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Really enjoyed this interview with Derek Robins @QuarryParkDG, a mainstay of UK Disc Golf and Ultimate Frisbee.
Your ultimate career, when did you play? What was it like to play at Warwick from the 70's onward?
I started playing Ultimate in 1979 and was a committed player for the next 18 years. I made a few appearances after that, but not on any regular basis. I went to study at Warwick University in 1979 because it was the best place for Ultimate and had the only marked out Disc Golf course in the country, albeit the targets were wooden stakes rather than baskets. The Ultimate team had just won the UK and European Championships, although we couldn't really claim to be the best in Europe as there were only a couple of overseas teams, and none from Scandinavia, which was the strongest region.
It was exciting to be part of a new sport that we felt was going places, but at the same time, it was such a small scene that it was barely viable in the earliest days. There might have been only 4 or 5 clubs that could regularly field a team and beyond that a few teams that might get put together for the National Championships and then melt away again. Fixtures were fairly sporadic, as we would look to play those 3 or 4 teams home and away, plus enter a few indoor tournaments.
You playing disc golf prior to, and then after the ultimate career?
I played my first overall Frisbee tournament in 1977 and my first disc golf tournament in 1978. I continued playing disc golf all through my ultimate career, but there were very few courses and tournaments in the 80's, so Ultimate was my main sport. In the 90's I started to get more into disc golf and the sport expanded.
What sort of analogy would you make between the two of them? What aspects did you like of both disciplines?
Ultimate is a more exuberant, intense, high energy sport and of course it's a team sport so there's a lot of camaraderie. Disc golf doesn't have the adrenalin and intensity of physical effort, it's sociable, but doesn't have the wild parties that I remember from my ultimate days. I would say that Ultimate is more exhilarating and there is more buzz on and off the field, but as you get older injuries become more of a factor and I would feel totally drained of energy after a weekend tournament.
In disc golf I love the challenge of reading the wind, understanding the characteristics of the different discs and trying to achieve in reality the shot that I have imagined in my mind. When you launch a disc on a trajectory to avoid a couple of hazards and it lands by a target 100m away, it is a beautiful and satisfying experience.
The other great thing about disc golf is that it often takes place in beautiful surroundings, and I love to be in the countryside appreciating my surroundings. If was to draw an analogy with drinking then perhaps Ultimate is like being in a circle chugging beers or knocking back shots, whereas disc golf is sitting back sipping a whisky or wine and savouring the taste.
Leamington Spa is a lovely place to be based, do you get many locals coming to your disc golf course?
Yes there are lots of locals who come to play, but also people from further afield, plus tourists who are in the area, and even some groups of disc golfers who come from abroad just to play at Quarry Park.
It's been 20 years a-growing, your course, and I remember you telling me about it in the 90's – do you have before / during / now shots of it?
I bought the land in April 94 and planted most of the trees in 1995. It took 5 or 6 years before the trees started to become effective obstacles, but after 20 years the design is fully effective and now I'm spending more time trimming them back. The course will never stop evolving and I love to see that. It's pretty amazing to look at the old photos and see just how different it looks.
How is the golf course going / growing?
Is it mostly a weekend / summer time for visitors?
The course is going great. Visitor numbers spiked up in 13/14, and 14/15 has been slightly better again. I'm always looking to make improvements and a few years ago I added 7 extra baskets and tees half way down the fairways to make a 16 hole short course layout, as an alternative to the regular 18 holes. Then we added a couple of extra holes and tees to give a "Black course" variation on the original 18. The par on the black course is 57, and nobody has broken 50 on that. I've had a round of all 2's on the short course where the holes average 50m.
We're open at weekends year round, and whilst it's more popular in summer, there are quite a few winter visitors, and not just hard core regulars but first timers. In the summer holidays the course is open every day. Weekday evenings in May and June are usually pretty busy.
I imagine you have events there, are you given a handicap as you know it so well?
We have one or two big tournaments each year on the British Tour. The last 2 years the QP Open has had the highest attendance of any Tour event in the UK, with over 70 players. We don't have handicaps but we do have a points rating for players which determines which division we can play in.
Designs for the new club house, due to be built this year.
Ultimate, I know you played for GB in the 80's (from Nick Cash's photos) what was the standard of the GB team then, both among themselves, and relative to the rest of the world?
I first played for GB Open team in 1982 when I was one of 4 or 5 players drafted in to a Bristol Samurai team. There's no question that the pool of players and the standard of the top teams in the UK has grown hugely since those days. Back in the 80's the Swedes were pretty dominant usually followed by the Finns. GB would have close matches with Germany, Netherlands and a couple of other countries.
Is ultimate played in a different way now? Is it more athletic?
Ultimate is more athletic and more structured, and I'm sure it can be more effective, but I think I would miss the freedom that I had in the old days when offence was much more "organic"
Are you happy with how UK ultimate has grown in the last 3 decades? Faster or slower than you expected?
I'm very happy to see it keep growing, and I'm particularly pleased to see that Sport England or whatever it is these days has got behind it and helped it grow in schools. Back in the 90's Sam Neilson and I tried to get official recognition for disc sports and I was really annoyed by the way that we were dismissed by the Sports Council.
Is Nick Cash's memory fading, I thought STAN beat Hombres first time they played in National finals?
STAN were national outdoor champions once in the late 80's and then had a long streak of losing to Hombres in the finals
I remember you telling me about going over to the states to play disc golf and even winning money at one of the events. Is there still money in the disc golf tour, how did you do in the states? (congratulations on making their hall of fame – pretty cool achievement!)
I won some prize money in the States, but now the European Tour has prize money and even some British Tour events. All the stats for individuals and collectively are on www.pdga.com so you can see that my career prize money is now over $10k and the top 2 guys both won over $40k in the last 12 months. Total prize money over all sanctioned events was $3,000,000 last year.
Has disc golf grown in terms of the numbers playing in the UK & Europe?
Disc golf is growing all the time, all over the world. It has been rather sedate growth in the UK, but in some countries it is really booming. Finland is the real powerhouse in Europe and has over 300 course now, but places like Estonia and Czech Republic are growing very fast too. It's also spreading south to Croatia, Italy, Spain and east to Poland, Slovakia, Russia. I have now competed in 25 different countriesJ
We used to play a bit in Dublin, just with 175s, and there is talk of a golf course being built in Wicklow, any tips for us on how to regrow disc golf in Ireland?
There is a new course opening at Kippure Estate on 7th March. I really hope that goes well, and hopefully I'll get over to play it in the future. I think the sport grows well when there are a few keen people in one place who have a regular meeting place and time and are welcoming to new players. We have had a few failed courses where baskets have been plonked in the ground with no real publicity, no discs available to borrow, and nobody to show people round and give advice. People are the key to success.


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For every homeowner, it is always a dream or more of a satisfaction and source of pride having a lawn that is well maintained and glowing beautifully bringing a natural ambiance around your place of living. Lawns can exist at any place in your compound and depending with the location, lawn maintenance methods are more or less the same. Most people do not necessarily understand the critical need to take constant and great care of the lawn to make it perfect. Stick around to get some of the most incredible ways to give your lawn that perfect natural and healthy look.
First of all, it is important to understand the need for good soil aeration. The soil needs adequate fresh air for it not to become compacted over time especially where there is great foot traffic. Compacting of soil makes it hard for essential components such as water and nutrients necessary for the growth of healthy grass to reach the roots of the grass for absorption. Grass as plants, need these essential elements for a healthy growth and if not supplied will dry or wither off. That is why it is important to aerate your lawn once in a while with probably a fork or any other tool that is meant to make holes on the ground.
In the endeavor of lawn maintenance, it is also crucial that you supplement your lawn with extra supplements. Get in touch with Charlotte's number one fertilization treatment services to know more.
As grass grows to create the lawn, nutrients in the soil are used up over time and requires supplementation of nutrients to keep the soil fertile and healthy for the growth of healthy, fresh and good looking soil. You can feed your lawn by applying fertilizers that are meant for lawns. Depending with the type of soil at your place and the type of grass growing on your lawn, you are able to get the right kind of fertilizers from the gardening store around. You cannot just pick up any type of fertilizer at the store and apply it on your lawn. At the same time you wouldn't want to get fertilizer that will take long time to be absorbed in the soil and that will cause an itchy feel on the skin when having good time at the lawn.
To add on to these points, it is also of great importance that you water your lawn as water is very essential component required for healthy growth of grass. The climatic conditions of your area will dictate the frequency of watering of the lawn and the amount of water to be used.
With good aeration, feeding and watering, grass will definitely grow and now calls for a good mowing. Preferably mow grass when it is dry using a lawn mower with sharp blades to ensure a clean and uniform cut. Check out Charlotte lawn maintenance services now!

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Events for May 13, 2019
Events Search and Views Navigation
7:00 pm
Ladies Fellowship
The ladies of Fellowship Baptist Church meet once a month for a time of fellowship, devotions, and snacks. It is a great time to get together with other ladies for encouragement, fun, and even planning events for the church. The ladies meet in the fellowship hall downstairs in the main building.Find out more »


text:
Elections Commission (EC) has denied the rumours being circulated regarding the President of the Elections Commission, Ahmed Shareef.
In a statement issued by the Commission regarding an article on the EC President, the Commission said that influences of political parties have not entered the responsibilities of the Commission and has not treated any state institute in a way that compromises the integrity of the Elections Commission. The statement said that all of its members remain true to their oath in fulfilling their responsibilities.
The Commission said that the decision to place ballot boxes at resorts with a certain number of registered voters was made after taking the funding and experience from the past elections into considerations. And the former amount was changed with the confirmation from the respective resort management to ensure the voting right to as many people as possible.
Elections Commission said that the re-registration process was no different than any other election and state institutes and civil service offices have assisted in the process in the past as well. The statement said that the President of the Commission has never made any comments regarding the alleged leak.
Regarding the visit from South Africa's Laxton Group, the Commission said that it was not a secret visit and all political parties were notified regarding the visit. And the Commission is not responsible for three political parties failing to attend the information sessions.
EC said that they have met and requested assistance from all relevant authorities to provide equal opportunity for all political parties and candidates. The Commission said that a system has been established to file complaints and there have been no complaints filed as described in the article on the EC President.
Maldives Elections Commission said that the President of the Commission that makes decisions on his own The statement said that the Commission decisions are made by the vote of the members and not from external pressure and influences.
Full details are available at the link below:
Source URL: Sun.mv


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One of my go to commentaries when studying Scripture is Paideia Commentaries on the New Testament put out by Baker Academic. Currently I am going through the book of Hebrews with a friend and we utilize James Thompson's commentary in the series.
Most commentaries tend to have the same flow. Most will try to give a bit of background then delve in verse by verse. The difference really comes down to the scope, how much information is going to be thrown at you. In some settings having a critical commentary is useful, other times I need to look at something more pastoral or exegetical. When studying Scripture, I try to get a range and work through them. What I like about Paideia is that each unit is broken down into three sections of discussion: introductory matters, tracing the train of thought, and theological issues.
Each section begins with background information. Trying to help give the literary and cultural context of the passage. Introducing key themes, phrases, or concepts, and then going on to explain what each means. This section will also show how the current section being studied fits in with the wider argument of the book that was introduced previously.
Train of Thought
Here the general overview of the section is given showing the general flow of the section. It is also here that each verse is discussed and given a fuller explanation. Again, attention is given to show how the current section is advancing a previous argument.
Theological Issues
In the final section attention is given to any theological issues that were brought up in the text. For me, this section is always useful. It helps us to understand the person and work of God. This in turn helps me to process what I believe and how I am to respond in worship.
Not all commentaries are created equal, even within a great commentary series.
While there are certain series I trust, I always go and check out Ligonier Ministries list of the top commentaries for each book of the Bible as well as Tim Challies list.
In the multitude of commentaries out there, why do I find Paideia as one of my essentials? Paideia is a good middle ground. They stray away from all of the jargon (though when needed will offer definitions and explanations) without sacrificing scholarship and pastoral needs.


text:
The Emblem symbolizes the divine task and sincere intention to carry out and achieve
the basic aims of education.
The emblem is encrusted in a shield, a symbol of protection in the battle against evil.
It is the flag of victory and the heights of glory to which knowledge leads.
The open book reflects the treasure of wisdom, attained through the learning process.
It is reminiscent of the Holy Bible, which exhorts that "The fear of the Lord is the
beginning of wisdom".
The cross, a symbol of Love and Sacrifice, urges mankind to seek the Almighty, share
the divine love, and follow the path of peace and reconciliation.
The sketch of India stands for the bounden duty to preserve and uphold the rich and
varied cultural heritage of our nation. The circle in the centre represents perfection
of knowledge. The burning candle reminds us to shine forth with the attainment of
knowledge and wisdom and also prompts us to give than to gain.
The olive branches stand for the zest for peace. The sprout marks the growth of
personality, achieves its fullness through knowledge.
e-Care Login
Virtual Tour
Kids' Corner
join us
of St. John's School, Greater Noida West
Enter School Code 'SJSGNW'
Applying leave of absence on behalf of your ward is easy with the app. You will
get instant notification on your app of leave's approval or rejection.
Instant push notification for all messages.
Easy view of photo albums after receiving SMS update from e-Care team.
Sequential log of all received SMS with sender's image
Attendance, schedule, academic records, syllabus, conversation, assignments H.W
etc. everything is now available on mobile app.
Website when opened through e-Care app on mobile, gives much optimized and concise
look with better experience than PC or laptop browsing.
Pay fees online using your mobile app sitting at home easily.


text:
:: grepninjalog ::GrepNinja's weblog is a somewhat ordered collection of thoughts and resources mostly related to software engineering. It simply tracks what GrepNinja finds technologically useful, interesting, or amusing at some given point in time. Warning: high techno-geek factor!
|:: welcome to grepninjalog :: bloghome | Grepninja ::
:: Friday, October 20, 2000 ::
XSLT.com -- "XSLT is a language for transforming XML documents into other XML documents."
www.smalltalksystems.com sent me to Instantiations.com. Have a look at their Smalltalk offerings.:: Thursday, October 19, 2000 ::
Unix Haters Release 2.0:: Tuesday, October 17, 2000 ::
Links2Go: Python produces an amazingly good resource tree.
Cetus Links: 18,872 Links on Objects and Components / Python
Books About Python -- the "Python Bookstore" site at Python.org.
Welcome to Digital Creations -- Publishers of Zope.
Welcome to Zope.org
Scintilla and SciTE. Scintilla is a free source code editing component. SciTE is a SCIntilla based Text Editor.
ActiveState - Products - .NET (sigh!) includes stuff for "Perl.NET" and "Python.NET." Is there *no* escape?
ActiveState - Products - ActivePython
ActiveState - Products - ActivePython - Python Extensions For Windows (win32all)
PythonLabs ~ Python 2.0 -- :Final" release is out!
Deja.com: PyXML 0.6.1 is released
Deja.com: Forum comp.lang.python.announce
The Vaults of Parnassus: Python Resources is new to me, although it's adequately posted to [Top: Computers: Programming: Languages: Python] at Dmoz .
Looks new to me! See The Vaults of Parnassus: Python Resources.
Source-Navigator(TM)IDE works with the Insight GUI interface for GDB.
Standards Now! The Web Standards Project: Fighting for Standards in our Browsers.
Steve Holden's Website
The Daily Python-URL! at Pythonware.com.
Whisker: The O-O Stacking Browser has been updated to work with Squeak 2.7 and 2.8. Looks like it's getting better all the time.
John Macintosh has started an account of Camp Smalltalk CS3 (OOPSLA 2000).
Reminder: the W3C's Canonical XML Version 1.0 Working Draft.
Reminder: current W3C Extensible Markup Language (XML) 1.0 (Second Edition) specification.
Reminder: The W3C's Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) 1.1 specification.:: Monday, October 16, 2000 ::
Open Source PDA Platforms -- Compaq iPAQ H3600
Source code for Sun's OpenOffice suite is now available at www.openoffice.org.


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California Worldfest 2016
Every year I get so excited for July to make its way around my calendar. Camping, world music, new sights, sounds, and experiences all waiting for me at the California Worldfest! I've had the pleasure of teaching a ukulele workshop thru Uke University for 5 years in a row and I'm so thrilled with the … Continue reading


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Several students had two or more pieces published in the book. Each submission from the same author has a visual cue to tie them together.
Given the range of experimental poetry, fiction, and personal essays, each piece in the 58-page book presented its own challenges.
The "Closet Nerds" story, which includes extensive footnotes to supplement the main narrative, took several experiments to hit upon the solution: spacious margins with colorful marginalia.
Each design also reflects the emotional mood of the piece— those written around heavier themes receiving darker treatment, and vice versa.
This issue of Apogee posed a particular challenge when the production was rushed in order to make the submission deadline for the N.C. College Media Association statewide contest. Six weeks, start to finish, the magazine was approved, proofed, and rolling off the presses.
The effort was worth it when Apogee placed second for "Best of Show."


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Wednesday, 23 February 2011
Posted by HegdeG at 09:45
Labels: HegdeG India
7 comments:
I'm thinking the pot in the middle is stayin' in the middle!
What a cool shot.......but what's in the pot? :-D
Mel, Chicken Kabab..would you like to taste it ? :)ReplyDelete
Wish I was there to taste it! Fantastic photo it tells a story on its own. DianeReplyDelete
Thank you Food...ReplyDelete
I did not see the pot at first glance, lovely shot.ReplyDelete
oh...thanks Lindy.ReplyDelete
Fabulous capture. I could look at this forever.ReplyDelete
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


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I was reading an article about an Astrobiologist from Cardiff University a Professor Chandra Wickramasinghe claiming that microbes from outer space arrived to Earth with the aid of comets and these may very well potentially be the seeds that instigated life.
It's an interesting thought. I did read somewhere once that Protein is not natural to earth (and it's the core of most of life on our planet), and a possible explanation as to how it arrived here was via comets, asteroids etc.
Still, it begs the question as to how these origins of life first came into being.
He claims that? Did he say where the microbes came from in the first place?
No way? You just heard of this? The first time I heard it, I dropped my brand new "Sgt. Peppers" album.
Not quite, just read an article on the train today, came home and in full blown prometheus mode thought i'd pick the worlds brain and see if any one has any further angles or contributions to add to the discussion. The indian Sanskrit epics speak of it beings from the sky.. Muslims speak of beings called Jinns.. kind of fascinating,..though I have deviated from origins of life to plain extra-terrestial
Thanks for clarifying, Uncle Martin.
There are two different hypotheses here.
One is Panspermia - the idea that Earth was "seeded" with microbes billions of years ago - intentionally or unintentionally - and these alien microbes were the common ancestor of all living things. It's an interesting idea, and somewhat plausible - some bacteria and even small multicellular organisms are able to survive the harsh conditions of interplanetary space. As an abiogenesis concept, however, it's a disappointing punt that shifts the question of how life began to another time and place.
The other hypothesis here is that the early bombardment of comets and asteroids during Earth's formation brought us the amino acids and nucleotides that would eventually become the first forms of life. I find this much more realistic than panspermia.
This is a very good answer but to be honest I'm a little confused by it. If panspermia is the idea that Earth was "seeded" with life, whether intentionally or not, then what is the difference between this and the second hypothesis which suggests that the amino acids, etc that make up the building blocks of life/protein were brought to Earth via asteroids and comets? It has been announced that the building blocks of protein that contribute towards life on Earth have indeed been found on asteroids and meteors in outer space... both explanations, to me, seem to be saying the same thing.
They are similar, but have very different implications. In panspermia, life originated elsewhere, then living cells - with DNA, ribosomes, cell membranes, etc- came to Earth and evolved into all current life forms.
The other idea is that basic organic compounds formed in space and came to Earth via comets and asteroids, then formed into more complex polymer chains and eventually living cells here on Earth.
We have evidence for the latter hypothesis now, with findings of amino acids and other organic compounds in comet dust and meteorites. If we find life elsewhere in the solar system that shares cell structures and DNA/RNA sequences with Earth life, it would be strong evidence for panspermia.
Okay, so if I understand correctly in panspermia life had already evolved to some extent before it reached Earth but in the second theory life didn't necessarily begin to 'evolve' as such until it had already reached Earth (and therefore the conditions to evolve). But if life is found elsewhere in the universe why is the origin of life more likely to be a case of panspermia when it's possible that the life in question may have gone through the same process of not evolving until it reached it's destination? (assuming that the life is found in environmental conditions where life can survive).
Close. In the first hypothesis (panspermia) living cells fell to Earth and evolved from there. In the second (more likely) hypothesis non-living matter fell to Earth and then formed the building blocks of cells through abiogenesis.
If life is found in the frigid lakes of Titan and it is very similar to Earth life - using the same proteins and cell components and gene sequences as life on Earth - it is a strong argument that life either began in one place and seeded the other, or began somewhere else entirely and seeded both worlds.
If, on the other hand, we find life on Titan that is radically different from Earth life - uses chirally-different amino acids, or uses glycol nucleic acid (GNA) instead of DNA, or is some other form of biochemistry we can't even imagine - it is evidence against panspermia.
No matter what, all matter is made up from stars, well, compressing and then exploding. So whether life came from here or another planet, it would change little as to the process by which life formed from lifeless matter.
Yes, but if the earth was "seeded" intentionally, it kind of makes the probability to get harvested a little higher.
This is true, our counterparts could come get us!! But...would they have evolved to look like us, or would they have evolved to fit their own environment? Or would their environment be the same, enabling them to evolve into us, or, or, or, so many questions!
I am leaning towards the "seeded intentionally" theory which includes some necessary bio ingredients from the stars. It seems more plausible from everything I have read.
I tend to agree with the amino acids theory, but there are a whole bunch of other fun ones out there, too.
The one that tends to get my imagination roaring is that the Earth is actually a zoo for planets throughout the universe. I can't remember where I'd read it, but basically, it states that each species was taken from another planet somewhere in the universe and put on Earth to continue living.
I'm not sure why the idea of UFOs being visitors to a planet-wide zoo cracks me up so much.
So, next time you hear something knocking and you can't figure out what it is, maybe it's some snot-nosed alien kid trying to get you to do something interesting.
by andrew savage 6 years ago
What is Panspermia?
by Justin Choo 8 years ago
Do you think there are life forms like us in the vast outer space?
by TruthDebater 8 years ago
Is it possible to know the origin of species without knowing the origin of life? Is to know how life evolves or changes into new species knowing the origin of species? I do not see how understanding the changing of life is understanding the origin of life. Is the origin of species misleading for...
by kerryg 8 years ago
I'm amazed this isn't bigger news.Scientists are reporting possible evidence of primitive life on Titan! Titan has been suspected for along time of being capable of supporting some form of life, but this is the first evidence that there might actually BE life. At this point, the discovery is still...
by Thomas Byers 5 years ago
Do You Believe In Aliens? Do You Think We Are Alone?Do you believe in Aliens from outer space. Do you think they will some day show up here on earth. You know I really thought that by this point in my life ( age 62 ) that aliens from outer space would have already showed up here on earth. It does...
by fahad ansari 4 years ago
Panspermia theory, merely a False Assumption or a Reality?It is a theory which states that all the living life including humans where were unicellular organism are came from meteorites. Is it true?
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text:
At the beginning of every new year, I make a list of middle-grade books I should read and study, since that's the genre in which I write. They are award winners mostly, or books recommended as "must reads."
Most teachers encourage you to read a wide variety of books, and I always start with the best of intentions. But time to read is short for everyone.
Me and My List
Occasionally a book on the list really grabs me, and I sail through it. But more often than not, I have to really push myself to finish.
These popular books are well written, and for the most part, they deserve the honors and sales records they've garnered. However, many just aren't "me." Either I really don't like them for some reason (subject matter, language, depressing ending) or I lose interest because I know that I never want to write a similar book. With time to read so very short, I hate spending it reading something I just don't enjoy very much. I always feel guilty about it, but I finish few of the "must reads" on my list.
And then I read one of the free ebooks I downloaded from the NaNoWriMo give-away last month. It's called How to Be a Writer: Building Your Creative Skills Through Practice and Play by Babara Baig. Listen to her advice for writers:
You need to learn how to read as a writer. What that means, first and most importantly, is that you need to read for pleasure. Never mind all the books you think you should read; what do you want to read?… Find a writer whose work you admire and feel you can learn from — choose someone whose level of skill you sense you could achieve someday, not a writer whose way of writing feels unattainable…You may want to choose a writer whose books focus on subjects that interest you. Then immerse yourself in this person's work and see what you can learn.
Even though I agree with this advice, you'll find plenty of teachers who will say the opposite. This is just my opinion based on years of trying to read the children's books and adult books I "should" read. Nowadays I start them, but if I just don't like them after ten or fifteen pages, they go back to the library unread. I'm giving myself the freedom from now to read what I love.
And with that said, I'm ready to dig into a book I bought for my birthday. I love P.D. James novels, and I love Jane Austen. Guess what the new James novel is? A lover of Austen herself, she just published Death Comes to Pemberly. I expect I'll finish this one!


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The Ukrainian World Congress has issued a statement calling on Ukrainians worldwide to honour Stepan Bandera as a National Hero of Ukraine and to follow his example of service to his homeland.
Bandera was born 100 years ago in Ukraine in 1909 and was assinated in Munich by a KGB agent on 15 October 1959. He led the resistance movement for a free and independent Ukraine.
Please click here for the full text of the UWC's statement.


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Near-Field Scanning Magneto-Optical Spectroscopy of Wigner Molecules
Few-electrons moving in a weak confinement potential can be localized and spatially ordered (crystallized) forming, so-called, electronic or Wigner molecule (WM). The possibility of such crystallization in infinite systems was predicted by Wigner in 1934 [1] and it occurs when the energy of Coulomb interaction between the electrons exceeds their kinetic energy. Theory predicts that for finite, quantum confined systems a transition from droplet to molecular phase is gradual with increase of the Coulomb to kinetic energy ratio, which is described by Wigner-Seitz radius rs=1/[a*B(p·n)0.5], where n is electron density and a*B is Bohr radius. Theory also predicts, that spatial ordering starts develop at rs>2, and full localization in two-dimensional parabolic potential is realized at rs>100, when charged particles can be considered as point classical charges [2]. Most of the experiments were performed for two electron (2e) WMs structures in epitaxial InSb nanowires [3], ultra-clean carbon nanotubes [4] and nano-fabricated GaAs/AlGaAs quantum dots (QDs) defined laterally [5] or vertically [6,7]. These systems were measured mainly using single-electron tunneling spectroscopy and provide parabolic confinement energy ħw0=7.8-1.6 meV and rs ~2 near the onset of the WM formation.
Here we study the formation of 2e-WMs in emission spectra of self-organized InP/GaInP QDs providing rs up to 5. We used measurements of magnetic-field-induce shifts to distinguish emission of 2e-WM formed in photo-excited state from singly charged exciton (trion). We also observed magnetic-field-induced molecular-droplet transition for two electron dot, having doubly charge exiton (tetron) in photoexcited state at zero magnetic field.
Experimental details
The samples we grown by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) in a horizontal AIX200/4 reactor under 100 mbar pressure at temperature 725 oC. The sample structure was as follows: 500 µm (100) GaAs substrate misoriented by 2o towards the [110] direction, 50 nm thick GaAs buffer layer, 50 nm Ga0.52In0.48P latticed matched to the GaAs, seven monolayers of InP to form the quantum dots, and finally 60 nm GaInP cap layer.
The quantum dot size, size distribution and composition were determined using an FEI Titan 80-300 transmission electron microscope (TEM). The sample preparation was done using focused ion beams.
Electron accumulation was detected by negative degree of circular polarization of emission of QD ensemble [8]. The measurements were carried out under non-resonant continuous-wave excitation using 632.8 nm line of He-Ne. Samples were placed in closed cycle helium cryostat with temperature~10 K. Helicity of light in the excitation channel was alternated in sign at a frequency of 26 kHz, using photo-elastic quartz modulator. Quarter-wave plate followed by linear polarizer in the detection channel were used as a circular-polarization analyzer. Luminescence was dispersed by double monochromator and detected with photomultiplier tube. The degree of circular polarization , where I++,I-+ is intensity of σ+ luminescence under σ+, σ- excitation.
Single dot magneto-photoluminescence was measure using cryo near-field scanning optical microscope operating at 10 K and magnetic fields up to 10 T. We used tapered fiber probes coated by Al, having aperture size ~100 nm in collection-illumination mode [9]. The spectra were excited by the 514.5 nm Ar-laser line and measured using a CCD detector together with a 280 mm focal length monochromator. The excitation power was ~5 mW, which provided power density ~0.5 W/cm2. The spectral resolution of the system is 0.2–0.4 meV. For near-field (NF) imaging we scan the tip across sample surface with the step 100 nm, measured spectra at each step and then generated emission intensity maps for given energy.
Calculation models
In the weak confinement regime charged excitonic complexes can be approximated as point-like particles and their single particle spectrum is described by Fock-Darwin (FD) Hamiltonian with corresponding parabolic frequency. The emission energy of trion (TR) is Etr=E0+ ħ[wtr-we(2k+1)], where E0 is free 2D TR energy, wtr(we) are parabolic frequency of trion(electron), k is radial number of electron left in final state. Since wtr<we, Etr(B)-Etr(0)<0, i.e. main PL peak (<0|0>-transition) has a paramagnetic shift, and, since wtrnot equal we, weak shake-up, <0|k>-transitions are activated [10]. Similar is valid for tetron (TE). For WM the electrons in photoexcited state are shifted from the position of electron in ground by half of molecular bond length d0 and thus <k|0>-transitions is activated similar to that of stretching vibrations in diatomic molecules [11]. The intensities of <k|0>-transitions can thus be evaluated by Frank-Condon factors Fk=exp(-S)*Sk/k!, were S is Stokes shift S= mew02(d0/2)2/2ħw0 and me is electron effective mass. The magnetic field shift of <0|0>-transition is [E2e,r.m.(B)+EC,2e(B)]+Eh(B)+EC,2eh(B),where E2e,r.m.(B)/ Eh(B) is FD energy of relative electron/hole motion and two rest terms are Coulomb interaction energies. The term in squire brackets was analyzed in [12] and represent difference between interacting and non-interacting two electrons. We calculated this terms and used it to estimate EC,2eh from experimental data.
For calculations of energy transitions of InP/GaInP QDs we used COMSOL Multiphysics 5.1 program and material parameters from Ref. [13]
Structural data versus near-field imaging and spectroscopy
The dot lateral size, D, measured using TEM is varied from 80 to 220 nm. Using energy dispersive X-ray analysis of cross section TEM specimens we reveal intermixing resulted in incorporation of ~20% Ga in QDs. The dots are lens shaped having heights h=5 and 20 nm. These heights were also observed by us using atomic force microscopy of uncapped dots and was previously reported in Refs [14-17]. In low-temperature ensemble PL spectra the dots having h=20 nm give contribution to the main peak centered at 1.72 eV, while dots having h=5 nm form high-energy tail centered at 1.79 eV. The difference between the emission energy of these dots (~70 meV) is reproduced well in calculations of optical transitions of the lens shape InP/GaInP QDs. The intermixing results in a higher band-gap of QD material, which is Ga0.2In0.8P, and shifts ensemble PL peak on ~60 meV. Negative degree of circular polarization was observed in the range 1.68-1.74 eV, which indicated electron accumulation of the dots having h=20 nm.
The spatially resolved near-field spectra we observed population of the dot by up to 20 electrons, as was reported by us previously [18]. This follows from the observation of a multi peak structure consisting of s-, p- and d-peaks and related to electron occupation of corresponding electronic shells, and a low energy tail of s-peak, which is shake-up (Stokes) component, related to the modes of relative and center-of-mass motion of electrons. The s-p splitting of the dots was 1-6 meV and it is approximately equal to the energy spacing of the levels of parabolic potential ħw0. The some dots we see only Stokes component, which indicates that it contains a single electron. For these dots we observed a several <k|0>-transitions, nw0 which we assign to higher energy quantum confined levels.
The NF image of the emission intensity main peaks has lateral size at the base ~ 300 nm. We used these images to estimate the size of emission area of QD, which is ~50-150 nm and agree well with the calculations.
Wigner molecule versus charged exciton emission
We found that for single electron dots the number of shake-up <0|k>-transitions and distribution of their intensity dramatically depends on ħw0: only two with <0|0> dominant were observed for ħw0=4 meV and up to six with <0|2> dominant were observed for ħw0=1.2 meV. The relative intensity of the transition are described very well by Fk of vibronic model giving S values 0.5, 1.5 and 2.5 and d0=40, 110 and 140 nm for ħw0=4, 1.8 and 1.2 meV, respectively. The d0–values obtained corresponds to a dot size, which is unexpectedly, since calculations [19] give nearly two times smaller values.
We observed that in magnetic field a single elctron dot having ħw0=1.2 meV the energy of the s-peak increases with increasing of magnetic field, indicating that a stable 2e-WM is formed in photoexcited state of this dot.
For one dot we observed a single s-peak at zero field. For this dot s-peak shifts to lower energy up to 8T and at higher fields it starts shifted to higher energy. For this dot a Stokes component having energy 1.3 meV appears at 4 T and p-shell component having energy 2meV appears at 10 T. The measured low energy shift for B< 8 T is well reproduced by FD shift of doubly charged exciton (tetron). For higher field appearance of Stokes component and p-peaks indicated formation of Wigner molecule.
We also observed a mixed trion-WM behavior in which dot has two emission peaks one has negative, trion shif in magnetic field and the other positive, WM shiftt.
We study the emission spectra of single self-organized InP/GaInP QDs (size 100-220 nm) using high-spatial-resolution low-temperature (5K) near-field scanning optical microscope (NSOM) operating at magnetic field strength B=0-10T. The dots contain up to twenty electrons and represent natural Wigner molecules (WM). We observed vibronic-type shake-up structure in single electron QDs describing well by vibronic Frank-Condon factors and manifesting formation of two electron (2e) WM in photo-excited state. We used measurements of magnetic field shifts to distinguish emission of 2e-WM from singly charged exciton (trion). We also observed magnetic-field-induced molecular-droplet transition for two electron dot, having doubly charge exiton (tetron) in photoexcited state at zero field.
1. E.P.Wigner, Phys. Rev., 46, 1002-1011 (1934)
2. A. V. Filinov, M. Bonitz,1 and Yu. E. Lozovik, Phys. Rev. Lett., , 86, 17, 3851-3854 (2001)
3. L. H. Kristinsdottir, J. C. Cremon, H. A. Nilsson, H. Q. Xu, L. Samuelson, H. Linke, A. Wacker, and S. M. Reimann, Phys. Rev. B, 83, 041101-1-4 (2011)
4. S. Pecker, F. Kuemmeth, A. Secchi, M. Rontani, D. C. Ralph, P. L. McEuen and S. Ilani Nature Physics, 9, 576-581 (2013)
5. C. Ellenberger, T. Ihn, C. Yannouleas, U. Landman, K. Ensslin, D. Driscoll, and A. C. Gossard Phys. Rev. Lett., 96, 126806-1-4 (2006)
6. Y.,Nishi, Y. Tokura, J. Gupta, G. Austing, and S. Tarucha Phys. Rev. B, 75 121301(R )-1-4 (2007)
7. A. Singha V. Pellegrini, A.Pinczuk, L. N. Pfeiffer, K.W. West, and M. Rontani Phys. Rev. Lett. 104, 246802 1-4 (2010)
8. R. I. Dzhioev et al., Phys. Solid State 40, 1587-1591 (1998).
9. A.M.;Mintairov, K. Sun, and J. L. Merz, C. Li, A. S. Vlasov, D. A. Vinokurov, and O. V. Kovalenkov, V. Tokranov and S. Oktyabrsky. Phys. Rev. B 69(15) 155306-1-12, 2004.
10. C.Schulhauser, D. Haft, R. J. Warburton, K. Karrai, A. O. Govorov, A. V. Kalameitsev, A. Chaplik, W. Schoenfeld, J. M. Garcia, and P. M. Petroff Phys. Rev. B, 66, 193303-1-4 (2002)
11. Rebane, K. K. "Impurity Spectra of Solids: Elementary Theory of Vibrational Structure" ( Springer US, Plenum Press, New York, 1970) 253p
12. Pfanncuche D., Gerhardts R. R., Maksym P. A. Physica B, 189, 6-15 (1993)
13. C. Pryor, M-E. Pistol, and L. Samuelsonon, Phys. Rev B 56, 10404-10411 (1997)
14. N. Carlsson, W. Seifert, A. Petersson, P. Castrillo, M. E. Pistol, and L. Samuelson Appl. Phys. Lett. 65 3093-3095 (1994)
15. S.P. DenBaars, C.M. Reaves, V. Bressler-Hill, S. Varma, W.H. Weinberg, P.M. Petroff J. Gryst. Growth 145 721-712 (1994)
16. J. Porsche, A. Ruf, M. Geiger, F. Scholz J. Cryst. Growth 195 591-595 (1998)
17. D. A. Vinokurov, V. A. Kapitonov, O. V. Kovalenkov, D. A. Livshits, and I. S. Tarasov Tech. Phys. Lett. 24 623-625 (1998)
18. A. M.Mintairov, J. L.Merz and S Blundell. "Molecular states of electrons: emission of single molecules in self-organized InP/GaInP quantum dot" In Fingerprints in the Optical and Transport Properties of Quantum Dots (InTech, ISBN 978-953-51-0648-7, 2012) pp.125-152
19. C. Yannouleas and U. Landman, Phys. Rev. B 85, 1726-1729 (2000)


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Presentation Date:
Trevor Young
33 - Insulin Signaling in Drosophila melanogaster
Brown University
Eco & Evo Biology
Insulin and IGF-1 (insulin-like growth factor 1) signaling are important pathways in both metabolism and aging. It has previously been shown that mutations in the insulin-signaling pathway can extend lifespan in model organisms, such as Drosophila melanogaster (Tatar, et. al 2001). This places great importance on studying this pathway to better understand the aging process at the molecular level. D. melanogaster are interesting in that they do not have one form of insulin like humans do, but rather they have 7 different DILPs (Drosophila insulin-like peptides) that are involved in different signaling pathways in different parts of the body. I have been studying the localization of the insulin receptor (InR) protein in D. melanogaster and have found evidence that upon binding to DILPs, the receptor is shuttled from the plasma membrane to the nucleus of the cell. It has recently been shown that IGF-1 receptor is translocated to the nucleus in mice (Sehat, et. al 2010) but has not yet been studied in D. melanogaster. The implications of this study are that insulin signaling in D. melanogaster is a very dynamic process and can provide more evidence for understanding the molecular mechanisms of aging. 1. Sehat, Bita, et al. "SUMOylation mediates the nuclear translocation and signaling of the IGF-1 receptor." Science signaling 3.108 (2010): ra10. 2. Tatar, Marc, et al. "A mutant Drosophila insulin receptor homolog that extends life-span and impairs neuroendocrine function." Science 292.5514 (2001): 107-110.
Copyright (c) 2012-2016 Beckman Foundation. All rights reserved. | beckman-foundation.org


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Which side was France on in the War?
Update: Obvs I mean the Second World War. At school I was taught that they were on the side of the British and Allies but then I read about their leader Philippe Petain passing anti-Jewish laws and signing a pact with Hitler. Quite confusing for an ally of Britain to have done that.
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Studies have indicated 70 percent to 90 percent of people who use computers extensively, whether for work or play, have one or more symptoms of computer vision syndrome. The effects of prolonged computer use are not just vision-related. Complaints include neurological symptoms like chronic headaches and musculoskeletal problems like neck and back pain.
Unfortunately I've started to experience this over the past three months. Continual fatigue, frequent headaches, inability to focus on screens for long periods of time, higher sensitivity to brightness...it sucks. For a while my routine had me in front of a screen for more than twelve hours per day.
I'm not sure what to do besides be aware of it and start taking small steps to reduce screen time. This means more frequent breaks at work to walk a lap in the hallway, or moving back to paper books, or dimming the brightness on all my devices as low as comfortably possible. It's starting to help, but I'm still far ahead of the three-hour-per-day range of comfort.
Anyone else?


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1056 Peninsula Drive is a $239,500 property on a 0.51 acre lot located in Scottsboro, AL.
Main Channel Waterfront Lot in the Prestigious Waterfront Community "The Peninsula at Goosepond" -offering 143+/-ft of water frontage and deep water. Public/underground utilities, curbs/gutters, natural gas, can build boathouse with TVA approval of plans. Nice waterfront neighborhood with many custom upscale homes already built. Very convenient to Huntsville, Scottsboro, Guntersville & a short drive to Chattanooga.
|Exterior Features
Water Access
River Front
Water Property
Water Front
Tennessee River
Lake Guntersville
Main Channel
Gas - Natural
Electric - Underground Electric
Water View
|Land Type
Single Family
|Water Source
|Property Type
|Property Sub Type
|Elementary School
scottsboro elem school
|Middle School
scottsboro middle school
|High School
scottsboro high school
The Peninsula At Goose Pond
Based on information from the North Alabama Multiple Listing Service® , last updated 08/23/2019 at 08:02am MDT. All data, including all measurements and calculations of area, is obtained from various sources and has not been, and will not be, verified by broker or MLS. All information should be independently reviewed and verified for accuracy. Properties may or may not be listed by the office/agent presenting the information. Listing information is provided exclusively for consumers' personal, non-commercial use and may not be used for any purpose other than to identify prospective properties consumers may be interested in purchasing. Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed by the MLS or this website.


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- #RSC Staff Discount
- #HappyBirthday
We have unique gift ideas for her and him! Whether you're looking to spoil your amazing mom, your fabulous dad, sibling, best friend, boyfriend, teacher or yourself, we've got you covered. Our selection of luxurious gift sets in body care, skin care, fragrances and more make for a perfect present for every occasion and everybody.
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text: We haven't played in a while, but that changes next Saturday, February 4 at The Gutter in Brooklyn! We've been working on songs for a new album, and have recorded a batch of them already. Sometime soon, we're going to get back in the studio and record some more, so that new album will hopefully be out in early 2018. (That would beat our last gap between albums by 11 years!) ALSO, it won't be long until the 2017 double-vinyl and first-time-ever digital reissue of our second and third albums, 1994's Starduster and 1996's Communist Love Songs, the latter of which will see a vinyl release for the first time ever! There's even going to be an awesome booklet with lots of founding bassist Mike Galinsky's photos and liner notes by Mike, Rachael, and Chris. The reissue is coming courtesy of the fabulous Drawing Room Records! Click on "Shows" for details.


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"I know not why any one but a school-boy in his declamation should whine over the Commonwealth of Rome, which grew great only by the misery of the rest of mankind. The Romans, like others, as soon as they grew rich, grew corrupt; and in their corruption sold the lives and freedoms of themselves, and of one another. [...] A people, who while they were poor robbed mankind; and as soon as they became rich, robbed one another."
Samuel Johnson: Review of Thomas Blackwell's "Memoirs of the Court of Augustus"


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Back by popular demand: the underground classic documentary series "Magical Egypt" returns after 15 years for a long-awaited new run of episodes. The iconic host and writing team behind the original series are back, joined by a new generation of researchers, scientists and thinkers that represent "The New Counterculture".
What is the New Counterculture? A small but ever growing group are challenging the traditional "model", or the basic set of assumptions, that inform our picture of the ancient world. The new model they are asserting has some radical implications that could dramatically shift our understanding of human past. And as a result, our understanding of our present, our future, and, even our identity as humans.
The Magical Egypt series focuses on the explosively controversial work of vanguards like John Anthony West, Graham Hancock, Robert Bauval, Rupert Sheldrake and others who are causing a shift to newer models of human consciousness, human history, a new appreciation for the science of the ancient world, and a bold new picture of the vast untapped potential of human intelligence.
A changing of the guard.
The current "orthodox" model of history pre-supposes a linear progression from the relatively primitive bronze and copper age civilisations to the silicon age techno/industrial/military complex civilisation of today. But as most of the readers of this publication will already know, the orthodox model of history doesn't account for many of the most intriguing riddles that the ancient world presents. The primary riddle being how a culture like ancient Egypt and many others that we regard as having existed at the very beginning of recorded history, could express such marvels of engineering, and such a highly developed, integrated scientific know-how, at a time when only copper tools were supposed to be available.
And all this at a time when, presumably, there was no body of accumulated knowledge in the fields of architecture or engineering, or megalithic stonework, or for that matter, higher math, geometry, psychology, or physics.
The glaring discrepancy between what we were told about our history by the orthodox model, and the obvious contradiction to that model that we see in the actual remains of ancient Egypt, and most of the rest of the ancient megalithic world, has been observed by keen minds throughout history, but the mainstream position has remained largely unchanged.
Due to a bit of ideological gatekeeping, the conversation about ancient Egypt was restricted to a fairly narrow band of "acceptable" discourse and inquiry for much of recent modern history. All within the framework of the "pronouncements" of Egyptologists and academics. But that is giving way to a new paradigm - a new relationship between the public and the "authorities" that dispense the information we use to form our beliefs and value structures.
"Cutting out the middle man"
In the last couple decades, individual access to the web, and the direct connection to the world of information there, has sparked an interesting shift - people are shifting from a passive participation, one of viewership and of "passive consumerism of a unidirectional broadcast of culture", to a more active roll, where the gatekeepers and old-school authorities are bypassed, and people are doing their own research. Exploring unique avenues of their own personal fascination. Designing and conducting their own scientific experiments. Often raising and answering questions that the traditional authorities hadn't even considered.
As a result of the more direct experience that the internet brings, fewer people are "taking it on faith", that the old school model is gospel. More and more people are forming their own opinions, and more and more are seeking out the voices and the lines of inquiry represented by what we're calling the "New Counterculture". The "other" model of human history.
How does the new model differ from the old? Some of the differences are subtle, some quite dramatic. Some of the basic assumptions of the new model of human development are completely the opposite of the traditional understanding. Most centrally, the biggest difference between old and new models is that, rather than linear progress from a primitive past to the high-tech present, all the data actually points to a much longer period of human development, perhaps vastly longer. These long periods of development were punctuated by natural disasters and interruptions of civilisation that acted as fractures of the timeline, interruptions of progress, and served to create a sort of "ebb and flow", a rise and fall of the expression of science and technology over long periods of time.
This model accounts for the amazing heights to which humanity has risen in the past, as well as the embarrassing depths to which we fall when we lose connection with our identity as an intelligent, creative, even ingenious race. One that in times past have laid bare the scientific machine code of the universe, and solved the central mystery of the universe - the mystery of the nature and function of consciousness. One of the last remaining unsolved mysteries to modern science.
In the new series:
We begin with a simple, but surprisingly confrontational idea: "There is a door in your head that no one told you about".
As a filmmaker and a career visual artist, something I keep noticing about the artwork and the architecture and most of the rest of the culture, is that it radiates a message, but the message is ingeniously encoded. You see it every time you look at it, but like those classic victorian illustrations of optical illusions. First, you see one thing, a beautiful woman say, until your brain "flips" and you see the other - a hideous crone occupying the same space.
If you are in possession of the keys, the right decoder ring, the architecture starts "talking" to you in a surprising and unexpected way. And not just talking, drawing your attention to something. And so does the rest of the art, the jewellery, and the elaborate funerary technology.
In the new series, the art and the aesthetic of ancient Egypt is used as a door through which we "enter the inner temple", to access the storehouse of accumulated knowledge from these lost chapters of human history - and to study not just the art and aesthetic cannons that deliver the ancient message, but to shine a light on the ancient message itself.
It was a message that was of central importance to the ancient intellect. A message that was the primary reason the temples were erected, and perhaps the reason that this ancient civilisation continues to be of great interest to such a large segment of the population.
The ubiquitous message transmitted by the ancient world, especially ancient Egypt, draws one's attention to the mystery of consciousness, and to a forgotten science that "schematised" or "diagrammed" the interaction between brain, mind and higher states consciousness. The message then proceeds to diagram the role of consciousness in the universe. And it does so with a commanding authority.
Magical Egypt series 2 begins with a look at the substantial new developments that have taken place since the last run. Revelatory discoveries like Gobleki Tepi have pushed back even the orthodox estimation of earliest civilisation to before 10,000 BC. It might very well be final nail in the coffin of the orthodox model of human history. Many other recent discoveries are opening new doors onto whole new areas of research. Noteably, Laird Scranton's discovery of a scientific language embedded in certain classes of hieroglyphs, and the sophisticated scientific models the language transmits. And of course, Rupert Sheldrake's landmark work suggesting that consciousness and mind operate as fields, returning the modern scientific model of consciousness to one eerily similar to that of the ancients.
These discoveries have come along slowly, but have accumulated in a way that has changed the landscape of what we believe about the ancient world. Cumulatively, they invite a new look at what other "recoverable science" is waiting patiently to be rediscovered.
Being a rabid fan of this topic myself, I am very aware that long periods can pass without any real progress or meaningful developments, and the subject can become stagnant. But then, as science marches inexorably on, and as basic human curiosity keeps combining with better access to information, discoveries are made that revolutionise and revivify the whole conversation.
The other development that has somewhat changed the landscape since our last run of episodes is the emergence of "Ancient Aliens" themed programming. While being duly fascinated with the subject of ancient alien intervention, and aliens in general, I saw something a little troubling about the recent series. It turned a very complicated, multifaceted and very important avenue of scientific inquiry into a dynamic more reminiscent of sitting around a camp fire, where everyone is encouraged to contribute their opinions, whether or not they are based in reality, and the more dramatic, the better. While that certainly has a track record of pulling in an audience, it ultimately becomes a type of "informational junk food", because many of the conclusions reached by the show are based on poorly researched or just plain incorrect facts. It may have ultimately served to push the subject even farther outside of the bounds of credibility or consideration as a legitimate topic of scientific inquiry.
We will be exploring the Alien Intervention question, because it FITS so well with the puzzle of the anomalous technology. But we will explore it with eyes wide open to the possibility that the fit might be a false positive. We will also explore the contentious subject of the Annunnaki, as introduced by Zecharia Sitchin's popular "12th Planet" books. What are other experts saying about Sitchin's translations? Does this popular new mythos actually stand up to scientific scrutiny?
Rather than sinking to sensationalism and speculation, there is another track to take when studying such an important question, which is to rely on scientific methods of rational inquiry. Sticking to the science is what has given West, Hancock, Bauval, Sheldrake et al, the staying power and social relevance that they have achieved. Rather than the "junk food media" preference for simply recycling popular memes, the scientific approach looks at the data, at the evidence, and the clues available to us, and then constructs a model that fits the direct observation.
The show will also explore other ancient riddles, and other examples that point to a high science in the ancient world. In each case, we look at the ancient world with the goal of "retrieving and reverse-engineering" technology and "recovering lost science" that is of direct application to the modern world and the modern mind.
You can help direct the course of the show!
The entertainment and media landscape has also evolved considerably since our last production. One bold new development that has changed the face of producing independent content - content outside the mainstream paradigm - is the emergence of crowd funding and kick-starter programs. These avenues of crowd-funding allow large groups of people with a common interest or passion to "vote with their dollars" and play an active part is helping to make the kind of programming they want to see.
After 15 years, worldwide DVD sales, and tens of millions of views on Youtube, we are constantly contacted and asked when we will produce more episodes. We see the crowd funding option as a viable way to pull together the budget to produce more episodes without having to submit to the compromises that come bundled with traditional broadcast programming. We would like to do more field and location filming in Egypt, England and other ancient sites, as well as interviewing our guests and participants in their "natural habitat". If you would like to play a part in participating and making possible the production of new episodes of Magical Egypt, please check out our Kickstarter program to find out how you can help!


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Diodes Earnings Preview
Diodes (NAS: DIOD) managed to meet estimates last quarter, but investors hope that it will surpass expectations this quarter. The company will unveil its latest earnings on Tuesday. Diodes is a designer, manufacturer, and supplier of high-quality, application-specific standard products within the semiconductor markets and in the consumer electronics, computing, communications, industrial, and automotive markets.
What analysts say:
- Buy, sell, or hold?: Analysts are bullish on Diodes as five analysts rate it as a buy and only one analyst rates it as a sell. Analysts don't like Diodes as much as competitor Microsemi overall.
- Revenue forecasts: On average, analysts predict $164.5 million in revenue this quarter. That would represent a rise of 0.9% from the year-ago quarter.
- Wall Street earnings expectations: The average analyst estimate is earnings of $0.34 per share. Estimates range from $0.31 to $0.37.
What our community says:
CAPS All-Stars are solidly behind the stock with 95.8% assigning it an outperform rating. The community at large agrees with the All-Stars with 94.6% granting it a rating of outperform. Fools have embraced Diodes, though the message boards have been quiet lately with only 80 posts in the past 30 days. Despite the majority sentiment in favor of Diodes, the stock has a middling CAPS rating of three out of five stars.
Diodes' profit has risen year over year by an average of 77.4% over the past five quarters. The company's gross margin shrank by 3.1 percentage points in the last quarter. Revenue rose 13.8% while cost of sales rose 19.3% to $114.2 million from a year earlier.
Gross Margin
Operating Margin
Net Margin
One final thing: If you want to keep tabs on Diodes movements, and for more analysis on the company, make sure you add it to your watchlist.
Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
At the time this article was published
Copyright © 1995 - 2011 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.


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We do our best to make sure the connections you find on a job are great connections. What I mean by a great connection, is someone who is in a position to help you land that job. Someone who, if they gave you a referral, would increase your chances of landing that job as much as Bitcoin went up at the end of 2017 (something like over 400%). But how do we do this? We look at five things: connection's place of work (company name), location of the job, location of the connection, industry of the job, and industry of the the connection. These five data points allow us to group jobs and their connections into three separate categories: company match; company and location match; and company, location and industry/department match. The more matches we find between a job and a connection, the higher we rank the job, because that connection is much more likely to be directly involved with the hiring process of that job.
Stage 1 Match: Company
Matching by company is very simple. If a member of your group works for company X, and company X has a job posted in Dringo, that member becomes a connection of Job X. Every single job on Dringo has at least one stage 1 connection.
Stage 2 Match: Location
Matching by company alone often isn't enough, though. What if there's a job with Google on Dringo? Google has hundreds of thousands of employees spread out over the entire world. A connection in California for a job in New York isn't much of a connection. This is where locations come into play. If a job has a stage 1 connection, and that connection is within 20 miles of where the job is being offered, then that connection becomes a stage 2! Stage 2 usually means that the connection is at the same office as the job being offered. A job with a stage 2 connection will rank higher in the job search index than a job with only stage 1 connections.
Stage 3 Match: industry & department
Great, so we identify connections down to the office, but let's go back to the Google example. Let's say you have a job from Google with a Stage 2 connection. The connection is in the same workplace as the job being offered, but what if that workplace is Google's campus in the San Francisco, where thousands of people work all over a sizeable campus in disciplines ranging from graphic design to scientific research? This is where industry matching comes into play. If a job has a stage 2 connection, and that connection is in the same industry as the job being offered (e.g., job is in engineering, connection is an engineer), then that connection becomes a stage 3! Stage 3 usually means that the connection is not only in the same workplace, she also works in the same department within that office. A job with a stage 3 connection will rank higher in the job search index than a job with only stage 1 or 2 connections.


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Boondoggle or Good Value?
The IRS has a conference in Las Vegas. WASTE! FRAUD! The Postal Service has dinner at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse to the tune of over $13,000. ABUSE!
As someone who believes government spending should be watched like a hawk (it is my money, you know), I understand when people get up in arms about these things. But at the same time, I always take pause when these news stories crop up, as sometimes, an "obvious" boondoggle is not a boondoggle. Sometimes, it's a sound investment.
Before I went out on my own, I worked for one employer who was a notorious penny-pincher. Imagine my surprise when he invited the entire executive team to his favorite resort in Longboat Key, Florida. It was a bit of a shock, and seemed somewhat lavish for his reputation. I later learned that he had negotiated a very good deal, had checked on the costs of travel to the location, and had basically figured out he had options.
- Have the annual manager's meeting at a boring hotel in a major metropolitan area
- Have the annual manager's meeting at a lavish resort where his personnel could feel pampered
Cost? About the same.
He made the right choice.
Selling the Tough Sell (in Omaha)
I've been intrigued over the past four years, working with traveling4fun.com to host annual "Seminars at Sea" aboard cruise ships. Attendance is always light, but I get to take my wife on an annual cruise and we get a chance to see a little more of the Caribbean. It's a great opportunity for us. But it's an even better opportunity for the few who take advantage of it. The package (cruise, training, cruise food, cruise accommodations) for three days of training is well under $1500. Go to a training event in Cincinnati or Austin, and in three days, the price tag will definitely be higher. But oddly enough, most organizations would rather send their folks to Bismarck than out on the high seas. Why? Appearances.
Sadly, appearances actually drive many business decisions relating to travel. Organizations don't want to send Bob to St. Maarten and St. Thomas for fear that they'll look like they're squandering company dollars. It doesn't matter that Bob will save the company about a thousand dollars in the process. It doesn't matter that Bob will actually enjoy the experience and feel rewarded. It's all about what it looks like.
In project management, we need to be the fiscal champions of our organizations. That doesn't mean that we have to be boring pedants that only glom onto cheap-looking opportunities. It does mean that we have to build the business case first.
The business case is best built through comparative analysis. If you have the opportunity to treat your team well, first consider what the same meeting/training/opportunity would look like in Omaha. It's not that I don't consider Omaha a resort location, but it's not the first place that pops to mind when you hear "boondoggle." It also doesn't come across as exorbitant, inappropriate or wasteful. It comes across as the heart of America. It comes across as hard work. It comes across as "in earnest."
So price out the event in a heartland kind of community, including room, board, facilities, travel and all of the other considerations that go with the package. That's now the official baseline. See if you can sell that. If management buys into Omaha, you own them. Suppose with room, board, and travel, the total for a four-day trip is on the order of $1500. That's not unreasonable. Add in the price of the convention, symposium, workshop or seminar, and it's probably nearing $3000.
"Destination" experiences tend to be able to leverage both volume and early participation to keep costs down. Almost universally, the cost for destination events will be on a par with, or lower than, the Omaha experience.
Sold on Omaha? Off to Barbados!
Granted, this sounds like a "bait and switch," because it is. But it's a positive experience. Once management understands and agrees to the cost of a business or educational experience in the heartland, offer the alternative. In this instance, the dialogue should go something like this:
Boss: How much less?
Me: About a third to half off.
Boss: Wow! That's pretty impressive. Are the same dates available?
Me: Yes. And better still, the accounting will be easier. It's a package deal. Meals, rooms, conference facilities, everything.
Boss: Where is it?
Me: Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Boss: Oh, that's great. Much warmer for a winter event.
Me: Just one catch, though.
Boss: What's that?
Me: The conference would sail from Lauderdale, with stops in San Juan, St. Thomas, and St. Maarten.
Boss: A cruise?? You expect me to approve a cruise!!??Me: No, I expect you to approve a conference, where you cut the corporate costs by more than a third and where you show your employees how much you value them and where you come out a hero with the staff and the Finance department.
And this is where they likely say no.
And you say, "I'll start calling hotels in Omaha and setting up dates."
And they say, "Give me a day or two to think about it."
Sadly, most organizations that miss out on amazing opportunities do so out of fear. Rather than arming themselves with clear information about how they can better spend a corporate dollar to benefit everyone from the shareholders to the worker bees, they opt for image over substance -- with a willingness to have an image of an organization that isn't sufficiently creative to create winning opportunities for staff, management, and shareholders alike.
The objections are inevitable and predictable.
"It's not my job to give people vacations in the middle of a recession!"
"I give them a Christmas party each year! That's reward enough, isn't it?"
The short answer is no. The best stewards are not boring. The best stewards are creative. They know how to find ways to serve corporate and personnel interests. And we should remind them that even if the optics are bad, the potential savings are amazing. (And besides that, on a cruise ship or all-inclusive resort, they're a captive audience -- they almost have to attend the conference.)
It's time to get out of the rut and get creative. But you have to do the homework first. And to the senior managers who see this as one big boondoggle? Do the math.
Looking for a test case? Carl's 2014 PDU cruise sets sail in April. You can get more details and registration information, as well as plenty of fodder to help you build the case, in this document (PDF) or on Carl's website at www.carlpritchard.com. Elsewhere on ProjectConnections, check out Cinda Voegtli's thoughts on the high project return on leisurely learning and some unconventional ideas for project team rewards and recognition.


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In this day and age it seems as though the men of our society are still focusing on 'swag' which will leave you in no position to brag. Bragging rights come to those select few men who possess the poise, sophistication and understanding that becoming a true gentleman means carrying yourself with an air of class. Class is not only something for those of a certain economic status…au-contraire. Adding a few specific items to your wardrobe and carrying them appropriately can transform any guy into a Gentleman.
Watch Out:
This basically means being on time. Real men don't make anyone wait. Be prompt as possible unless a situation arises. If you are going to be late then inform your party as to why and give them an updated ETA.
Scratch and Sniff:
Here in New York, it is officially cold. You guys might think that you can get away with not wearing deodorant or cologne but keep it up. One or two sprays of a cologne like our beautifully packaged Eight & Bob Original, is more than enough and if you plan on having a night out, be sure to use an antiperspirant to keep feeling and smelling fresh.
See Something Say Something:
You might not need glasses to see, and if you are one of those few guys continuing to wear glasses without lenses in them, STOP. This tip is essential to tell you that observe your surroundings. Everyone loves a compliment, if you see something you like, respectfully make your feelings known, retreat, wait for a reaction and proceed.
Keep in mind that being a gentleman is all about a mindset, be respectful of others and you will begin to see that respect returned.


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Belly Fat In Women
Your weight is determined by how you balance the daily calories you eat with the energy you burn. If you eat too much and exercise too little, you're likely to carry excess weight — including belly fat.
- Aging plays a role
- Loss of muscle mass will decreases the rate at which your body uses calories, which can make it more challenging to maintain a healthy weight.
- Level of estrogen is DECREASED, which appears to influence where fat is distributed in the body.
---Mayo Foundation
Fat is linked with far more dangerous health problems, including:
- Heart disease
- Type 2 diabetes
- High blood pressure
- Abnormal cholesterol
- Breathing problems
Some ways to lose belly fat fast::
- Eat Plenty of Soluble Fiber. ...
- Avoid Foods That Contain Trans Fats. ...
- Don't Drink Too Much Alcohol. ...
- Eat a High-Protein Diet. ...
- Reduce Your Stress Levels. ...
- Don't Eat a Lot of Sugary Foods. ...
- Do Aerobic Exercise (Cardio)
- Get enough sleep
- Avoid sweetening food etc


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A good software team knows to talk openly about the code. One suggestion is to get together once a day, maybe at day end, to just talk about or look at some code, even if you are already pairing. The get-together need not take long nor be formal in any manner. Fifteen to thirty minutes should be sufficient. Toss some code up on the wall using an LCD projector and have at it.
Initially, such discussions can be touchy, as critique can be mistakenly viewed as insults or attacks. Over time, the regular exercise of discussing code should form a group that better understands how to communicate effectively with each other.
What to talk about? I brainstormed some ideas for a specific set of teams, things I knew they needed to discuss, and provide that starter list here. Given the almost limitless number of reasons to talk about the code, there is little excuse to forego the forum.
- "here's something cool that I did today!"
- "how could I better express this test?"
- "here is a mocking technique I found valuable"
- "this test didn't make sense to me"
- "this area of the code concerns me"
- test granularity
- test naming
- how TDD changed my design
- naming standards
- coding standards
- warning standards
- JUnit 4.4+: Hamcrest matchers, theories, etc.
- "we're not writing enough tests"
- code coverage (taking a look at the actual lines exercised by tests)
- WTFs in the code or test. Can be amusing, but watch the toes!
- test execution speed. Splitting into slow/fast suites.
- identifying and speeding up slow tests
- test smells
- various forms of test double (see XUnit Patterns)
- simple design vs SOLID
- "we're not refactoring our production code enough"
- "we're not refactoring our tests enough"
- object mothers for tests
- "the build is a pain in the rear"
- looking at a new mock tool like Mockito
And so on. Perhaps get a volunteer (or two) to "open" a topic each week. They talk for a few minutes, and then you open things up for group discussion.


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To discuss your requirements or arrange an online demo of Cezanne HR with one of our UK-based product experts, please get in touch.
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Aussie Man and Van launches new brand look as website goes live
The Space Creative's rebrand and new website for Aussie Man and Van went live this week and the feedback from customers has been amazing already. Aussie Man and Van are London's best known removers and since being founded in 2001 they have grown from a small moves service into a national and international removers who offer storage and shipping. We were chuffed to bits when Charles Rickards entrusted us with his baby. Rebranding a well known company who are known for their look as much as their services is always a balancing act, but we think we've done rather well by keeping the best bits and injecting some style and Aussie humour into proceedings.
As well as creating a new brand look, we have created new livery for all the Aussie trucks and vans, designed some smart new threads for the lads to wear and produced some lovely action photography.


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|waz on Fri, 30 Apr 1999 11:42:33 +0200 (CEST)
[Date Prev] [Date Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Date Index] [Thread Index]
|<nettime> on the war. again. sorry.
i am so jealous of those people who can be against this war easily. i want to be against the war. i am usually against the war. just like when i was little, and my father and my mother would row, and my judgement was that my father was bullying my mother unfairly, and i would side with her, with the side of peace, the side of fairness, the side that didn't involve anyone being hit by anyone or hurt by anyone, and yet occasionally it would be my mother who would turn into a monster, and yell and scream and be violent.. and those times i wouldn't know what the hell to do or think and just became incredibly scared and hid somewhere... right now i want to hide. this war makes me want to hide. and it so happens i work for a uk media organisation where there are all kinds of extra security precautions being taken at the moment - because of the targeting of Serb broadcasters? because of Jill Dando? we don't know. and the fascists bombed Brixton, where I live, and Brick Lane too, and it really is all being brought home now, and the violent warmongering fools are all coming out this year, and i really do want to hide. and to shut the hell up. and be quiet for a bit. and i reread my pro-war postings and try and kid myself that there was my father speaking not me, but i am wrong and simply find it hard to accept it when propaganda defeats me, and i reread the postings from belgrade and am ashamed. of myself. of my country. of humanity. and not because i am suddenly against this war. or for it. what the fuck is to be done with the lot of us? enough already. western civilisation *would* be a good idea. where the hell do we start? :| wayne http://www.waz.easynet.co.uk/ --- # distributed via nettime-l : no commercial use without permission # <nettime> is a closed moderated mailinglist for net criticism, # collaborative text filtering and cultural politics of the nets # more info: firstname.lastname@example.com and "info nettime-l" in the msg body # URL: http://www.desk.nl/~nettime/ contact: email@example.com


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Hey, friends.
Well, it was a red letter day in Berlin. I took a full two hours to walk home from my client's office, doing all that charming European stuff like wandering into independent book shops along the way, stopping here and there to (literally) smell the roses. I have a real thing for Berlin flower shops, as it were.
So, over the weekend, I became completely obsessed with this article I read on Medium. It's written by Mikael Cho, who is apparently the co-founder of a Montreal-based startup called Crew.
Go read it immediately. The whole thing. It's a wonderful crash course in how to apply for jobs in the 21st century, and it inspired this week's episode. I am completely flabbergasted at the emotional disconnect that happens in the hiring process these days. I understand being nervous, but there's a difference between being professional and being too formal in a bizarre, outdated kind of way.
Your number one takeaway should be this: start talking to recruiters as if they're humans, man.
Anyway, I highlight a few of his better points in this episode -- and I also highlight another startup that has really got it going on as far as The Future of Hiring is concerned.
[Watch] #entrylevelboss Episode 4: Stop applying for jobs like it's 1983
Excited to hear your thoughts on this one.
PS: Feel free to share this video with someone who needs it. Of course I'd love you to shout all about it on Facebook (and you're welcome to do so); but mostly, I'd like you to send it directly to someone who might benefit from this kind of information.
PPS: I'm 10 days into this really cool thing called #The100DayProject. Check it out. It's a great exercise in discipline, and I encourage you to join in -- it's never too late, after all. I'm singing a song a day on Instagram. And I'm taking requests.


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Public Water Now Appeals Planning Commission Ruling on Cal Am Desal Permit
By Melodie Chrislock
Public Water Now has filed an appeal with the Monterey County Board of Supervisors to set aside the permit issued by the Monterey County Planning Commission to Cal Am for its proposed desal plant until a Supplemental EIR is completed.
The Planning Commission's ruling in favor of Cal Am's Desal permit was narrowly passed by a vote of 6 to 4. The four District 4 and 5 Commissioners who opposed it, and whose districts would directly affect, wisely asked for more time and more detail to make their decision.
The Planning Commission decision violates the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the Monterey County General Plan, the North County Local Coastal Plan, the Sustained Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), the California Constitution, and established California law governing groundwater rights.
PWN's appeal asks for a Supplemental EIR because the EIR prepared by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) is inadequate and incomplete and did not address mandated legal and environmental requirements. It did not evaluate the data and anticipated adverse impacts of Cal Am's desal project on groundwater in the Salinas Valley Basin identified by the Stanford AEM study.
A glaring omission was the fact that Cal Am has no groundwater rights in the Salinas Valley and cannot legally secure them. The County General Plan and LCP, SGMA and CEQA require proof of groundwater rights before a permit may be issued.
Clearly County Planning Commission staff did not provide the Commissioners with the vital information they needed to make a sound decision. There was no discussion of the many substantial objections raised by PWN and others at the hearing. Instead the Commissioners were asked to issue this permit simply because the CPUC had approved the project.
Commissioners were also told it was urgent to move forward and that any delay would result in rationing. It was never pointed out that there was no urgency because the back up plan recently initiated by the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District and Monterey One Water could meet the State ordered CDO deadline, if Cal Am could not.
The "backup" plan is the expansion of Pure Water Monterey. This fall PWM will begin delivering 3,500 acre-feet of water annually. This innovative project can be expanded to deliver another 2,250 acre-feet.
Read the recent Herald article on the Pure Water Monterey Expansion HERE.
Environmentally and economically, the Pure Water Monterey expansion is a much better water supply solution than Cal Am's proposed desal project. It would provide water at about one third the cost and it can meet the CDO deadline. The expansion would provide all the water the Peninsula needs for years to come, making Cal Am's desal unnecessary.
Take the PURE WATER MONTEREY TOUR with PWN on June 21.


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News Articles
Dougie Mac 'Bring a Pound' Day - Friday 7th October
We are proud to be supporting the Dougie Mac Bring a Pound day on Friday 7th October.
All students are welcome to make their donation to the team of prefects and volunteers who will be collecting money during break and lunchtime in the Atrium.
Students are reminded that this is a fundraising day not a non-uniform day.