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Get Rid of Standardized Tests
Essay by Darbi Munn • October 8, 2018 • Research Paper • 1,618 Words (7 Pages) • 339 Views
Essay Preview: Get Rid of Standardized Tests
Toss the Test
Consider a fifth-grade boy who, researchers found, could flawlessly march through the steps of subtracting 2 5/6 from 3 1/3, ending up quite correctly with 3/6 and then reducing that to 1/2. Unfortunately, successful performance of this final reduction does not imply understanding that the two fractions are equivalent. In fact, this student remarked in an interview that 1/2 was larger than 3/6 because "the denominator is smaller, so the pieces are larger." Meanwhile, one of his classmates, whose answer had been marked wrong because it hadn't been expressed in the correct terms, clearly had a better grasp of the underlying concepts (Kohn 7). This is one of the many ways standardized tests have incorrectly demonstrated academic achievement. State sanctioned tests have offered no positive advancement in education and are relied upon too heavily for life altering information. Standardized test also only measures a small portion of what students know. State administered tests reduce the fervor of learning and makes it a task. Finally, cultural differences among students put them at a disadvantage when taking high stakes tests. While there are many positive reasons for these assessments, the truth is they are doing more harm than good, and because of this they need to be removed.
Originally, tests that were given in educational settings were used to define student placement and determine if extra help would need to be provided to ensure academic success. Now, since the implementation of standardized tests, testing is used as a guide to unfairly judge students, teachers, and schools. Students and teachers alike depend upon a good score on standardized tests for continued enrollment and employment. This is disconcerting to a student, especially one who knows the subject material, but does not test well. Their future and the future of their teacher depends on one test, one that has so many variables that are not taken into account when graded, like a student's emotional and mental health when testing. Race to the Top (RttP) was a new initiative signed into law in 2009 in hopes of raising Americas declining test scores. Now it is used as a basis in which a teachers effectiveness is being measured, using standardized tests. Policies such as the RttP initiative penalize teachers who teach certain pupils because their students are less likely to improve (Hani, 3). This leads to teachers not wanting to teach students that are English Language Learners or students with disabilities, as they are less likely to show improvement and will drop a teachers chance at a raise or good marks on their evaluation. It also discourages teachers from taking jobs in certain communities or schools with a bad reputation. Schools are being ranked off of the scores of their teachers and students as well. Depending on the economic background of the schools community, they are less likely to receive funding to help pay to make the change needed to improve their standing, often leading to the closure of the school. Employing standardized achievement tests to ascertain educational quality is like measuring temperature with a tablespoon. Tablespoons have a different measurement mission than indicating how hot or cold something is. Standardized achievement tests have a different measurement mission than indicating how good or bad a school is. Standardized achievement tests should be used to make the comparative interpretations that they were intended to provide. They should not be used to judge educational quality (Popham, 4). Relying on standardized test to measure the quality of our educational accomplishments is unacceptable when they only measure a portion of the knowledge students know.
Standardized tests can't measure initiative, creativity, imagination, conceptual thinking, curiosity, effort, irony, judgment, commitment, nuance, good will, ethical reflection, or a host of other valuable dispositions and attributes. What they can measure and count are isolated skills, specific facts and functions, the least interesting and least significant aspects of learning (Kohn,11). These isolated skills that students are being tested on are facts that they are being subjected to memorize and learn but after the test or a few weeks to months after learning will no longer remember. Learning these things will help students favorably when taking a test given the fact that they are multiple choice, and many times tend to jog some type of responsive memory from reading the questions, but this skill is not going to help them in their future. Being amazing test takers will not help them land a job interview, or be able to hold an intelligent conversation or speak in public. Our students use up most of their educational time on learning how to properly take a test, what they can and can not do, and what and how they are allowed to answer. From the first day of school to the last students have this heavy burden of "The Test" hanging over them. This one test is the cause of their future but at the same time does not properly prepare them for that future. Test preparation is being send home as homework and encouraged to be done even during weekends and winter and spring breaks. Recess time is being cut because there is just not enough time in the school day for students to retain everything they are required to know to pass the test. Students are no longer allowed the privilege of being children. Students are taking practice tests multiple times throughout the year in grades as low as Kindergarten. All of these tests on top of the general education test teacher supplement to make sure they understand each chapter they only get to spend a couple of hours a week on. This information is being shoved down their throat so much when the real test finally comes around they do not care anymore, they just want to get it over with and do not try their hardest. They lose interest. They lose interest in studying, in school, in reading just to read because they want to. They no longer appreciate or enjoy their education. All of this time is taken away to train for this test when it could be put to better use molding our children into citizens that will and can effectively make a difference in our world, not just take a test. Not only are standardized tests not assessing what matters most but the grades for standardized tests are received after the
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Q-Q-9929052136 Vashikaran Mantra in patna
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7 Great Vashikaran Mantras for Affection
Adore itself is an intense thing, yet there are times when you don't have it responded. Obviously, there are manners by which you can overlook the individual and proceed onward, however that is not as simple as it sounds. Proceeding onward isn't composed in a few people's journals; in this manner, they have faith in accomplishing a remark the core of their darling and get them into their life.
On the off chance that you put stock in mantras, you can attempt Vashikaran mantras for affection. There are many, yet we have guaranteed to acquire the best ones for you this article:
1. Vashikaran Mantra
Vashikaran mantra
This Vashikaran mantra is the most effortless one in the part; you can serenade it from 3 to 5 times. Ensure you serenade this mantra with your entire being. Utilize it with a decent expectation and when your adoration comes into your life, thank the Universe and keep them upbeat.
2. Vashikaran Mantra For Fascination
Vashikaran Mantra For Fascination
Discuss this mantra 1008 times day by day for 41 days. Take a red bloom and recount this mantra. In the wake of doing this give this bloom to the young lady you cherish then she will draw in towards you. This fascination mantra additionally can be accustomed to bring lost love back or pull in sweetheart, beau, spouse or wife and recover your adoration in your life.
3. Vashikaran Mantra For Control
Vashikaran mantra1

subset: commoncrawl


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I've been using Auto Traffic Buddy for almost 6 months now and although like everything else out there in Internet Marketing land you have to take the sales page with a pinch of salt it is actually quite a good system. I'm not going to go into detail here because I'll be doing a proper review at some point but enough to say that it is effective in increasing organic traffic. However there is 1 thing you can definintely do to improve the effectiveness of the system.
The trouble is that the indexing rate for your network blogs can either be very sluggish or sometimes they aren't indexed at all (in my experience anyway). Luckily they do provide you with a quick fix promotional tool called Traffic Launch Pad Pro which is very good at quickly getting content indexed, not so great for authority back linking but easily enough to get rid of that page rank unranked, none indexed status. Problem is (aren't I full of problems today?) that you have to manually configure for submission, so if you have 100 network blogs on ATB that's a hell of a lot of work (it's still a lot of work if you're adding 10 new network blogs each month). To make this easier I've built myself a simple spreadsheet that takes all of the hassle out of submitting my ATB network blogs through TLP Pro. The steps are really simple:-
1. Login to your Archon Central control panel and under "Blog Network" choose "List Blogs"
2. Click on the "B" Icon next to the group of blogs you wish to promote with TLP Pro, the list should expand to show your blogs
3. Use your cursor to highlight from the top left (1st blog name) to the bottom right (last blog date added) and then copy
4. Open up my formatting spreadsheet and use paste special, "Unicode Text" into the spreadsheets first 4 columns (A-D)
5. Column J in the spreadsheet will now automatically contain all the information in the correct format so you can copy and paste this into the "Enter URL" area of Traffic Launch Pad Pro.
Then it's just a case of hitting the Start button to start submitting your ATB blogs to the various services. If you're worried about such things you could use the schedule to limit the number of submissions each day but I just tend to do 1 blog group per day so that's roughly 2 days each month when I get new credits on the ATB system. If you are concerned about over submission, or having your IP blocked then you'd be much better off using a proxy like Hide My Ass and schedule IP changes every hour or so than spreading submissions out over a whole month.
You can download the ATB Traffic Launch Pad Pro formatting spreadsheet here.


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Those attending were:
Lee and Smadar Chaffee,
Scott and Debby Jackson-Ricketts.
Guides: Cecelia Mathis and Carol Broderson.
The sunny Sunday after the raging storm of April 16 was high-season for spring wildflowers on Blue Ridge Discovery Center's first wildflower walk of the season. There were ten of us who shared our enthusiasm and curiosity in a free-flowing and lively exploration along a portion of the New River Trail State Park near Fries, Virginia.
As we walked the easy trail, we enjoyed a profusion of blooms and informally shared knowledge of edibility and medicinal uses, Latin names along with multiple common names, and other sites for some of the less common plants.
The first flowers observed were dandelions, whose uses are many. One of the participants talked about using the early leaves in salads and the golden heads to make wine. As we continued, we noted that the common blue violet, Viola sororia, is another plant with multiple food and medicinal uses. Other violets found along the trail were Viola canadensis, Canada violet, and a white violet, Viola blanda, or sweet white violet.
Dutchman's breeches and bloodroot were still blooming, and we were treated with early red fire pink and the first of the columbine flowers that often grew from crevices in the boulders that protruded from the hillside. There were also masses of early saxifrage, Saxifraga virginiencis, growing all along the rocks. We saw two species of chickweed and the two species of spring beauty, Claytonia virginica and the more distinctly petioled and colorful Claytonia caroliniana.
Two bright yellow blooms that one of the hikers scrambled down the hillside to photograph gave us the opportunity to discuss the plant's two common names, dogtooth violet and trout lily. We flipped through one of our wildflower books to discover that this speckled-leaf species, Erythronium americanum, a member of the Lily family, blooms near the beginning of trout season in many states. Consequently, trout lily is an apt name.
Cutleaf toothwort and yellow corydalis were common. The larger, purple-blooming form of the blue cohosh was standing tall on the side of the trail. The inconspicuous hooked buttercup was the only member of that varied family blooming on our walk. Ground ivy, garlic mustard, and pink to purple-blooming dead nettle were everywhere.
Even inconspicuous wildflowers did not escape us. For those willing to crawl on the ground, the bishop's cap, Mitella diphylla, offered the sight of dainty, white blooms along its single stem. The fresh green leaves of wild ginger, Asarum canadense, hid the maroon flowers that peeped from the forest floor of dead leaves and moist soil.
A shady, damp hillside carpeted with the trillium known as wake robin led us into a discussion of this prominent, three-leafed, woodland wildflower. With the pollen intact, the blooms ranged from yellowish to mottled/stripped pink and the more numerous maroon burgundy. We debated whether these different hues of wake robins are different species. If you have thoughts or information on this issue, we invite you to leave comments below.
We examined the umbrella-shaped leaves of mayapples to find the buds that would soon open, and realized that blooms of Solomon's seal, false Solomon's seal, and bellworts would also soon color the slopes above the old railroad bed.
If you enjoy wildflower explorations, please join our next walk on May 1 as we explore early spring in another part of the mountains. Write email@example.com for details.Written by Carol Broderson and Cecelia Butler Mathis; photos by Scott Jackson-Ricketts


text: Fiction By Ali Luke "And what is the use of a book," thought Alice, "without pictures or conversations?" – Lewis Carroll I can manage books without pictures, but I know how Alice feels about the conversations. When I'm browsing, I flick through books to see how much dialogue there is. If there doesn't seem to be much, I'll put the book down and choose something else.I'm pretty sure I'm not the only person who does this, either…As a writer, dialogue lets you:Show rather than tell – when characters act and speak, they become real to usBuild tension and drama, furthering the plotReveal character in what's said (or what isn't said)Create white space on the page – attractive to busy readersBut many writers list "dialogue" as one of the key things they struggle with. I love writing dialogue, and I still have to work hard at it – though thanks to the wonderful Lorna Fergusson from fictionfire, I've definitely improved.So what makes for good dialogue?#1: Watch Your Dialogue TagsA "dialogue tag" is the bit you put before or after the dialogue, like:he saidshe askedI repliedIn primary (elementary) school, I was taught to vary dialogue tags with words like whispered, shouted, pondered … This might be great for encouraging kids to grow their vocabulary, but it's poor advice for any adult fiction writer.Normally, the word "said" will do just fine. Throw in an occasional "whispered" or "shouted" if you need to, but don't get fancier than that. The reader will barely notice the word "said" – but when characters start "mumbling awkwardly" or "opining" then the dialogue tags end up distracting from the actual dialogue.(I particularly dislike the use of words like "laughed" and "giggled" as dialogue tags. Does anyone really giggle a whole sentence?)You can normally avoid adjectives and modifying phrases, too. If the dialogue is well-written, readers will know that it was "said happily" or "shouted furiously".#2: Ground Your Dialogue in a SceneIt's easy to fall into the trap of "talking heads" – two characters discussing something in bare lines of dialogue, with little or no supporting text.Every conversation that takes place needs to be somewhere. The location or scene makes a difference to the actual dialogue. Think about:Where are your characters? In a busy coffee shop, driving in a car, on a train, at home…?Who's nearby? Nosy onlookers, young children, the boss…You don't have to have action or description after every single line of dialogue, but you do need a sense that your characters are physically located in a particular setting.It can be tough to manage dialogue on the phone, where characters can't see one another; you can use tone of voice or background noise to help add to the scene.#3: Use Dialect and Accents with CautionOne mistake that newer writers often make is to go over the top with dialect words or accents. This can make the text incredibly hard to read – and it can also be unintentionally comic, or even offensive.Generally, less is more. If you have a Scottish character, they don't need to sound like a Burns poem. Use the occasional dialect word like "wee" and the reader will get the idea.Similarly, if you have an uneducated or lower-class character, using non-standard grammar or phrases (e.g. "ain't") will establish their voice – you don't need to start knocking letters off every word.#4: Don't Let One Person Speak for Too LongIn real life, we don't normally give long speeches during regular conversations. There are some circumstances where one person might speak for several minutes at a time – during a lecture, sermon, etc – but this is limited to special occasions.If your characters have long blocks of speech, break those up. Other characters could butt in or simply ask for clarification. You could also have non-verbal responses from the listeners (nodding, sighing, frowning, etc).When your plot requires a character to speak for some length of time, don't give us the whole speech! A few lines from the start and end, plus a narrative summary of what was said, will be enough.#5: Realistic Doesn't Mean RealThis was one of the areas I struggled with in my novel. I tried too hard to make my dialogue realistic – with lots of "ums", hesitations, repetitions and so on. It was over-the-top. Dialogue is supposed to give an impression of real speech; it's not supposed to be a transcript of how we really talk.When I went back and cleaned up the dialogue, my text flowed much more smoothly. That meant having my characters speak in realistic-sounding but clear sentences. They did hesitate or stumble at times – but only when it was really warranted by what was going on.#6: Give Your Characters Distinct Speech PatternsDo all your characters sound exactly the same? If so, you need to do some tweaking.Think about:Age: a 13-year-old will speak differently from a 70-year-oldGender: women and men may use different vocabularySocial background: does your character use down-to-earth words or "posh" ones?Education level: does your character have a wide or limited vocabulary?Geographical area: where do they live?Particular catch phrases: don't go overboard here, but consider whether your character has any common phrases (things like "for sure!" or "good good" or "awesome")Verbosity: some people tend to babble, others will be taciturnOne good trick is to take just the lines of dialogue in your short story or novel – cut out the action and dialogue tags – and see whether you can work out who said what.#7: Don't Put Exposition in the DialogueSometimes, you need to convey information about the characters. Don't try to force this into the dialogue – it'll come across as stagey and fake. Avoid having characters tell one another things that they logically should already know. This sort of dialogue is a particular problem for sci-fi writers: "But captain, if the unobtanium runs out, the whole ship is gonna blow…"If you're really keen to get information across during a conversation, then make sure that the set-up for the conversation is appropriate. If two friends are catching up after 10 years apart, they might well fill in one another on the details of their work, family and lives in general. .#8: Use Silence as Well as WordsSometimes, what's not said is more powerful than what is said.If one character says "I love you" and the other person doesn't say anything at all, that's often stronger than a response like "Oh, okay" or "Yeah, right".When a character refuses to respond to a particular question, or refuses to speak to a certain person, we immediately know that there's something going on – without the author having to say "James didn't want to talk about his marriage" or "Mary hadn't been on speaking terms with her mother-in-law for years."#9: Get in Late, Leave EarlyI'm indebted to Lorna for this particular tip: you don't have to begin the conversation at the first word and end at the last.If someone's talking on the phone, cut out all the "Hi, how are you?" "Fine thanks, and you?" bits at the start. Yes, they're realistic – but the reader isn't interested.Often, it's powerful to end a scene on a line of a dialogue. We don't need to see how the other character responds. We definitely don't need the conversation to tail off into "Bye" and "See you next time."#10: Punctuate Your Dialogue CorrectlyThis is crucial if you're going to be submitting your work to publishers, or if you're entering writing competitions. It's also vital if you're self-publishing – you want your story or novel to be as professional as possible.Dialogue should:Begin on a new line for each new speakerHave double or single quotation marks around the words (be consistent with which you choose – as a rule of thumb, the US standard is double and UK is single)Have punctuation inside the quotation marksEnd the dialogue line with a comma if you're adding a dialogue tag, but with a full stop if you're adding an action.Here's an example:"Joe, please come here," Sarah said. "We need to talk." "What about?""You know what." She folded her arms. If you're struggling with dialogue, try writing a new scene that involves an important conversation. And if you've already written lots of dialogue that's not quite working, go back through with these ten tips in mind – see how you can strengthen it.Got any questions, or any advice to share? Just pop a comment below…About the author: Ali Luke has just launched her first novel, Lycopolis, in ebook form. It's a supernatural thriller with a good dose of online geekery, and it's been described as "fast and furious" and "absolutely gripping" by readers. You can find out more – and get the first five chapters for free – at www.lycopolis.co.uk. Copyright: nicoletaionescu / 123RF Stock Photo


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Wednesday, September 13, 2017
The Orville
It is, however, pretty good for what it is: a kind of cousin to the original Star Trek with a thin "fourth wall:" The Orville is self-aware SF adventure with some humor. The writers, director and actors know when they're wading through familiar tropes, and they know you know -- and they're not averse to throwing the audience a quick wink over it.
Despite that, the world-building holds up far better than you might expect, helped along by slightly rumpled uniforms and a future universe that isn't quite as slick as it aspires to be. If the writers can continue to walk the tightrope -- especially in dialog -- between stereotype and satire, between too real and too cute, it's going to be great fun. And if they fall short, it will still be fun.
Rolling-on-the-floor, bigtime laugh riot? Nope. This show is too fond of its source material to go for the easy laugh, at least in the pilot. Instead, it delivered a fun drama -- verging on melodrama -- with a couple of narrative threads and clever solutions to familiar problems.
Watch it while you can. There are 13 episodes ready to roll and from there.... I have no faith in Fox not meddling with or cancelling the series and that's too bad; it deserves a good run.
9 comments:
- Jeff the Baptist said...
I've watched it several times and I enjoyed it. I'm just wondering where they intend to go from here. The world building needs to deepen and hopefully they have some sort of arc plot instead of just going purely episodic.
- September 13, 2017 at 8:28 AM
- Roberta X said...
The pilot sets up a deeper arc.
- September 13, 2017 at 11:49 AM
Anyone taking bets that Fox will air eleven and shelve two?
- September 13, 2017 at 12:21 PM
- Monty James said...
I liked it. Trek deserves a bit of a spoof, it's never been as good as the cultists say it is. I would have liked a series based on Galaxy Quest, but this will do.
But homebru beat me to it. Here's hoping we don't get Fireflied.
- September 13, 2017 at 4:02 PM
- RandyGC said...
Got a few chuckles from me. Will probably watch a few more episodes at least (wife is DVRing the series, so I can watch it when the mood hits).
Not great, but entertaining.
- September 13, 2017 at 8:37 PM
- Paul said...
I liked it. But then I am known for liking weird stuff.
- September 13, 2017 at 9:21 PM
- Sean Mattingly said...
I watched part of an episode. It was decent.
- September 14, 2017 at 12:31 AM
- azmountaintroll said...
I'm afraid to watch it, because I might like it and then have to see it get cancelled.
- September 14, 2017 at 6:13 PM
- Jon said...
Personally I couldn't get through the pilot. I'm pretty hard on comedy in general - and didn't really find much of the obvious attempts funny... and then they got to the Ex Wife arguement and I just quit. Not for me I guess. At least I've got 3 episodes of pulpy Kill Joys waiting for me this weekend.
- September 15, 2017 at 12:04 PM


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Foraging with kids is always and adventure. They see magic in nearly every blade of grass. My kids bring me blooms all spring, delightedly asking what we can do with them. What can we do with them? Make botanical prints, that's what we can do with them.
To learn more about the amazing things you can make from foraged plants, be sure to check out the Herbal Academy's newest course – it even has a coloring book! I guess I'm a kid at heart and am super stoked about that part…
What are Botanical Prints?
Apart from the printed, framed and fancy botanical prints you can buy in museum stores by great artists like Pierre Redoute, there are botanical prints you can make in your own backyard. This isn't rocket science so don't worry that this is going to get too crafty for you, if you're not that into crafty or fancy.
A homemade botanical print is made by pounding flowers, leaves and even grasses onto paper or fabric. The color from the plants is pounded into the material, leaving behind gorgeous prints made entirely from plants.
I was in kind of funk this week but spent some time one morning reading Kathie Lapcevic's book, Fiercely DIY Guide to Seasonal Living, in which she reminds us:
"It's human nature to wish for something we don't have, to want something different. That inspires growth in some instances, but I can also prevent us from enjoying this moment right now and blooming in the currently season. This week, let's take a moment to acknowledge the things we're wishing for that are not of this season. But, then balance that with a celebration of where we are now, a recognition of things in which we're blooming."
Just so you know, should you decide to purchase your own copy of the Fiercely DIY Guide to Seasonal Living, you can do that by clicking below:
Living Seasonally
There are some things I've been wanting to do; needing, really. But I just haven't been able to do them.
Kathie's words reminded me that morning that it's ok to be a little disappointed by that, but not to let those feelings prevent me from enjoying what is beautiful and bright and happening right now. In this season.
I realized, looking out my door, that what's beautiful and bright right now are violets. Violets as far as the eye can see in some spots. Those violets sweet, unassuming and so quick to fade with summer's approaching heat. I decided we were going to get jiggy with the violets.
How to Make a Botanical Print
We usually use paper to make these prints that we then use to make birthday cards, bookmarks and small, framed prints.
Fabric Botanical Prints:
You can use fabric, which is a lot of fun and turns out very lovely. There are a few steps that need to be done in advance of project day to make the fabric more likely to set and keep the colors from the flowers.
To learn to prepare fabric for pounded art work, visit this link – click here.
Supplies to Make Paper Botanical Prints:
- Heavy artist paper, water color works well
- Medium sized mallet, smooth hammer or other pounding-type tool (I used my kraut pounder)
- Parchment paper or a light towel
- Flowers and interesting leaves from around your garden
Here's a quick video tutorial, but be sure to read the written instructions below for a bit more detail:
Begin Procedure to Make Botanical Prints:
- Gather flowers and leaves from around your yard and cut your heavy paper into usable pieces; number of flowers and the size of the paper will depend on your project.
- On a flat, strong surface, lay out a piece of parchment paper, placing your artist paper on top. We usually do this on our concrete patio.
- Place your wild flowers and other botanicals on your paper.
- Cover the flowers with another piece of parchment paper.
Pound Botanical Prints
- Pound gently but firmly on each flower and leaf. You want to pound out the color but not destroy the paper beneath. You can have your kids practice on scratch paper first.
- When you think you've extracted all the color, pull back the top layer of parchment paper and scrape off the mashed plants with your fingernail or tweezers. My son likes to leave bits of plant on the card just too look "messy", which he says is cool.
Finish Up Botanical Prints
- If you're not satisfied with the print, add some more and pound again. Experiment until you find your favorite flowers and placements.
- After you've cleaned your paper of plant bits, you can touch up outlines or add embellishments with crayons, colored pencils or pens.
- Spray lightly with artist fixative, hair spray (not my favorite because its really sticky) or even plain vinegar to help preserve the color of the print as long as possible. I happened to have a vinegar rinse mixed up to spray down my shower after each use, so I used that this time. Just use a light mist of spray and it will dry up nicely.
A note on the vinegar spray:
By the way, I found the recipe for that vinegar spray in Chris Dalziel's stupendous book The Beginner's Book of Essential Oils. She doesn't mention any particular brand of oil at all, which is a nice change from most publications. Each recipe and piece of advice is down-to-earth and actionable. I love this book.
More Natural Art
Here are some more ideas for botanical print art:
Pounded Flower Fairy Wings by Mama Rosemary and Smashed Flower Scarf by Untrained Housewife – just in time for Mother's Day.
To learn more about violets, including how to identify it while you forage and how to make jelly with it, please visit Common Sense Homesteading – click here. For more things you and your kids can do with violets, please visit our Farm Sprouts blog over at Hobby Farms Online – click here.
Disclaimer: Information offered on the Homestead Lady website is for educational purposes only. Read my full disclaimer HERE.


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Wednesday, March 31, 2010
New Music Fest Logo
Dedham Square Circle has now changed their Music Fest into a Music and Art Festival. I am excited to see who gets to exhibit at this show. I am doing it and I can use my newly purchased tent. I also, got to change the logo up and make it a little more colorful.
Some fun stuff: the Lumper
Posted by Unknown at 6:32 AM No comments:
Labels: Dedham Square Circle, Logo design
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Dedham Square MusicFest Logo
Recently, I was asked to change the Dedham MusicFest logo to include Art as well. I am excited about the change and hopefully it the festival will be even more successful. I will be showing my photography at this event. I will be posting the final logo soon. It was fun adding in more color and a few more graphics.
Posted by Unknown at 7:50 AM No comments:
Labels: Dedham, Dedham Square Circle, MusicFest logo
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Black Tshirt
I found these funky T-shirts on Black T-shirt.com. They are created by Matt Fleming. The site is interesting and it is loaded with t-shirt designs sold through Kindred Market, his sketchbook and his inspiring graphic design projects. Take a look.
Posted by Unknown at 5:39 AM No comments:
Labels: BlackT-shirt Company, Matt Fleming, Wearables
Friday, March 5, 2010
The Dieline
The dieline is one of my new favorite website/blogs. It has lots of fun articles on Package design. It is also a beautiful blog to look at. Chock full of vibrant package design. It is a good source of inspiration.
I found this blog on Sandra Juto's blog. She has wonderful photographs and work
I found this blog on Sandra Juto's blog. She has wonderful photographs and work
Posted by Unknown at 5:40 AM No comments:
Labels: graphic design, package design, the dieline
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Street Ads
I was puzzled by this ad. Is this suppose to entice the consumer. It is just plain odd. Of anyone knows who the man is in the top photo on the right let me know. He looks very stern and maybe a bit serious. The girl in the photo looks a bit scared and not wanting to be discovered. You could spend some time making up stories about these two characters.
Posted by Unknown at 6:46 AM 1 comment:
Labels: Boston Handmade, retail, Store, urban
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Knowing this is the only motel in the historic Riverina township of Lockhart should make this package all the more attractive! Especially as it boasts an excellent reputation and trading history.
Lockhart really is a picture-postcard town, known for its beautifully restored historic buildings, shady verandas, arts and crafts. 535km from Sydney, it's a friendly, busy town, with everything you need close by. There's plenty to do on the weekends, too, such as walking in the Galore Hill Nature Reserve; attending the annual Spirit of the Land Lockhart Festival, or checking out Morgan's Cave, where notorious bushranger Dan 'Mad Dog' Morgan is said to have hidden whilst on the run!
On a clear day the lookout at the Rock Nature Reserve delivers stunning views of Mt Kosciuszko and the Victorian Alps.
The 3.5 star AAA Tourism-rated Lockhart Motel is perfectly located at the top end of the main street, on the road to Wagga Wagga, and close to all town facilities. Known for its good country hospitality, quality dining and competitive prices, the Lockhart Motel attracts tourists and local workers.
Features include:
• Freehold business on 1 acre
• 9 air-conditioned units
• 2-bedroom residence with renovated kitchen and bathroom
• 55-60% occupancy
Compact and easy to manage, with a great reputation and occupancy rate already in place, this would make a great entry into the hospitality industry.


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A Year On The Ground: Rail Riders
In the diner car somewhere in Georgia, Keith, the kindly, amused and amusing steward, explains the exigencies of Amtrak, under funded, according to Jimmie, the sleeping car porter, since its inception.
"Did they get rid of your chefs?" I ask Keith, having heard on an earlier east-west trip that chef losing had been one of Amtrak's attempts at economy.
"Not our chefs but our chef's helpers, the ones who used to make salads, things like that, and wash dishes, the same time they got rid of china and glasses and linen table clothes. Now we just wash the wine glasses and the knives and forks and throw everything else away—a big waste," he adds, before I can comment on the vast bags of non-recycled trash the new system must produce.
I commiserate before going back to the dinner menu.
"I recommend the steak," the big, brightly colored and adorned woman next to me says with authority. The steak is amply promoted on the menu, its description outclassing the chicken, pasta and seafood, so I order it and it is delicious, as well as free. Our first class tickets entitle us to three meals a day.
My seatmate is traveling from Miami to her home in New Jersey. She speaks with a familiar accent. When the roommate who refuses to bow to political correctness asks her if she's from Mexico, she replies with a flash of pride, "Cuba".
She goes on to tell us with a pain now almost fifty years old that her parents were driven out when Fidel Castro came to power. Her father, who owned a group of small grocery stores in Havana, arrived with nothing but his family and the clothes on their backs; he went to work in a New Jersey plastics factory.They managed.
Now, his daughter, my dinner companion, trained as a registered nurse, has found a private position after twenty years in a hospital. She's the companion of an eighty-year-old woman who loves to travel and who only suffers from high blood pressure, which is controlled; as a safety measure, for companionship and because she can afford it, the woman takes along my companion.
"I told her I won't fly," my newfound friend tells me. "So we go by train. Now she wants to go to France." She throws up her hands metaphorically.
"Take the boat," I suggest, my imagination swarming with memories of evening dance parties, dress-up dinners and mild flirtations.
She loves the idea. Now my imagination swarms with images of her evenings on "The Queen of Elizabeth" with her charge, both of them dressed-up, vivid and well decorated, taking their seats at the captain's table.
I don't disrupt the illusion by asking her what she thinks of the U.S. embargo that has driven her home island into poverty. She does agree that everyone in Cuba gets a free education, including graduate school.
"They're all doctors and lawyers, but they make twenty-five dollars a week."
Not enough for an Amtrak ticket Florida to Virginia, even by coach.
The roommate and I lower the upper berth in our roomette, making ready for the night. I opt for the upper berth, remembering from childhood how cozy it was, with its long window giving out onto the night. I climb from toilet to closed washbasin to berth and tuck myself in with a sigh of relief. We will ride all night, the roommate down below, the engineer sounding the long sad diesel horn hour after hour as we make our way through the endless towns of the eastern seaboard. There's no open space left, it seems to me, as I lie looking out on houses, roads, small towns, grade crossings where, even before dawn, cars are lined up waiting for the train to pass. On a porch, two little boys dance wildly as they see the train, the hope and the vision of escape for them as it has always been for me.
We will reach Richmond shortly after breakfast, to spend a few days in the town that was home to three generations in my family.
to be continued...
Sallie Bingham is a short story writer, novelist and playwright whose most recent book, a collection of short stories called "Red Car", was published in 2008 by Sarabande Books. Founder of the Kentucky Foundation for Women and the Sallie Bingham Archive for Women's Papers and History at Duke University, she is an avid skier, horseback rider and ballroom dancer; she lives in Santa Fe with the Roommate, her eldest son, his wife and their two daughters and travels only when absolutely necessary.


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The blue social bookmark and publication sharing system.
Log in with your username.
I've lost my password.
Log in with your OpenID-Provider.
A. Ceroni, U. Gadiraju, and M. Fisichella. (2017)
BibSonomy is offered by the KDE group of the University of Kassel, the DMIR group of the University of Würzburg, and the L3S Research Center, Germany.


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So I have been slaving over the kitchen stove these last couple of days, following my Aai's (mother's) instructions (thank goodness for hands-free and speaker phones), trying my very best to produce some edible goodies.
|Besan Laddoo
|Besan Laddoo
These look yum! I'll definitely be trying these.ReplyDelete
Ooh these look great :)ReplyDelete
These look really lovely! Do you think you could make them dairy free?? Any suggestions? My daughter cannot eat dairy...ReplyDelete
These sound yummy. We aren't fans of sultanas though, could you maybe substitute for something else or leave without?ReplyDelete
These look really yum and I'd love to try them. I like the idea of using a cashew, too as it's my favourite nut. Yum. Thanks for linking up to #recipeoftheweek. I've Pinned this and there's a fresh linky live now :DReplyDelete


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Up tonight, I would like to finish off my server push work on node-spdy. Specifically, I would like the implementation a little smaller and actually re-usable.
Currently, I have node-spdy sending a push stream after it sends a response:
Response.prototype._push_stream = function() {If the two guard clauses do not match, then the
if (this._pushed) return false;
// TODO don't hard code this
if (this.streamID != 1) return false;
this._pushed = true;
_push() callback is invoked. I am sending the
Response into the
_push() callback so that the callback has access to methods like:
Response.prototype.push_file = function(filename, url) {(and
var push_stream = createPushStream(this.cframe, this.c, url);
push_file() has access to the SPDY control frame, the connect object, etc)
But now that I think about it, I am not convinced that I need the guard clause in the
_push_stream() method—at least not in
_pushStream() proper. I may have added them during the spike. Removing them leaves me with:
Response.prototype._push_stream = function() {I can probably get right of that indirection, assuming that I have not broken anything. The vows.js specs still pass without the guard clauses, but that is because the test is quite simple. To be sure, I also ensure that the
test/basic-push-server.js example server still works. It does (no RST_STREAMS).
There are now two push streams in the SPDY session (from the SPDY tab of Chrome's about:net-internals):
t=1307586375807 [st= 34] SPDY_SESSION_PUSHED_SYN_STREAMThe first push-stream was associated with the original SPDY request (stream ID #1). The second push-stream was associated with a different stream ID (3), which is the POST request for an AJAX resource. The whole purpose of push streams is to reduce the number of requests and responses so this is no good.
--> associated_stream = 1
--> flags = 2
--> status: 200
url: https://localhost:8082/style.css
version: http/1.1
--> id = 2
t=1307586375827 [st= 54] SPDY_STREAM_ADOPTED_PUSH_STREAM
# And, shortly thereafter...
t=1307586375874 [st=101] SPDY_SESSION_PUSHED_SYN_STREAM
--> associated_stream = 3
--> flags = 2
--> status: 200
url: https://localhost:8082/style.css
version: http/1.1
--> id = 6
t=1307586375868 [st= 95] SPDY_STREAM_ADOPTED_PUSH_STREAM
Fortunately, a solution is now easily accomplished in the
push() callback that is established when the server is started. I need to change it from:
var options = {I add a guard clause to only push for the initial SPDY stream:
push: function(pusher) {
pusher.push_file("pub/style.css", "https://localhost:8082/style.css");
pusher.push_file("pub/spdy.jpg", "https://localhost:8082/spdy.jpg");
var server = spdy.createServer(options, function(req, res) {
var options = {With that, I am back to my nice server push of resources along with the homepage, followed by the AJAX POST and nothing else (no requests for images, CSS, etc.):
push: function(pusher) {
if (pusher.streamID > 1) return;
pusher.push_file("pub/style.css", "https://localhost:8082/style.css");
pusher.push_file("pub/spdy.jpg", "https://localhost:8082/spdy.jpg");
t=1307589500211 [st= 69] SPDY_STREAM_ADOPTED_PUSH_STREAMThat marks the end of the SPDY session. Since the last stream ID is 3, I know that only two requests from the client were issued. Client stream IDs are odd in SPDY while server initiated streams are even. Thus, stream #1 replied with the homepage (and got some associated server push streams) and stream #3 replied to the AJAX request. Nice.
t=1307589500213 [st= 71] SPDY_SESSION_SEND_DATA
--> flags = 1
--> size = 18
--> stream_id = 3
t=1307589500216 [st= 74] SPDY_SESSION_SYN_REPLY
--> flags = 0
--> connection: keep-alive
status: 200 OK
version: HTTP/1.1
--> id = 3
t=1307589500251 [st=109] SPDY_SESSION_RECV_DATA
--> flags = 0
--> size = 18
--> stream_id = 3
t=1307589500251 [st=109] SPDY_SESSION_RECV_DATA
--> flags = 0
--> size = 0
--> stream_id = 3
For a basic implementation, I am satisfied with stopping there. Before stopping for the night, however, I would like to answer a question from last night's work. Namely, is it possible to reply with different push data depending on the resource being requested? That is, if a client requests the home page, can I send certain resources back via push stream, but if the client requests a members-only page, can I send back separate push data?
The answer is yes, but the route is a little indirect. The
Response class, being properly encapsulated with low coupling, has no knowledge of the request:
var Response = exports.Response = function(cframe, c) {It does have access to that
this.cframe = cframe;
this.streamID = cframe.data.streamID;
this.c = c;
this.statusCode = 200;
this._headers = {
'Connection': 'keep-alive'
this._written = false;
this._reasonPhrase = 'OK';
this._push = function() {};
// For stream.pipe and others
this.writable = true;
cframe thingy. And it turns out that the
cframe thingy is the SPDY control frame of the original request. So I can dig down into that object in order to only push data when requesting the homepage with a GET request:
push: function(pusher) {It would be nicer to have a solution that involved fewer dots, but I will leave that for another day. For now, I think I have a pretty decent SPDY server push implementation.
//if (pusher.streamID > 1) return;
var req = pusher.cframe.data.nameValues;
if (req.url != "/") return;
if (req.method != "GET") return;
pusher.push_file("pub/style.css", "https://localhost:8082/style.css");
pusher.push_file("pub/spdy.jpg", "https://localhost:8082/spdy.jpg");
Day #44


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are books as a meaningful element of our homes a thing of the past?
Last week The Economist broke the story that IKEA will be revamping its classic Billy Bookshelf by making the shelves deeper. Perfect, the writer muses, for "ornaments, tchotchkes and the odd coffee-table tome—anything, that is, except books that are actually read." The article goes on to explain that e-books have overtaken hardcover sales and that the Swedish furniture company is adapting to a future with fewer physical books in our homes.
Say it isn't so!
OK, I can (maybe) understand why people are indeed opting for the convenience of an e-book while standing on a commuter train or crammed into a tiny airplane seat but I cannot and will not accept that books will cease to be a meaningful design element in our homes.
Yes, I may be more of a book nook enthusiast than some, but you have to admit that books, whether haphazardly stacked on the bedside table, organized masterfully in a bookcase, or piled precariously high on the floor beside a chair add a warm and welcoming feel to a space that's difficult to achieve with a tablet. Books personalize a home and make it meaningful, because they're an expression of the inhabitants. They make us smile when we catch a glimpse of a title we're immersed in sitting on a bench. They add an array of colour that infectiously cheers up a blank wall. And they ground us - by maintaining a sense of humbleness with their history, of exhilaration through their sagas of adventure, and of hope through their tales of everyday heroes and heroines.
I still love that cool, crisp feeling of cracking open a book in my hands, and the smell of ink on paper. And running my fingers over a long row of faded and fraying hardcover classics...don't get me started.
The simple, natural, ethereal qualities of books have long been an intentional and central design element in our homes, and one that I have always fully embraced. So after reading this news from IKEA, one of my other favourite sources of simple design, I was deflated.
Until I read(via Reluctant Habits' interview) what IKEA PR gal Marty Marston responded with. "I hate to dispel those who think the bookcase is dead," she stated. 'We do not see it that way. We really see books as decorative. Books will still continue to be something used to adorn. They're rich and they're textured."
Whew. Books in design are not a fading trend. Now I just hope that they aren't relics in the hands of actual readers either.
OK, I guess I can fish my IKEA catalog out of the recycle bin now. Or perhaps I could just scroll through the app on my iPad.


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Tagged: Religion
Poverty Is Not A State Of Mind.
So You Realised I'm An Atheist.
If I've sent you a link to this, it's out of respect. It's because unlike most people, you didn't become combative, disrespectful, or dismissive. I think writing them out will stop either one of us from becoming too invested in what's said. It's also private, as in no one has to see or hear you if you read my thoughts and see the merit in them. To be clear, seeing merit in my thoughts does not mean you agree, only that my position is well thought out, valid, and makes sense.
There will be no sarcasm or condescension in how I deal with this. ~>
Marriage Equality has Nothing to do with God.
What follows is an article written by guest columnist and contributor, JustJage. If YOU have anything to say, remember "The Team Needs You!"
The fight for marriage equality has nothing to do with God. It is not a religious battle. It is a fight for equality in the eyes of the law, not God. Listen Up! ->


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I love building models - but they can take years to finish.
During the colder months, I can spend a little time working on them. Many years ago I started to build a very large model of the Cutty Sark from local timber. The plans I had were pretty poor in relation to the above deck detail, so I diverted to a work on a wooden cross section of the clipper (produced by IMAI) to better understand how to complete the larger model. The Cutty Sark was iron framed boat clad with wood, here the cross section I am building shows the main mast area with a load of tea sitting on a ballast of rock, with the mast towering above.
Taking pictures can identify areas to work on - here the lower deck load is going to need some straightening :)
By October last year I had completed the frame.
This year I am getting closer to finishing the model.
Peter Quinton
August 2015


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This week in my grad class we learned that learning styles don't exist. Take that in. Challenge it if you will, but after reading multiple articles and watching this particularly convincing TED talk (Don't Believe Everything You Think), I'm positive that learning styles are not a viable concept.
One of the things that stood out to me from the TED talk was that many people have learning preferences, but in research studies these preferences don't actually enhance learning. You may prefer to get information visually, but that doesn't mean when presented with visuals you're more likely to learn than someone who prefers learning by hearing. True learning is meaning-based, and depends on how you want students to demonstrate their learning. For example, if I want my students to be able to identify three-dimensional solids from pictures, I should give them visual lessons because this is a visual skill. Regardless of their learning preference all students would benefit from seeing images of 3D solids. They might also benefit from holding examples of 3D solids, but this activity is beneficial for all students, not just the "tactile learners."
This is the good part: not all our time spent creating activities to reach "different learners" is a waste, because differentiation is good for all students. It may be that one extra example that helps students to make a connection, but having that connection doesn't make a student a certain type of learner.
Another key take-away from this week's studies was the importance of background knowledge. In the TED talk linked above Dr. Tesia Marshik gives a great example debunking learning styles using a chess board. Subjects were shown images of chess boards and then were asked to recreate the arrangement of the pieces. Those subjects with knowledge of chess pieces and their movements on a board outperformed their peers. This doesn't mean they are visual learners, it means they know more about chess. However when the pieces were shown at random places on the board that didn't follow the rules of chess those familiar with chess scored in the same range as those who were unfamiliar. This demonstrates the importance of background knowledge and skills.
In applying this new-found knowledge in my classroom I will make sure I'm not just implementing activities for the sake of saying "Oh I'm trying to reach my kinesthetic learners." I will approach planning from the perspective of looking for additional methods I can use to reach all my learners. I will also be sure to stop saying learning styles and instead call them what they actually are: learning preferences.
I encourage you to watch the TED talk. Also I encourage you to keep differentiating. I hope to continue to update this blog with ideas to help you do so in the classroom.


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(Mr Vivek Gupta, Head- Operations & Technology has received this award by Mr. Anand Bajaj, President Yes Bank Money.)
With its inception in 2012, ROINET's purpose of existence is to act as an enabler between the people and their development. ROINET aims at providing high quality, efficient yet economical solutions to the budget conscious customers and back it up with consistent and delightful service. ROINET endeavors to provide an experiential journey to all its customers and strives to positively influence their lives substantially.


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Land owners and small farmers are an important Fair Shake constituency, so I listened with interest to a recent radio story on WHYY's News Works about how the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture closed a local seed library. According to the story, the seed library was started by the Cumberland County public library to allow people to take seeds at the beginning of the season and replace them after harvest. But, according to the source story in the Cumberland Sentinal, this practice violates the 2004 Pennsylvania Seed Act, which requires seeds to be tested in various ways. This is due to concerns including the spread of invasive species and agri-terrorism. According to the Sentinal story, the Ag Department's lawyer also indicated an intention to crack down on other seed libraries around the state.
Now the story has gone national, getting attention on the environmental blog Grist and the website of The National Review. But, in the latest twist, apparently a loophole exists. According to an analysis posted by the Sustainable Economies Law Center, the requirements for testing apply only to the "selling" of seeds, rather than to simply "supplying." It will be worth keeping an eye on this story as things develop, especially as the seed library trend gets more traction. In the meantime, the Cumberland library has changed to hosting seed swaps.
Jamie Baker Roskie
UPDATE: According to this story on the Alleghany Front website, the Department of Agriculture has responded, saying they never intended to shut down the seed library. Rather, they maintain, they were attempting to help the library comply with "quality control" regulations. The Department's spokesman said they suggested that the library convert to a seed exchange, and that the library's closing took the Department by surprise.


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Happy Birthday Rugby
Especially to your hunk arms
Hope you got lots of presents,
Money, jewels and charms.
Today you've turned 22:
A proper adult,
A proper man.
Let's go binge drinking to celebrate
Couple sambucas, tequilas and pints
Sounds like a plan!
Happy Birthday babe,
You big massive hunk
Hope the day is amazing
And you get a girl to touch your junk


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Artist David Robinson has more than a penchant for mushrooms. His latest venture, The Mushroom Picker, is a beautiful and extraordinarily innovative children's book illustrated with luminograms (camera-less photographs) made solely from fungi...
Artist David Robinson has more than a penchant for mushrooms. A co-founder of Sporeboys, the acclaimed mushroom street-food kitchen, his latest venture, The Mushroom Picker, is a beautiful and extraordinarily innovative children's book illustrated with luminograms (camera-less photographs) made solely from fungi. Written in rhyming verses, the book tells the captivating story of Penny Bun, a rare delicacy among the porcini family, and her escape from the formidable Mushroom Picker, out on his annual autumn harvest.
Robinson has a background in advertising photography, which he conducted successfully alongside a printing and production business for other photographers, based in a darkroom in east london. But he found the commercial world somewhat disenchanting, and in 2005 set up Sporeboys and produced Wonderland, a series of landscapes documenting international destinations and theme parks, in search of a change of direction. The same year, however, he became a father and, with a desire to remain in one place, turned back to the darkroom once more: "I wanted to be creative without having to leave London and in my darkroom I had a huge fridge full of mushrooms and all this amazing analog equipment that wasn't being used as much as it should have been and suddenly my interest in mushrooms and all the facilities that I had available just melded together."
"It made sense that Penny Bun would be the heroic character, being the most delicious, as porcinis are the most sought after edible mushroom"
To create each of the the brilliantly coloured illustrations, Robinson painstakingly arranged hand-cut mushrooms on the plate of an enlarger, exposing them to varying degrees of light intensity to create the mushroom's mesmerising night-time world, from the forest floor to a sky punctuated with stars and planets. Here, we talk to him about his practice and his favourite mushroom recipes and facts...
How did the idea come about?
I started off inspired by a few pictures that I'd already created and thought were interesting, quite naïve looking and sort of childlike, and then thought it might be interesting to start writing a story. So I started writing and wasn't really making any imagery to go with the story until I felt confident that I could finish it. Once I had, it became very much about illustrating a book rather than creating individual pieces of artwork. I also read lots of books. I have a six-year-old child and I've read more picture books than I've read adult fiction over the last few years, like Dr Seuss and all these amazing books that I used to read when I was a kid. There are some absolutely amazing kids books out there, some beautifully rhymed, timeless ones and hopefully mine will kind of sit in there.
How long do the luminograms take you on average?
I don't have too much time because some of the mushrooms are quite delicate and some of them, like the little golden enoki that are used to create the stars in the constellation spread, I can't really spend much longer than a day using because they tend to dry up. You have to be quick and confident and just do it.
Each of the characters in the book is based on a real mushroom, did that help create the story?
There are so many amazing colloquial English mushroom names. That was probably the first thing I did: lots of research, and I went through lots and lots of books and made lists of amazing mushroom names. I only really touched the surface in terms of potential character names I think. But, it made sense that Penny Bun would be the heroic character, being the most delicious, as porcinis are the most sought after edible mushroom.
You mentioned a number of mushroom recipes in the book like the puffball stew and the fried blewitt. Do you have a favourite mushroom recipe?
I think the best mushrooms are probably girolles, like chanterelles, and the simplest recipes are best: very simple things that focus on the mushroom flavour rather than swamping it. So, probably a mushroom omelette – basically fried girolles with garlic and an egg dropped on top and a little bit of sage. It's just the most amazing thing.
What's your best mushroom fact?
I love that they are more nutritious than people think. A lot of people think they are useless, that they are just fungi and can't really do you any good but mushrooms have a lot of Vitamin D in them, they are really good for your eyes. Then Shitake and certain other mushrooms have lots of antioxidants in and Portobello mushrooms contain more potassium than bananas. Runners eat bananas to stop cramp, don't they? They should be eating massive Portobello mushrooms.
The Mushroom Picker is published by Violette Editions and is available from today.
Text by Daisy Woodward


text: Member Login Sign Up Home Worksheets Interactive My Progress Search prev worksheet Countries - Japan next worksheet worksheet id: 07-10-02-003 Worksheet Details: A KS2 reading comprehension about Japan. Children must read the text and answer the questions that follow. Max Possible score:8 User ratings: Rated by 0 Users Sign up to rate add to my list Download / Print Select Sheet Colour: Black & White Colour print worksheet download worksheet Worksheets Answer Sheet HQ Preview Related Worksheets The Flag Of China Themes Countries - China Themes The Flag Of Japan Themes Countries - Japan Themes The Indian Flag Themes Countries - India Themes Quiz on China Themes Quiz on India Themes So what are you waiting for?Become a member and get unlimited access to Primaryleap.co.uk! We offer 1000s of fun, creative worksheets to help children attain their targets and build their confidence in all areas of the syllabus. Sign Up Now


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Dayton's Story/
Meet Dayton. Dayton LOVES Thomas the Tank Engine he also loves Buses, Skytrains and Trains. He is very good with numbers and also a has a very good memory especially when it comes to the skytrain line names and knows all the stops! He has two sisters, an older and younger sister (Taylor 13, Mady 16 months) and 3 half brothers. Dayton also has Autism and Global Development Delay. His parents knew there was something different with him right from the start. He didn't develop like a typical child and he was delayed.
They fought for the first few years of Dayton's life to get tested and when he was 4 they finally got the Autism testing done. It was confirmed that he had Autism. It was very difficult to find funding and resources to get Dayton the help that he needed The wait lists for Autism funding and therapy is extremely long and Dayton didn't talk until he was 6 which made things very hard on them to communicate with him. Although this was hard watching him grow and learn new things everyday was inspiring for his parents. Because of his Autism and GDD he may be 9 yrs old but has the mind of a 5 yr old. So to see him learn new things and want to share that with them, because he is so proud, makes them smile.
Through the struggles of this Dayton has taught his mother a whole new kind of patience and understanding and has made her a better person today. She hopes he can grow up to become a productive member of society and one day have a family of his own. Dayton will carry on with school and hopefully graduate one day although he is learning at a modified level. The future is full of endless possibilities!
Photo courtesy Melissa DePape Photography


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In his book, Let the Nations Be Glad, John Piper captures the perspective of Sylvania Church regarding missions:
Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church. Worship is. Missions exists because worship doesn't. Worship is ultimate, not missions, because God is ultimate, not man. When this age is over, and the countless millions of the redeemed fall on their faces before the throne of God, missions will be no more. It is a temporary necessity. But worship abides forever. Worship, therefore, is the fuel and goal in missions.
Worship is both the fuel and goal of our desire for the nations to be glad in the gospel of Jesus. The following are the local missions connections of Sylvania Church in Tyler TX. As you read through the list, will you ask yourself, "How can I partner with Sylvania in these?" and/or, "How could Sylvania partner with me in reaching a corner of Tyler, Smith County, and/or east Texas that is not yet on this list?"
Local Missions Efforts of Sylvania Church.
- Boys' Home (local outreach to orphans/wards of state)
- Baptist Student Ministries (BSM) (a ministry to college students in Tyler)
- Food Pantry (local outreach of Sylvania Church to those in need of food)
- KVNE/KGLY (local Christian Radio)
- No Hungry Children (local & global ministry)
- Reformed University Fellowship (RUF) (a ministry to college students in Tyler)
- Smith County Baptist Association (local Baptist Association)


text: Our vision here at Cornerstone is to provide conveniently located Christian counseling to as much of the Denver metro area as possible. For years now we have prayed for a space that would be located closer to the I-25 corridor, as that is such a vital lifeline to our beloved city. We're so happy to announce that this summer we were finally able to find just such a location in Centennial, CO and Continue Reading


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Should Restaurants Offer Healthy Menu Options?
Does Healthy Sell?
Nearly one-third of meals eaten by the average American are prepared away from home. As commutes get longer, schedules get busier and families more exhausted than ever, the need for convenient meals often overrides concerns of health and expense. The cost of the modern American lifestyle's food choices is finally catching up with us, though. Today 68 percent of adults are overweight or obese in the United States. Restaurants have long been a target of public health officials to take more action in the obesity epidemic, mandating everything from posted calorie counts on drive-through menus to offering milk in place of soda in children's meals.
Despite the gains over the past eight years, with more healthy options than ever available across menu concepts, the obesity epidemic continues, begging the questions do healthy items really sell? Or is it a waste of time and money to force the public to eat food they don't want?
The Rise of Obesity and Dining Out
There is an undeniable correlation between the rise of obesity in America and the rise of restaurants. Before the 1990s, restaurants were reserved largely for special occasions or perhaps a once-a-week treat. Think pizza or Chinese food on Friday night or a birthday celebration at your favorite little Italian eatery. Most families, regardless of household income, ate a bulk of their meals at home. That all began to change in the 1990s with the rise of family casual dining. By the 1990s, with many families headed by two working parents, shifting consumer patterns brought an increase in the number of people eating out.
Restaurant chains like Olive Garden, Applebee's, and 99 catered to the growing middle class, offering moderately priced meals and children's menus. This was great for parents who were slogging long commutes from the suburbs to the cities and whose weekends and evenings were consumed with sports practices and other family obligations. While family casual chains offered a nice dining atmosphere that mimicked eating at home, the food was unlike most home cooked meals. It was generally higher in fat, sodium, sugar and calories than what Mom or Dad would make.
An average meal at a restaurant (fast food or sit-down) is around 800-850 calories. Throw in some other convenient treats like chips, cookies, soda and an ice cream and the amount of calories the average adult consumes is bumped up to well over the recommended daily amount of 2000. Over time this adds extra pounds and problems like diabetes, heart disease and cancer.
What Does a Healthy Menu Item Look Like?
According to Eat This, Not That a healthy restaurant menu item would incorporate vegetables, whole grains, limit salt and keep calories under 600. Considering that some of the most beloved menu items in American fall short these recommendations, it no wonder that restaurants continue to come under fire for people's unhealthy lifestyle. The Cheesecake Factory's infamous Pasta Carbonara with Chicken packs a whopping 2,291 calories, 81 g saturated fat, and 1,628 mg sodium. Even menu items that a perceived as health (i.e. salads) can pack more calories than a Big Mac.
Chick-fil-A Cobb Salad with Avocado Lime Ranch Dressing has 740 calories, 54 g fat (12 g saturated fat), 1,890 mg sodium. Even those restaurants with better reputations than fast food joints, aren't above reproach. Fast casual chains like Panera and Chipotle, both of which promote the freshness of their ingredients, aren't any better than McDonalds when it comes to calories counts. Chipolte's Chorizo Burrito with White Rice, Black Beans, Fajita Veggies, Roasted Chili-Corn Salsa, Romaine, Sour Cream, Cheese and Guac contains 1,515 calories, 73 g fat (25.5 g saturated fat, 0 g trans fat), and 3,040 mg sodium.
A bowl of potato soup from Panera only contains 270 calories, but within those calories is 12 grams of saturated fat — 71 percent of the daily recommendation.
Will People Buy Healthy Menu Items?
Restaurant industry lobbyist like the National Restaurant Association and big fast food chains insist that restaurants sell what people want. It's true; nobody is clamoring for carrot sticks or seltzer water. And even when consumers say they want healthy options, their actions don't always match up, as seen with the popularity of Chipotle and Panera and other fast casual chains. Fresh ingredients don't mean healthy if it comes in huge portions, laden with extra fat and sodium. When given the option of healthy versus unhealthy, most people opt for the unhealthy — not always because they think it tastes better.
Often times the unhealthy item is the only option presented at the time of purchase. Most consumers won't ask for modifications or substitutions, especially at a restaurant chain. But soon they might not even have to ask.
The Blue Zones Project, a community well-being improvement focusing on environment, policy, and social changes, demonstrates that restaurants can play an important role in the health and well being of residents. One of the core tenants of a Blue Zone certified restaurant menu is to de-convenience unhealthy choices. Instead automatically offering French fries with every sandwich, it will come with a salad. Customers can still request fries. But time and again when the healthy option is the easy option, people will eat it.
Are Healthy Menus Realistic?
One of the biggest issues with offering healthy food choices is cost. Fast food chains like McDonalds have made their fortune by offering food with a long shelf life. As pointed out in Can Fast Food Get Healthy, from The New Yorker, even if every restaurant in America decided to drop the fries and embrace kale and watermelon radishes, the US lacks the agricultural infrastructure to support that kind of dietary shift. Big farm crops like soybeans (for frying oil), corn (for high fructose corn syrup) and grain (livestock feed) receive millions of tax breaks and other government handouts, making it hard for smaller farms to compete, price wise.
But some restaurant chains are embracing buying locally and seeing big success. Lyfe Kitchen and Sweetgreens, are both dedicated to offering healthy, affordable fare with many meals clocking in at less than 600 calories (actually all the meals from Lyfe Kitchen are 600 calories or less). Menu items feature farm fresh ingredients that are a mix of sustainable, organic and environmentally friendly. To meet the demand of their plant based menu, both chains have set up extensive local farm networks and offer a rotating menu based on seasonal availability.
How to Build a Healthy Restaurant Menu
Not every restaurant is going to abandon its current menu to offer kale smoothies and sprouted bread with organic carrot butter. That doesn't mean that they can't start offering healthier options along side pub fare and pastas with cream sauce. But can an average independent restaurant offer healthy menu items that actually sell? According to Brian Wansink, in an article in The Atlantic, items labeled with the term 'healthy' are a red light for consumers. Healthy menu options have become synonymous with a boring, tasteless dining experience, which is the exact opposite of why people eat out in the first place.
Even if they are in a hurry, they still want flavor. If I wanted to eat something boring, I'd have just stayed home and had some carrot sticks with noodles and butter.
To promote healthy items in a less obvious way there are many steps restaurants can take to build a better menu, including using terms like succulent, delicious, and fresh in place of healthy, low fat, low sodium. Also placing healthy menu items in the prime real estate of a menu — the corners and at the tops and bottom of columns, makes them stand out more. Staff can also help move healthy menu items, just as they would if they were upselling drinks and desserts. When asked what their favorite dish is or for a recommendation, they could promote a (secretly) healthy item rather than the steak or burger.
2017 marked the first time since 1970 that McDonalds will close more restaurants than it opens. Change is in the air when it comes to the American dining experience. People want to know what's in their food, how it was raised and where it came from. The question remains though, when presented with a truly healthy option, versus a perceived healthy option — one with smaller portions, less fat and more vegetables, will consumers buy it? Because it is the consumer, not public health advocates, that will make the healthy option the only option on menus across America.


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Luxfer-GTM Technologies, one of the first companies to offer Department of Transportation-certified composite cylinder-based gas transports in the USA, has become the leading manufacturer in this sector and one of the largest composite gas transport module manufacturers in the world. Our purpose is to provide customized solutions for service industries, helping them store and transport gases in the safest, lightest and most reliable way.
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Hopefully, no one will need to retain a lawyer because of these crimes. But if you do, consider the following:
1. Most people do not plan to commit these crimes. When they occur it is often the result of drug and alcohol abuse.
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4. Often the police investigation is cursory and not directed to preserving evidence useful for a defense. For this reason an investigator should be retained under the guidance of an experienced criminal defense attorney.
5. In the age of DNA evidence it is important to obtain DNA samples that may exonerate the accused.
6. In the case of murder, it is often important to require the preservation of the body of the victim for a defense autopsy. This must be done promptly. This is especially important in the case of dead children. Doctors often leap to conclusions as to the cause of death that are incorrect.
7. As in almost all situations it is important NOT TO TALK TO THE POLICE. The police want to talk to the accused to get information to convict him or her, not to help the accused.
8. You cannot lie to the police but you have a constitutional right not to talk to the police.
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Senior Designer
- Recruiter
- Rowdy Studio
- Location
- London, SE19EA
- Salary
- Negotiable
- Posted
- 07 Aug 2018
- Closes
- 18 Sep 2018
- Contract Types
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full Time
- Design Disciplines
- Branding, Digital / Web, Graphics, Packaging, Print
- Job Functions
- Brand Consultancy, Designer, Strategy
We're on the lookout for an ambitious Senior Designer to join our growing team. As a studio, we have a strong focus on producing meaningful work that is underpinned by substance and storytelling, that is functional but beautifully crafted. We are looking for an experienced designer with a folio of inspirational work, who will champion creative excellence across the business and help us continue to deliver outstanding work.
Supporting the Creative Director and working collaboratively with a multi-disciplined creative team and partners, this person will be key to maintaining and continually building strong client relationships whilst driving fresh thinking within the studio which ultimately results in inspirational work. The output of creative work is diverse and spans across many sectors with a variety of big and small clients. The position will suit a very mature and ambitious mid-weight ready to step up to a senior role, or a senior looking for a more hands on role in a team.
Key responsibilities for this role will include;
- Working on projects autonomously from concept to execution across print and web.
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The ideal candidate will be able to demonstrate;
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- Retail or digital experience is a plus but not essential.


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586 pages
The Sourcebook for Political Communication Research offers a comprehensive resource for current research methods, measures, and analytical techniques. The contents herein cover the major analytical techniques used in political communication research, including surveys, experiments, content analysis, discourse analysis (focus groups and textual analysis), network and deliberation analysis, comparative study designs, statistical analysis, and measurement issues. It also includes such innovations as the use of advanced statistical techniques, and addresses digital media as a means through which to disseminate as well as study political communication. It considers the use of methods adapted from other disciplines, such as psychology, sociology, and neuroscience.
With contributions from many of the brightest scholars working in the area today, the Sourcebook is a benchmark volume for research, presenting analytical techniques and investigative frameworks for researching political communication. As such, it is a must-have resource for students and researchers working and studying activity in the political sphere.
R. Lance Holbert, The Ohio State University, and Erik P. Bucy, Indiana University
Survey Methodology
William P. Eveland, Jr., The Ohio State University, and Alyssa C. Morey, The Ohio State University
Kate Kenski, University of Arizona, Jeffrey A. Gottfried, University of Pennsylvania, and Kathleen Hall Jamieson, University of Pennsylvania
Lindsay H. Hoffman, University of Delaware, and Dannagal Goldthwaite Young, University of Delaware
Secondary Analysis and Meta Analysis
R. Lance Holbert, The Ohio State University, and Jay Hmielowski, The Ohio State University
Michael W. Wagner, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Mike Allen, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, David D'Alessio, University of Connecticut, and Nancy Burrell, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Experimental Methods
Shanto Iyengar, Stanford University
Yanna Krupnikov, Indiana University, and Adam Seth Levine, University of Michigan
Patrick A. Stewart, University of Arkansas, Frank K. Salter, Max Planck Society, Andechs, Germany, and Marc Mehu, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
Glenn J. Hansen, University of Oklahoma, and Michael Pfau, University of Oklahoma
Content Analysis
Erik P. Bucy, Indiana University, and Maria Elizabeth Grabe, Indiana University
Dennis Chong, Northwestern University, and James N. Druckman, Northwestern University
William L. Benoit, Ohio University
Discourse Analysis
Sharon E. Jarvis, University of Texas-Austin
Robert L. Ivie, Indiana University, and Oscar Giner, Arizona State University
Network and Deliberation Analysis
Laura W. Black, Ohio University, Stephanie Burkhalter, Humboldt State University, John Gastil, University of Washington, and Jennifer Stromer-Galley, University of Albany, SUNY
Scott D. McClurg, Southern Illinois University
Comparative Political Communication
Jesper Stromback, Mid Sweden University, Sundsvall, Sweden
Maxwell E. McCombs, University of Texas-Austin, Salma Ghanem, University of Texas-Pan American, Federico Rey Lennon, Catholic University, Argentina, R. Warwick Blood, University of Canberra, Australia, and Katherine Chen, National Chengchi University, Taiwan
Christina Holtz-Bacha, University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany, and Lynda Lee Kaid, University of Florida
Statistical Techniques
R. Lance Holbert, The Ohio State University, and Heather L. LaMarre, University of Minnesota
Andrew F. Hayes, The Ohio State University, Kristopher J. Preacher, University of Kansas, and Teresa A. Myers, The Ohio State University
Jennifer Jerit, Florida State University and Adam F. Simon, Yale University
S. Shyam Sundar, The Pennsylvania State University, and Saraswathi Bellur, The Pennsylvania State University
John E. Newhagen, University of Maryland
Erik P. Bucy, Indiana University, and Samuel D. Bradley, Texas Tech University
Gerald Kosicki, The Ohio State University, Doug M. McLeod, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Jack M. McLeod, University of Wisconsin-Madison
The Routledge Communication Series covers the breadth of the communication discipline, from interpersonal communication to public relations, offering textbooks, handbooks, and scholarly reference materials.


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What is PhoneGap?
PhoneGap's relation to Apache Cordova
In 2011, PhoneGap codebase was donated to Apache Software Foundation (ASF) as a project incubating at Apache. PhoneGap became a distribution of Apache Cordova under the Apache License, Version 2.0. This ensures PhoneGap's proper stewardship, this can also help big organizations contribute to the development of the project with ease. With this, PhoneGap remains free and open-source. Those who wanted to be contributors of the project, this site is the place to look for.
For those who are still confused between PhoneGap and Apache Cordova may refer on the blog released by PhoneGap. This blog described Apache Cordova as the "engine that powers PhoneGap, similar as to how Webkit is the engine that powers Chrome and Safari".
Mobile Devices
- iPhone/iPhone 3G
- iPhone 3GS and newer
- Android
- Blackberry OS 6.0+
- Blackberry 10
- Windows Phone 8
- Ubuntu
- Firefox OS
Last year, PhoneGap was able to make additional support for iOS: