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Future Energy eNews Integrity Research Institute.org August 9, 2004
1) Vegetable protein creates electricity - New source works for 21 days - Nature.
2) Zero-Point Energy Measured in the Lab - Direct evidence for the existence of zero-point fluctuations. Agrees with IRI "ZPE Feasibility Study" conclusions.
3) Doom and Gloom for 2100 - British astronomer calculates a 50-50 chance that civilization will make it.
4) Climate Study by Pentagon - May have provoked "Day After Tomorrow" movie; benchmark, historical 2003 report on national security implications of abrupt climate change is only 22-pages.
5) Scientists Demand New Energy Research - Seventeen scientists looking for carbon-free energy & willing to consider extreme possibilities. - Science.
6) Million Solar Homes Initiative - California EPA announces 55% of homes must have solar by 2010.
7) Extraordinary Technology Conference - Valone ZPE talk and other emerging energy science presentations.
1) Could laptops run on spinach?
Philip Ball , Nature Science Update, 28 June 2004 http://www.nature.com/Physics/Physics.taf?g=&file=/physics/highlights/6995-2.html&filetype=&_UserReference=C0A804ED4652CCFE252440441D6D40E9A7DA
Solar cells turn over a new leaf. Spinach proteins can create electricity.
Spinach power is not just for Popeye, it could work for computers too. US researchers have made electrical cells that are powered by plant proteins.
The biologically based solar cells, which convert light into electrical energy, should be efficient and cheap to manufacture, says co-creator Marc Baldo of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. They could even be used to coat and power laptops, providing a portable source of green energy.
Baldo's team isolated a variety of photosynthetic proteins from spinach and sandwiched them between two layers of conducting material. When light was shone on to the tiny cell, an electrical current was generated. Their discovery is reported in Nano Letters1.
The proteins come from the chloroplasts of spinach leaves; tiny structures that help plants convert light into energy. As the reaction proceeds, electrons move around and create electrical currents.
But extracting the proteins was not easy. The molecules are delicate and tend to stop working when removed from their natural environment. So the researchers preserved them by mixing them with soap-like molecules called peptide surfactants. The protective molecules appear to form a shield around the energy-producing proteins, fooling them into thinking that they are still part of the plant.
The proteins were layered on to a thin gold film, attached to a sheet of transparent, electrically conducting metal, and then covered with a top layer of organic, conducting material. When light is shone on to the unlikely sandwich, the proteins spit out electrons, which pass into the lower layer in the form of an electric current.
The prototype cells still need a little refinement. At present, they can generate current for up to 21 days; then they give up. So alternatives that last longer are needed.
The cells also convert only about 12% of the absorbed light energy into electricity. Still, the researchers believe that it should be possible to reach 20% efficiency, which is better than typical values for commercial silicon solar cells.
1) Das, R. et al. Nano Letters, 4, 1079 - 1083, (2004). | Article | http://pubs3.acs.org/acs/journals/toc.page?incoden=nalefd&indecade=0&involume=4&inissue=6
Authors: Christian Beck, Michael C. Mackey, Astrophysics, abstract, preprint, 23 Jun 2004
Comments: 4 pages, 1 figure
Subj-class: Astrophysics; Mesoscopic Systems, Quantum Hall Effect, astro-ph/0406504 http://xxx.arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0406504
The experimentally measured spectral density of current noise in Josephson junctions provides direct evidence for the existence of zero-point fluctuations. Assuming that the total vacuum energy associated with these fluctuations cannot exceed the presently measured dark energy of the universe, we predict an upper cutoff frequency of nu_c=(1.69 +- 0.05) x 10^12 Hz for the measured frequency spectrum of zero-point fluctuations in the Josephson junction. The largest frequencies that have been reached in the experiments are of the same order of magnitude as nu_c and provide a lower bound on the dark energy density of the universe. It is shown that suppressed zero-point fluctuations above a given cutoff frequency can lead to 1/f noise. We propose an experiment which may help to measure some of the properties of dark energy in the lab.
Associated article: "Scepticism greets pitch to detect dark energy in the lab" by Philip Ball
Nature 430, 126 (08 July 2004); doi:10.1038/430126b http://www.nature.com/cgi-taf/DynaPage.taf?file=/nature/journal/v430/n6996/full/430126b (excerpt below)
A cosmic force that is thought to drive the accelerating expansion of the Universe could be probed using desktop electronics, two researchers have claimed. The force -- usually known as dark energy -- seems to oppose gravity, making galaxies fly apart with increasing speed. Detected eight years ago, it presents one of the biggest puzzles in cosmology. But we may not need high-powered telescopes to study it, according to Christian Beck, a mathematical physicist at Queen Mary, University of London, and mathematical biologist Michael Mackey of McGill University in Quebec....
3) Doom and Gloom by 2100
By Julie Wakefield, Scientific American, July, 2004 (excerpts below)
Unleashed viruses, environmental disaster, gray goo--astronomer Sir Martin Rees calculates that civilization has only a 50-50 chance of making it to the 22nd century
Death and destruction are not exactly foreign themes in cosmology. Black holes can rip apart stars; unseen dark energy hurtles galaxies away from one another. So maybe it's not surprising that Sir Martin Rees, Britain's Astronomer Royal, sees mayhem down on Earth. He warns that civilization has only an even chance of making it to the end of this century. The 62-year-old University of Cambridge astrophysicist and cosmologist feels so strongly about his grim prognostication that last year he published a popular book about it called Our Final Hour.
The book (entitled Our Final Century in the U.K.) represents a distillation of his 20 years of thinking about cosmology, humankind and the pressures that have put the future at risk. In addition to considering familiar potential disasters such as an asteroid impact, environmental degradation, global warming, nuclear war and unstoppable pandemics, Rees thinks science and technology are creating not only new opportunities but also new threats. He felt compelled to write Our Final Hour to raise awareness about both the hazards and the special responsibilities of scientists.
In calculating the coin-flip odds for humanity at 2100, Rees adds together those improbabilities, including those posed by self-replicating, nanometer-size robots. These nanobots might chew through organic matter and turn the biosphere into a lifeless "gray goo," a term coined by nanotech pioneer K. Eric Drexler in the 1980s. Gray goo achieved more prominence last year after Prince Charles expressed concern about it and Michael Crichton used it as the basis for his novel Prey.
It's not just out-of-control technology that has Rees worried. Basic science can present a threat. In July 1999 Scientific American ran a letter by Princeton University physicist Frank Wilczek, who pointed to "a speculative but quite respectable possibility" that the Brookhaven National Laboratory's Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) could produce particles called strangelets. These subatomic oddities could grow by consuming nearby ordinary matter. Soon after, a British newspaper posited that a "big bang machine"--that is, RHIC--could destroy the planet.
The ensuing media flurry led then Brookhaven director John H. Marburger to pull together an outside panel of physicists, who concluded that the strangelet scenario was remote, about a one-in-50-million chance of killing six billion people. (Another panel, convened by CERN near Geneva, drew a similar conclusion.) In Our Final Hour, Rees noted that the chances can be expressed differently--namely, that 120 people might die from the RHIC experiments. He thinks experts should debate in public the merits and risks of such work.
It's possible to tip the balance to civilization's advantage, Rees concludes, believing that environmental and biomedical issues should be higher on the political agenda. To raise the debate above the level of rhetoric, however, the public must be better informed. He looks to the U.S. to take a leadership role. But so far he finds its handling of the controversies over stem cell research and global warming to be wanting: the U.S. "has been rather remiss in tackling issues that are taken more seriously elsewhere in the world, especially environmental problems."
Anthropic reasoning would seem to cast a supernatural pall over science. But Rees doubts that revelations from cosmology will ever resolve the controversy between science and religion. For a start, he sees no qualitative change in the debate since Newton's time: scientific explanations remain perpetually incomplete. "If we learn anything from the pursuit of science, it is that even something as basic as an atom is quite difficult to understand," Rees declares. "This alone should induce skepticism about any dogma or any claim to have achieved more than a very incomplete and metaphorical insight into any profound aspect of our existence." Or nonexistence, depending on the coin flip.
4) An Abrupt Climate Change Scenario and Its Implications for United States National Security
By Peter Schwartz and Doug Randall, Environment Media Services, Pentagon Press Release, 22 pages, October 2003 (Executive Summary below) http://www.ems.org/climate/pentagon_climatechange.pdf
Executive Summary
There is substantial evidence to indicate that significant global warming will occur during the 21st century. Because changes have been gradual so far, and are projected to be similarly gradual in the future, the effects of global warming have the potential to be manageable for most nations. Recent research, however, suggests that there is a possibility that this gradual global warming could lead to a relatively abrupt slowing of the ocean's thermohaline conveyor, which could lead to harsher winter weather conditions, sharply reduced soil moisture, and more intense winds in certain regions that currently provide a significant fraction of the world's food production. With inadequate preparation, the result could be a significant drop in the human carrying capacity of the Earth's environment.
The research suggests that once temperature rises above some threshold, adverse weather conditions could develop relatively abruptly, with persistent changes in the atmospheric circulation causing drops in some regions of 5-10 degrees Fahrenheit in a single decade. Paleoclimatic evidence suggests that altered climatic patterns could last for as much as a century, as they did when the ocean conveyor collapsed 8,200 years ago, or, at the extreme, could last as long as 1,000 years as they did during the Younger Dryas, which began about 12,700 years ago.
In this report, as an alternative to the scenarios of gradual climatic warming that are so common, we outline an abrupt climate change scenario patterned after the 100-year event that occurred about 8,200 years ago. This abrupt change scenario is characterized by the following conditions:
The report explores how such an abrupt climate change scenario could potentially de-stabilize the geo-political environment, leading to skirmishes, battles, and even war due to resource constraints such as:
As global and local carrying capacities are reduced, tensions could mount around the world, leading to two fundamental strategies: defensive and offensive. Nations with the resources to do so may build virtual fortresses around their countries, preserving resources for themselves. Less fortunate nations especially those with ancient enmities with their neighbors, may initiate in struggles for access to food, clean water, or energy. Unlikely alliances could be formed as defense priorities shift and the goal is resources for survival rather than religion, ideology, or national honor.
This scenario poses new challenges for the United States, and suggests several steps to be taken:
There are some indications today that global warming has reached the threshold where the thermohaline circulation could start to be significantly impacted. These indications include observations documenting that the North Atlantic is increasingly being freshened by melting glaciers, increased precipitation, and fresh water runoff making it substantially less salty over the past 40 years.
This report suggests that, because of the potentially dire consequences, the risk of abrupt climate change, although uncertain and quite possibly small, should be elevated beyond a scientific debate to a U.S. national security concern.
Climate Change: Cold, Dry, Storms >>> Reduction in Carrying Capacity: Food, Water, Energy >>> National Security Implications: Border management, Global conflict, Economic malaise
5) Mining the Imagination for New Energy; Scientists call for a research blitz targeting extreme possibilities
Alan Weisman. Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, Calif.: July 25, 2004. pg. M.3 http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/669323311.html?did=669323311&FMT=ABS&FMTS=FT&date=Jul+25%2C+2004&author=Alan+Weisman&desc=SCIENCE%3B+Mining+the+Imagination+for+New+Energy%3B+Scientists+call+for+a+research+blitz+targeting+extreme+possibilities.
To allay concerns over dwindling oil and mounting carbon residues, President Bush has proposed relying on "clean" coal, a revived nuclear industry and hydrogen cars, which he says could be widely available by 2040. Critics denounce these ideas as either impractical or environmentally outrageous, calling instead for intensified renewable energy development.
Both visions are naive. The dilemma isn't just getting enough clean energy, but getting enough energy, period. As world population quadrupled last century, power consumption increased sixteenfold. With China and India joining the industrialized feeding frenzy, by 2050 our current usage will triple. And neither Bush nor environmentalists know how to meet such demand.
To run the world on biomass fuel (a favorite idea of John Kerry's) would require dedicating an area comparable in size to all land now used for human agriculture. Because sun and wind energy aren't constant, tapping them on a massive scale not only means huge arrays of solar panels and turbines but redesigned grids with vast new storage mechanisms. Atmospheric scientist Ken Caldeira of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory calculates that if we somehow built 900-megawatt, zero-emissions plants each day for the next 50 years, we'd barely double our current output. Even if we embraced universal nuclear power, there's far too little uranium -- unless we again accept breeder reactors, which proliferate weapons-grade fuel.
Writing in the journal Science, Caldeira and 17 other eminent American and Canadian scientists conclude that the only hope for solving the world's looming energy shortage is to consider things we've barely imagined. They propose a research blitz of previously unimagined proportions, far beyond what any politician is currently suggesting, in search of entirely new carbon-free technologies.
One of them, New York University physicist Martin Hoffert, has resurrected a notion broached during the first Arab oil crisis: orbiting solar collectors in space, where the sun appears eight times brighter, and beaming it to Earth via microwaves ("probably no stronger than your cell phone's"). In 1978, the concept involved a mirror the size of Manhattan; today the idea is smaller reflectors - - possibly balloons made of shiny Mylar -- strung around the Earth. David Criswell and John Lewis, of the universities of Houston and Arizona, respectively, set their sights higher: on the moon, where reflectors could be made from silicates and metals mined on site, rather than hauled expensively into orbit. The moon might also hold the key to practical, clean nuclear fusion, still elusive on Earth but reportedly more promising if He-3, a helium isotope found on the lunar surface and in the atmospheres of Jupiter and Saturn, is used.
Or, they write, if we can't wean ourselves from coal, then seed our own atmosphere with sulfate particles, which would form an artificial cloud cover to counteract greenhouse warming. Or hang a 2,000-kilometer-wide screen in space, which, like a permanent sunspot, might block enough solar flux to compensate for a doubling of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Or try to somehow harness the explosive, fleeting potential energy of antimatter. The idea, Hoffert says, is to imagine everything, however outlandish, in hopes that something proves possible. At Chicago's 1893 World's Columbian Exposition, he notes, technology exhibits for the coming century failed to predict airplanes or television.
But to go from imagination to reality requires commitment and investment. Hoffert proposes spending several hundred billion dollars a year over the next 15 years on an Apollo-scale project to force technology for clean, abundant energy. Although both Bush and Kerry declare that market incentives like emissions trading will produce solutions, Hoffert argues that major technologies of the last 50 years, from space travel to atomic power to the Internet, sprang from government mandates, not markets. "Markets only react to short-term opportunities. They're not equipped to address long-term problems like this one," he said.
Last July, Hoffert and his coauthors gathered in Aspen, Colo., with other scientists to brainstorm. Discussions included a proposal by high-altitude-wind specialist David Shepard for suspending turbines on giant kites at 30,000 feet, where jet-stream power is enormous. UC Irvine physicist and science fiction novelist Gregory Benford had a low-tech, low-cost plan: Instead of using crop wastes for biomass energy, we'd save even more carbon buildup in the atmosphere by simply burying them at sea. Much talk involved revolutionizing the electrical grid, possibly with superconductors, or by connecting the entire world so the off-peak side could power the half in shadow, as Buckminster Fuller once proposed.
The keynote speaker was Rice University's Richard Smalley, a Nobel laureate and discoverer of the fullerene, the geodesic carbon molecule named for Fuller. When these "buckyballs" align to form carbon nanotubes, they are the strongest substance known -- possibly strong enough to send a tether into space. An elevator moving along such a nanotube cable to a satellite in a fixed geosynchronous position 22,500 miles above Earth could ferry materials for space- based solar collectors far more cheaply than space shuttle launches.
On Earth, the highly conductive nanotubes might form lighter, more flexible grids, vast enough that we could move all our energy through wires rather than with tank trucks. To these grids, Smalley would connect all kinds of storage, ranging from wind compressed into airtight caves to appliance-sized home units that might be batteries, flywheels, hydrogen tanks -- whatever would let us both tap and feed the total power supply as needed.
Of course, all this is speculative -- the longest carbon nanotube produced so far measures barely half an inch. But Smalley concurs that another Apollo-like project is crucial. Not since then, he notes, have our universities been filled with engineering students inspired by a great challenge. A line graph he projected at Aspen showed the sobering result of subsequent generations diverted to Wall Street or Silicon Valley: As numbers of science and engineering PhDs plummet in the United States, in China and India they've soared.
"Suppose" he said, "from 2004 through 2009 we collect 5 cents from every gallon of oil. We invest the resulting $10 billion per year in frontier energy research. Maybe for the decade after, we collect 10 cents a gallon: $20 billion a year. At worst, we'll create a cornucopia of new technologies and new industries. At best, we'll solve the energy problem before 2020 and lay the basis for peace and prosperity worldwide."
An expensive long shot, but, as Hoffert noted, the U.S. went from the Wright brothers to the first atomic pile in less time than from now to 2050 -- when either we'll have carbon-free energy or face temperatures the Earth hasn't seen for 100,000 years.
"To continue more than another century, we'll have to do all this stuff," he said. "Otherwise, we'll use up all the coal, then maybe methane hydrates on the ocean floor. When we've completely exhausted fossil fuels, civilization will collapse. We'll go back to being hunter-gatherers. It will be much harder for the next intelligent species that evolves because they won't have cheap fossil fuel like we did. They'll have to go directly to fusion and photovoltaic cells. That may not be so easy."
No easier, probably, than imagining Bush's or Kerry's political handlers daring to float so bold a vision. The only thing harder to contemplate is what will happen if some leader doesn't, and soon.
Credit: Alan Weisman teaches journalism at the University of Arizona and is the author of the memoir An Echo in My Blood.
6) California Unveils Solar Initiative
Environmental Media Services, www.ems.org
The California EPA announced a "Million Solar Homes Initiative" this week to achieve Governor Schwarzenegger's campaign
promise of building half of all new homes with solar power. Environmental groups are now urging Schwarzenegger to endorse the plan.
In May 2004, California's state senate passed legislation that would require 55 percent of new homes to be built with solar panels installed by 2010. The panels would provide about half the power needs for the homes.
The EPA plan would achieve a similar goal as the senate plan, but would give builders until 2020 to include solar panels on half of new homes.
> L.A. Times, Aug 3, "State Seeking to Boost Use of Solar Energy" http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-solar3aug03,1,6452392.story
> Environment California press release, Aug 3, "Administration Proposes Strong Initiative To Achieve Governor's Solar Homes Goal" http://environmentcalifornia.org/envirocalifenergy.asp?id2=13999
7) Energy Independence: Vital to a Prosperous Economy
Theme above reflects optimism at the Joint Energy Conference of Institute for New Energy and TeslaTech, July 29 - August 1, 2004
Topics on frontier energy innovations: Scalar wave presentations, zero-point energy extraction feasibility summary, quantum technologies of ball lightning in the lab, permanent magnet motors, a community without electricity bills, vortex mechanics, electrolytic oxyhydrogen, the photon stimulator, pulsed electromagnetic healing by a doctor who got himself off of a heart transplant list, building multi-wave oscillators, pulsed plasma anomalies, Keely legacy, shape power, space energy.
Speakers included: Larry Oja, Glen Gordon MD, Thomas Valone PhD, Bruce Forrester, Tony Cocilovo, Konstantin Meyl PhD, Kiril Chukanov, Bruce Perrault, Alan Francouer, Sonne Ward, Moray King, Robert Patterson, John Balfour, Dale Pond, Dan Davidson, Hal Fox
Videos and DVDs available from: Lost Arts Media, POB 15026, Long Beach, CA 90815 for $30 each. Phone: 800-952-LOST www.LostArtsMedia.com or from TeslaTech, 296 E Donna Dr, Queen Valley AZ 85218. Phone: 520-463-1994
Future Energy eNews is sent courtesy of http://www.integrityresearchinstitute.org - The new 16-page IRI Publications & Product Catalog is out! Call, fax or email for it to be mailed to you free of charge, if you are not already on our annual mailing list. FAX: 301-513-5728
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What is Cognitive Analytics?
Cognitive Analytics simulate the human thought process to learn from the data and extract the hidden patterns from data. It brings all the data sources such as audio, video, text, images within the reach of Analytics processes that further used for Decision-Making and Business Intelligence.
It applies the Human-like intelligence to tasks such as extracting the full summary of the text rather than individual words. Therefore, it makes use of the combination of technologies such as Semantics, algorithms of Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Deep Learning. When these technologies are applied, the respective Cognitive application will become more effective by learning with time from the interactions with the data and humans. A Cognitive Analytics System searches through the entire data that exists within the knowledge base to determine the Real-Time solutions.
The sub-branch of Advanced Analytics, the key area of Data Science that uses Statistical concepts to output an event's maximum likelihood." Click to explore about, Predictive Analytics Tools
How does Cognitive Analytics work?
Cognitive Computing is highly dependent upon the Deep Learning and Neural Network. Deep Learning based on the architecture which is known as Deep Learning Neural Network that emerges from the Neural Network architecture. You may also read more about Predictive Analytics in this insight.
The structure of the human brain influences the Neural Network. It is made up of neurons connected with the weighted interconnections. The Deep Learning Neural Network is consist of multiple layers of neurons. Learning will take place when the weights updated between the interconnection of weights. The Learning is composed of three phases -
- Understanding natural language and human interactions.
- Generating and evaluating the Evidence-based hypothesis.
- Adapting and learning from user selections and responses.
What are the benefits of Cognitive Analytics?
Users can understand regarding the growth of the business from their cognitive initiatives. This method enhances customer engagement that increases the efficiency at the fast pace which further increases the growth of the business. The Benefits are -
Customer Engagement
- Improved Customer Service.
- Personalized Customer/User Experience.
- Increased Customer engagement.
- Enable the faster response to customer/market needs.
Productivity and Efficiency
- Improved productivity and efficiency.
- Improved decision making and planning.
- Improved security and compliance, reduced security.
- Reduced costs.
- Enhance the learning experience.
Business Growth
- Expanded ecosystem.
- Expanded business into new markets.
- An accelerated innovation of new products/services.
If you don't want the future technologies to catch you off guard, pay attention to these current trends in big data analytics and succeed!" Click to explore about, Latest Trends in Big Data Analytics
Why Cognitive Analytics is important?
Technology plays a vital role in improving society. To tackle the challenges of society, the best combination of Human and Machine intelligence required. Therefore, cognitive technology is applied. The Cognitive technique is involved in various domains such as -
- Social Services - With the use of cognitive technology, insight extracted from the dataset. This further helps in building the personalized services plans and understand the vulnerability from a microscopic view. It also provides better provisions for protecting for at risks groups.
- Environment - With the growing impact of human on the natural world there is a need to protect it for future generations. Cognitive Analytics helps in dealing with fundamental problems such as climate change, food availability, water, and energy. Therefore, the government can able to point out the sources of pollution more effectively. It also helps to determine the anomalies or problem areas which further decrease the deforestation, track urbanization, mitigate diseases and better control the ecosystem.
- Public Safety - By using cognitive technology, better insights are extracted to achieve better situational awareness. Therefore, new capabilities are introduced such as combat epidemics, manage disasters and fighting for the crime.
How to adopt Cognitive Analytics?
The designing of specific algorithms is difficult for the large corporation. The customized search method is required for understanding and functioning within the network for achieving the desired results. The system should be able to learn by previous searches and files selected. Therefore, the combination of machine learning and the cognitive search will be highly useful within the business network. With the emergence of cognitive search within the network not only boost the speed for locating files and information it also emphasizes the functioning of the entire network with the use of well defined specialized applications.
What are the best practices of Cognitive Analytics?
- Use the full range of calculations for distributions.
- Consideration of data outliers.
- Report noise within the dataset.
- Analyzing and visualizing the data to determine complexity.
- Slicing the dataset.
- Review of practical significance.
- Examination of consistency of data over time.
What are the best Cognitive Analytics Tools?
- Statistical NLP
- Deep-learning NLP
- Rule-based NLP
- OpenNLP
- Apache Lucene Core is a full-featured text search engine Java library.
- GPText from Greenplum is a Statistical Text Analysis framework optimized for execution on parallel computing platforms.
- SyntaxNet is an open source Neural Network framework for developing natural language understanding systems.
- Parsey McParseface is a pretrained SyntaxNet model for parsing the standard English language.
- TensorFlow is another software library for Machine Intelligence.
- NuPIC is a platform for cognitive computing, based on a theory of neocortex called Hierarchical Temporal Memory (HTM).
- OpenCV and ImageJ are libraries for computer vision tasks.
- Praat is a tool for speech manipulation, analysis, and synthesis.
- OpenSMILE is another tool for extracting audio features in Real-Time.
What are the applications of Cognitive Analytics?
The application of Cognitive Computing are the following:
- Logistics and Transportation
- Retail Industry
- Cyber Security
- Healthcare
- Banking and Finance
- Education
- Power and Energy
A Holistic Strategy
- Learn about Text Analytics Techniques and Tools
- Get more insights about Learning Analytics Platform.

subset: commoncrawl


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At the end of last week, by most accounts, Chan Gailey to the New York Jets was a done deal. According to the offensive coordinator prospect, those assumptions were premature.
The former Buffalo Bills coach Gailey is stuck in limbo with Gang Green, and ESPN reported earlier Monday that a deal may not happen. NJ.com followed up with Gailey, who said that while "two or three" other teams have inquired about his services, he's made the Jets his priority.
"We're in negotiations at this point, but we just haven't (finalized anything)," Gailey told NJ.com Monday. "I really like Todd [Bowles]. I think he's great, from all I know about him. We've never worked together, but from all I know about him. We're just in negotiations, trying to get it worked out. And either we will or we won't, one or the other."
Follow AFC East Daily @AFCEastDaily


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Limb Pick-up:
Limbs and brush are picked up one week each month from April through October. This is for residents only. Limbs should be placed in front of the resident's home, near the curb and should be put out by 7am on the Monday of the week of pick-up. There is only one pass of each neighborhood per month. Please check local papers for schedules and regulations. Click here for more information.
Greenhill Cemetery:
Cost $300 per lot. $450 grave open and close fee. (weekends and holidays $600). Call the City Clerk-Treasurer for more details at 260-248-5100.
Citywide Clean-up:
Citywide Clean Up Days are typically held in the spring for City residents only. During the specified days, residents can discard unwanted debris and materials that would not otherwise fit inside the normal trash tote. Items must be curbside the night prior to pick up and some restrictions may apply. This service is provided at no additional charge. Please check local papers for schedules and regulations.
Leaf Pick-up:
Leaf pickup for city residents begins when most of the leaves have fallen from the trees (typically in October). Leaves should not be bagged, but rather should be raked up to the curb or sidewalk (never in the street). In early spring of the following year, the leaves are turned into free mulch for the public to take on a first come, first serve basis.
Snow Removal:
All City Streets are plowed first, followed by the alley ways. Citizens are asked to please remove vehicles from the streets in anticipation of snow events to allow for curb-to-curb plowing. A salt and sand mixture is applied to intersections only, and sand is applied to alleys as needed. Citizens are required by ordinance to remove snow and ice from sidewalks within 24 hours of each weather occurrence. It is recommended that residents allow the snow plows to pass prior to cleaning sidewalks as they may become snow covered. Residents are prohibited from throwing or plowing snow back into the street.
Downtown Parking:
Many of the Downtown parking spaces are controlled by a two-hour time limit. This two-hour limit is designed to help retailers and service-oriented businesses maintain parking spaces for customers. There is a $10.00 charge for each parking violation if paid within 13 days at the Utility Office on the first floor of City Hall. On the 14th day, the fine is increased to $35.00 and payable at the City Attorney's Office at 116 North Chauncey Street in Columbia City. It is the responsibility of the driver to be familiar with which spaces fall under the time limit.
Mosquito Briquettes:
During spring and summer months, when mosquitoes are prevalent, the city's Street/Sewer Department will place mosquito larvacide briquettes in the catch basins and retention ponds throughout the City. The Larvacide helps kill mosquito larvae and works to keep the population at a minimum. Residents can purchase their own larvacide briquettes at the Utility Office on the first floor of City Hall for $1 per briquette.


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You know you're doing things properly when Kei Miura, the man behind TRA Kyoto, picks you out of a crowd and excitedly introduces himself to you – which is exactly the once in a lifetime experience Rod and I had earlier today in the busy paddock area of Formula D Long Beach.
"You… Speedhunters?" he asks. Rod and I smile and nod. "ohhh, come… I have something to show you" he says frantically as we try our best to keep up.
We follow Kei and Masaru Ikeda, President of Trust Japan, into the GReddy support trailer. Still in shock we watch Mr. Rocket Bunny pull a massive laptop from a bag and flip it open, still unsure exactly what we are about to see.
These are the renderings he presented to us while exclaiming "you put up on site… today?" As you wish Miura-san! How can you say no to an offer like that?
At this point in time the car is only a rendering, but we are told that there should be a street driveable version completed at GReddy in Irivine soon. Stay tuned.
More TRA Kyoto stories on Speedhunters
More GReddy stories on Speedhunters
53 comments
Drool. So god damn sexy.
damn!!..the kit looks awesome on the 86!!..make it,and i'd probably buy it..
Definitely not a street driveable version at that height.
thats only a rendering?! waaaaaaaaat!
that thing looks soooooo sick! cant wait to see the real pictures of this bad boy!
I love how the rivets on the fenders clash with the lines of the car. Very nice.
holy fuck
Look pretty sick!
I want!! Right now !
Looks a lot like the BenSopra R35 kits. Not complaining, it looks tough!
I've gotta learn to render like these guys. Looks very, very convincing. That must have been quite the experience; being approached by two well respected men with awesome news. Don't care how much the final kit costs. If it looks close to this... Shut up and take my money! If you have the Hi-Res please post such glory
wasn't going to buy an ft86 until i saw this...
OMG this is awesome.
I REALLY REALLY LOVE rear mounted GT Wings
Big respect to you speedhunters staff!
Amazing, simply perfect.
I like the shape of the rear spoiler stand
Awesome! There is no other word to describe this!
Love the over fenders, but the lip, sideskirts, and the wing not so much.
that thing looks pretty bad ass
i can see the terminator face rear car..
Now that's what i'm talking about.
If you look at it closely, the aero kit is exactly like the GTR Benspora kit. I love it.!!
Its the sopra r35... Without crows feet
Trust is Rocket Bunny? That makes both companies cooler to me.
Car looks great.
not a rendering
wow, now that will make you want an 86
@jon, he is BenSopra.
desktops please...
damn thats sex.
wow i like it !!!
Oh Car Fashion...
This 86 is surely growing in me.... damn that rendering is so sexy!
I just crapped my pants. JAPAN IS #1
F Yes!
Tissues please.
Love it.this car would still look amazing without the wing, good versatility.also if that rear diffuser came in , carbon with vortex generators instead of that fin deal and make the front splitter carbon. That's all I would change.
desktop pls!
It seems like people love the face of the 86 because i don't remember seeing any 86 with a totally different front bumper yet... but I'm not complaining.
Looks so hot. Agreed with zenki240, would still look amazing without the wing. I'm just curious how long it'll be to get the power out of the FA motor to need 315 sized tires [ofcourse you could toss a sweet bro stretch on it to make it look cool rather than functional though]
Falken Tire driver, Justin Pawlak does it again. It seems as if he has some sort of sixth sense when it comes to this street course.
looks like a Ben Sopra kit
So damn BEAUTIFUL!
FYI the whole lip portion of the kit will likely be carbon, so paint is optional.
Can someone make a phonecall and get this made for G35s.... those lines would be perfect on my car!
ita a bit extreme but still wow if I had a GT86 I'd buy a kit right now Minus the wing
omfg its so low
Thats the sickest thing going right now even better in red!
Is this kit out already?


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Tinting the windows of your Home lets in natural light while reducing heat, glare, furniture fading and energy costs.
Window film for Commercial Buildings is a smart alternative to window replacement and provides privacy and safety.
Stylish window tinting on your Car not only improves the appearance of your vehicle, but also protects you and your passengers from harmful UV rays.


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"This has been a clinical problem for a very long time, and we see it all the time. A patient comes into my clinic, the nurses check their blood sugar, it's 50 mg/dL, and they're just sitting there without any symptoms," said lead investigator Sandra Aleksic, MD, of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York.
As blood glucose in the brain drops, people get confused, and their behavioral defenses are compromised. They might crash if they're driving. "If you have HAAF, it makes you prone to more hypoglycemia, which blunts your response even more. It's a vicious cycle," she said at the annual scientific sessions of the American Diabetes Association.
Endogenous opioids are at least partly to blame. Hypoglycemia induces release of beta-endorphin, which in turn inhibits production of epinephrine. Einstein investigators have shown in previous small studies with healthy subjects that morphine blunts the response to induced hypoglycemia, and intravenous naloxone – an opioid blocker – prevents HAAF (Diabetes. 2017 Nov;66[11]:2764-73).
Intravenous naloxone, however, isn't practical for outpatients, so the team wanted to see whether intranasal naloxone also prevented HAAF. The results "are very promising, but this is preliminary." If it pans out, though, patients may one day carry intranasal naloxone along with their glucose pills and glucagon to treat hypoglycemia. "Any time they are getting low, they would take the spray," Dr. Aleksic said.
The team used hypoglycemic, hyperinsulinemic clamps to drop blood glucose levels in seven healthy subjects down to 54 mg/dL for 2 hours twice in one day and gave them hourly sprays of either intranasal saline or 4 mg of intranasal naloxone; hypoglycemia was induced again for 2 hours the following day. The 2-day experiment was repeated 5 weeks later.
Overall, there was no difference in peak epinephrine levels between the first hypoglycemic episode on day 1 and the third episode on day 2 in subjects randomized to naloxone (942 pg/mL plus or minus 190 versus 857 pg/mL plus or minus 134; P = .4). The third episode, meanwhile, placed placebo subjects into HAAF (first hypoglycemic episode 1,375 pg/mL plus or minus 182 versus 858 pg/mL plus or minus 235; P = .004). There was also a trend toward higher hepatic glucose production in the naloxone group.
"These findings suggest that HAAF can be prevented by acute blockade of opioid receptors during hypoglycemia. ... Acute self-administration of intranasal naloxone could be an effective and feasible real-world approach to ameliorate HAAF in type 1 diabetes," the investigators concluded. A trial in patients with T1DM is being considered.
Dr. Aleksic estimated that patients with T1DM drop blood glucose below 54 mg/dL maybe three or four times a month, on average, depending on how well they manage the condition. For now, it's unknown how long protection from naloxone would last.


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House Call Company
Boiler Maintenance
Improving Lives by Improving Homes
Boiler Maintenance
Taking care of your home is a major priority—all homeowners know this much. It's important that the various systems that comprise your home and make it comfortable and convenient are maintained from time to time to ensure they work as promised. There's little hope otherwise of ensuring that they last as long as possible. Fortunately, this is something that you can rely on our team to take care of. We provide customers with boiler maintenance services so that they can protect their comfort as well as their investment. Just let us know what you need and we can make it happen.
At House Call Company, we take pride in the ability of our team members to solve problems. Whether it's installing a new boiler from scratch or making sure that your existing boiler is properly cleaned, inspected, and tuned-up, we want you to be happy above all else. We use only high quality equipment and tools for our services, and we employ highly skilled and trained technicians who can handle just about anything. Don't hesitate to get in touch with us should you require boiler maintenance. We can make sure that your boiler is taken care of properly throughout its service life.
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Many homeowners are under the impression that once installed, their boiler will simply work indefinitely for many years. While this is true in some sense, it's important to realize that your boiler is a large and complicated system with numerous mechanisms, components and materials, each of which must work together to ensure adequate operation. Over time, dust and other debris can begin to accumulate on these components, and you may find that ultimately your boiler suffers damage as a result. During our boiler maintenance service, your system will be thoroughly inspected for signs of damage, cleaned and also tuned–up to ensure that it works exactly as it should.
Signs that You Need to Tune–Up Your Boiler
If you have never had your boiler maintained before, it's imperative that you do so. Whether your boiler is 3 or 13 years old, it could always benefit from a maintenance service. But some situations are more urgent than others. If you find that your energy efficiency has gradually decreased in recent years or that your system is not working just as it should, then please let us know. We'd be happy to tell you more about our boiler maintenance service.
The Benefits of Professional Boiler Maintenance
Taking care of your heating system appliances is a great way to make sure that your boiler lasts for as long as possible. In fact, system longevity is one of the most important benefits of having your boiler professionally maintained. Another is improved energy efficiency. A clean and tuned–up system can save you plenty in the long–term. Contact our team of professionals today to learn more about boiler maintenance.


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The white spot disease or the saltwater ich is characterized by white salt like spots on the body and fins on the fish. It is often mistaken to be a minor issue and left uncared by amateur. Though it spreads slowly, it can reach a fatal stage without alarm and then you will have no solution to… [Read More]
Getting Rid Of The Irritating Ich
September 4, 2012 By


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The Bredo and Zeus/Zbot malware families are both vying to infect your PC. If these bots are not busy spamming themselves out from an infected endpoint, with either bogus delivery invoices or forged IRS statements, they are scouring the local machine for personal information to steal, bank transactions to manipulate, among a host of other possible nefarious deeds.
But who wants to share? We have seen bots go toe-to-toe with one another before; embedding logic into their armory to block or disable other malware. As such, it comes as no surprise to have seen a recent Bredo sample with additional code to disable installed Zbots. The sample loops through the list of known Zbot executable names…
… and moves any files found to an alternate location, and thus disabling Zbot's path-based auto-start mechanism for subsequent reboots. And to combat its own paranoia, the malware sets up a thread to perform this check (along with its own installation logic) forever.
Though disabling Zbots may seem helpful, Bredo malware does far more harm than good. As prevention is often better than the cure, be diligent in your efforts to avoid infection altogether; read e-mail with extra caution and follow safe-computing best-practices.


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When Pfizer research scientist Jim Mobley was asked to switch his research focus from asthma to arthritis, he had no idea he would stumble upon a fascinating concept that may change the way pharmaceutical companies develop drugs. And surprisingly enough, he made this discovery not in the lab but in the library.
By researching current literature, analyzing epidemiology — the study of disease patterns in human populations — and looking at archeological records, he hypothesized a relationship between rheumatoid arthritis and tuberculosis. Central to this idea is the notion that epidemics may play a role in human evolution.
Rheumatoid arthritis is different from osteoarthritis — the most common form that results from the normal wear and tear of the joints. RA is one of the many autoimmune diseases such as lupus, Type 1 diabetes and multiple sclerosis.
"(Autoimmune diseases) are incorrect usages of our immune system," Mobley said. "Our immune system thinks that it's fighting something foreign when it's not."
In the case of RA, the unwitting casualties are usually the smaller joints, like the fingers and wrists. According to Mobley, 1 to 2 percent of Americans are affected by the disease.
Tuberculosis, on the other hand, is caused by an infection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The bacteria enter the lungs, eventually making it very difficult for the victim to breathe. It is possible to carry the bacteria without contracting the disease, though. While very rare in the United States, the disease still kills two million people each year worldwide.
Since Mobley was unfamiliar with RA, he was able to examine the field with a fresh eye. This allowed him to notice unusual trends in the literature other scientists may have overlooked.
"I paid attention to those things that were unique to this disease — that really didn't make sense to me," he said.
Two things struck a chord. First, he saw throughout scientific studies that animals injected with one species of bacteria were most likely to contract RA. This species was Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
Second, he found interesting cases involving Enbrel, a drug used to treat RA. Enbrel blocks tumor necrosis factor, a chemical messenger that alerts surrounding cells of infection.
"It tells the surrounding cells that 'I've been infected by something — you'd better pay attention,' " Mobley said.
While blocking TNF stops an overactive immune system from attacking itself, it also sometimes caused people who carried the tuberculosis bacteria to contract TB. This may be because TNF is important for TB immunity.
"There had to be, in my mind, some causality to tuberculosis," Mobley said.
Newton's apple came in the form of two books, one on tuberculosis and one on rheumatoid arthritis. From one he learned where and when the major TB epidemics had occurred — the most recent one was over two hundred years ago in Europe. From the other he discovered RA was not spread out uniformly across the world population as he had thought — certain countries and populations had higher incidences than others. Mobley had these two books within a few feet of each other, these sources of information on two seemingly unrelated diseases.
And in a moment of serendipity, he saw the connection.
The higher incidences of RA "almost perfectly mirrored" the death rates from TB, Mobley said. A certain Native American population had peak death rates from TB nearly seven times higher than those in England and North America over the last two hundred years. Generations later, this same population had rates of RA nearly seven times higher than the rest of the world. In Africa, where TB had been relatively nonexistent, RA was now also absent.
Because the matching trends were more than 100 years apart, Mobley surmised that the connection had something to do with genetics and natural selection.
Other diseases also possess this relationship with one another. The genetic mutation that causes sickle cell anemia, if only present on one chromosome, affords protection from malaria. Similarly, only one mutation of the gene that causes cystic fibrosis gives protection for cholera-induced diarrhea. Mobley also noted two diseases with a direct relationship — a mutation that provided resistance to the bubonic plague now seems to make those survivors' descendants HIV-resistant.
The common thread is epidemics. Epidemics can induce genetic change, in essence causing evolution on a small scale. Survivors of epidemics can pass their resistance on to future generations, but those without resistance take their weak genes to the grave. "This is Darwinian selective pressure at its best," Mobley said.
"Genetic mutations that allowed people to survive tuberculosis epidemics two hundred years ago are combining and coming together in the descendants of those individuals, making their immune systems very much stronger and unfortunately, inducing these autoimmune-type diseases," he said.
Mobley published his idea in the journal Medical Hypotheses, asking "Is rheumatoid arthritis a consequence of natural selection for enhanced tuberculosis resistance?" Bruce Rothschild, who had been looking at archaeological evidence that fit with Mobley's hypothesis, contacted Mobley. Rothschild found that prior to 1785 there was no record of RA in Europe — only after the occurrence of TB epidemics. This suggested the epidemics were responsible for the existence of RA.
In addition, 6500-1000 years ago, the only place in the world Rothschild was able to detect RA was in a small Native American population between the Tennessee and Green Rivers. This population showed no evidence of having had tuberculosis.
Because other populations in North America showed evidence of tuberculosis, Mobley thought this Native American population may have been a group of people who had survived a TB epidemic, their resistance then making them susceptible to RA. Rothschild's findings supported his hypothesis. At the genetic level, Mobley found that genes that were mutated more often in the RA population were mutated less often in the TB population. What was good for RA was bad for TB. "It's this yin and yang," Mobley said.
After months of research outside of the laboratory, it was now time to use what he had learned to help him design new drugs. Mobley stresses that this is only a hypothesis, and can not yet be proven.
Normally, a large pharmaceutical company like Pfizer would find new drug targets — any sort of molecule whose action a drug can block to treat a disease — by reading the literature and going to scientific conferences, Mobley said. If a lab reports that a certain chemical may play a part in a specific disease — or interact with a known drug target for that disease — it is added to a list. After a while, of course, the list becomes very long.
"I'm not going to just start on them alphabetically and go down the list," Mobley said.
Instead, Mobley chose targets that were highly expressed in RA but not in TB. By considering TB, he was able to give higher priority to targets he believed would be more effective, targets which he might otherwise not have looked at immediately. Mobley has narrowed the list down to about a dozen targets, including tumor necrosis factor, the molecule blocked by the current RA drug Enbrel. He has recently proposed one of these targets for the development of a new drug.
Mobley doesn't believe other pharmaceutical companies are using methods like his, but he thinks they will in the future.
He also thinks the causative effect of tuberculosis-resistance may extend to all autoimmune diseases. Of the variety of mutations that help an individual survive tuberculosis, different combinations may lead to susceptibilities to different diseases. "I think it's a shuffling of the cards as to which autoimmune disease that you potentially suffer from," he said.
Mobley's next project might involve another unlikely connection: patients with schizophrenia don't get RA.
"But that's the kind of thing that I like to look for," Mobley said. "What doesn't make sense, what doesn't quite fit."


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William B. & Elizabeth Behr Agocs Geophysical Research Fund
Established by a bequest in 2000, this fund provides grants to Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest, Hungary to provide awards for outstanding graduate students in the studies of geophysics. Award recipients are chosen by a committee of faculty and staff at the University.
William B. Agocs was the third person to receive his Ph.D. in Physics from Lehigh University. He served as a consultant for Bethlehem Steel Corp. and helped to discover iron deposits in Morgantown and Marmora areas. He was a professor at Kutztown University and served as the chair of the Physics department. He retired in 1980.
Gifts to the Fund can be made by submitting a check, payable to the William B. & Elizabeth Behr Agocs Geophysical Research Fund, to the Lehigh Valley Community Foundation, 840 West Hamilton Street, Suite 310, Allentown, PA 18101. Gifts can also be made via credit card by clicking the PayPal 'Donate' button below. A PayPal account is not required to make an online gift to the Fund.
Make a gift to William B. & Elizabeth Behr Agocs Geophysical Research Fund through PayPal


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Chenlift (Suzhou) Machinery Co Ltd is one of the leading aerial work platform and logistic loading and unloading machines manufacturer in Suzhou, China. With the brand name of Bestmax Lift
Chen Lift have been served our customers with the design, manufacturing, and installation of aerial work platform and logistic loading and unloading machines for more than fifteen years. Our machines have enjoyed great popularity among our domestic and foreign customers in over 50 countries.
Our goal is to help our customers achive success by solving problems, increasing working effiency and lowering management cost. We give top priority to quality of products by continuous innovation and shoulder the responsibility to provide customers with safe and efficient products.
Excellent working team, clear cut development direction, good after sale service, advanced manufacturing equipment, and restrict safety requirements, all theses are the prerequisites for us to provide our customer with satisfying machines.
Machines also can be manufactured based on our customers' requirments, our team will take good care of our customer's needs and try our best to reach their expectation.
Chen Lift take "Focus, Innovation, Dedication, Sincerity, Care, Earnest" as our valued priciple.
Warmly welcome to visit our factory and we are looking forward to cooperating with you for mutual benefits.


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Most people have probably heard of this name from Harry Potter. Regulus (pronounced "REH-guh-lus") is the brother of Sirius Black. He might have died before the story began, but his actions certainly color the last book. This also further demonstrates the Black clan's love of celestial names.
Regulus is Latin name of debatable meaning. Once source says it translates into "little king" or "prince." Another says that it's an Ancient Roman surname meaning "rule." Whichever one it is, the theme of royalty repeats itself a lot when researching the myths of this particular star. It is the name of the brightest star in the constellation Leo. The Persians called this star Venant, and it was known as one of the four "royal stars." In Arabic, Regulus is known as Qalb al-Asad meaning "the heart of a lion."
But Regulus has another Harry Potter connection. Regulus is the Latin name for the mythical creature known as a basilisk. in European legends, the basilisk is a reptile that is said to cause death with a single glance. This creature plays a big role in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. The Greek name for the brightest star in Leo is Basiliscus.
Not surprising for names used by J.K. Rowling, Regulus was worn by several saints. Saint Regulus' (also known as Saint Rule) claim to fame is fleeing to Scotland with the bones of Saint Andrew. But before him, there was a Roman consul and general named Marcus Atilius Regulus.
Regulus has never been a popular name in the United States, but it is similar to names like Atticus and Augustus. Regulo is the Spanish and Portuguese variant. The feminine form is Regula. It's particularly appropriate for a boy that was born under the sun sign Leo, and I apologize that this name has been sitting around in the queue for a while.
No matter when the bearer was born, Regulus is a strong name. I wouldn't worry too much about the Harry Potter connection. It's a great moniker for someone looking for something unique but with lots of history.
Image Credit:
Found via http://pinterest.com
Image Credit:
Found via http://pinterest.com


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- I am a wife, mother and decorator. Welcome to my blog, where I share my projects and design inspiration. I love finding vintage pieces to add character and sense of history to my designs. My other passions are family, cooking, gardening and traveling. Feel free to drop me a line or just say hello!
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Tag Archives: High Point Market
Design Jolt At High Point Market 2017
Posted on April 25, 2017 by Ivy de Leon
Sometimes you have to break the rules or should I say the norm. Saturday morning, I was off to the airport to High Point Market. I felt a little guilty leaving soon after my daughter's junior prom the night … Continue reading →
Posted in Decorating | Tagged David Phoenix, design, Duralee, fabrics, Hickory Chair, High Point Market, Madcap Cottage, Pandora's Manor, Robert Allen fabric, Veranda Magazine | Leave a comment
Here Comes Fun!
Posted on July 22, 2016 by Ivy de Leon
Cheers to the weekend! Cocktails and shoes and a few good friends sounds just like the weekend I want. Nordstrom is having their Anniversary Sale! Shoes therapy would do me good. NYNow is currently at the Javits Center so I'm … Continue reading →
Posted in Decorating, Fashion | Tagged High Point Market, Nordstrom, NYNow, shoes, shopping, weekend | Leave a comment
Quality Furniture For Your Home
Posted on October 23, 2015 by Ivy de Leon
I live between two worlds of design, high and low. I love luxury, quality goods and appreciate a great DIY project. I realize that not all are born with a silver spoon. I came from modest beginnings, but my parents always appreciated … Continue reading →
Posted in Decorating | Tagged bookcase, Design Blogger Tour, end tables, fine furniture, furniture, High Point Market, secretary desk, storage | Leave a comment
High Point Market Design Bloggers Tour
Posted on October 22, 2015 by Ivy de Leon
Hello all, I'm back from High Point Market with Design Bloggers Tour Fall Market. There is so much to share with you. The tour started by meeting Adam Japko of Esteem Media and the bloggers on the tour. We hit the … Continue reading →
Posted in Decorating | Tagged Century Furniture, furniture, High Point Market, Hooker Furniture, Loloi Rugs | Leave a comment
High Point Market Design Bloggers Tour 2015
Posted on October 14, 2015 by Ivy de Leon
I'm so excited to be participating in the High Point Market Design Bloggers Tour with a group of fabulous bloggers. Thanks to Esteem Media, High Point Market Authority and great sponsors. Follow me on social media @idhomedecor and #designbloggerstour hashtag. The winner of the … Continue reading →
Posted in Decorating | Tagged Entertaining, fabrics, furniture, Giveaway, High Point Market, rugs, showrooms | Leave a comment
Out and About: High Point Market
Posted on April 9, 2014 by Ivy de Leon
Hello, again. I'm back from High Point Market. The first day at market was rainy and cool, but there were places to go and people to meet. The great thing about market is that they have complementary shuttles to the hundreds … Continue reading →
Posted in Decorating | Tagged High Point Market, Out and About, spring market | Leave a comment


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Comedian Paula Poundstone joined parent advocates a few hours before her act in Annapolis, Maryland, last month in order to make a pitch for a new law in the state that will regulate how safely students use computers and other devices in their classrooms, WBAL-TV (NBC affiliate) reports.
Ms Poundstone was joined on stage by Cindy Eckard, a Maryland mom who was shown saying, "When I learned that my child would have to use a laptop for school, I assumed there were already safety regulations in place. There is nothing to prevent our kids from being strapped to a computer all day long at school."
Some of the health issues that have been linked to the overuse of computers affect students' eyes and bodies: myopia, retinal damage, musculoskeletal aches and pains. But the media has also linked other medical issues, such as sleeplessness and psychological damage, to the amount of time students spend using electronic devices.
"I want my children to be tech savvy. I just don't want them to be injured by it," Ms Eckard was shown saying. "We have no idea what the prognosis is for this problem, none, zero," Ms Poundstone added.
In the recent past, many of these problems surfaced in kids who were spending too much time on the couch watching TV. So tying these medical issues to computer use is logical.
"Kids should be doing things that are intellectually enriching: playing with board games, playing with dice, playing with things that will improve their motor skills, reading," Health.com quoted the lead author of a 2010 study, Linda Pagani, PhD, a professor in the School of Psychoeducation at the University of Montréal, as saying. "All that is replaced by sitting on the couch."
She found that each additional hour 2-year-olds spent in front of the TV per week corresponded to a 7 percent decrease in classroom engagement, a 6 percent decrease in overall math achievement, and a 10 percent increase in being bullied by peers. Reading skills didn't seem to be affected by the amount of TV toddlers watched, though.
That finding is interesting, as it shows kids decreasing the importance of active, engaged learning later in their school lives as they emphasize the sort of passive, receptive learning that comes from watching TV.
Take the leap to today, with ubiquitous 1-to-1 technology programs in our schools. Every kid gets a laptop, an iPad, a Chromebook, or whatever device the school district decides to set them up with. Devices are a little more engaging than TV, because you actually have to take some action to get information, but these aren't actions tied to how kids normally develop, or grow to love, learning.
No sleep problems from computer use during the school day
Before I get into the headaches and eye problems that have been linked to too much screen time, I want to debunk a myth propagated by Ms Poundstone at her show last month.
Most of the research about sleeplessness, claimed by current advocates for screen safety legislation in Maryland, seems to suggest that playing nonviolent video games during the day doesn't have much of an impact on students' sleep patterns.
Screen time at night is a different story. In one study, published by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the academy recommends limiting nighttime media use, especially by keeping devices and TVs out of children's bedrooms. With a TV in their bedrooms, kids tended to watch about 15 minutes more of TV every day and experience sleep-related problems.
Eye problems on the rise in the developed world
In what was at the time the largest study of childhood eye diseases ever undertaken in the US, researchers at the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine confirmed that the incidence of childhood myopia among American children has more than doubled over the last 50 years. The findings mirror the trend in Asia, where screen time is even greater among children than it is in the US.
Too much screen time was listed as one of the possible culprits, but study authors also hypothesized that kids weren't getting enough sunlight.
"While research shows there is a genetic component, the rapid proliferation of myopia in the matter of a few decades among Asians suggests that close-up work and use of mobile devices and screens on a daily basis, combined with a lack of proper lighting or sunlight, may be the real culprit behind these dramatic increases," Rohit Varma, MD, MPH and director of the USC Eye Institute, said in a press release. "More research is needed to uncover how these environmental or behavioral factors may affect the development or progression of eye disease."
Other studies from the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, confirm the findings that myopia has increased in the US. Although there's no direct link in research findings between increasing risk of myopia (nearsightedness) and screen time, the coincidence of the rise in computer use and an increase in myopia suggests a link.
"Historically, farsightedness was more common than nearsightedness, and that trend has reversed," ABC News quoted Dr Robert Maloney of Maloney Vision Institute in Los Angeles as saying. "This is a worldwide problem in the developed world, not just a Chinese problem. For example, 90 percent of Singaporean 18-year-olds are nearsighted, and the numbers in Japan are not far off."
But the cause of the increase in Singapore is unknown, and an increase in myopia was documented long before video games were a thing.
Plus, a number of studies dating back several decades looked at the relation between near work, like studying and video games, and nearsightedness, and didn't find a real connection, Dr Maloney said. "A more recent well-done study published several years ago suggested such a correlation. Bottom line is that we don't know for sure if the video games are causing this."
As for schools …
I want to caution people against assuming screen use "causes" myopia in kids, because research is correlative, not causative. But the parallel trends are suspicious.
What we know about TV watching, however, is that it turns kids into passive learners who aren't engaged in the learning process. That research is clear and has shown a causation. This is what schools should deal with when it comes to changing our laws. When it comes to best practices in a classroom, though, the educational value of these devices shouldn't be overlooked. A safe-use strategy, one that benefits kids' education and their eye health, is possible.
Kids see devices in a much more nuanced way than Ms Poundstone and screen safety advocates seem to realize—or than they suggest in a "one size fits all" approach.
Students at our schools complain about eye problems, sure, but they're also concerned about the restricted access to educational websites schools mandate. They want to engage actively in learning activities on their devices, but schools block access to some educational websites for one reason or another. That infuriates students.
"In fact, these students are beginning to have mixed feelings towards the constant refinement of the grading policy and the implementation of devices," writes Hannah Jenarine, an editor at The Pipeline, the student newspaper at Pikesville High School in Baltimore, in an article last month.
She quotes one junior as saying that "staring at a screen and doing work for hours on this device has caused my eyes and my head to hurt. I am not used to reading on a screen and I would much prefer to have a paper copy." And she quotes a sophomore as saying, "I think our devices are very helpful because we are able to learn new things much quicker and be more productive in classes. Also, we are saving more trees."
So before we start making laws to regulate what might be a connection between screen use and myopia, we need to look at what the actual problem is for kids. In order to use the devices and actively engage in the leaning process, students need access to the right websites and they need to learn how to navigate online information and review it critically. They don't have that now, at least at Pikesville.
Such policies turn students into passive learners, limited to the websites school "leaders" decide are appropriate.
And as far as our laws go, let's agree on one thing: Kids need to get more sunlight. That could help with the eye problems as well, according to the USC research cited above. We can't legislate the weather, though, I'm sorry to say, but it makes about as much sense as trying to pass laws that impose limits on screen time.


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The Best Nail Art Trends For Spring 2016
When it comes to the designer runway shows at fashion week, styling involves more than just clothes and accessories—everything from the perfect eye shadow shades to artfully designed manis are equally important. While we love taking inspiration from our favorite collections, updating our entire wardrobe is easier said than done. Here, see what nail art designs are trending on the fashion week circuit and pick your favorites to give your look an update without costing a fortune.
Read more: Negative Space Manicures For Spring Are So Trendy & Just As Easy To DIY
This season's shows were all about striped details. Play with ones in metallic hues or go for classic black and white. If you're feeling up to the challenge, you can even vary stripes in vertical and horizontal placements to create a simple plaid.
Metallic Stripes At 3.1 Phillip Lim
Achromatic Stripes At Marissa Webb
Vertical Stripes At Paul Andrew
Striped Plaid At Zac Posen
Looking to make a statement? Nothing is more eye-catching than a sparkly mani. Get fancy with a glitter topcoat or embellish your cuticles with a cluster of sparkles.
Silver Sparkles At Delpozo
Bedazzled Cuticles At Naeem Khan
Glitter Polish At Lie Sangbong
If you thought the classic French manicure was a thing of the past, think again. It's back and better than ever in bright colors and modern shapes.
Modern French Tips At Monique Lhuillier
Negative Space Tips At Tibi
Dual Tips At Johnathan Simkhai
Red French Tips At Veronica Beard
If nail art is not your thing, take a more natural-looking approach with one of the most recurring trends: naked nails. Get a mani in a light pink, nude or just swipe on a clear polish for a touch of shine.
Light Pink Nails At Monse
Clear Polish At Carolina Herrera
Nude Nails At DKNY
If you're caught in between the nail art and naked trend, take the middle route and opt for a clean mani in a pop of bright color.
Mellow Yellow At Creatures Of The Wind
Bold Blue At Jenny Packham
Red Alert At Chris Gelinas
Artsy brush strokes graced the nails of models on multiple runways at fashion week. Use a white polish and play with placement on nails. Try a diagonal swipe on nude nails or fake a French mani for a modern take on the classic trend.
Feathered French Tips At Zero Maria Cornejo
Smoke And Mirrors At Nanette Lepore
Barely-There Swipes At Public School
Negative space is back again. Experiment with geometric shapes and stripes on bare nails.


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By Liriel Higa
May 22, 2015
When Jaha Dukureh created a Change.org petition to tackle female genital mutilation, or "female circumcision," in the United States last year, her goal was modest: 1,000 supporters.
Dukureh, then 24, who herself underwent genital cutting as a girl in Gambia and now lives in Atlanta, wanted an updated federal estimate of the women who have had the procedure or are at risk of it. The number was last estimated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 1997, when 168,000 women and girls were said to have had the operation, or been at risk, in the United States. Dukureh hoped her petition would get a modest number of supporters to back the call for gathering data, as a step toward addressing the issue.
"1000!!!!!!," she wrote in an update on March 7 about her petition signatures. Nine days later, she topped the 1,500 mark. With a push from The Guardian, and tweets of support from celebrities including Paula Abdul and Susan Sarandon, the numbers took off, reaching 220,000 signatures by July. Most significantly, the administration agreed to study the number of women affected and create a working group to come up with a plan to tackle it.
Updated Estimate
The CDC hasn't released a final estimate, but a draft obtained by The Guardian estimates 513,000 women and girls are living with or a risk of female genital mutilation, or "female circumcision," as it is sometimes referred to euphemistically. Illegal to perform on minors in the United States since 1996, it has no health benefit and typically involves removing part or all of the genitals of babies or young girls, though in some cases it can be a nick. Under one extreme form, the vulva is sewn up afterward, leaving just a small opening for menstruation and urination. The result can lead to great pain and health complications, particularly in childbirth. Parents have their daughters undergo the procedure because they view it as a rite of passage that will improve marriage prospects; there is often an assumption that a girl with a clitoris is likely to be "wild."
The Population Reference Bureau used methods similar to those the CDC employed, and in its own study concluded that 507,000 women are at risk and affected in the United States. The numbers are calculated based on the number of women coming from countries with high prevalence rates of female genital mutilation, or daughters with parents from those countries. In fact, says Mark Mather of the Population Reference Bureau, compared to the 1997 estimate, which included people with ancestry from an affected country, the latest figure is more conservative because it is limited to the first and second generation.
Yet the women who come to the United States aren't necessarily representative of other countries' population as a whole, and when it comes to a precise count of how many women have actually undergone the procedure, that's much harder to calculate. The practice isn't uniform within a country — it can vary by region, religion and wealth, for example, a level of nuance that is difficult to extrapolate when it comes to the U.S. population. In Benin, 72 percent of Peulh girls have undergone the procedure, while it is not practiced among the Adja and Fon ethnicities. In Gambia, 82 percent of girls and women who have been cut think the practice should continue, compared to only 5 percent of those who have not been cut. Low-income Liberian women are twice as likely to have been cut as wealthy ones.
Within the United States, the immigrant groups also tend to be clustered — with 40 percent living in five metropolitan areas: New York, Washington, D.C., Minneapolis-St. Paul, Los Angeles and Seattle.
Immigrants to the United States are often better educated and wealthier (with refugees a notable exception). In fact, calculating the number of just women who have been cut, says Mather, is "flat out impossible to do with the data we have. There are no national surveys…. All the data we have are hospital, clinical data, anecdotal evidence."
Brendan Wynne of Equality Now, which has been lobbying for years to address female genital mutilation in England and the United States, says that it's a mistake to assume that just because immigrants to the United States may be more affluent and educated, that means they are less likely to have been cut. "There's no real connection in that sense, he says. "The last places for FGM to exist will be in the Western world. Diaspora communities tend to hold onto it."
The United States isn't the only country with outdated numbers. UNICEF counts 29 countries in Africa and the Middle East where the practice is most prevalent, and estimates more than 130 million women and girls in those countries have been cut. The greatest numbers are in Egypt (27.2 million), Ethiopia (23.8 million) and Nigeria (19.9 million), while the highest rates are Somalia (98 percent), Guinea (96 percent), Djibouti (93 percent) and Egypt (91 percent). Yet Somalia's data is from 2006, Ethiopia's from 2000 and 2005, and Yemen's from 1997. (It is also believed to persist among Muslims in Indonesia, which is the world's largest Muslim country.)
So how can the United States get more precise numbers? The United Kingdom — where some 137,000 women are said to be affected — offers one model. There, health professionals in the national health care system must make note in a patient's health care record if she has been cut. The Department of Health also collects data every month from acute trusts, which manage hospitals, on how many patients have undergone the procedure.
But collecting such information in the United States is challenging. Charlotte Feldman-Jacobs of the Population Reference Bureau says that there are privacy and legal issues. "Are you going to ask someone who lives in a country where FGM has been outlawed: 'Have you cut your daughter?' "
And there's a reluctance by women who have undergone it to talk about it — even among themselves. "Women don't want to talk about it because every time, you revisit that awful day," says F.A. Cole, who grew up in Sierra Leone and lives in Germantown, Md., and is launching a magazine for fellow survivors.
Still, more research, even if it's qualitative, would be helpful. And there are issues in the United States that don't apply to countries where it is prevalent. For example, how prevalent is "vacation cutting" — when girls are brought back to home countries to be cut? And what about the rumors that there are cutters brought into the United States to do the procedure?
Dr. Nawal Nour, founder of the African Women's Health Center and associate professor at Harvard Medical School, cautions against putting the onus on just health care professionals for reporting vacation cutting. "As a health provider who has been working hard to maintain access to care for this population, I believe strongly that it would be difficult to make the health system primarily responsible," she writes.
Getting better data will require improved record keeping and coding by healthcare professionals, better surveys, and "sensitive evaluation of changes in attitudes that influence this population," says Nour.
And by providing a more accurate estimate of how many women have undergone cutting, instead of just being at risk, that could persuade the public and legislators about the need to better train those who come in direct contact with girls at risk, as well as provide appropriate emotional and psychological support for those already affected.
Numbers aside, Dukureh's Change.org petition has helped to create momentum in important ways: More people in the United States are aware that cutting is not just a practice that affects women overseas, which could provide meaningful public support for legislative and policy change. In February, Rep. Joe Crowley and Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee introduced legislation to establish a multi-agency strategy to tackle the practice, which could include an emergency hotline for girls seeking help. That would add the United States to the group of countries that have a national strategy, like England and Italy.
Dukureh says that when she started her campaign, "I would have never imagined in a million years that it would be this successful." But the past year has given her hope — and the drive to continue. Citing the success of ending foot binding in China a century ago, Dukureh says, "I feel like we can really end FGM in our generation."
Source: http://kristof.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/05/22/fgm-a-modern-day-scourge-in-the-united-states/?_r=0
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/fgm-modern-day-scourge-united/d/103161


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Good Morning all :-) I hope you all had a lovely weekend with maybe a little time for craftiong !! :-)
Before moving onto the new theme I need to press the button on the random gen ,,,, who won my surprise candy ,,,,,,
Before moving onto the new theme I need to press the button on the random gen ,,,, who won my surprise candy ,,,,,,
Here are your random numbers:
Timestamp: 2011-01-17 08:36:22 UTC
The lucky winner is Sarah aka Stressed Stamper ;-) Congratulations Sarah !! :-)
The weeks are flying by and it's time for a new theme on the House Mouse and Friends Monday Challenge. This week it was our lovely teamie,Heather's turn to choose ,,,
EMBOSSING !! a nice easy one, you can use any House Mouse, Gruffie or Happy Hopper for this one :-)
We are sponsored by One Stop Card Craffts who are offering a £10 voucher to their store + free shipping wordwide :-)
I used this cute House Mouse Party Animals stamp. Coloured with Copics and glittered around the edges with Star Dust Stickles. I have had this paper for ages and have no idea who made it ! I used some green coredinations and a Happy Birthday Enbossing Folder. The flower is from a Prima Esprit tube and I glittered a green button with stickles for the center. I used a Martha Stewart Happy Birthday border punch and added a few Robins Nest Dew Drops to finish ,,,,
oooh,,, and I sewed all the edges too. I must say I am quite enjoying sewing my cards at the mo' but really it is because I have almost run out of DSST !!!! I have ordered this FAB ATG Gun ( I have wanted one for ages ) and am stalking the postman every day !!! :-),,, hope it arrives TODAY !! :-),, no more peeling the backing off and having all the mess !! :-)
aww ,,, don't they look cute close up ,,, the poor little one at the back has dropped his hat Mummy ,,, :-)
Challenges :
Lets Ink It Up ,,,,, Anything Goes
House Mouse and Friends ,,,,, Celebrate
I Did It Creations ,,,, Brr , I'm Turning Blue ( use blue)
CYDA ,,,, Anything Goes
Creative Inspirations ,,, Celebrate
One Stop Craft ,,,,, Card for a Male
Fairy Fun Fridays ,,,,, Birthday
Dutch Dare ,,,,, All Stitched Up
Paper Romance ,,, Birthday card for a Male
Sisterhood of Crafters ,,,,, Birthday
Stampavie and More ,,, Glitter
Pollycraft Monday ,,,, Pastel Colours
Cards for Men ,,,,, Lets Party
Our Fab guest Designer, Tracy, and the DT have made some fabulous super cute cards for your inspiration so please hop on over to the HM&F Monday Challenge blog to see them ,, and we look forward to seeing all your entries !! :-)
p.s Tracy's card from the last challenge is a Featured Entry on the Official House Mouse website !!! Congratulations Tracy !!! Woo Hoo !! :-) Go and see it !!!!! :-)


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Entire pit groups for $595, sofa-loveseat combinations for $369. The list goes on and on. And most likely, you think it's all too good to be true. But think again.
We are The Inside Story. A very unique furniture store that sells high-quality designer furniture at substantially reduced prices.
Our prices are so good because our technique is so different. We don't have a fleet of high-pressure salesmen. Or an enormous, elaborate showroom. We aren't even located in high-traffic areas.
At The Inside Story you'll find one thing. Designer furniture. In a single warehouse showroom that gives you a relaxed browsing atmosphere.
You'll also find something even volume dealers don't have enough of. Your choice. Most pieces come with a selection of over 100 fabrics. Everything from designer prints and hobnail velvets to cotton ducks, Haitian cottons and imported weaves.
So whether you're looking for sectionals, modu-lars, loveseats and chairs, or just want to pick up a lamp, you should be looking for us.
Drive out and see us. You'll agree our selection of designer furniture is superior. And the prices? You've never seen anything like them.


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One of the options I've been pursuing is to become a rock star. Well you never know until you try, right? Seriously, I've been putting in some major wood shedding (hep-cat musician speak for "practice") and have been seeing some gradual improvement in my playing. I've been a closet guitar player for forty years, noodling away in private, rarely playing with anyone else, never really learning any songs, just improvising away on the blues and lately some old time country and rockabilly things. I'm not particularly talented as a musician, but I'm determined. And I have a really bad case of stage fright. I've attended open jams and when I get called out to solo, it's deer in the headlights time. My fingers turn to stone, I can't remember the key we're in, or where to start. I've sat there, sweating for four measures of an eight measure break. I can practice a piece for hours, play it fairly well in private, but if I have one person watching me I just can't pull it off.
Lately I've been getting together to make music with a young woman who I met at a neighbor's house last summer. We've been playing weekly and this week we decided we needed to work up some songs, spend the time to arrange them, with intros and solos and middles and ends. If not to perform at some time, to at least put some more interest into the musical experience.
One of the songs, we're doing is Dead Flowers by the Rolling Stones. "Take me down, take me down little Susie, I know that you think you're the queen of the underground." I found myself getting a little nostalgic about the song because it came out around the time I broke up with Susie, my high school sweetheart. I remember getting a little mopey every time I heard it in the early Seventies. I looked it up, it was released in '71. I had to have split with her in the fall of '70 so I must have still been pining away when it came out. Without going into details, I had it coming. And despite the fact that I was a real prick to her, we've kept in touch. A couple of years ago she sent me my class ring, which I guess meant we weren't going steady anymore.
I guess these things have a way of working out though. We both ended up with the people we were meant to be with. After a rocky start, she and her husband have built a very successful business together, and seem to be in love and happy. And I found my true soul mate and maybe the only person in the world who would put up with me for thirty years.
Susie didn't send dead flower's to my wedding.


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dale i still vote for this song.
Awesome Well done all around and enjoyed this song!
good country vocal dale well done on the song too


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first timeShe saw him, for the first time ever, startled.
time iWhat time is dad coming back?
time whenOllie remember that time when we beat up Paul in ?
long timeTake a long time.
full timeerm it employs a million and a half people in full time jobs, or full time equivalents.
last timeOld McDonald They always work last time I heard.
only timeIt seems the only time I can ever talk to you is on the way to violin lessons and on the way back."
second timeIt was only the second time they had worked together.
every timeI'm ninety three now and I go in this back yard do something every time.
time is whenContinuous time means that observation is unceasing, such as a continuous record of river discharge;quantized time is when imaginary sections are used to subdivide time, as when precipitation amounts are measured daily or weekly;discrete time is when interest focuses upon time duration and frequency of events per unit of time; and sampled time is when observations can only be made at particular periods, such as weekly measurements of plant growth.
each timeReturns each time to listen.
time to timeUnfortunately, these accidents still occur from time to time.
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Jack Thorne was living in Luton when he got the idea to write Bunny, his searing one-woman play that is revived this week at the Tron Theatre, Glasgow in a new production by Paul Brotherston. More specifically, the Bristol-born writer was standing in the queue of his local post-office in the town he'd moved to because London was too pricey when the out-and-out weirdness of the place hit home.
"Luton's a really strange town," says Thorne. "I lived there for seven or eight years, and it's really weird how divided it is. It's quite insular in its politics, and obviously it's the birthplace of the English Defence League, who've done a lot of damage to it.
"I was standing in the post office, which was run by a lovely Pakistani gentleman, and in front of me was someone wearing an EDL badge, and I just wondered how they could go in there like that. It was the same when I first moved there, and the estate agent was showing me round the property, and we were talking about the election that was coming up, and he said there were too many Pakistanis. I suppose with Bunny I was trying to look at all that in a non-patronising way, and not try and give answers, because I'm no good at that, but just try and pose some questions."
The result of this in Bunny is a roller-coaster ride of a play seen through the eyes of 18-year-old Katie, who, after her older boyfriend is attacked on the street, is launched into a high-speed joyride through a town at war with its multi-cultural heart en route to a bruising rites of passage. On one level, the play sounds as light years away from Thorne's recent TV dramas, National Treasure and Kiri, as it does from the West End smash hit, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, which Thorne co-wrote with director John Tiffany and Potter creator JK Rowling. Yet despite such successes, Bunny sounds quite close to home.
"There's a lot of me in Katie," says Thorne of a character played here by Anna Russell-Martin. "She's someone who's instinctively an outsider, but who is also instinctively annoyed at being that outsider. Those two things are both pretty important to me."
Born in Bristol, Thorne's parents were am-dram enthusiasts, with his father's scripting of the annual pantomime presaging his own involvement in theatre. The family later moved to leafy Berkshire, where his TV series, Glue, was set. While studying politics at Cambridge, Thorne joined the drama society. He took part in a masterclass with Tiffany, the former Traverse Theatre literary director and National Theatre of Scotland associate director whose relationship with new work had previously seen him direct the likes of Gagarin Way and Black Watch, both by Gregory Burke.
Prior to Harry Potter, Tiffany would go on to direct Thorne's stage adaptation of Swedish writer John Ayvide Lindqvist's teenage vampire novel, Let the Right One In, for the National Theatre of Scotland. Thorne's TV career began after an early stage play was seen by Jamie Brittain, who, alongside his Dalkeith-born father and former theatre director Brian Elsley, created cutting-edge teen-drama, Skins. Brittain and Elsley hired him to write for the show, and work on Shameless and This is England followed before he created two series of his own, The Fades and Glue.
Bunny was first seen in 2010 on the Edinburgh Festival Fringe before opening in London at Soho Theatre. The play conflates many of Thorne's pre-occupations as a writer, from the underclass grit of Shameless to the unruly youth Skins and This is England. Like them, Glue was set among a group of teenage friends, but with extra added murder. Thorne has tapped into the fears of youth in fantastical ways as well, onstage with Let the Right One in, and onscreen with The Fades, which focused on a teenage boy who could see the spirits of the dead. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, of course, attracted audiences of all ages. Time, however, has moved on since Katie first burst onto the stage in eight years ago in Bunny.
"I've always enjoyed writing for young people," a now 39-year-old Thorne says, "but I think I've done less of it recently, probably because I don't think I understand Snapchat and stuff like that. If I did Bunny again now, I'd have to set it in the past or in a fantasy world where people were confused about identity. It takes a young person to worry about that."
This may well be the case, but Bunny is hardly kid's stuff, and taps into much of the frustration that existed in areas such as Luton that eventually bore what is currently turning out to be some pretty bitter fruit.
"Obviously the result of the Brexit vote has changed a lot of stuff," says Thorne. "I think Luton is a place dealing with a lot of the questions Brexit was about, and the result was a bit of a surprise in London, but less so in some other places where there was a real sense of disenfranchisement."
Thorne likens the world of Bunny to that depicted in Kira, his recent four-part drama, which looks at the fall-out following the murder of a four-year-old black girl in care.
"In a way, doing Kiri is a similar sort of project to Bunny," he says. "What was interesting about Kiri is that it's the project I probably got the most abuse about on Twitter. There was a character called Alice, who was this little girl's foster mum, and was played by Lia Williams, and lots of people had real problems with her. She's troubled, but there was some real vitriol aimed at her."
Beyond the Tron's revival of Bunny and the Broadway run of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Thorne, among numerous things in development is a TV adaptation of Philip Pullman's novel, His Dark Materials. Onstage, Thorne will stay stateside to work on a musical of King Kong, the much-loved giant ape who took Hollywood by storm in 1933.
"I'm going to be working with a massive animatronic gorilla," says Thorne.
While he was in Luton, Thorne saw this disenfranchisement first-hand while out canvassing for his local Labour Party. Some of the experience was later channelled into his stage play, Hope, at the Royal Court Theatre in London, another collaboration with Tiffany, which saw Thorne take a look at austerity culture at the frontline of local authority cuts. Bunny may not be so expansive in reach, but the world Katie opens up shows up the fault-lines that exist in communities that co-exist in places like Luton.
"You think you know a place," says Thorne, "but doing door to door, you see people you didn't know about, and attitudes you didn't know about. You're talking to UKIP and EDL supporters, and it's that discontent and anger that comes out of that experience that this play is trying to talk about, which is about people who might have voted for Brexit. We all live in a bubble, and it is a Brexit play in that sense, I think. It's about how the post-industrial world has alienated a whole set of people, and what that means."
Bunny, Tron Theatre, Glasgow until April 7.
The Herald, March 29th 2018


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Back in February Elbow performed a very northern interpretation of Destiny's Child's 'Independent Women Part 1' for Radio 1's Jo Whiley. Rathergood.com has created a funny animation featuring kittens performing the song. Watch it here.
Tyrese Video 'How You Gonna Act Like That'
The new video by Tyrese is out, the first from his upcoming 'Wanna Be There' release. Check out 'How You Gonna Act Like That' below.
Dru Hill 'I Should Be' Video
YouTube has the new video from Dru Hill. Check out 'I Should Be', the first track off 'Dru World Order', due November 26th, below.
Kelly Rowland On CBS Early Show
Destiny's Child star Kelly Rowland credits her manager, Matthew Knowles, for the idea of doing her debut solo album, 'Simply Deep'. As for the rock influences on the album, Kelly told the CBS Early Show earlier today, "I wasn't sure about it at first. Then he was like, 'It will be great. You can mix it with some R&B.' Basically I just put all of my influences on one album. And I just hope that everybody loves the album as much as I loved recording it." Kelly also gave props to Beyonce Knowles' sister Solange and talked about the success of 'Dilemma', and how she can't wait for DC3 to get back to work. Watch the video clip here.
Usher Could Never Get Fed Up With Admiring Women
Usher chatted with fans on BBC's Top of the Pops where he was asked if he gets fed up with so many women having the hots for him. Usher insisted, "I don't think I could ever stop loving that, I'm looking for more! I get mobbed everywhere we go. I did something really dangerous in Stockholm. I'd been working so much that I needed some time off and I went out without any security and nobody saw me. So, we did a performance that night, and I simply tried to walk outside to my bus, but the fans mobbed me!" Read more.