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Improving indoor air quality: From basic to better and best steps
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), indoor air is often more than 10 times (and sometimes, more than 100 times) more polluted than outdoor air. Indoor air pollutants contribute to asthma as well as other respiratory conditions and diseases.
Indoor pollutants include
- Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from offgassing building materials, paints and finishes and furnishings.
- Other toxic chemicals emitted from cleaning products, pesticides and hazardous household supplies.
- Mold, which grows on moist materials and surfaces.
- Carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide gases, which can be released from gas-fueled combustion appliances.
- Particulates from wood-burning fireplaces or cars running near the house.
- Tobacco smoke.
- Asbestos.
- Lead.
- Radon.
Indoor air quality (IAQ) can be particularly compromised during winter and summer months, when the home is more likely to be sealed tight to keep heated or cooled air from escaping.
The three general strategies for improving IAQ are
- Source control.
- Improved ventilation.
- Air cleaning.
Source control—eliminating sources of pollution or reducing their emissions—is the most effective and should be the first step you take. Many source control options are easy and inexpensive.
Improved ventilation will improve indoor air quality by increasing the amount of outdoor air coming into your home, diluting concentrations of indoor pollutants, and pushing stale indoor air out of the home. However, some ventilation improvements may increase energy costs unless you make design changes to your home. The third strategy, using mechanical air cleaners to filter pollutants out of your indoor air, can be used to supplement source control and ventilation but it is not recommended as the sole solution.
Below is a range of tips—from basic to better to best practices—for protecting and improving the air quality in your home. For additional information about indoor air quality and healthy homes, visit the EPA's Indoor Air Quality website or the American Lung Association's Health House website.
Basic Steps to Cleaner Air
These easy and inexpensive source control measures will eliminate pollution or reduce emissions from cleaning products, gas appliances, building materials and furniture.
1) Clean with the least toxic product that will do the job.
The powerful chemicals in many conventional cleaning products can have a toxic effect on human skin and lungs. In addition, the propellants in aerosol products can be inhaled, so it's prudent to use pump products instead. Find out how to make nontoxic cleaners from common household ingredients (such as vinegar and baking soda). Or, you can purchase nontoxic or less-toxic formulated cleaning products at most stores. GreenSeal, Greenguard, and Scientific Certification Systems (SCS) certify residential cleaning products that comply with their green standards.
2) Avoid having your clothing conventionally dry cleaned, or air out dry-cleaned clothing before bringing it inside.
Perchloroethylene (PERC), the most commonly used dry-cleaning solvent, is a potential carcinogen. In the report Hung Out To Dry, the Coalition for Clean Air recommends allowing cleaning solvents to offgas by removing clothes from the plastic dry-cleaning bag and placing them outside for four to five days. Alternatively, most fabrics that are labeled "dry clean only" can actually be cleaned through a PERC-free "wet cleaning" process that is increasingly being offered by professional dry-cleaning shops, or some can even be cleaned at home using a mild soap. For more information on alternatives to toxic dry cleaning, read Green America's article on the topic.
3) Dispose of unused paint, solvents, pesticides and other household chemicals promptly, and tightly close the containers of products still in use.
These products can emit harmful gases that pollute the air and may cause health problems. Minimize the use of hazardous products as much as possible. For essential household chemicals, buy them in smaller sizes that you can use right away. Earth 911 offers an easy-to-use national directory of safe disposal sites for toxic household wastes. If you need to store any hazardous chemicals, keep them in a ventilated and locked outdoor shed away from children, pets and flame sources.
4) In temperate climates, use natural ventilation to cool your home.
A natural ventilation strategy relies on the buoyancy of hot air (the stack effect) and wind (cross ventilation) to increase the amount of outdoor air coming into your home. Natural ventilation can reduce total energy consumed by 10 to 30 percent compared with a home using a forced-air cooling system.
Although natural ventilation is best incorporated into a home's overall design (e.g., proper window placement when designing the home), there are simple ways to apply natural ventilation in any home: open both the top and bottom sashes of double-hung windows, and open windows on opposite sides of the same room for cross-ventilation. Opening windows at night during the summer will bring cool, fresh air inside, and the thermal mass of the house will help the interior stay cool for part of the next day. The greater difference in temperature between inside and outside air at night also will cause more rapid air exchanges and vent air pollution from inside more thoroughly. In addition, outside air may be cleaner at night due to fewer cars on the road.
5) Use the exhaust fan over your stove to remove gases like carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide and the fans in your bathrooms to remove water vapor.
Make sure your gas range has a hood fan that exhausts to the outside—some exhaust systems are ductless hoods that exhaust air pulled from the stove right back into the home. Bathroom fans are also important since poor moisture management in a home can allow molds to grow. Also, if your home's walls, doors and windows are tightly sealed and energy efficient, you may need to open a window slightly when running an exhaust fan or when you're using a fireplace, to avoid creating negative pressure. Without another way for outside air to replace the air leaving through the exhaust fan or chimney, air may be drawn through the exhaust pipes for your furnace or hot water heater.
6) Employ other simple moisture management measures to keep your home's interior dry.
Be sure to fix any leaks and clean up any household spills as quickly as possible. Standing water and moist materials provide a habitat for mold and microbial growth (and can also attract pests).
7) Replace the air filter in your furnace and air conditioner at the start of the heating or cooling season, or as recommended by the manufacturer.
Filters actually become more effective in capturing and removing particulate air contaminants as they get dirtier and build up a "dust cake." This increased effectiveness comes with a cost, however, as the pressure drop increases and less air gets through. It is a good idea to change the filter for the furnace at the start of the heating season, as the dust cake from the previous year has been sitting in the cold, dark basement throughout the summer and may have started to grow molds.
8) Room-size air cleaners can be effective tools for removing pollutants in one or more rooms.
If you are concerned about pollution in a particular room and it's not possible to remove the pollution source, consider buying a room-size air cleaner. Some sources recommend air cleaners for improving air quality in one or several rooms, but not for the whole house. See the EPA's Guide to Air Cleaners in the Home for information on the various types of air cleaners.
9) Don't allow smoking inside your home or around your home (near your windows or doors).
This one may seem obvious, but lest anyone forget, tobacco smoke is a pollutant.
Better Steps to Cleaner Air
These steps to improved indoor air quality are modestly priced, but may require some advance planning.
1) Remodel during temperate months of the year, when you can open outside doors and windows to naturally ventilate construction areas without reducing energy efficiency.
During the winter and summer months, when heating or cooling systems are in use, opening doors and windows will reduce your home's energy efficiency. So if you're doing any remodeling or home improvements that involve noxious fumes (e.g., painting, gluing, sealing), it's best to do the work when the weather is mild and you can have doors and windows open.
Direct floor fans toward the open windows to exhaust the fumes outdoors. Also, when applying emitting finishes, such as paint, remove absorptive items (such as upholstered furniture and rugs) from the room so that they don't absorb and re-release the VOCs.
2) Use low-emitting, low-maintenance building materials to achieve improved indoor air quality year-round.
Selecting low-VOC (low in volatile organic compounds), low-emitting, low-maintenance products can help you reduce the amount of pollution released into your home's indoor air, thereby avoiding the need to take more drastic steps to clean dirty air. Green Home Guide has advice on selecting healthy flooring, furniture, paints and coatings, and insulation (formaldehyde-free). Also, look for low-VOC adhesives and caulk and for pressed wood products (e.g., particleboard) that do not contain urea-formaldehyde. Greenguard, GreenSeal, and the Carpet and Rug Institute (Green Label Plus) certify building products that meet IAQ criteria.
3) Reduce the amount of carpeting, and keep it clean and dry.
Carpeting can absorb water and trap particulates and other contaminants; some types of carpeting also contain high levels of VOCs. Where possible, select a nonabsorptive type of flooring. Never use carpeting in the kitchen, bathroom, laundry room, basement or other areas of the house that are regularly exposed to moisture. Areas that are carpeted should be vacuumed regularly, ideally with a HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air filtering) vacuum. And if carpeting gets wet, make sure that it is completely dried within 12 hours to prevent mold growth. When having carpeting professionally cleaned, you can choose a company that uses a no-chemical and low-water process.
4) Add a fresh air intake to your forced-air heating/cooling system's ducting.
A fresh air intake will allow fresh replacement air to enter the house when you're using exhaust fans or the fireplace. If you already have a ducted air system, you can add a dedicated outdoor air opening by extending the return-air ductwork to the outside. To ensure fresh air delivery, use a system with automated circulation (e.g., a fan-cycler). You may also want to install a filter in this outdoor air source to capture air contaminants such as pollen and prevent them from entering your house.
5) Install a whole house fan system.
A "whole house" fan system brings stale indoor air upwards and out the top of the house through the attic vents. This type of fan system also provides a good, energy-efficient alternative to air conditioning on moderately warm days. (Note: If you live in a particularly humid climate, also consider using a dehumidifier.)
6) Design your garage to keep vehicle fumes from entering your home.
If you're building a new home, consider building a detached garage (or no garage). If you have an attached garage, tightly seal the wall between the garage and your conditioned space, and install an exhaust fan system that either runs continuously or uses an automatic timer linked to an occupancy sensor, garage door opener, or carbon monoxide detector. Also, do not install HVAC equipment or air-handling ductwork in the garage.
Best Steps to Cleaner Air
Even if you take all of the steps above, your home could still contain sources of indoor air pollution. The following are some additional technologies and strategies that may be more complex or costly to implement, but they can provide substantial improvements in indoor air quality.
1) Install an energy recovery ventilator (ERV) to provide a continuous supply of fresh air while minimizing loss of heat and water vapor.
This ventilation system (also referred to as an air-to-air heat exchanger) is connected to the existing forced-air heating/cooling system and uses fans to exchange stale indoor air with fresh outdoor air. Note that these systems cost several thousand dollars, so they do not have an immediate payback. To make sure that the incoming air is adequately filtered, select a system that has a HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air) filter, or a filter with a high MERV (Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value), i.e., a minimum MERV of 8 or, even better, 10 or higher.
2) Use a heat pump water heater to increase energy efficiency and improve indoor air quality.
Heat pumps achieve energy efficiency by moving heat around, as opposed to liberating it—the heat for the next batch of water to be heated is reclaimed from the warm, humid air being exhausted. Heat energy comes both from cooling the air being exhausted from about 72° F to 42° F (sensible heat reclamation) and from the condensation of the water vapor back into a liquid (latent heat reclamation). Heat pump water heaters use 30 to 50 percent of the electricity consumed by conventional electric water heaters.
The improved IAQ stems from the moisture management aspect of this approach. The amount of mechanical ventilation provided directly matches the amount of hot water consumed. Also, because the hot water use reflects the level of human occupancy (with more people in the home, more washing occurs), the result is mechanical ventilation with heat recovery that corresponds to occupancy levels. However, some experts have expressed concerns about the reliability of heat pump water heater systems. For guidance on how to select the right system and have it properly installed, read this article from the Department of Energy.
3) Install a radiant hydronic heating system rather than a forced air system.
Forced air systems stir up dust and allergens because they heat a home by blowing heated air into it. Radiant hydronic systems heat a space by pushing warm water through tubes underneath the floor; the warm floors radiate heat, rather than pushing air and dust around. It is easiest to install a radiant heating system when building a new home or an addition, but they can also be added to existing rooms.
How to reduce the use of VOCs in your home
Thanks to David Bearg and Dean Sherwin for their edits and advice on this article.
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03/15/07 Bloody Death on White Ice
This year too Animal Friends invites to a protest against the seal slaughter and presents an awarded documentary film
It is early March and the ice floes of Eastern Canada are a breathtaking vision: an endless sea and sky filled with white as far as the eye can see. In one of nature's most beautiful spectacles, hundreds of thousands of baby harp seals call out to their mothers, alone on the ice for the first time.
But then the sealing ships arrive. What was once a scene of peace and innocence becomes a makeshift factory of terror and cruelty as the ice is covered in blood. These helpless baby seals, some as young as two weeks, are clubbed or shot to death for their fur. Many baby seals will even be skinned alive or will die trapped under the ice after being injured.
The International organizations risk the lives of their members each year by going to the ice to film the hunt, documenting the cruelty and sharing the truth about the seal hunt with the rest of the world. But this year Canada's Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) is trying to make it nearly impossible to document the hunt by increasing the distance legal hunt observers must remain from sealers from 10 to 20 meters.
The government would rather turn a blind eye than let the world see firsthand the many documented cases of clubbed and wounded seals being left to suffer.
So as to stop this crime, Animal Friends invites to the International Day of Action, which will take place on Tuesday, March 15, in Zagreb, Croatia, with the beginning at 11 A.M. in front of the Embassy of Canada, Gjure Dezelica 4.
On this occasion the Croatian model Fani Stipkovic will hand a protest note with an appeal to end the seal hunt to the Canadian Ambassador, Mr. Thomas Marr.
Also, on the body screen, one of Animal Friends' activists will for the first time in Croatia show the Humane Society of the United States documentary "Bearing Witness: Canada's 2005 Seal Hunt," which last year won a "Panda" Award at the international wildlife and environmental Wild Screen Film Festival in the United Kingdom in the campaigns category.
The Republic of Croatia showed a high ethical degree and consciousness by banning the commercial import of skin and other products derived from harp and hooded seals in March 2006. Belgium is at the moment the only European Union country that implemented a national ban on the import of all seal products, while Germany also plans to move forward with plans to implement a similar ban, no matter where the EU policy stands in this issue.
Croatia, on its behalf and according to its capacity, legally protected the seals. However, the lobbying efforts to European countries in an effort to close Europe as a market for this blood-soaked products continue.
No matter what picture the Canadian authorities try to present to the world, the seal slaughter cannot be justified. Seals are facing their extinction not only because of the greed for their fur, but because of the new threats seals face from global warming, which is destroying the ice that harp and hooded seals require as breeding and nursing habitat.
Therefore the protest in Zagreb will not be held only as part of the "For Croatia without Fur" campaign but also as a support to the world efforts and encouragement to the majority of Canadians who are opposed to the hunting of seal pups under any circumstances and justifications.

subset: commoncrawl


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Welcome to Christian Louboutin Shoes Boutique Online
Christian Louboutin was born in France on January 7,1964.Louboutin began his love for shoes at a young age,and at the age of 12 used to sneak out to see Parisian showgirls performing,joking that he would one day design Christian Louboutin shoes for them.Christian Louboutin's trademark glossy red soles are an undisputed stamp of fashion excellence.From razor-sharp stilettos to lace-up boots and studded sneakers,the fantasy footwear label is every woman's first stop for outfit-transforming wardrobe updates. Christian Louboutin said it is indispensable to reach a accurate balance when it is used to support human height.
Christian Louboutin was initially born and raised in Paris, most people calld Red Bottom Shoes,France and was initial heard of within the French fashion scene in 1991 when he introduced his line of high-end women's shoes.His passion for fashion was in fact cultivated by his 3 sisters.It was,nevertheless,an incident at a Paris museum in 1976 that began his interest with shoes.When he went to check out the Musee des Arts Africains et Oceaniens on Avenue Daumesnil,he noticed a photograph sign prohibiting girls wearing stilettos from entering the exhibit.The stated exhibit was housed in a developing with mosaic and parquet floors and also the prohibition was meant to avoid harm on the flooring.He has been intrigued by the sign which the image was imprinted in his thoughts which he later utilized on his styles.
Christian Louboutin Red bottom Shoes are prestigious identification for fashion and favourite for numerous super stars.Elegant,exalted and sexy,the Red Sole Shoes enjoy celebrated fans from Nicole Kidman to Jennifer Lopez.The red bottoms heels seems sexy with narcissism and immanent. Christian Louboutin has established himself as one of the top shoe designers in the world. Today Christian Louboutin red bottoms shoes can be found in boutiques worldwide as well as on the catwalks for young highly regarded designer.Also many superstars are wearing these christian louboutin shoes in celebrity.There are Janelle Monae,Candice Swanepoel,Olivia Munn,Karlie Kloss,Fergie,Zoe Saldana,Jennifer Lopez,Katy Perry,Amy Adams,Kate Moss,Rita Ora,Zendaya,Florence,Dita Von Teese,Kate Bosworth,Kristen Wiig,Elizabeth Banks,Miranda Kerr,Kylie Jenner,Kristen Bell,Sophie Turner,Claire Danes,Jennifer Hudson,Jennifer Lawrence,Elizabeth Banks,Stana Katic,Lily Collins,Blake Lively,Jessica Biel,Anna Faris,Ariel Winter,Drew Barrymore,Nicole Richie,Emmy Rossum,Lupita Nyong'o,Demi Lovato,Joanne Froggat,Kate Bosworth,Ashley Greene,Kerry Washington,Allison Williams,Claire Danes ect in christian louboutin shoes.We are supplying of Christian Louboutin shoes with red sole,favorable price,free shipping.Also we accept wholesale order.If you need order several pairs louboutin shoes,please contact our client service at first.We may give you a good discount price from factory.
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The Givezooks platform is being shut down at the end of the day on March 4th. We are happy to have helped thousands of nonprofit organizations raise both money and awareness over the years. The Givezooks company was acquired by Salsa Labs back in 2014. Salsa Labs continues to help nonprofits with technology solutions for fundraising, events, P2P, advocacy, and CRM needs. Find out more about Salsa software or call us at 888-609-3550 to find out how Salsa can help your nonprofit reach your goals.
We are excited to announce that the givezooks peer to peer technology has been integrated with Salsa Labs. The NEW Salsa now offers a peer to peer module in Salsa Engage. Learn more here >


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Discover the natural beauty and eclectic charm of The Woodstock Inn on the Millstream, Woodstock New York's most popular bed and breakfast. Set along the cascading Millstream in the village of Woodstock, with 18 charming private rooms, we offer something for everyone-a simple to sublime Catskills Bed and Breakfast retreat that is just a short walk from the eccentric culture of America's most famous small town.
Relax by the stream, enjoy our exquisite gardens and sunny lawns or take a nap on a hammock amid the towering trees at our Woodstock NY bed and breakfast. Guests can then take a leisurely stroll into the lively village of Woodstock for shopping, dining and galleries.
Our four-season getaway, offers tastefully decorated lodging, with 18 rooms and spacious studios. We offer a welcoming Woodstock, NY Bed and Breakfast authentic ambiance – privacy with a personal touch.
Few rural villages in America offer the fine restaurants, unique stores, music, theater, and history that embody Woodstock. Long before "Three Days of Peace and Music" spawned the Woodstock Generation, our town was a mecca for painters, writers, musicians, hikers, nature lovers, and free-spirits alike.
- Short stroll to attractions, festivals, and restaurants in the village of Woodstock
- Beautiful gardens and terrace bordering Millstream
- Charming Woodstock, NY lodging offering cable TV, complimentary WiFi access, and superior beds and linens
- Bountiful continental breakfast served daily
Come and experience the spirit of Woodstock New York, and enjoy the natural beauty of our little piece of paradise!


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HOT DISH: George Jones Tribute Concert: The Show Will Go On
(CMT Hot Dish is a weekly feature written by veteran columnist Hazel Smith. Author of the cookbook, Hazel's Hot Dish: Cookin' With Country Stars, she also hosts CMT's Southern Fried Flicks With Hazel Smith and shares her recipes at CMT.com.)
I guessed they'd just cancel the George Jones farewell concert set for Nov. 22 in Nashville. Not so! After George's funeral, everyone kept asking his wife Nancy if they'd still do the all-star show at Bridgestone Arena that was planned to be his final concert. She asked Garth Brooks, Kid Rock, Travis Tritt, the Oak Ridge Boys, Montgomery Gentry, Sam Moore, Charlie Daniels, Jamey Johnson and others about it, and they all said yes.
"So with all the artists still planning on coming, we are going to honor George one final time," Nancy explained.
I'm still thinking about George. If I live to be 100, I will never forget the solemn, stern, hurt look on Alan Jackson's face when he walked on the Grand Ole Opry stage and sang "He Stopped Loving Her Today" at the close of George's funeral. He removed his hat at just the right time, placed it on his shoulder to cover his heart and sang the last line of the song with his eyes closed and his mind on heaven and his dear friend who had just gone home.
Vince Gill's heart was breaking as tears rolled down his face when he sang his self-penned song "Go Rest High on That Mountain." He just couldn't get out those lines of total truth, but he tried. And bless sweet Patty Loveless' heart -- she helped. Her vocals went up in a beautiful alto to cover when his faltered. Vince sang and Patty helped: "I know your life on earth was troubled/And only you could know the pain/You weren't afraid to face the devil/You were no stranger to the rain."
Seated on the front row, a teary Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood stood to honor Vince in his sorrow. Garth and Trisha stood to honor others, as well, especially Alan.
Brad Paisley just could not keep his tears hidden when he sang the marvelous Tom T. Hall song, "Me and Jesus." I agree with Barbara Mandrell, who spoke at the service, when she said, "George Jones was the greatest singer of all time." Another fan, CBS' Bob Schieffer said, "He knew about heartbreak. He knew about betrayal. He was more than a country singer. He was a country song." Former first lady Laura Bush said, "Pain and love -- George Jones spoke of both of them whenever he sang."
When asked about Jones' passing, Dierks Bentley passed his answer to Terry Eldredge. A member of the bluegrass band the Grascals, Eldredge was known to lay on his back on his sofa and listen to the songs of George Jones all night long. I was not surprised to learn that Eldredge kissed George's forehead as he lay in his casket. I'm sure our friend Dierks is not at all surprised. Eldredge truly worshipped George Jones and his music.
George Jones charted 167 singles over a 50-year run, an achievement that passed everyone in country music, even Eddy Arnold.
CMT Music Awards News
The 2013 CMT Music Awards will be hosted by Jason Aldean and actress Kristen Bell. The show is set for June 5 at Bridgestone Arena and will broadcast live on CMT. Eric Church, Miranda Lambert and Luke Bryan have four nominations each. With three apiece are Aldean, Kenny Chesney, Rascal Flatts and Florida Georgia Line. Nominated for two awards are Brad Paisley, Carrie Underwood, Hunter Hayes, Jana Kramer, Journey, Kacey Musgraves, Little Big Town, Taylor Swift and Tim McGraw.
Voting for the CMT Music Awards is underway at CMT.com.
Toby Keith Returns From Latest USO Tour
Toby Keith dropped in on troops in the Philippines, Guam and Hawaii during a 10-day tour that ended Tuesday (May 7). Since his first USO tour in 2002, Toby has performed on 11 USO tours and traveled to 16 countries where he's lifted the spirits of 225,984 servicemen and women. Thanks Toby, and God bless you as you continue the journey.
Keith Urban With the Rolling Stones
Did you see Keith Urban at the Staples Center in Los Angeles -- dancing and picking and singing with the Rolling Stones? Keith hit that stage like it was the Grand Ole Opry, looking really cute and young up there with Keith Richards and Mick Jagger. From Urban's first run on the guitar, Richards was all smiles. He knew he had a guitar man who could pick his music. Same with Jagger. Mick knew full well that Urban could sing "Respectable," and Urban proved he could, so they killed the song. An A+ for Keith Urban onstage with the Rolling Stones.
A Splendid Marthafest
In December, CMT editorial director Chet Flippo was deeply saddened by the loss of his wife. The beautiful and smart Martha Hume had health problems but left us quicker than anyone thought about her leaving. Poor Chet grieved for his lifetime mate. Mostly he grieved alone. Chet's close friends meant a lot, and his niece Elizabeth comforted him even though she lived in London.
Being in show biz, the couple's friends were from all over, including Texas, California, New York, Florida and, of course, Tennessee. Chet wanted to honor Martha with a "do," and on May 5, an event was held in Nashville at Ruby, the once site of a church -- now a club fit for sipping and eating and visiting. Chet called it Marthafest. The name fit like a pair of old shoes.
Elizabeth hosted the event and kept us laughing with down-home Kentucky stories and secrets. Several others chatted about Martha, including Martha's two children, Bennett and Kristen.
Even I told a short story about Chet, Martha, Captain Midnight, Tompall Glaser and myself escorting Kinky Friedman and his band, the Texas Jewboys, backstage at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. The Rev. Jimmie Rodgers Snow was holding his Grand Ole Gospel church service on the Grand Ole Opry stage, and Kinky was set to sing "High on Jesus." His special guest was Dobie Gray. Anyway, I made it through the story, got plenty of laughs and met a lot of people since I began my part by saying, "I am Hazel Smith." Both of Martha's kids stopped by to tell me things Martha had told them. It was a wonderful gathering of minds that Sunday afternoon.
One lady said, "Martha loved telling the story about going with you to be on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. She had such a good time." Another said, "Martha told me about you and her having dinner with Bill Monroe. I could not believe that you and Martha went with Bill Monroe for supper. That is so funny."
So they continue to come by from Austin, New York, Knoxville and all the places Martha lived or visited. People met me because Martha told them about me.
Guests included Brian Philips and Martin Clayton of CMT and Liz Thiels and Jay Orr of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, along with my grandson and driver -- the wonderful Adam Smith.
See the Hot Dish recipe of the week: [news id="1638685"]Lemonade Pie.[/news]


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The Adventures of Stan Lee's Toupee
The Adventures of Stan Lee's Toupee is the name of a short lived live action superhero show, shown on the Fox Network in 2005. Although initially popular, the show's audience soon dwindled. So low were the ratings that Fox executives defied their usual rule of only canceling good shows and canned it for good.
Following the the huge financial and moderate critical success of the many film adaptations of Marvel Comics series, it seemed for a while that any Marvel character could be successfully auctioned off. Having sold the rights to Rocket Racer, HERBIE the robot and Sub-Mariner, Marvel figurehead Stan Lee found himself in a meeting with Fox execs with nothing left to sell them. In a desperate move, he placed his trademark toupée on the bargaining table. Fox bought the TV rights to the hairpiece for $3.2 million.
Pilot Episode[edit]
Mild mannered legendary comic book creator Stan Lee, has a toupee, named Walt. Unbeknownst to Stan, Walt is secretly the superhero Captain Wiggy. Stan goes about his daily business in his fictional hometown of Kuala Lumpur, Walt keeps a keen eye out for crime.
We are introduced to the other main characters - plucky female reporter Rita Zorkenheim, the ancient wizard Jehosephat, comedy relief steamroller driver Mustapha McDougal, and Stan's parents, Ma and Pa Lee.
As all of the main characters sit down to Thanksgiving lunch, Walt suddenly spots the Wig Signal high above Kuala Lumpur. Realising that he cannot become Captain Wiggy in front of everyone, he calls in a domestic disturbance. Whilst the police are brutally beating everyone, Walt slips off to do battle with this week's villain, the Human Pinata. Captain Wiggy fights the villain over the city, eventually causing him to explode, showering Kuala Lumpur with paper mache, sweets and cheap plastic trinkets.
We cut back to the Lee household, were the vicious police brutality has been cut short as everyone has gone outside to watch the battle. The police are so inspired that they leave without inflicting many more injuries. Stan then goes looking for his toupee, and finds Walt indoors.
"Where have you been," he demands, "I saw Captain Wiggy again and, as usual, you weren't there."
"Maybe I was closer than you think!" replies Walt. He then winks conspiratorially to the camera. Iris out, and roll credits. Everyone learns a valuable lesson.
Episode List[edit]
- 1 - Attack of the Thanksgiving Burrito (Pilot) As above.
- 2 - The Coming of Girdlorr Captain Wiggy falls in love with William Shatner's toupee. Infuriated, Shatner's girdle (which was also in love with Shatner's toupee) irradiates itself with gamma rays in order to gain the power to destroy Stan Lee and Wiggy. In the end, everyone learns a valuable lesson.
- 3 - Five Minutes of Fame... AND DOOM! In a flashback, we learn that Stan Lee won Walt from Andy Warhol in a poker game in the late 1960s. In the present, Kualar Lumpar is threatened by the undead corpse of Dwight D. Eisenhower, who seeks to destroy everything connected to the sixties. In the end, everyone learns a valuable lesson.
- 4 - Attack of the Heart Men As Christmas approaches, Stan Lee and his toupee have to explain the true meaning of Christmas to Santa Claus, who is suffering from drug induced amnesia. As some villains get ready to make their move, Fox CEO Rupert Murdoch personally walks onto the set, cancels the show, and beats up the director and several of the actors. In the end, everyone learns a valuable lesson.


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"Snake house" turns dream to nightmare in Idaho
REXBURG, Idaho - The five-bedroom house sits on pastoral acreage in the rural U.S. countryside. At a price less than $180,000, it seemed a steal.
But a bargain it wasn't. Ben and Amber Sessions soon realized the dream home they'd purchased in Idaho for their growing family in 2009 was infested with hundreds upon hundreds of garter snakes.
The ground surrounding the home appeared to move at times, it was so thick with snakes.
Throngs of snakes crawled beneath the home's siding. At night, the young couple said they would lie awake and listen to slithering inside the walls.
"It was like living in one of those horror movies," said Ben Sessions, 31.
The family would frequently eat out because their well water carried the foul smelling musk that the snakes release as a warning to predators.
Each day, before his pregnant wife and two small boys got out of bed, Sessions said he would do a "morning sweep" through the house to make sure none of the snakes had made it inside. That didn't always work. One day, he heard his wife scream from the laundry room, where she had almost stepped on a snake. He rushed into the room to find that she'd jumped onto a counter.
"I was terrified she was going to miscarry," he said.
They invited family as witnesses and snapped pictures.
At the height of the infestation, Sessions said he killed 42 snakes in one day before he decided he couldn't do it anymore. He had waged war against the snakes and "they won."
He and his wife had little recourse, though, when they decided to flee the home.
They had signed a document that noted the snake infestation. They said they had been assured by their real estate agent that the snakes were was just a story invented by the previous owners to leave their mortgage behind.
But the so-called Idaho snake house was no myth, according to the Sessionses, their neighbors, and the videos and photographs taken by them and past residents of the house. The couple said it seemed like almost everyone else in this tiny southeastern Idaho college town knew about it.
"I felt bad," said Dustin Chambers, a neighbor. "By the time we knew someone had bought it, they were already moving in. It was too late."
All of Rexburg, Chambers said, pretty much knows the property as the "snake house."
The Sessionses filed for bankruptcy. The house was foreclosed. They left in December 2009, the day after their daughter was born and just three months after moving in.
"We're not going to pay for house full of snakes," Ben Sessions said.
His wife, Amber, 27, said she felt like their family was starting to fall apart.
"It was just so stressful," she said. "It felt like we were living in Satan's lair, that's the only way to really explain it."
Several months ago, the house briefly went back on the market.
Now owned by JP Morgan Chase, it was listed at $114,900 in December 2010, according to Zillow.com, a real estate data firm. The price was reduced to $109,200 in early January, which was more than $60,000 below its estimated value. Then, Discovery Channel's "Animal Planet" featured the Sessionses' story in its "Infested" series.
The listing was removed and the home has stayed off the market while Chase decides what to do with it.
A Rexburg real estate company that was hired to sell the house referred all questions to a Chase spokeswoman in Seattle.
Darcy Donahoe-Wilmot did not return repeated phone calls from The Associated Press. But she did tell a business columnist for Dow Jones Newswires that the bank had contracted to have the snakes at the home trapped and released elsewhere.
Ben Sessions said that he has been diagnosed with snake-related post-traumatic stress disorder and that the house should be condemned.
"It's not right to continue to sell this home," Sessions said. He and his wife said they still have nightmares and haven't recovered financially.
The home was most likely built on a winter snake sanctuary, likely a snake den or hibernaculum, where snakes gather in large numbers to hibernate for the winter, said Rob Cavallaro, a wildlife biologist with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game.
In the spring and summer the snakes fan out across the wilds of southeastern Idaho, but as the days get shorter and cooler, the snakes return to the den in order to ball up for heat and to be accessible to each other for spring breeding.
Cavallaro has heard only of one other eastern Idaho home that was likely located on a snake den. There was also a bridge-widening project where workers ran into a hibernaculum, he said.
"It is an important site for the snakes," Cavallaro said. "Every now and then we build on them and it becomes a conflict."
Neal and Denise Ard previously lived in the home, and in 2006 they invited the local news station to come and film the buckets of snakes they had collected on the property. The video, which has 2.4 million views on YouTube, was taken before the Ards abandoned the home.
In March 2007, the Ards sued the couple who had sold them the home for $189,900 and the real estate agent who negotiated the sale, according to court documents. The complaint was dismissed a year later.
There have been some people who have looked at the house since the Sessionses moved out, neighbor Chambers said. One day, when a real estate agent was showing the property, a farmer who lives down the road stopped by to warn them, he said.
"Now, if anybody sees anybody, they kind of will let them know," Chambers said. "Just so that somebody else doesn't get caught in the same trap."
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Scholarships, flexographic printing presses, classroom space and more mean Dunwoody graphics and printing students graduate with experience with real equipment.
Minneapolis, June 11, 2008 — Dunwoody College of Technology's printing and graphics production lab was renamed the Harper Center of Graphics Technology last Friday in a ceremony honoring Ron and Katherine Harper, retired founders of the global anilox supplier Harper Corporation of America.
Joe Tuccitto, education director of the Flexographic Technical Association represented the Harpers at the event. Tuccitto, who is also a former Dunwoody faculty member, said: "Ron asked me to tell you all, 'It has been our pleasure to work with Dunwoody College of Technology for the past 15 years in their quest for excellence in flexographic education. As many of you know, we have a passion for flexographic education, and Dunwoody has been a significant vehicle for that passion.'"
The Harpers have long been supporters of Dunwoody's Design and Graphics Technology program. Most recently they committed $500,000 to the College, of which $100,000 will endow the Ron and Katherine Harper Scholarship Fund.
The gift is in addition to other support over the years, including a $100,000 donation that included more than 50 anilox rolls for use on the two flexographic machines in the printing lab as well as lease support for the machines. Flexographic printing involves the use of flexible plates in conjunction with anilox rolls to adhere ink on a substrate (the item the ink is applied to). It usually is a six- or eight-color printing process and each flexo machine has a plate for each color so that the substrate only needs to run through the machine once. In addition, the process accommodates a wide range of substrates, including flexible ones. Most consumer product packaging and labels are printed on flexo presses.
All of Dunwoody's pre-press, graphic design and press students get experience with flexo output, which is somewhat unusual for graphics education at the college-level.
The Harpers support of Dunwoody is the result of their strong belief in supporting technical education.
"By putting money into education at the high school and college levels, we can ensure that students are working with the latest technology," Ron Harper said. "They come into the workplace prepared, instead of only being familiar with ancient technology that is no longer applicable."
The Harper Center of Graphics Technology also includes three classrooms within the production lab. They have been renamed Harper Studio A, B and C.
About Harper Corporation: Harper Corporation has manufacturing facilities in Charlotte and Green Bay, Wisc., as well as licensee operations in Bangkok, Thailand, and Herford, Germany. The Harpers have been deeply involved in education and training future flexographers at the high school and college levels since 1990.
The Harpers were the first to participate in the Flexographic Technical Association's Flexo In High Schools/Colleges program, which was initiated in 1990 and saw the first flexographic press installed in a high school in 1992. Today 21 high schools and 32 colleges in the U.S., Canada and Argentina provide hands-on flexography training programs based on the one launched by the Harpers more than a decade ago.


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For this Assignment, you will consider examples of children with various weight issues. You will explore how you could effectively gather information and encourage parents and caregivers to be proactive about their children's health and weight.
Review Learning Resources and consider factors that impact the validity and reliability of various assessment tools and diagnostic tests. You also will review examples of pediatric patients and their families as it relates to BMI.
- Based on the risks you might identify consider what further information you would need to gain a full understanding of the child's health. Think about how you could gather this information in a sensitive fashion.
- Consider how you could encourage parents or caregivers to be proactive toward the child's health.
(3–4 pages, not including title and reference pages):
Assignment: Child Health Case: 8 year old overweight male foster child with normal weight foster parents and overweight biological parents
Include the following:
- An explanation of the health issues and risks that are relevant to the child you were assigned.
- Describe additional information you would need in order to further assess his or her weight-related health.
- Identify and describe any risks and consider what further information you would need to gain a full understanding of the child's health. Think about how you could gather this information in a sensitive fashion.
- Taking into account the parents' and caregivers' potential sensitivities, list at least three specific questions you would ask about the child to gather more information.
- Provide at least two strategies you could employ to encourage the parents or caregivers to be proactive about their child's health and weight.
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Atmosphere around low-mass Super-Earth detected
Astronomers have detected an atmosphere around the super-Earth GJ 1132b. This marks the first detection of an atmosphere around a low-mass Super-Earth, in terms of radius and mass the most Earth-like planet around which an atmosphere has yet been detected. Thus, this is a significant step on the path towards the detection of life on an exoplanet. The team, which includes researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, used the 2.2 m ESO/MPG telescope in Chile to take images of the planet's host star GJ 1132, and measuring the slight decrease in brightness as the planet and its atmosphere absorbed some of the starlight while passing directly in front of their host star.
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While it's not the detection of life on another planet, it's an important step in the right direction: the detection of an atmosphere around the super-Earth GJ 1132b marks the first time an atmosphere has been detected around a planet with a mass and radius close to that of Earth (1.6 Earth masses, and 1.4 Earth radii).
Astronomers' current strategy for finding life on another planet is to detect the chemical composition of that planet's atmosphere, on the look-out for certain chemical imbalances that require the presence of living organisms as an explanation. In the case of our own Earth, the presence of large amounts of oxygen is such a trace.
We're still a long way from that detection though. Until the work described in this article, the (few!) observations of light from exoplanet atmospheres all involved planets much more massive than Earth: gas giants – relatives of our own Solar System's Jupiter – and a large super-Earth with more than eight times the Earth's mass. With the present observation, we've taken the first tentative steps into analyzing the atmosphere of smaller, lower-mass planets that are much more Earth-like in size and mass.
The planet in question, GJ 1132b, orbits the red dwarf star GJ 1132 in the Southern constellation Vela, at a distance of 39 light-years from us. Recently, the system has come under scrutiny by a team led by John Southworth (Keele University, UK). The project was conceived, and the observations coordinated, by Luigi Mancini, formerly of the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy (MPIA) and now working at the University of Rome Tor Vergata. Additional MPIA team members were Paul Mollière, and Thomas Henning.
The team used the GROND imager at the 2.2 m ESO/MPG telescope of the European Southern Observatory in Chile to observe the planet simultaneously in seven different wavelength bands. GJ 1132b is a transiting planet: From the perspective of an observer on Earth, it passes directly in front of its star every 1.6 days, blocking some of the star's light.
The size of stars like GJ 1132 is well known from stellar models. From the fraction of starlight blocked by the planet, astronomers can deduce the planet's size – in this case around 1.4 times the size of the Earth. Crucially, the new observations showed the planet to be larger one of the infrared wavelengths than at the others. This suggests the presence of an atmosphere that is opaque to this specific infrared light (making the planet appear larger), but transparent at all the others. Different possible versions of the atmosphere were then simulated by team members at the University of Cambridge and the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy. According to those models, an atmosphere rich in water and methane would explain the observations very well.
The discovery comes with the usual exoplanet caveats: while somewhat larger than Earth, and with 1.6 times Earth's mass (as determined by earlier measurements), observations to date do not provide sufficient data to decide how similar or dissimilar GJ 1132b is to Earth. Possibilities include a "water world" with an atmosphere of hot steam.
The presence of the atmosphere is a reason for cautious optimism. M dwarfs are the most common types of star, and show high levels of activity; for some set-ups, this activity (in the shape of flares and particle streams) can be expected to blow away nearby planets' atmospheres. GJ 1132b provides a hopeful counterexample of an atmosphere that has endured for billion of years (that is, long enough for us to detect it). Given the great number of M dwarf stars, such atmospheres could mean that the preconditions for life are quite common in the universe.
In any case, the new observations make GJ 1132b a high-priority target for further study by instruments such as the Hubble Space Telescope, ESO's Very Large Telescope, and the James Webb Space Telescope slated for launch in 2018.
Background information
The team members are John Southworth (Keele University), Luigi Mancini (Max Planck Institute for Astronomy [MPIA], Universita die Roma Tor Vergata, INAF – Osservatorio Astrofisico di Torinio), Nikku Madhusudhan (University of Cambridge), Paul Mollière (MPIA), Simona Ciceri (Stockholm University), and Thomas Henning (MPIA).
The work described here has been published as J. Southworth et al., "Detection of the atmosphere of the 1.6 Earth mass exoplanet GJ 1132B" in the Astronomical Journal.
Comment April 6, 2017, 15:00: The main text was corrected to reflect that this was not the first discovery of an atmosphere around a super-Earth. In fact, an atmosphere was detected a year ago around the 8 Earth mass super-Earth 55 Cancri e. GJ 1132b is special because it is a small super-Earth, with just 1.6 Earth masses and 1.4 Earth radii. The main gist of our text remains unchanged: this is the lowest-mass, and in that respect most Earth-like planet around which an atmosphere has yet been detected.


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About EY-Parthenon
EY-Parthenon is one of the largest global strategy consulting organizations, with more than 6,500 professionals. We help CEOs and business leaders design and deliver transformative strategies across the entire enterprise, to help build long-term value to all stakeholders.
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What EY-Parthenon teams can do for you
CEOs are no longer just running companies; they are also managing complex ecosystems. Today more than ever, they need strategies that work to maximize the opportunities ahead. They need to rapidly reset their strategies to compete in the new real world — and they need to be able to implement them in double time.
EY-Parthenon professionals help CEOs reimagine their ecosystems, reshape their portfolios and reinvent themselves for a better future.
Why EY-Parthenon
EY-Parthenon teams are focused on results. They bring experience and scale to each client, helping them to realize their strategies and build long-term value.
Organizations that anchor their strategies to a meaningful purpose, with a focus on creating long-term, sustainable impact across a variety of stakeholders, are best positioned to benefit from, demonstrate and measure the value they create.
EY-Parthenon professionals help organizations consider a broader set of stakeholders when defining their purpose, setting their strategy, transforming their business, and measuring and reporting the value they create.
Learn more about the distinctive benefits EY-Parthenon professionals bring to a client:
Experience: deep industry experience combined with broad functional knowledge and skill
An EY-Parthenon professional's ability to tap into the breadth of EY capabilities and depth of industry and functional experience across the entire organization allows them to provide market insights and solutions that work across the C-suite agenda.
Scale: integrated network of global professionals
As one of the largest global strategy consulting organizations, with more than 6,500 people operating in 120 countries, EY-Parthenon professionals can provide both global reach and rapid local reaction teams to quickly deploy professionals wherever you need them.
Results: strategies that work, from idea to implementation, to build long-term value
EY-Parthenon professionals are committed to providing strategies that work from idea to implementation support. Their focus is on building long and deep relationships with the C-suite clients to help challenge, guide and lead them on their journey to achieving sustainable competitive advantage.
What we do and how we do it
While EY-Parthenon professionals have a breadth of perspectives and experience, we have a common skill set that allows us to focus on achieving sustainable growth for clients — from the front-end, strategic conversations, we collaborate with CEOs and business leaders through the longer-term implementation process. Whether it's digital transformation, sector convergence and dislocation, or financial and operational complexities, EY-Parthenon teams bring data analytics, leading technology and digital capabilities to a client's toughest strategic issues. In doing so, we can move quickly from idea to implementation to help clients execute with speed and certainty.
By connecting teams and technologies from within EY-Parthenon and the broader EY ecosystem, EY-Parthenon professionals can provide clients with corporate, transaction and turnaround strategies that are actionable and impactful and that help deliver long-term, sustainable value:
Corporate and growth strategy
EY-Parthenon professionals advise clients on developing corporate growth strategies by providing in-depth market, competitor and customer insights. We then help clients implement their strategic plans by leveraging financial and operational perspectives from across their organizations, as well as ours. Learn more.
Transaction strategy and execution
EY-Parthenon professionals help clients realize their full potential through fast-tracked, better-informed decisions across the whole deal life cycle. EY-Parthenon teams guide clients from M&A or divestment strategy, through the planning, diligence, and integration or separation phases of a transaction to help build long-term value:
- Learn more about our transaction strategy capabilities
- Learn more about our buy-and-integrate solution
- Learn more about our sell-and-separate solution
Turnaround and restructuring strategy
When your business needs results fast, EY-Parthenon professionals lead, collaborate and help deliver. Whether a business is in crisis, restructuring, or simply facing a financial or operational challenge, we work with stakeholders to rapidly create, preserve and recover value. We provide deep strategic, financial, operational, tax, turnaround and restructuring advice to help solve business issues in critical and complex situations and reshape for a better future. Learn more.
The EY-Parthenon sector approach
Every successful business strategy is underpinned by an in-depth understanding of industry dynamics and the competitive landscape in which it sits. EY-Parthenon sector professionals can share rich and differentiated market insights, since they have both the detailed industry knowledge of today and the big-picture opportunities of sector convergence tomorrow.
Learn more about EY-Parthenon's nine sector teams:
Advanced manufacturing and mobility (AM&M) strategy
With fundamental shifts in the advanced manufacturing landscape, companies need to develop innovative business models to keep up with the changing demands and ongoing disruption. Digitization is forcing manufacturers to reinvent their supply chains to fully realize the benefits of a connected ecosystem and improve operational efficiency. EY-Parthenon teams can help companies operating in the AM&M space develop digital-first strategies that fast-track productivity, improve portfolios and set a clear road map for smarter manufacturing.
Consumer strategy
Disruptive technologies, new business models and agile market entrants are revolutionizing the way people shop, what they buy and how they live. In this complex and ever-evolving environment, consumer companies must shift their focus from protecting what they have to creating what they need to become. Consumer companies must rethink how and where to serve the smart consumer. They must build the capabilities to put data at the heart of the organization and create the agility to respond to market change. Their supply chain must evolve into a transparent demand-response network. EY-Parthenon professionals help CPR companies explore, identify and implement the right balance of bold strategic choices that will sustain their business today and transform it for relevance tomorrow.
Education strategy
Education is vital for the future, yet complex in the present. However, the objective remains constant: achieving better student outcomes. EY-Parthenon professionals, in combination with the broader EY organization, have served as advisors to the education sector across the globe for more than 20 years. By working across the public and private sector, EY-Parthenon teams are well positioned to observe both the supply and demand sides of education, and to monitor the industry trends as they play out on a local and global level. They offer clients a suite of capabilities, from strategy through implementation support, across several subsectors, including K-12 systems and schools, higher education and workforce development, governments and foundations, education service providers and education transactions. Learn more.
Energy strategy
Decarbonization, digitization, cost pressures and geopolitical uncertainty are just some of the forces transforming the energy and resources industry. With all the disruption sweeping across the sector, there are countless new opportunities. EY-Parthenon professionals can help energy and resource companies develop a future-led strategy that can be implemented across the whole enterprise to help maximize the opportunities ahead.
Financial services strategy
Amid sweeping regulatory change, today's financial services institutions are focusing on digital transformation, convergence and disruption from an array of non-traditional competitors — all while meeting greater demands for trust and transparency. EY-Parthenon strategists bring data-driven analysis and subsector knowledge across banking and capital markets, insurance, and wealth and asset management to help clients develop and deliver sustainable, long-term value.
Government and real estate strategy
In today's world, people are communicating, organizing and demanding change faster than ever before. From the way people work to the services they use and the places in which they live, digital technologies are creating new patterns of citizen behavior. This brings new challenges and demands for all organizations, including government. EY-Parthenon professionals can help governments adopt digital technologies to create new ways of working, with the aim of achieving better outcomes for themselves and their citizens.
Health sciences and wellness strategy
Aging populations and chronic disease are putting pressure on health resources around the world. At the same time, scientific progress, augmented intelligence and digital data are transforming the traditional health care models. This is causing a power shift, with new entrants disrupting the incumbents. Staying competitive and providing the personalized experience that patients demand require that life sciences and health care organizations find new ways of working. EY-Parthenon professionals can help these organizations design and deliver strategies that work for all stakeholders while anticipating trends and regulatory changes to help ensure sustainability in this increasingly evidence-based, outcomes-focused sector.
Private equity (PE) strategy
PE firms, portfolio companies and investment funds face complex challenges. They are under pressure to deploy capital amid unprecedented economic and geopolitical uncertainty, increased competition and rising stakeholder expectations. Successful deals depend on the ability to move faster, drive rapid and strategic growth, and create greater value throughout the transaction life cycle. EY-Parthenon professionals help PE firms drive meaningful impact across the breadth of their funds and portfolios by helping create long-term value in an actionable, sustainable and transparent manner for all stakeholders.
Technology, media and telecommunications (TMT) strategy
Industry convergence offers TMT organizations the chance to evolve and transform, but it also presents challenges around competitiveness and the delivery of agile corporate strategies for growth. Content distributors are transforming into content producers, service providers are becoming tech companies, technology companies are the catalyst for dramatic change in every sector, and customers want the latest innovations now. EY-Parthenon professionals help TMT clients define their true market context and competitive landscape, develop strategies that systematically help create long-term value and then help deliver the strategies, helping transform TMT companies into powerhouses that will lead the technology revolution of the future.
This is how EY-Parthenon — through the combination of deep sector knowledge and experience of providing and executing corporate, transaction and turnaround strategies — can help clients reinvent the now, reshape the next and reimagine the beyond.
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I hear lots of talk about stolen ideas, the unlikeliness of concurrent independent creativity, etc. I've just had a great example of this happen to me… My buddies and I had a great idea for a zombie mockumentary, based on the concept of high-functioning zombies being integrated into society. We wanted to do a "Best In Show" type of thing, interviews with families, sociologists, economists, counselors, etc, on the difficulty of integrating functional zombies into our culture. What jobs would they hold? What products might be created for them? How would they impact the workforce, the economy, etc? Interviews with families dealing with a zombie dad/son/daughter, Zombie pride parades, zombie food service workers, tofu-brains commercials, high-functioning zombies in corporate jobs, and so on. The title: Zombie America.
We went so far as to outline the script, and started writing scenes. We even initiated an early casting call to find comedic actors with improv experience, etc. Then we heard about FIDO — a new film about to release based on the concept of post-zombie-war integration of high functioning zombies into our culture. Initially depressed, we decided that though we'd lost "first mover" status on the core concept of integrating high-functioning zombies into society, our approach was different enough from FIDO (ours being documentary style, theirs being a narrative) that we could benefit from their breaking the ground for us. So we went on.
Then, today I stumbled across another film – American Zombie — an apparently identical treatment of the subject, which just premiered a couple months ago. Not just a similar "idea", but some IDENTICAL "expressions of the idea" — dialogue virtually lifted from our notes, were we paranoid (and believed in time machines). Even a near-identical title. We're disappointed, but glad we did our due diligence before we got too much further into the process. We like to think we'd have done a better job of it, but it's good to know we had an idea worth producing. Maybe some of you had already heard of American Zombie, but we had not. And maybe, for all I know, there'd been another one sometime before this.
Nevertheless I find it a prime example that concurrent conception DOES happen… perfectly innocent simultaneous, spontaneous, nearly identical movie ideas AND expressions, without any conspiracy, theft or copyright infringement.
Ironically, I met with a Producer shortly thereafter to discuss a job Art Directing a feature in July (not zombies), and related this story to him… he laughed, and told me that he and another writer had put together a concept for a zombie mockumentary integrating functional zombies last year that they had put on the back burner. Crazy. Do people steal ideas? Sure. But sometimes, kids, there's just something in the air.
Anyways, might as well support the people who moved on the idea first…


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Most Popular in the Last...
OpenMRS FHIR API
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OpenMRS Community Launches Major Upgrade to its Open Source EHR Platform
By Mayank Sharma, Burke Mamlin, MD, Jeff Neiman, and Theresa Cullen | October 6, 2016
The OpenMRS Community has released a major upgrade to to its widely deployed open source EHR, OpenMRS. The result of the work of more than 100 OpenMRS Community Members from around the world the OpenMRS Platform 2.0 release is the first release of the 2.x family and takes a quantum leap in its base technology as it incorporates the latest web technologies and standards into its modular architecture. At the same time, OpenMRS retains the capability of supporting many legacy features.
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Origin of names
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eso0215 — Science Release
Ultrabass Sounds of the Giant Star xi Hya
First Observations of Solar-type Oscillations in a Star Very Different from the Sun
15 May 2002
About 30 years ago, astronomers realised that the Sun resonates like a giant musical instrument with well-defined periods (frequencies). It forms a sort of large, spherical organ pipe. The energy that excites these sound waves comes from the turbulent region just below the Sun's visible surface.
Observations of the solar sound waves (known as "helioseismology") have resulted in enormous progress in the exploration of the interior of the Sun, otherwise hidden from view. As is the case on Earth, seismic techniques can be applied and the detailed interpretation of the observed oscillation periods has provided quite accurate information about the structure and motions inside the Sun, our central star. It has now also become possible to apply this technique to some solar-type stars. The first observations concerned the northern star eta Bootis. Last year, extensive and much more accurate observations with the 1.2-m Swiss telescope at the ESO La Silla Observatory proved that Alpha Centauri , a solar "twin", behaves very much like the Sun, and that some of the periods are quite similar to those in the Sun. These new observational data were of a superb quality, and that study marked a true break-through in the new research field of "asteroseismology" (seismology of the stars) for solar-type stars. But what about other types of stars, for instance those that are much larger than the Sun?
Based on an extremely intensive observing project with the same telescope, an international group of astronomers [1] has found that the giant star xi Hya ("xi" is the small greek letter [2]; "Hya" is an abbreviation of "Hydrae") behaves like a giant sub-ultra-bass instrument . This star is located in the constellation Hydra (the Water-Monster) at a distance of 130 light-years, it has a radius about 10 times that of the Sun and its luminosity is about 60 times larger.
The new observations demonstrate that xi Hya oscillates with several periods of around 3 hours. xi Hya is now approaching the end of its life - it is about to expand its outer envelope and to become a "red giant star" . It is quite different from stars like the Sun, which are only halfway through their active life. xi Hya is considerably more massive than any other star in which solar-like oscillations have so far been detected.
This observational feat allows to study for the first time with seismic techniques the interior of such a highly evolved star. It paves the way for similar studies of different types of stars. A new chapter of stellar astrophysics is now opening as asteroseismology establishes itself as an ingenious method that is able to revolutionise our detailed understanding of stellar interiors and the overall evolution of stars .
The difficult art of asteroseismology
Helioseismology (seismology of the Sun) is based on measurements of the changing radial velocity of the solar upper atmospheric layers (the "surface") by means of the well-known Doppler effect, as this surface moves up and down during acoustic oscillations. The corresponding amplitudes are very small, with velocities of up to 15 - 20 cm/sec, and the typical period is around 5 minutes. Therefore the phenomenon was first known as the "five-minute oscillations".
Intensity measurements have also been tried, but the noise level is larger than for velocity data due to the presence of "granulation" (moving cells of hot gas) on the solar surface.
In the case of larger and brighter stars like the giant stars, the corresponding amplitudes and periods increase. For instance, theoretical predictions for the giant star xi Hya have indicated that velocity amplitudes of about 7 m/sec and periods of the order of 3 - 4 hours could be expected.
Observations of such oscillations are much more difficult, because the demands on the performance of the spectrograph increase dramatically, as this timescale is similar to that of variations of conditions in the Earth's atmosphere during the observing night.
Spurious instrumental effects, like mechanical flexure, would be detrimental to such demanding observations. However, the experience from the search for exoplanets orbiting other stars - by observing the periodic change in velocity of the parent star due to the weak pull of the orbiting planet over even longer timescales - has proven to be very useful. Indeed, asteroseismology has benefitted greatly from the development of accurate techniques now employed in the search for exoplanets .
The observations of the giant star xi Hya
An international team of astronomers [1] observed xi Hya with the Swiss 1.2-m Euler telescope at the ESO La Silla Observatory (Chile). They used the CORALIE spectrograph, which is well known for numerous discoveries of exoplanets (cf. ESO Press Release eso0114), and recently for the detection of 7-min acoustic oscillations in the solar-twin star Alpha Centauri A (cf. ESO Press Release eso0125).
The same technique that delivered superb observations of Alpha Centauri A was employed to investigate the oscillations of xi Hya . The sound waves make the surface of the star oscillate periodically in and out, and the CORALIE spectrograph measures the velocities of the up-down motion.
As xi Hya is a giant, these waves need more time to propagate through the stellar interior up to the stellar surface than they do in a solar-like star. Thus, the generated oscillations of the surface are slower.
An observing campaign lasting no less than one full month, taking about two measurements every hour was necessary to detect the tiny movements of the surface of xi Hya .
The detected oscillations have periods of about 3 hours, and have speeds of only up to 2 metres per second . This is somewhat smaller than expected, but the predictions for these amplitudes were very uncertain as the conditions in xi Hya are so very different from those in the Sun.
First results for xi Hya
ESO Press Photo eso0215 shows the frequency spectrum of xi Hya, based on these extensive observations. The "power peaks" indicate the frequencies of the oscillation of the stellar atmosphere. The broad distribution means that several different sound waves are clearly present. This is the first time such a spectrum has ever been obtained for a giant star.
A first analysis showed the presence of about one dozen significant frequencies and correspondingly, periods . Among those, four have amplitudes above 1 metre per second. In addition to these twelve frequencies, others appear to have been detected as well, but with less certainty and their reality must be confirmed by a subsequent, more detailed study.
The "sound of xi Hya" has been synthesized in PR Audio eso0215.
Stellar models
A good model of the star is necessary before the observed oscillation frequencies (periods) can be properly interpreted. Current models of the Sun are accurate and represent a typical main-sequence star at midlife, and the oscillations are well understood. The sound spectrum corresponding to the full disk - i.e., what we would observe if the Sun were as distant as other stars and we would therefore see it as a light point in the sky - shows a regular pattern in which the observed frequencies are separated by two different and constant intervals, the "large" and the "small" separations.
It is much more difficult to "model" the interior of a giant star as the core has changed a lot during the evolution of the star. The nuclear fuel has been exhausted, the stellar core has contracted and the envelope has expanded substantially [3]. The resulting sound spectrum has therefore also changed considerably. Now there is only a small group of oscillating modes that display the same regular pattern as seen in the Sun. They are the radial modes, pressure modes that correspond to a radial expansion and contraction of the star (up and down motion of the surface).
The modes in the Sun are sound waves for which most of the oscillation energy is concentrated in the outer parts of the Sun. In stars as highly evolved as xi Hya, they partly take on the character of gravity modes in the interior of the star.
Gravity modes are oscillations that move matter up and down in the gravity field, under the influence of buoyancy, with only small changes of the pressure. This is the same effect that makes an air-filled ball pop to the surface when released under water. Gravity modes are normally trapped in the stable interior inside the upper (convective) envelope of a star.
So far gravity modes have not been detected in the Sun. In a giant star, however, there is a chance to see some, because some of the oscillations have a mixed character : they behave like gravity modes in the interior and like sound waves in the envelope.
The nature of the oscillations observed in xi Hya
The high-resolution spectra of xi Hya were also used to determine improved values of the fundamental parameters of this star: its temperature is 4950 ± 100 K, the mass is 3.31 ± 0.17 times that of the Sun, and the age is 276 ± 21 million years [3]. These values may be refined in a subsequent, more extensive analysis.
With this improved model for xi Hya, the astronomers calculated the frequencies of all oscillations likely to be observed. As in the Sun, the radial modes are expected to be the dominating ones. In fact, three out of the four modes actually observed in xi Hya coincide within the errors with the predicted radial modes. The fourth mode seems not to be radial, but agrees with a non-radial mode with 2 or 3 wave peaks and valleys over the surface. ESO Press Photo eso0215 provides a graphical illustration of this in the case of a star seen almost equator-on.
Some of the observed lower-amplitude modes must be mixed non-radial modes, since more modes are detected than can be accounted for by the radial modes of the models alone.
Future plans
Moving directly from stars of about one solar mass to the giant star xi Hya is a rather great leap. With the CORALIE and HARPS instruments (the latter soon to be installed on the ESO 3.6-m telescope at La Silla), an entire sequence of stars at different evolutionary stages will be observed next: from newly born to middle-aged stars like the Sun, and also old ones that are near retirement.
The new observations of xi Hya show that this is now technically feasible. Once more stars have been observed, changes in the interior structure and composition can be followed and current theories of the internal stellar structure can be verified and improved. Clearly, asteroseismology is bound to have a major impact on the understanding of stellar evolution .
The detection of oscillations in the giant star xi Hya also has implications for the target selection of several space missions aiming at seismic measurements: the Canadian MOST mission, the French-led European COROT mission (with launch expected in 2005), and some that are still under consideration, as the Danish Rømer mission (now in the detailed design phase) and the ESA Eddington mission. The present observations have proven that these space missions will be able to observe oscillations in a wide range of stars, and thus will constitute a major new source of detailed information about the interior of stars, not accessible from the ground.
[1] The team consists of Conny Aerts and Thomas Maas (Dept. of Physics and Astronomy, Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium), Fabien Carrier, Michel Burnet, Jose de Medeiros and Francois Bouchy (Geneva Observatory, Switzerland), Søren Frandsen, Dennis Stello, Hans Kjeldsen, Teresa C. Teixeira, Frank Pijpers, Jørgen Christensen-Dalsgaard and Hans Bruntt (Dept. of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University; and Theoretical Astrophysics Center, Aarhus University, Denmark).
[2] Some HTML-browsers support character entities for greek letters - "xi" is then represented by "ξ" .
[3] In astrophysical terms, xi Hya is currently in the hydrogen shell-burning phase, having left the main sequence some time ago and now near the sub-giant/giant border.
More information
The results described in this Press Release are about to be submitted to the research journal Astronomy & Astrophysics (Letters) by the present team.
Søren Frandsen
Institute for Physics and Astronomy - Aarhus University
Aarhus, Denmark
Tel: +45-89423612
Email: email@example.com
Conny Aerts
Kathoelieke Universiteit Leuven - Departement Natuurkunde en Sterrenkunde - Instituut voor Sterrenkunde
Leuven, Belgium
Tel: +32 16 327028
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Fabien Carrier
Observatoire de Geneve
Sauverny, Switzerland
Tel: +41 22 755 2611
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
About the Release
|Release No.:
|Legacy ID:
|Spectrum, xi Hya
|Milky Way : Star : Evolutionary Stage : Red Giant
|Swiss 1.2-metre Leonhard Euler Telescope
|Science data:


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When BP looks at the spreading oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico that now threatens flora, fauna and livelihoods along the coasts of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida, it's really seeing money floating away on the tide.
That's why it may be trying to shift some of the blame for the massive undersea leak to Transocean, which was running the rig that exploded on April 20 and eventually sank, leaving one of the worst oil spills in history in its wake.
"It wasn't our accident, but we are absolutely responsible for the oil, for cleaning it up, and that's what we intend to do," BP Group CEO Tony Hayward told NBC's "TODAY" show.
"What has failed here is the ultimate safety device on a drilling rig," he said. "There are many barriers of protection that you have to go to before you get to this. It isn't designed to not fail."
Guy Cantwell, a Transocean spokesman, responded by reading a statement without elaborating. "We will await all the facts before drawing conclusions and we will not speculate," he said.
It's too early to tell the final costs for BP. The oil is still flowing from the well's three leaks and it is still heading for shore. Where it hits and how much damage it does will factor into the price tag.
Meanwhile, the U.S. is pressing BP for specifics on how it will pay for the cleanup. Hayward is heading to Washington Monday to discuss that with Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar.
The British oil giant said Monday it will pay the expected multibillion-dollar cleanup cost and issued assurances that it will pay any reasonable claim for damages caused by the spill.
"BP takes responsibility for responding to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill," the company said in a statement. "We will clean it up."
That clean-up process could take years. In the meantime, the local economy is already bracing for a major financial hit as the spill bears down on one of the world's richest fishing grounds, the source of nearly a third of all seafood consumed in the U.S. Louisiana officials say that industry brings in some $3 billion a year.
The full financial impact on BP depends on several factors that won't be known for some time. The biggest wildcard is the eventual size of the spill. BP is already spending about $6 million a day as it scrambles to contain the damage, but technology being employed to contain the flow of oil has not been used in waters as deep as the site of the leaking well.
"As I understand, they have 1,000 people working round the clock, trying to get something organized in such a way, engineered in such a way that it's reliable and has integrity," said John Hofmeister, former CEO of U.S. operations at Shell Oil who now heads Citizens for Affordable Energy. "There's no stone left being unturned here that I can tell."
Those efforts include the deployment of a 40-foot steel structure to collect the leaking oil before it reaches the surface, an untested method of capturing oil flowing from a series of leaks along the platform wreckage on the seabed. BP is also using underwater robots to spray chemical dispersants to try to prevent the oil from reaching the surface. The success of those efforts could help contain the ultimate damage and cost of clean-up.
So far, it's impossible to estimate the total price tag. Analysts at Merrill Lynch figure that a clean-up operation lasting six months could cost around $3 billion.
Though BP is liable for the entire clean-up cost, it's exposure to damage claims is capped at $75 million by an oil trust fund administered by the government. That fund, paid for by taxes on the oil industry, could pay up to $1 billion in claims.
Local fishermen are already bracing for the worst from the spill.
"Who can survive two months of this?" said John Tesvich, an oyster grower in Plaquemines Parish. "It's devastating by any measure. It's a catastrophe and it's still out there. We're just beginning to see the effects."
Dozens of lawsuits have already been filed by commercial fishermen, charter boat operators and beachfront property owners from Texas to Florida.
The ultimate environmental damage could depend on the impact of wind and weather on the direction of the spill, already estimated to be as large as Puerto Rico. Scientists say the scope of the disaster also makes it difficult to estimate just how badly the already fragile ecosystem will be harmed over the long term
"As this area has lost wetlands over the last 100 years, it's lost almost 2,000 square miles worth of wetlands," said Alexander Kolker, a coastal geologist and professor of coastal and wetlands science at Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium. "It's lost a lot of the productivity and it's lost a lot of the habitat that would allow these bird populations and other populations to recover."
Some of the costs likely are to be passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices as the spill takes its toll on the seafood hauls from the Gulf. Federal officials shut down fishing for at least 10 days from the Mississippi River to the Florida Panhandle on Sunday because of the uncontrolled gusher spewing massive amounts of oil into the Gulf of Mexico.
It also remains to be seen how liability could be shared between BP, Transocean or Halliburton, which also has been named as a defendant in lawsuits because it had cemented the well's pipes about two days before the rig exploded. (Halliburton says it's too soon to say what caused the spill.) Who's to blame won't be known until the cause of the accident — and the failure of a critical shutoff valve — has been determined.
"Transocean does have insurance to cover the cost of the rig and other types of insurance including liability that should help cover them," said Philip Weiss, senior energy analyst at Argus Research. "We don't know yet what the fault was and if that could change the equation."
On Monday, two congressmen asked officials from BP, Transocean and Halliburton to testify on the causes of the explosion and the failure of the valve designed to seal off the well.
The legal battle over damage claims could take years to resolve. After Exxon paid roughly $4 billion in damages resulting from the 1989 Valdez spill in Alaska, a jury in 1994 assessed $5 billion in punitive damages. In June, 2008, the Supreme Court reduced that amount to $500 million.
If the spill can be contained soon, BP is in relatively good shape to weather the financial hit from the cost of the clean-up.
Last week, the company reported that rising oil prices sent first-quarter net profits soaring to $6 billion — more than double last year's levels. As of the end of the quarter, the company had more than $12 billion in cash on its balance sheet.
BP shareholders, meanwhile, have already lost more than $175 million, after the company's stock plunged on the news of the rig explosion and uncontrolled spill. Analysts say the long-term impact on the stock price, and the company's reputation, will depend heavily on how well it responds to the clean-up and damage claims.


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Anna Quindlen
(she/her) Guest/Teaching Artist
Anna Quindlen is a novelist and journalist whose work has appeared on fiction, nonfiction, and self-help bestseller lists. She is the author of nine novels: Object Lessons, One True Thing, Black and Blue, Blessings, Rise and Shine, Every Last One, Still Life with Bread Crumbs, Miller's Valley, and Alternate Side. Her memoir Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake, published in 2012, was a #1 New York Times bestseller. Her book A Short Guide to a Happy Life has sold more than a million copies. Her most recent book is Nanaville: Adventures in Grandparenting. While a columnist at The New York Times she won the Pulitzer Prize and published two collections, Living Out Loud and Thinking Out Loud. Her Newsweek columns were collected in Loud and Clear.


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The Start/Stop Button (SSB) provides an easy entry to realize an engine Start/Stop System together with a Body Controller.
Together with a Body Controller and the Engine Controller the engine start authorization can be managed in a secure way without needing a mechanical key anymore.
The LIN Interface provides secure key exchange.
LEDs for system status and backlighting are also integrated into this compact and via snap-fit easy mountable unit.


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T-Mobile USA has rolled out voice over LTE in its home base of Seattle, offering high-definition voice and promising benefits to subscribers from a technology that in time could save carriers a lot of money.
VoLTE carries voice calls over a phone's LTE data connection instead of a 3G circuit-switched network. That may eventually mean carriers can operate just one network, but it could also allow them to offer a broader range of services, including video calling. With VoIP, video chat and other communications services readily available "over the top" from Internet companies, carriers want to get into the game with integrated offerings, called rich communications services.
In the Seattle area, VoLTE is now available for the LG G Flex, Samsung Galaxy Note 3 and Samsung Galaxy Light phones. T-Mobile subscribers with those phones can start using VoLTE by getting an update to the latest software. For VoLTE to work, both phones on the call need to have the software.
T-Mobile says VoLTE calls will start faster, with call setup nearly twice as fast as on the traditional circuit-switched connections. VoLTE will also come with HD voice, a technology for better-sounding calls, though T-Mobile already offers a form of HD voice nationwide without VoLTE.
The Seattle announcement on Thursday beat by one day AT&T's planned introduction of VoLTE with HD Voice in four Midwest states. Verizon said Wednesday it would launch VoLTE with both HD voice and video calling later this year. Sprint, which already offers HD voice over its 3G network, has not announced a timeline for VoLTE. MetroPCS, which T-Mobile acquired earlier this year, introduced VoLTE in 2012.
Carriers have been talking about VoLTE for years, but deployment has been slow. One of the hard things about making it work is shifting calls to another type of network when a user leaves the LTE coverage area. To solve that problem, T-Mobile is using eSRVCC (Enhanced Single Radio Voice Call Continuity), a feature from the LTE Advanced set of standards, CTO Neville Ray wrote in a blog post. The new feature will ensure calls don't get dropped when users move into areas that don't have LTE, he said.
T-Mobile said it's now working on launching VoLTE in more cities and on more devices, plus more rich communications services.
Stephen Lawson covers mobile, storage and networking technologies for The IDG News Service. Follow Stephen on Twitter at @sdlawsonmedia. Stephen's e-mail address is email@example.com