this home in Phuket that I began to think about the reality of my situation. I was five years old and 1993 was just seven years away. I would be 12 when the world ended. Father David said we would be God's martyrs. It was the price we had to pay for being God's chosen ones. Most of my childhood was spent fantasizing about the details of my death.
It only recently occurred to me how often I was forced to think about death as a child. When children are forced to think about death they don't think about what will happen in the afterlife. No. When a child thinks about death they think about the exact moment of death. What must happen in order for a person to die? Will it hurt? Will I be able to handle the pain? How will it happen? How will I die?
I knew for sure that I was going to heaven since I was one of God's children, but the threshold to get there seemed insurmountable. I began to think about all the possible ways that I could die—primitive ways that I'd heard about, mostly from the Bible stories we'd read at night or from movies that we were allowed to watch on weekends like "The Ten Commandments" or "Jesus of Nazareth." I formulated elaborate images of my mind of being burned at the stake like Joan of Arc; being crucified upside down, where the head fills with blood and slowly bursts; being beheaded like John the Baptist; or stoned to death like the prostitutes in the Bible stories or movies we'd watch.
We had imitation attacks where some of the men dressed up in black uniforms and carried broomsticks for guns. They'd burst through the front doors close to bedtime. We'd all hide under the stairs and prepare to stay as still and quiet as possible until they'd tell us to come out and we'd sing songs in a state of euphoria, raising our arms in the air and pretending that we were flying up to heaven to meet Jesus at the pearly gates. How did nobody understand that I was terrified about what would have to happen in order for us to go to heaven? Did they not understand that death comes before resurrection?
I felt sorry for these men I imagined, because I knew that they were human too. I thought that maybe I could convert them to our side. I convinced myself that if I could look into their eyes, I could persuade them that I wasn't guilty of anything and I didn't think that they were bad either. They were just doing their job. They were soldiers like me; they didn't have a choice.
At night I prayed that I would get shot. It seemed a quick and painless way to die. I wanted to be shot with a machine gun, so that I would die as quickly as possible. And I wanted to be shot in the heart. I was terrified of pistols and the idea of a wound that might leave me bleeding to death for hours.
I slept on a mattress on the floor and positioned myself close to a wooden bed structure so I could slide under at a moment's notice.
I was special, I told myself as I cried myself to sleep.
* * *
One night when I was five, my thoughts were interrupted by the flash of fluorescent lights and Mom's urgent command: "Hurry and get your things together. We don't have much time." She told us to be as quiet as possible. Outside the sky was still dark. Mattresses bound with baby blue sheets were stretched across the floor. We had 10 minutes to pack up our things and vacate. We called it evacuation. Father David taught us to have "fleebags" packed at all times with toiletries, socks, underwear and a few pairs of light clothing in the case of a raid, natural disaster or the end time. We were trained to disappear at the snap of a finger.
"Hurry kids! Before the officials get here." Her voice was pressing but calm.
This time I wasn't dreaming.
I had heard stories of raids before in homes thousands of miles away in Argentina and other parts of the world. These homes were called "jumbos" and housed up to 300 members at a time. We knew that they were raided during the wee hours just before dawn, similar to the raid on the Branch Davidians in Waco; the only difference is we didn't have guns or firearms.
After being interrupted from their sleep and snatched out of bed, the children were ordered by officials to board a bus and then taken to social services, where they remained until their parents were proven innocent of child abuse and molestation charges. After being interrogated into exhaustion, the girls were then taken to the doctor to be examined. Social services wanted to determine whether or not they were still virgins. Although I was never sexually abused, I've heard many stories throughout the years of girls in Children of God who were physically and sexually abused.
Although I was horrified by the graphic procedure involving a cold speculum and metal braces, I secretly wondered what it would be like to be taken away and placed in a new home, even if only temporarily. Guiltily, I wondered what it would be like to live in a fancy house with high glass cupboards filled with delicate china sets.
Nothing much was said during the raid. Whenever we were ordered to do something, we simply listened and obeyed. There were no questions. We lived every day on the verge of martyrdom, thankful for another privilege, another chance to save the world.
We packed our things and loaded into a Song-Taow, a Thai open-air taxi, which was waiting for us outside the gates. We positioned ourselves to fit on the benches, our fleebags under the seats and all of our possessions bound in large black trash bags. The sky was shifting from black to gray and if Dad was worried he never showed it.
Mom was holding Becky, still a newborn, in her arms. She looked at Dad, who was loading the last of our belongings.
"Are they all here?" She began to count us kids the way she did when she didn't have a free hand, using her head to nod off the numbers one-by-one.
"One. Two ... Where's William?"
William was sitting behind Heidi with her fire-red hair, sucking on her pacifier.
"Three ... four ... " Tamar and I always stuck together.
"Five ... six ... seven ... " She counted the rest of us. Becky was cradled in her arms. We were present and quiet, never uttering a word.
I didn't ask where we were going but I knew we had no destination. We were fleeing and I was thrilled by the idea of it.
We drove off into the early morning hours, leaving behind a trail of dust. For the next seven years, every six months we would move to a new home in another part of Thailand.
* * *
When you grow up in an apocalyptic cult and the due date for the end of the world rolls around and nothing happens, it's rather anticlimactic. There are no pre-apocalyptic ceremonial rituals. No gathering in huddles to pray in tongues and speak to the spirit world. No public apologies about why the world didn't end the way it had been revealed. Life goes on as usual. Breakfast is still served at 7:30 a.m. Recess is still late in the afternoon. Dinner is served at six. Lights out is at eight.
When the world didn't end as he had predicted, Father David had a revelation that it was time to move back west. He said God was pleased with our work so he decided to give us an extension. Every year after 1993 a letter came out entitled, "It Could Happen This Year." I was beginning to have my suspicions. Was there any truth to anything Father David said?
One day, Mom and Dad pulled us kids aside and told us that we would be moving back to America. A home in Chicago had room for us. I didn't know whether Chicago was a city or a state. Mom cleared up the confusion and soon I was able to locate the Windy City on any map, even a large circular globe.
John and Dad spent a year selling Children of God media at the harbor to save enough money for our flight to the U.S., where we moved into a five-bedroom house in suburban Berwyn with about 30 other members. It was there that I began to see the world I had been warned against.
The rules weren't as strict as they had been in Thailand, and the first thing I noticed was that we were allowed to eat even if we weren't hungry. The eggs were fried in adequate amounts of oil and, unlike powdered eggs, I enjoyed these enough to ask for seconds—which, to my delight, I was allowed. The bagels, soft and fluffy with melted butter, filled me with my first experience of white flour delight. For the first time in my life I wasn't just full. I was satisfied.
After breakfast we were allowed to watch TV. The Winter Olympics were on. The Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding scandal was making headline news. It was my first time watching TV, ever.
"See what happens when people get into sports," Mom said. Father David had taught us that all sports were evil and of the Devil.
I watched the clip over and over of Nancy Kerrigan wailing in pain as she held her knee. I couldn't help but also notice the beauty of the sport. When the skaters glided across the ice they looked happy and free. They moved effortlessly and wore costumes fit for ballerinas. They were beautiful. I watched as 16-year-old Oksana Baiul collapsed in tears when it was announced that she had won gold. I wanted to rejoice with her. I wanted to be her. I couldn't help thinking sports can't be evil.
Father David died on Oct. 1, 1994, one year after his predicted apocalypse. I was 12 and the world hadn't ended. My thoughts of death were beginning to subside as my worries shifted to my developing body, specifically my breasts. They were beautiful, I thought, and I didn't want them to sag like Mom's did, should I live to see adulthood. I developed impeccable posture, slept with a training bra on at night and taught the other girls to sit up straight, often slapping them on the back when we sat for hours listening to Father David's letters. Since I had control over nothing else, I figured at least I could control the two new protrusions on my chest.
After Father David's death, we were still required by the leaders in the home to abide by his rules. Following his death we spent three days fasting and reading a burgundy book titled "The Charter." In it was a complete set of rules on how members could now live their lives, including sexual limits and boundaries (at what age people could have sex and with whom), weekly allowances on alcohol (a quarter of a cup of wine per week), and rules on what constituted a "home" (members needed four consenting adults, also members, living in the same building in order to be part of the Children of God). This meant members had their freedom; we were no longer required to live in a compound. Four consenting adults and a commitment to tithing and proselytizing was what all members needed to still be considered part of the group.
I woke up one morning after the fast was over and looked out the window. Everyone was scattered on the lawn, with their belongings packed in large black plastic trash bags. I knew what this meant. Because of the new requirements on what constituted a home, everyone was dispersing. I thought about my family. There were now 11 of us kids, all under the age of 14.
"Who's gonna want to live with us?" I whispered to Tamar on the lawn the morning after Father David's death.
"We're so big," she agreed.
A few days later the leaders gave my family a van. We had nowhere to go and no relatives to take us in. We started going to Sunday services at a Thai Baptist church on the South Side of Chicago. One of the members, Mr. Tassallee, a Thai-Chinese man with eyes the shape of crescent moons, who always wore a crisp dark suit and skinny tie with his hair neatly combed, had heard we needed a place to stay. He had an empty building in the South Side and he offered to let us stay in it rent-free. It was a tall brick building with a small front yard surrounded by a chain link fence. We agreed. Mom was pregnant. Dad had no job. On our first night there we heard gunshots echoing from the alley. We would continue to hear these on a weekly basis. We were on our own.
* * *
I've heard many stories about kids who grew up like me and killed themselves because they didn't how to make it in the world. Some were my friends, others distant acquaintances. They'd blame their parents for not teaching them how to write checks, or fill out applications, or hold their own in a normal social setting. There are girls who became strippers because all they knew how to do was give a powerful "look of love," as taught by Father David during the flirty-fishing movement. They had no skills for working or making money, so they used their sexuality, just like their mothers did in the early days.
One day John flew out to California to visit our Aunt Mary, who had recently left the Children of God. When he came back I noticed something was different. His hair was slicked back like the systemites in Father David's comic books. He wore store-bought clothes and sometimes I noticed that he had headphones on. He was listening to system music. Was he becoming a systemite?
He brought good news. Aunt Mary had invited us to come live near her in California. She lived in a house surrounded by bougainvillea and English ivy crawling up brick walls. She had found a house for us near her in the San Gabriel Valley. The Chicago winters were too cold, and California, John said, boasted perfect weather and endless summers.
In April, we piled ourselves into the van as Dad loaded the last of our belongings. He hitched a wooden wagon to the back and we loaded it with foam mattresses. Dad and John took turns driving. Tamar made white-bread tuna salad sandwiches that we would stop to eat along the way. Bobby was a baby and we passed him from person to person. We didn't have much food after moving to the house in the South Side. Mary Ann sat behind me looking gaunt. The rest of the kids shuffled in their seats. Mom lay sprawled across the front row, her stomach bulging with child number 12. I could tell it wasn't just because she was pregnant; something was definitely wrong.
Following the death of Father David, the cult was slowly beginning to disintegrate. We no longer lived in communes. We no longer had his "law." We no longer functioned like an army. The Children of God was becoming a loose group of families scattered across the world, struggling to make it in a society that they knew little about.
In the summer of 1996, after we had moved to California, the leaders planned a road trip to Lake Tahoe for preteen members to convince us that the Children of God was fun and that there was no place we'd rather be. "Uncle Tim," one of the leaders, drove a school bus that had been painted multiple shades of blue. On the way to Lake Tahoe, the bus broke down on the side of the freeway and we sat in our built-in beds sweating until Uncle Tim figured out how to get it working again.
I was 14 years old. Before we left, mom and dad had given us an ultimatum: Decide if we wanted to stay in the group or leave. I never asked what compelled them to make this decision, but I think there came a point when they realized they had to put their family first. It was clear that John was becoming a systemite. Mom and Dad decided that if we wanted out too, then they would leave with us. For that decision, I later chose to forgive them for raising us in a cult.
John was now working two jobs: at a bagel shop during the day and a coffee shop in the evening. He made tips and was earning real hard cash, something we had never seen growing up. He drove a midnight blue Volkswagen Beetle and had systemite friends.
One day in the campground as we ate blueberry pie filling from tin cans, Mary Ann, a year older than me, started the conversation that would determine our future.
"Can't you see what these guys are doing?" she asked, referring to Uncle Tim and all the other adults who had punished us when we were children. "This is not right."
"Well, what should we do about it?" I asked. High school seemed our only option. Plus, the idea of learning appealed to me.
It was there, among the crackling pines and under a clear blue sky, that we decided to tell my parents. We called home from a pay phone and told them we wanted out. In the same conversation, Mom told us she had just got the results back from a doctor's check-up. There was a reason why she had been in so much pain on our drive to California and had to lie down across the row of seats. She had been diagnosed with cancer and had a 10 percent prognosis. Although not quite sure what a 10 percent prognosis meant, I knew it couldn't be good news.
Mom later told me that the doctors had told her something was abnormal back when she was pregnant with us twins. However, since the world would be ending soon, Father David did not encourage visits to the doctor.
I had little capacity to feel sorry for my mother at the time, as I was in my own state of survival, trying to figure out how I was going to make it as a teenager in a world I knew little about. After all that we'd been through she was going to have to fend for herself.
When we got home, dad enrolled us in a home-schooling program because he said that after the sheltered life we'd lived, throwing us into public high school would be like throwing lambs to the slaughter. He was right, but soon we wanted the real deal. We wanted a normal social experience. We enrolled in Rowland High School.
I wanted nothing more than to look cool. The night before I laid out my options. I had two shirts. One was fluorescent green with a short collar and buttons. The other had red, white and blue stripes. It fit me snugly and had a low v-cut, showing a little cleavage. I looked cool, I thought. I was ready to face the world.
Being ostracized by Mrs. Buck on my first day was not the only obstacle I'd face. High school turned into a disaster, with both Tamar and I getting kicked out twice each for having alcohol and weed. Numbing our minds became our way of dealing with the world. We found ourselves in community day schools, where we were the only white girls and often witnesses to bloody fights or unfamiliar gang-speak.
Tamar came home one day with the news of a college that boasted the promise of a stewardess degree.
"Four years, Flor," she told me excitedly. "Four years is all it takes."
Her mouth parched from excitement; she told me about a campus that sat high in the Malibu Hills called Pepperdine University. It was beautiful and looked like a palace, with Mediterranean Revival architecture. For the first time in my life I thought about going to college. We could apply to any school we wanted, she said. I was thrilled.
Since neither of us had a high school degree or GED, we enrolled in classes at Mt. San Antonio Community College to start. There were courses in English and history and electives in everything from Spanish to horticulture to dance. I was able to choose what I wanted to major in. This was a novel idea for me. I had never even heard about college growing up. Father David said education was evil. Institutions were places of sin and corruption.
I was beginning to see that for the first time in my life I had a future.
In an honors business class our professor announced that there would be an all-expense paid field trip to UC Berkeley. I raised my hand.
"What's UC Berkeley?" I asked.
Looking back now, I can see how naïve my question was but I also quickly learned that curiosity was going to be my greatest and only ally. I would have to forfeit seeming dumb for my own survival.
Dad had returned to college to work on a degree, figuring that the best job he could get was a high school P.E. teacher. Instead he rekindled a love for academics, this time for mathematics. I remember waking up at two in the morning and watching him working under the amber light of a desk lamp, poring over a problem that seemed unsolvable. He was working on his master's. I told myself that one day I would do the same.
Mom began taking weekly trips to the hospital for radiation treatments and was soon cleared of cancer. The doctors called her a "miracle case."
A year later I received my acceptance letter to UC Berkeley.
My friends congratulated me and made it a point to let us know how jealous they were and how lucky we were — both of us getting a spot in of the best schools in America. They could never get in, they said, no matter how hard they tried or how good their grades were.
"It wasn't just the grades," I said. I bit my lower lip and thought hard about it for a minute. "I think my personal statement had something to do with it."
(Editor's note: For more great content from Narrative.ly, check out these three stories: Please Punch Me, Chasing the Ghosts of Franco, The Voices in My Brother's Head)


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August 13, 2016
Wasaga Beach
https://www.mudrunguide.com/event/wasaga-beach-ontario-canada-5k-foam-fest-canada-2016/ Wasaga Beach, 3rd street North, Wasaga Beach, Ontario, Canada The 5K Foam Fest firstname.lastname@example.com use-title true MM/DD/YYYY
Race Start Time:
First heat leaves at 8am with heats running every 15 minutes and the last heat leaving at 2pm
Venue:Wasaga Beach
3rd street North
Wasaga Beach, Ontario, Canada - View Map
Distance & Course Length:
Organizer:The 5K Foam Fest Get ready to get FILTHY clean with 5k Foam Fest! What in the world could possibly be more fun than running through a course chuck full of mud, foam, and obstacles? Running through it with your friends, of course! Check out our video to see how much fun you can have together! Well, you'll need bodies. So grab your friends, neighbors, co-workers, and family members and get them registered! Your team can be as big as you want. And remember, the only way to make sure you all get to run in the same wave is to register early and together, so don't wait! Otherwise we can't guarantee that you'll be flying around in foam with your friends. If you are looking to beat a world record or run so hard that you nearly lose bowel control then you might be disappointed. The 5K Foam Fest is not a hardcore race it is a FUNCORE race. The goal is to have fun while running. We will have a race clock at the end of the race so you can internally take note how fast you ran the race but you will not be given timing chips and we encourage you to focus on the fun aspect of the race rather than the speed. It is a festival after all!! So be sure to come early and bring your friends and family. We've got several activities including our foam pit, mini inflatable obstacle course, and bounce house. We even have activities for the kids at heart! Like our Skyfall (A 25' drop onto a airbag/stunt bag)!
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Click here to read or add your own Wasaga Beach Ontario Canada 5K Foam Fest Canada 2016 reviews
Use discount code MRG5 for $5 off your registration
Registration:Visit Event Website
This event has passed, registration is closed.
Who's Attending?
Cost & Pricing:
|Individual Cost
|First 1000 Registrants
|Second 1000 Registrants
|Third 1000 Registrants
|Up to 2 Weeks Before Race
|Up to 1 Week Before Race
|Until Online Registration Closes
No refunds available
What You Get / What's Included:
- T-shirt
- Medal
- Chapmans Sport Lolly
- 5K Foam Fest tattoo
Course Description:
Although this looks like the funnest 5K on the Planet (and it really is) it can also be challenging. No matter what level of runner you are, we want to ensure that you make the race whatever you want by having the option to Walk it, Run it, Charge it or Fun it! With well spread-out heats and limitations, this allows for a straight shot of 5K with 16-20 obstacles and low wait times. With that being said, we've had runners feel that the course is just as good of a workout as some of the longer and more physically demanding race courses due to less resting time. Let's be realistic anyway, how could running through a non-stop 5K course of mud, foam and obstacles not be a workout. If you crave more of the amazing features including loads of foam, slides, mud, bouncing, water and wickedness, then why not run again at only half the price!
The event is owned and operated by a group of Canadians whom are former Professional Athletes and Olympians with the main focus being the runner and their experience. We strive for a fun for all ages, abilities and family friendly event and yes, you can still get a beer and have a good time while your kids play in the super fun festival area setup for them with inflatables, music and more!
Aid Stations:
Two water stations on course
Paramedics on course and at start/finish area
Spectators may come out to the festival area at the start/finish line and watch at no cost.
Parking on site is $10 per vehicle (cash only)
Post Party:
It is a festival after all!! So be sure to come early and bring your friends and family. We've got several activities including our foam pit, inflatable obstacle course and bounce house. We even have activities for the kids at heart like our Skyfall, Big Baller, and Wrecking Ball!
The minimum age to run 5K Foam Fest 2016 is 8 Years of age. Anyone under the age of 13 will have to run with an adult chaperone.
Showers and gear check available
Teams are welcome
Coupons / Discount Codes:
Please see our obstacle course race discount & promotion page for all the latest discounts, promos, promotions, discount codes, and coupon codes for Wasaga Beach Ontario Canada 5K Foam Fest Canada 2016. There also may be one listed at the top of this page.


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Joe Lieberman Would Like Some Attention Please
Joe Lieberman knows the public option is a one way ticket to hell and will fight it to the death! Well, not really, but Ken Layne can always fantasize.
"I can't see a way in which I can vote for cloture on any bill that contained a creation of a government-operated and run insurance company," the Connecticut senator said. "It's just asking for trouble."
What kind of trouble? This kind:
"Well all the history we have of health entitlement programs, including the two big ones that I dearly support, Medicare and Medicaid, is that they end up costing more than we're prepared to pay, and they add to the debt, and then they add to the burden on taxpayers."
Hmm. Where have we heard that argument before?
So does this kill the opt-out compromise?
Harry Reid doesn't think so, especially if he can get Olympia Snowe, a proper lady person who is "frightened" of the public option, back to the table.


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Laboratory Proficiency Testing Market Size Worth $1.9 Billion By 2027 Due To Rising Concentration on Diagnostic Laboratories Caused By COVID-19 Pandemic | Million Insights
As per the published report, the global Laboratory Proficiency Testing Market size is estimated to arrive at USD 1.9 billion by 2027. It is projected to develop by 7.3% CAGR from 2020 to 2027.
The market is stimulated by the growing concentration on the corroboration of medicinal cannabis, water tests, the rising number of cannabis testing laboratories, along with the growing occurrences of food borne infections.
Government proposals to perform dependable as well as precise proficiency testing are anticipated to impel the laboratory proficiency testing market. Such as, the Central Testing Laboratory of the Abu Dhabi Quality & Conformity Council executed a PT program, in association with Biogenix Lab, to confirm the capability of medicinal laboratories, functioning tests for COVID-19 identification.
To download the sample pdf of Laboratory Proficiency Testing Market Report "Please" click here: https://www.millioninsights.com/industry-reports/global-laboratory-proficiency-testing-market/request-sample
The programs carried out by the governments, to increase the consciousness, are expected to additionally increase the enlargement of the market. For example, the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories' (NABL-IGS) alertness program was carried out to increase the attentiveness regarding the importance of the endorsing geotechnical laboratories in Kerala, India, in November 2020.
The rising acceptance of completely automatic apparatuses along with the mechanization in the laboratories is estimated to increase the expansion of the market. The existence of authorization agenda, intended to battle the challenges, like security and intricacy in the food supply chain, is anticipated to advance the expansion of the market.
The existence of latest environmental safety rules, because of COVID-19, is estimated to increase the progress of the market. For example, the Environmental Diagnostics Laboratory (EDLab) at Pure Air Control Services was endorsed by the A2LA for the examination of environmental SARS-CoV-2, in June 2020.
To browse report summary & detailed TOC, "please" click the link below: https://www.millioninsights.com/industry-reports/global-laboratory-proficiency-testing-market
Further key findings from the report suggest:
• The organizations like the College of American Pathologists, the American Proficiency Institute, and LGC Ltd., developed some plans for the laboratories, to enhance their excellence and appraise functioning in the investigation of COVID-19
• More than 130 million hematology examinations were completed, every year in the U.K.
• The corroboration of the cannabis products in the U.S. in December 2018, in addition to the steady growth of this market, are pushing the requirements for the examination of security and effectiveness of it, for the medicinal utilize
• Calibration proficiency check is a new service, being concentrated on, which is credited to the increasing scope for the mechanization in laboratories
• The existence of food pollutants may source more than 200 sicknesses. It comprises cancer and diarrhea. Diarrhea upset almost 550 million people and source 230,000 deaths each year. Kids below 5 years age take 40% of food produced sicknesses, causing yearly 125,000 deaths
Million Insights segmented the global laboratory proficiency testing market based on Technology, End Use, Industry Scope, and Region.
Laboratory Proficiency Testing Industry Scope Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2016 – 2027)
• Clinical Diagnostics
• Clinical Chemistry
• Immunochemistry
• Hematology
• Oncology
• Molecular Diagnostics
• Others
• Coagulation
• Pharmaceuticals
• Biologics
• Vaccines
• Blood
• Tissues
• Others
• Microbiology
• Pathogen Testing
• Sterility Testing
• Endotoxin & Pyrogen Testing
• Growth Promotion Testing
• Other Microbial Testing
• Others
Laboratory Proficiency Testing Technology Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2016 – 2027)
• Cell Culture
• Spectrometry
• Polymerase Chain Reaction
• Chromatography
• Immunoassays
• Others
Laboratory Proficiency Testing End-use Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2016 – 2027)
• Hospitals
• Contract Research Organizations
• Pharmaceutical & Biotechnology Companies
• Academic Research
• Diagnostic Laboratories
• Independent Laboratories
• Specialty Laboratories
Laboratory Proficiency Testing Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2016 – 2027)
• North America
• Canada
• Mexico
• Europe
• Germany
• France
• Italy
• Spain
• Asia Pacific
• Japan
• China
• India
• South Korea
• Singapore
• Malaysia
• Vietnam
• Thailand
• Oceania
• Latin America
• Brazil
• Argentina
• Middle East & Africa
• South Africa
• North Africa
• Saudi Arabia
• Qatar
• Bahrain
Various companies for laboratory proficiency testing market are:
• NSI Lab Solutions
• AOAC International
• Weqas
• QACS – The Challenge Test Laboratory
• Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc.
• American Proficiency Institute
• Absolute Standards, Inc.
• Merck & Co., Inc.
• Randox Laboratories Ltd.
• College of American Pathologists
• LGC Limited
Read the Latest Market Research Reports by Million Insights:
• Intravenous Solutions Market: The global intravenous solutions market was prized by USD 10.7 billion in 2020. It is estimated to witness a 7.9% CAGR from 2021 to 2028.
• Hormone Replacement Therapy Market: The global hormone replacement therapy market was prized by USD 21.8 billion in 2019. It is estimated to witness 7.7% CAGR from 2020 to 2027.
About Million Insights
Million Insights, is a distributor of market research reports, published by premium publishers only. We have a comprehensive market place that will enable you to compare data points, before you make a purchase. Enabling informed buying is our motto and we strive hard to ensure that our clients get to browse through multiple samples, prior to an investment. Service flexibility & the fastest response time are two pillars, on which our business model is founded. Our market research report store, includes in-depth reports, from across various industry verticals, such as healthcare, technology, chemicals, food & beverages, consumer goods, material science & automotive.
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Kid Runs On To Field During Soccer Match, Players Stop Game To Take A Picture [VIDEO]
Have you ever noticed that kids can get away with so much more than adults? Especially if you're a cute kid like this one is! Apparently security will take you down if you're an adult running on to the field during a game, but kids are fair game. Watch as this cutie runs on to the field during a soccer match between Brazil and South Africa last week. The players stop the game, take him to the sideline and engage in an impromptu photo session. Priceless!


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February 6
Cheerfully Pray for Another
Be encouraged to cheerfully offer intercessory prayer, by remembering that such prayer is the sweetest God ever hears. The prayer of Christ is of this character. In all the incense that our Great High Priest now puts into the golden censer, there is not a single grain for Himself. His intercession must be the most acceptable of all supplications--and the more our prayer like Christ's, the sweeter it will be.
Thus while petitions for ourselves will be accepted, our pleadings for others, having in them more of the fruits of the Spirit--more love, more faith, more brotherly kindness--will be, through the precious merits of Jesus, the sweetest sacrifice that we can offer to God. Remember, again, that intercessory prayer is exceedingly prevalent [powerful]. What wonders it has accomplished! The Word of God teems with its marvelous deeds.
Believer, you have a mighty engine in your hand; use it well, use it constantly, use it with faith, and you will surely be a blessing to others.
When you have the King's ear, speak to Him for the suffering members of His body. When you are favored to draw very near to His throne, and the King says to you, "Ask, and it will be given to you," let your petitions be, not for yourself alone, but for the many who need His aid. If you have any grace at all and are not an intercessor, that grace must be as small as a grain of mustard seed. You have just enough grace to float your soul clear from the quicksand, but you have no depth of grace or else you would carry in your vessel a heavy cargo of the wants of others, and you would bring back from your Lord rich blessings for them that apart from you they might not have obtained.
Oh, let my hands forget their skill,
My tongue be silent, cold, and still,
This bounding heart forget to beat,
If I forget the mercy-seat!
Family Bible reading plan
verse 1 Job 5
verse 2 Romans 9
Click here to learn more about Truth For Life
From Morning & Evening revised and edited by Alistair Begg copyright © 2003. Used by permission of Crossway Books, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers, Wheaton, IL 60187, www.crossway.org.


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From our blog
How Can Chapter 13 Stop A Foreclosure?
Once a debtor has filed for Chapter 13, the bankruptcy court will file an automatic…
Does Chapter 7 Eliminate Debt : The Different Types of Dischargeable Debts
Does Chapter 7 Eliminate Debt: The Different Types of Dischargeable Debts Some of the types…
Mortgage Loan Modification; A Tool Used to Save Your Home Through Bankruptcy
In Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy a formal process of court monitored mortgage modification…
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A lawyer's time and advice are his stock in trade.
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- County Seat: St. George
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- Etymology: Dorchester, Massachusetts
- Time Zone: America/New_York
- Population: 142,496
- Land Area Sq Km: 1,494
- Land Area Sq Mi: 577
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- Set ID: Counties_Set_South_Carolina
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Virtuoso is a responsive minimalist HTML /CSS site template.With 15 pages, 5 colors and category filters there are plenty of options for your next project. The template includes 1-3 collumn pages for your portfolio and a standard or grid blog layout, there is also a tour page template to guide your vistor through your site. It comes with an the robust Nivo Slider and the whole template is ready for your vistors to view on tablets and mobile devices.
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A Library for the World's Children
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Did not see this posted elswhere, described as critical.
well if anybody didn't they better find out now:
Ethereal 0.10.0-0.10.2 IGAP Overflow Remote Root Exploit
* Ethereal IGAP Dissector Message Overflow Remote Root exploit
* Copyright 2004 - EOS-India Group
* Authors note:
* Shellcode splitting technique:
* Due to difficulty involved while following normal exploitation techniques due to shortage of memory space
* for our shellcode, we used the technique of shellcode splitting. In this technique one part of the shellcode
* is kept before the buffer which overwrites the saved EIP on stack followed by a jmp OFFSET instruction which
* jumps EIP to the second half of the shellcode which is kept after return address. Also since our shellcode
* requires EBP to contain a usuable stack address, we overwrite saved EBP also.
* Disclaimer:
* This code is for educational purpose and testing only. The Eye on Security Research Group - India, cannot
* be held responsible for any damage caused due to misuse of this code.
* This code is a proof of concept exploit for a serious vulnerability that exists in Ethereal 0.10.0 to
* Ethereal 0.10.2.
x86 linux portbind a shell in port 31337
based on shellcode from www.shellcode.com.ar
with a few modifications by us
this was released today on "that french" security site
Bukhari:V3B48N826 The Prophet said, Isnt the witness of a woman equal to half of that of a man? The women said, Yes. He said, This is because of the deficiency of a womans mind.
Note to everybody who doesn't realise this:
Vulnerabilities in Ethereal are not as serious as they may sound. There are many mitigating factors:
1. An attacker needs to know that you are running Ethereal in the first place
2. Most people only run Ethereal occasionally (i.e. while diagnosing network problems)
3. An attacker also needs to know where you're running ethereal and be able to route packets of the specified type to the host.
4. Unless it's a really common type of protocol, it will probably be blocked by the firewall
5. If the user has used capture filters in Ethereal which filter out the attacker's packets, they won't be vulnerable anyway.
I dont really know much about this kinda thing but wouldnt it be kinda hard to get the dodgy packets to ethereal if a firewall between the network and internet was properly configured?
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text:
The 9CBJD-L1 is the Fender Jazz Bass (J Bass) replacement "long" pickup for the bridge position. It is highly respected by musicians and luthiers ali...Click To Read More About This Product
The 9CBJD-L1 is the Fender Jazz Bass (J Bass) replacement "long" pickup for the bridge position. It is highly respected by musicians and luthiers alike for its deep tone, strong lows, low mids tone. They feature a dual in-line humcanceling coil design.
The Classic Bass Series bass pickups are passive designs featuring an extended and more resonant frequency range. They have far more "air" and definition at the top without sacrificing lows and low mids. They are cast in epoxy to remove unwanted feedback and microphonics.
The lengths of the neck and bridge pickups in the original J-basses are not equal. The neck pickup is 3-5/8" long, which is slightly shorter than the bridge pickup, which is 3-3/4" long. Some modern designs, however, use two 'long" bridge-length pickups. In this configuration it is important to use the "LN" (long neck) pickup that is specifically designed to work in this position (do not use a bridge pickup in the neck position). Some (very few) use two 'short' neck length pickups. Please check the physical size of the pickups you want to replace to make sure the replacements fit properly.
Our product catalog varies by country due to manufacturer restrictions. If you change the Ship-To country, some or all of the items in your cart may not ship to the new destination.


text:
Reports indicate U.S. soldiers and British Royal Marines have been urged to show "courageous constraint" by not shooting Taliban members spotted planting IEDs.
The reason? Shooting them might disturb the locals.
This news comes out on the heels of an investigation into the death of Royal Marine Sergeant Peter Rayner, whom witnesses say watched the Taliban plant IEDs at night but was ordered not to engage them. Families of other soldiers and Royal Marines are telling stories of how their loved ones were not allowed to use mortars or night illumination when they came across Taliban members in an area full of IEDs.
The reason given was that "the sound of shooting 'might wake up and upset the locals.'"
This is not "courageous restraint" — this is appeasement.


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Debian Security Advisory
DSA-2642-1 sudo -- several issues
- Date Reported:
- 09 Mar 2013
- Affected Packages:
- sudo
- Vulnerable:
- Yes
- Security database references:
- In the Debian bugtracking system: Bug 701838, Bug 701839.
In Mitre's CVE dictionary: CVE-2013-1775, CVE-2013-1776, CVE-2013-2776, CVE-2013-2777.
- More information:
Several vulnerabilities have been discovered in sudo, a program designed to allow a sysadmin to give limited root privileges to users. The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures project identifies the following problems:
Marco Schoepl discovered an authentication bypass when the clock is set to the UNIX epoch [00:00:00 UTC on 1 January 1970].
Ryan Castellucci and James Ogden discovered aspects of an issue that would allow session id hijacking from another authorized tty.
For the stable distribution (squeeze), these problems have been fixed in version 1.7.4p4-2.squeeze.4.
For the testing (wheezy) and unstable (sid) distributions, these problems have been fixed in version 1.8.5p2-1+nmu1.
We recommend that you upgrade your sudo packages.


text:
Winter sports safety: Preparation is key
(HealthDay)—The outdoor winter sports season is in full swing, which means it's a good time to remind people about winter sports safety tips, says the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.
"As with all sports, there are numerous things to consider before getting in the game. Winter sports are no different," orthopedic surgeon and AAOS spokesperson Dr. Anand Murthi said in an academy news release.
The AAOS offers the following general winter sports safety advice:
- Check the weather before heading outdoors. Pay attention to warnings about storms and severe drops in temperature. Make adjustments for icy conditions, deep or wet snow, and bad weather.
- Dress properly. Wear several layers of light, loose clothing that's both water- and wind-resistant to stay safe, warm and dry. Wear appropriate safety gear—such as goggles and helmets—and ensure that all equipment is in proper working order.
- Don't go out alone. You should always be with a partner and remain in sight of each other. Make sure that someone else knows about your plans and whereabouts during your outdoor activity. It's also a good idea to carry a cellphone with you.
- Warm up thoroughly before your activity in order to prevent muscle, tendon and ligament injuries.
- Drink lots of water before, during and after outdoor activities.
- Stay in shape and condition your muscles before the season begins. If you are over age 50, consider having a medical check-up before you start participating in a winter sport.
- Know and obey all the rules of your sport. Take a lesson from a qualified instructor, particularly in sports such as skiing and snowboarding.
- If you're in pain or feeling tired, call it a day.
- Seek shelter and medical attention if signs of hypothermia or frostbite affect you or a companion. Early symptoms of frostbite include numbness and tingling, lack of feeling and poor motion in your fingers or toes.
More information: The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission offers more winter sports safety tips.
Copyright © 2013 HealthDay. All rights reserved.


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Sunday, December 23, 2012
Sunday Stash #168 - Architextures by Carolyn Friedlander
17 comments:
i love this collection!ReplyDelete
oh my gosh.. what a lovely collections!!ReplyDelete
Merry Christmas and Happy New year to you, Rita
This collection is zany and fantastic!ReplyDelete
Just got myself a half yard bundle the other day! I can't wait to make something!ReplyDelete
I got a fat quarter bundle for the holidays! I'm so excited to work with it. I'm in architecture school right now and I ran to my friends to show them this collection once I found out about.ReplyDelete
I got 17 of them in a bundle from my wife for Christmas love them (yes I peaked haha)ReplyDelete
This comment has been removed by the author.ReplyDelete
This collection is such a head-slapper - perfect themes that have been under our noses, under-exploited, ALL THIS TIME! Hats off to Carolyn Friedlander for showing the perfunctory in a fantastic new light.ReplyDelete
Richard Healey, you have an AWESOME wife!
Wow, these look refreshingly different, love them!ReplyDelete
Terrific collection, I can see it in many different projects - wish I had some right now! I think I'll go look and see what mischief I can get into lol!ReplyDelete
WOW!! These fabrics are screaming at me!!ReplyDelete
Wow! These are amazing and a definite MUST HAVE!!! Now have another Christmas pressie just for me this time!ReplyDelete
Thanks for sharing Rita,
Best wishes for Christmas,
Christine x
this collection is awesome! I think Foliage is my fave...can't wait to get my hands on some and can't wait to see what you do with it! Have a fab holidays, Rita xReplyDelete
fantastic collection! never saw this before!!ReplyDelete
I love the Scribble Notes and the LEdger patterns! To Cute! I am working on trying to get Noteworthy, and now will try for these to...I have a grand daughter that loves to write stories, and plan on covering a writing book for her with these..and make a satchel with the rest!ReplyDelete
Cool prints!
This entire line needs to be in my (small but growing) stash. It is so fresh and so fabulous.ReplyDelete
I love these! Might have to make a rare visit to a patchwork shop! Thanks for introducing me to these, Rita!ReplyDelete
Thank you for stopping by and leaving a comment! I really appreciate it.
Comments are published after review.
Feel free to ask questions and I will answer either here or by email, as is appropriate.


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Wednesday Party Report
The New York iteration of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame celebrated its opening last night with a party in the new SoHo space. Attendees like Rolling Stone publisher Jann Wenner and Theodora Richards (left) mingled with Taylor Momsen, Molly Sims, Matthew Modine, Ciara, David Foote, Kelly Killoren Bensimon, Liz Lange, and Ryan Locke, listened to performances by Debbie Harry and Dave Mason, and inked their names on a plywood wall. [Paper, Wireimage, PMc, GoaG]
♦ The 18th annual Gotham Independent Film Awards were held at Cipriani Wall Street last night, where the long list of attendees and honorees included Harvey Weinstein, Sheila Nevins, Marisa Tomei, Michelle Williams, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Terrence Howard, Sean Penn, Ethan Hawke, Jennifer Esposito, Mickey Rourke, Patricia Clarkson, Penelope Cruz, Ben Kingsley, Evan Rachel Wood, Rachel Weisz and Darren Aronofsky, Dennis Hopper, Jeff Goldblum, Amy Adams, Aasif Mandvi, Rosemarie DeWitt, Melvin Van Peebles, Rebecca Hall, Gus Van Sant, and Mira Nair. [Wireimage, PMc, Jezebel]
♦ AIDS International commemorated World AIDS Day on Monday by honoring Mario Testino at its eighth-annual My Hero Gala at Guastavino's. Attendees included Lazaro Hernandez, Jack McCollough, Richard Chai, Margherita Missoni, Philip Crangi, Narciso Rodriguez, Lily Donaldson, and Patricia, Adriana, and Claudia Cisneros, while Fabiola Beracasa (left, with Testino) served as the gala's master of ceremonies. [PMc, Wireimage, Style.com]
♦ GQ held its Men of Style party at Louis Vuitton's Fifth Avenue store last night, where the mostly-male crowd included the likes of Ed Westwick, Peter Hunsinger, Dan Abrams, Eric Mabius, Richie Rich, Sandra and Eric Ripert, Keith Bloomfield, Brendan Monaghan, Antony Todd, and Peter Marino. [PMc, GoaG]


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Before you can laze away the warm months floating on an inflatable swan in your luxurious swimming pool, you have to actually install that dream pool first. With over twenty-five years in the business, Roger Haggerty, president of Haggerty Pools, knows a thing or two about taking the plunge into pool ownership. Read on for his tips that will keep you from getting lost in the deep end.
What are the biggest differences between pools used for fitness versus recreation?
With regards to fitness, people are interested in a lap-length pool that will give them a solid workout without having to constantly turn. A pool length of 50 feet or larger is ideal for swimming laps. The depth of a pool isn't as imperative as the functionality of the pool. Each pool we construct is built around clients' specific needs, whether it's specializing in exercise, aquatic therapy, or distance.
For recreation, clients aren't usually looking for size. They're looking for features that they can enjoy during family gatherings like fountains, waterfalls, spas, and sun shelves. We still do pools that are seven, eight, or nine feet deep, but we find that families are choosing shallower pools these days.
What kind of maintenance does the average pool need?
The average maintenance program includes opening and closing the pool and weekly maintenance, plus any service calls. We offer weekly maintenance where a service tech will take care of everything, including cleaning the pool, skimming the water, checking the balances and adding chemicals as needed, backwashing filters, cleaning baskets, and generally making sure that everything is running properly.
What safety precautions should people consider for their new pools?
To me, the biggest safety precaution is to always have someone watching the pool when kids are in it. Next, making sure that your builder builds the pool properly and up to code. Lately, we've been building a lot of rectangular pools with automatic covers so that the pool is always closed when it's not in use. Not only are automatic covers a safety feature, but they also minimize heat loss.
What are the most popular additional features that people pick?
Clients often get inspired by things they see on vacation, like glass tiles, or fire bowls that either have fire or both water and fire coming out of them. Another popular feature is to have water in motion, be it a deck jet, a waterfall, or a sheer descent coming out of the wall that will fill the space with the relaxing sound of water.
What's the biggest headache people run into while have a pool installed?
The part of the job that's not fun is if we hit a ledge or something unforeseen in the ground and have to let the client know that there's an issue that will either lead to a delay or an added cost. There are some older yards where you might hit sites where builders used to get away with burying debris from construction. One time we found the remains of a swimming pool buried in the ground on the site that was allocated for the new pool. No one even knew the old pool was broken up and left in the same spot.
Haggerty Pools