text:
What is meant by "a change in bowel habits"?
Dear OncoLink "Ask The Experts,"
Could you please better define what is meant by "a change in bowel habits"? For several months my husband has had an increase in the frequency of bowel movements He is 52, obese, sedentary, quit smoking a year ago, and has a family history of lung cancer. He is often fatigued but has not lost weight. He refuses to have a colonoscopy or even complete a fecal occult blood test. Is this of concern?
Timothy C. Hoops, MD, Gastroenterologist at the University of Pennsylvania, responds:
The term "change in bowel habits" is vague, and probably deliberately so. It can mean almost anything including a change in frequency, consistency (diarrhea or constipation) or in caliber of the stools. While colon cancer can be a cause for these changes, it is obvious that many other things can do the same thing. In fact, causes other than cancer are probably more frequent. The same could be said for rectal bleeding. That being said, in the appropriate population, such as people like your husband, these are symptoms that should prompt a person to be certain that it isn't cancer that is causing the problem. As you stated, colonoscopy is the best way of doing this. Fecal occult blood tests, flexible sigmoidoscopies or barium enemas are other options although they are not as good at evaluating the entire colon. Anything would be better than nothing, however. Screening for colon cancer is recommended to start at the age of 50, thus he should start with recommended screening anyway. With current techniques, a colonoscopy is a safe and comfortable procedure. If it were negative, another one would not need to be done for 5 to 10 years.


text:
- Parent Category: News
Hoopeston 'Hometown Hero' Fundraiser
Local businesses and organizations are teaming up to help local heroes – firemen and other emergency responders.
The 'Hometown Hero' fundraiser on Saturday, October 5th is planned at McFerren Park in Hoopeston. The focus is to raise funds to replace damaged fire equipment from the recent tire recycling fire.
J & R Tire Recycling went up in flames in August. Several area fire departments provided mutual aid; billowing black smoke consumed much of the community. The EPA continues to monitor clean-up efforts. And fire equipment was damaged by the smoke and hazardous effects.
Hoopeston Regional Health Center has stepped up to work with community leaders to spearhead the fundraiser. Regional Health Center spokesperson is Liz Silver says a lot of fire equipment has to be replaced ......
The October 5th fundraiser includes family fun and entertainment. It centers around McFerren Park.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
If you walk through a chemical production facility anywhere in the world today, you will see containers of materials that have virtually identical ingredients and standards.
If you walk through a building and see the cleaning done, you will also see consistency in the standardization of equipment and methods.
The processes, strategies and tools for assuring quality may have changed over time, with automation and innovation, but basic customer expectations for quality have been fairly constant.
The focus during the last few years on establishing standards for quality coincides with the expansion of the idea of sustainability.
This has created a global confluence of consumers" priority for quality standards.
The word "quality" is often used to communicate the relative worth of things in such phrases as "good quality," "bad quality" and the growing idea that "quality means sustainability."
This idea is searching for a standard, and each industry organization is advocating its own certification, standard or model for describing "quality – sustainability" as a means of recognizing "good" products, companies or people who can be certified by them.
At the very least, this can be confusing to those who deliver cleaning products or services and to those who buy them.
That is why we must explore quality in an objective, rational way.
For this review, I want to set aside the popular notions of quality and focus on quality from the limited perspective of the central question for this paper: Is quality about the product or the customer?
If quality is about the product or service, then quality is a simple matter of producing products or delivering services whose measurable characteristics satisfy a fixed set of specifications that are generally defined by the traditional notion of a checklist or activity list.
If quality is about customer satisfaction, then quality products and services are simply those that satisfy customer expectations for their use or consumption.
Phillip Crosby
Crosby is best known for his "zero defects" concept and his best-selling book, Quality is Free.
He is known for translating quality terminology into more common terms, which everyone could understand, using real situations and fictional characters.
Crosby"s emphasis is that doing things right the first time adds nothing to the cost of a product or service.
In Crosby"s view, what costs more are reworks, tests, warranties, inspections, services, damaged reputations and even litigation after doing things the wrong way.
Crosby also emphasized that problems with quality are caused by management actions.
Crosby seems to adhere to the idea that quality is defined by the buyer documenting the practices of the service provider, contracted or in-house — what we would call the task/frequency specification.
It is not at all clear from Crosby"s definition whether there are different levels or attributes inherent in his view of quality as binary.
For example: Acceptable and unacceptable; delivered, not delivered; completed, not completed.
It"s not clear, for example, that all product or service units that conform to the specified requirements are of equal quality.
Crosby doesn"t address this issue, but I get the impression that his answer to this question is, "Yes, it"s about the specifying product."
W. Edwards Deming
Deming changed our lives by advocating more structured ways for people and organizations to plan for quality and continually improve relationships, processes, products and services.
His philosophy is one of cooperation and continual improvement, and it doesn"t fix blame while seeing mistakes as opportunities for improvement.
Deming is perhaps best known for his work in Japan.
There, from 1950 onward, he taught top management how to improve the design of products and services through various methods including the application of statistics.
Deming was the creator of the "plan-do-check-act" model.
Deming does not settle on a concise definition of quality.
In any event, Deming"s perspective is consistent with a customer-focused definition.
In fact, the title of his chapter on quality is titled, "Quality and the Consumer," indicating the extent to which he equates high quality and customer satisfaction.
In the end, Deming is advocating that the customer defines quality, not the buyer, not the manager or even the consultant.
The difficulty in defining quality for Deming is to translate future needs of the user into measurable characteristics so that a product or service can be designed and produced or delivered to give satisfaction at a price that the buyer is willing to pay.
It"s not always easy, and as soon as we"re confident we understand quality, we find that the needs of the customer have changed, competitors have copied us, or worse, we"ve become commoditized.
Armand Feigenbaum
Some say that the name Feigenbaum and the term "total quality control" are virtually synonymous.
Feigenbaum"s ideas are contained in his classic book, Total Quality Control, first published in 1951 under the title, Quality Control: Principles, Practice, and Administration.
His Total Quality Management book also became a standard text for an entire industry.
The book has been translated into more languages than any such paper, including Japanese, Chinese, French and Spanish.
He views quality as an effective system for integrating the product and service development, quality maintenance and quality improvement efforts of the various groups in an organization so as to deliver products and services at the most economical levels, which allow full customer satisfaction.
Interestingly, Feigenbaum highlighted the idea of a "hidden" plant — the idea that so much extra work is performed in correcting mistakes that there is effectively a hidden plant within any factory.
Feigenbaum"s definition of quality is about the customer.
His message was to move away from focusing on the technical aspect of quality control and seeing quality as not meaning a product that might be called "best" but, rather, what might be called "best for the customer."
If quality determination is up to the customer and we need a surrogate for quality for the product or service delivered, then we have to translate customer satisfaction into product or service attributes.
Feigenbaum notes that marketing evaluates the level of quality customers expect and are willing to pay for.
This need to determine what customers are willing to pay is the mechanism to approximate their ideal product or service and then translate that information into specifications for a variety of product or service attributes is the nightmare that challenges every quality advocate.
Feigenbaum"s ideas seem weak on the subject of translating customer expectations into product or service specifications.
On the other hand, it is difficult to find a better outline of the basic components and issues of a modern quality-focused organization than the one presented in his book.
Much of his thinking could easily become a certification course.
The book is well-organized, comprehensive and concise.
A well-worn copy should be on the desk of everyone who has special responsibility for assuring quality.
After all is said and done, Feigenbaum is a "quality means customer satisfaction" guy.
Kaoru Ishikawa
Ishikawa was a Japanese university professor and influential quality management innovator best known for his cause and effect diagram — also known as the fishbone diagram — that is used in the analysis of work processes.
In one single snapshot, top management gets to see exactly why the problem is occurring.
The fishbone diagram and collaborative team approach were key elements of Ishikawa"s "company-wide quality control" quality strategy.
His "quality circles" model became popular worldwide for the fresh breath it provided previously stale problem-solving strategies.
In recognition of his lifelong efforts of making "quality" a household word, the American Society for Quality (ASQ) instituted the Ishikawa medal as an annual award that recognizes leadership in the human side of quality.
Ishikawa"s definition of quality is also a customer-focused definition.
He is very insightful, has a great deal to say about the principles of quality control and is clearly interested in quality assurance at the in-plant, practical level. He does not, however, have much to say about how manufacturing procedures can be designed to assure the satisfaction of customer needs and expectations.
On the other hand, Ishikawa makes it clear that proof of high quality is the satisfaction of ever-changing consumer expectations.
In a continuing pattern, Ishikawa advocates the idea that customer satisfaction is the end game for all the efforts to deliver a quality product or service.
Joseph Juran
In his extraordinary career, Juran made many contributions to the field of quality management.
His book, The Quality Control Handbook, is only one of dozens of books and continues to be a classic reference for all quality advocates.
He revolutionized the Japanese philosophy on quality management and in no small way worked to help shape their economy into the international leader it is today.
Juran was one of the first to link the people aspect of quality management, which is referred to as total quality management.
He also developed the widely adopted "Juran"s trilogy," an approach to cross-functional management that he used to connect three managerial processes: Planning, control and improvement.
In 1979, Juran founded the Juran Institute, and in 2004, he became an honorary doctor at Lulea University of Technology in Sweden.
Juran"s definition simultaneously attempts to be product-focused and customer-focused, claiming that a practical definition of quality is probably not possible.
One gets the impression that Juran would like to define quality in terms of customer satisfaction.
To do so, however, he must deal with the relationship between customer satisfaction — for which he suggests no comprehensive measurement strategies — and the conformance of service attributes or product specifications — which can be accomplished fairly well in the workplace.
Because he is not satisfied with efforts to integrate customer satisfaction with product characteristics, he first attempts to define quality in two different and possibly inconsistent ways.
When that appears not to work, he defines quality ambiguously as fitness for use.
In any event, I don"t find his definition of quality practical.
What measures of fitness for use do we have that would enable us to assess the quality of a product or service?
Walter Shewhart
The early ideas of total quality management and continuous improvement trace back to a former Bell Telephone employee named Shewhart.
One of Deming"s teachers, he emphasized the importance of adapting management processes to create profitable situations for both businesses and consumers, promoting a creation of his own: The statistical process control chart.
He brought a sense of logic to the idea of what constituted causes of failure.
He advanced the notion of "common causes" and "special causes" of production quality issues.
He analyzed these with his famed Shewhart charts or "control charts."
In truth, Shewhart laid the statistical foundation upon which all modern industry is built.
Although Shewhart has a healthy concern for being able to determine measurable characteristics of high-quality products and services, the focus of his definition of quality is consistent with a customer-focused quality concept.
It is sometimes difficult to remember that Shewhart wrote his definition in the 1920s, particularly since I believe it to be more insightful to the definitions of the gurus who followed him.
Genichi Taguchi
Taguchi is well-known for developing a methodology for applying statistics to improve the quality of manufactured goods and reduce costs.
In the United States, his ideas are known as the "Taguchi methods."
He also developed the quality loss function.
Taguchi"s methodology emphasizes the idea of pushing the concepts of quality and reliability back into the design stage — prior to manufacturing.
He defined an efficient technique for designing product tests even before beginning the manufacturing process.
His methodology is fundamentally a prototyping technique that enables engineers/designers to produce a robust design that can survive repetitive manufacturing in order to deliver the functionality required by the customer.
While it may be difficult to imagine that quality is defined as a loss, it is actually easy to imagine what Taguchi has in mind.
He is suggesting that the maximum quality experienced by society occurs when society gets exactly what it wants and expects.
The greater the difference between what society actually gets and what it wants, the less quality society will experience.
In truth, this concept of societal loss is a little confusing.
On the other hand, if you replace the "societal loss" idea with a "customer loss" idea, the concept is a way an individual customer might actually think about the quality.
Taguchi says, "Quality is the loss a product causes to society after being shipped."
Or, I suspect, a service delivered.
If we are correct in suggesting each potential customer in a marketplace has a quality profile that looks much like this, then the challenge for us is to estimate the loss to society by somehow aggregating the quality loss of individuals to obtain a societal quality profile.
Then, by minimizing loss to society — which is Taguchi"s objective — we maximize quality.
In a real sense, this is the challenge that confronts the market research and design and the product or service development efforts of every company.
Is Taguchi"s definition about product quality or customer quality?
Although it is not easy to tell from his writings, I think that Taguchi"s definition is about customer quality.
Taguchi is, unfortunately, unclear about how societal quality can be determined.
He tries to explain his idea, unsuccessfully, for individual customers who make up a given marketplace.
How you can go about the business of determining loss to society if the model"s input information is a collection of quality profiles of individual customers?
Yet, it is clear that his focus is about the customer.
So, is quality about the product or the customer?
Clearly, there are differences and shades of opinion on this question.
The expert opinion is nearly evenly split.
So, on a bet, you"d be safe to take either position.
Yet, there is a clear pattern that, even where product quality reigns as most important, customer input and requirements is a factor in design.
Given the review, it seems that the earliest of the quality gurus, Shewhart, gets it right.
Both definitions of quality are important and driven by the dominance of satisfying the customer.
For my part, I"m going with the customer idea for quality.
Without the customer, the quality of the product just doesn"t matter.
If you"re listening carefully, the customer will tell you what"s important and what quality means to them.
Your task is then to design and deliver a product or service that they are willing to pay for.
An exceptional design is an engineering success; an exceptional customer is a business success.


text:
(2006; 3 pages)
The sale of counterfeit products is a problem in most countries. Every year, about 7% of world trade, valued at about 280 billion USD, is lost due to counterfeiting. In the information technology sector, products worth an estimated 20 billion USD are currently in circulation. But the huge financial losses incurred by manufacturers and individual customers as a result of the trafficking of fake goods are overshadowed by the tragic human costs: the pharmaceutical industry, and consequently the marketplace, are flooded with counterfeits. In this article, Dora Akunyili warns of the dangers of low public awareness of these potentially lethal products and describes the campaigns and strategies to protect the public in Nigeria and other countries in Africa.


text:
1. Fought Atlanta rush hour traffic as we finally got on the road around 3 p.m. last Wednesday. Egads! I'm glad we don't do this every day.
2. Got to Archdale, North Carolina around 10:30 p.m. and spent the night. (Reminder to hubby… NEVER accept a room again where we are going to have to sleep together on a double bed.)
3. Reached Washington D.C. at rush hour, but it wasn't too bad. This is the scene that met us. Wow!
4. We exited and instantly realized we weren't in Atlanta anymore…..pedestrians EVERYWHERE and instead of red lights hung on a wire in the middle of each intersection they were positioned on poles on each corner. It takes a bit to get used to it. I'm glad I'm not driving. All hail the pedestrian!
5. We checked into our hotel, an old bank building, on F Street. Everyone is friendly and courteous from the valets to the maids. We soon head out to Union Station to look around, and we see the Capitol Building as we head down Constitution Avenue. Dear Daughter gets this great shot.
7. After dinner we headed out to the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials. They are more than magnificent at night. We walked, walked, walked at each location, but it was so worth it. Dear Daughter and I came away with wonderful pictures and memories of all three of us being there.
We finally arrived back home Monday evening……so glad to be home, but so glad to have taken the trip. Wonderful meals, wonderful people, wonderful memories, and a great experience witnessing a young couple begin their married life together in such a historic way.
Visit the Thursday Thirteen hub here.


text:
The next edition of Tiger Woods PGA Tour will support the PlayStation "Arc" motion controller, though it's not due for release until fall. So the game isn't technically an Arc launch title, but still one supporting Arc at launch.
EA Sports confirmed the support among a package of upgrades and other features for the golf simulation, due out June 8. Among them include pin placements with a higher fidelity to those in real-life tournaments, a physics system incorporating a greater spread of error into your shot (rather than bullseyeing the landing always if you hit it perfectly) and reducing power for those who hold their backswing at the top to gain an accuracy advantage. In past editions the tactic would allow for better placement of one's shot without any reduction in its length.
Other features include variable wind gusts affecting your shot at various points in flight (rather than applied constantly from the beginning of the shot) and an improved green "that is harder and faster than in years past and offers a more realistic feel." So, no more gassing up the shot power as a hedge from six feet away.
The full spread of new features can be seen in the blog post at the link. Interestingly, none of the screen captures released by EA Sports today feature the beleaguered Mr. Woods. Just Rory McIlroy (pictured above) his cover companion, also introduced today, a move many have taken as a EA delicately distancing itself from someone who is both a gigantic name brand and a radioactive public figure.
Welcome to the New Season of Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 11 [EA Sports]


text:
In Binghampton, NY for 'Making Possible Futures in Research: Working Across the Disciplines'.
I don't seem to know how to make this rap more popular. I've been thinking about this for 25 years. I think it's right, or at least wrong in a non-trivial way. But people do not want to hear it. I get a hostile response too durn often.
Here they invited me to come talk about ID. I give my rap. The reaction has had two moments: first, yesterday, they somewhat liked it, but it was clear from the rest of the day's conversation that they had not really understood my points, or the implications of my points. Today they listened more carefully, or I was more blunt. The result was not a deeper understanding of my point than yesterday, but rather accurately discerning that I am challenging their entire way of life. Result: they get hostile.
Same thing in San Diego last week. And in Flagstaff the week before.
Turns out that 'Across the Disciplines' meant across the humanistic disciplines. Today a guy from Dartmouth showed up, and led the 'pissed off' reaction. he gave a sharp talk on american exceptionalism—-good stuff. Ah, but I asked a question: thanks for the first rate rap, but could you think with me about how you would shift your rhetoric if you wished to make these points to e.g. an engineer.
His reaction? High dudgeon. Pissed that I insulted him. No, no, I say; rather this was a great rap for this audience of humanists/social scientists; but you would need to shift your language for an engineer, or even more if you wanted to make the points to a non-academic. His reaction? "I evidently have a higher opinion of engineer's intelligence than you do."
In fact, it subsequently got to the point where the session chair wouldn't call on me. Didn't want to hear any more about it.
I have been living by Cage's 'the situation is hopeless, let us proceed.' Or Stewart's 'All you people don't understand about lost causes… Lost causes are the only ones worth fighting for.' But I wonder whether it's time to give up.
Postscript: in the concluding conversation I saw some progress. We returned to these questions after someone suggested that the universities are in deep trouble. I mentioned the example of UNT Phil, some of the relatively radical changes we made. It got a good response.
So perhaps I will try again… in a few days in Brazil.


text:
This slim volume (less than two hundred pages of text) offers ten chapters that move progressively from "first impressions" (chapter 1) to a catalog of verbatim agreement between the synoptics and Gos. Thom. (first in the Greek Oxyrhynchus fragments of Gos. Thom., then in Greek retroverted from the Coptic manuscript from Nag Hammadi) and a recalibration of what we should expect if Gos. Thom. is in fact familiar with the synoptics (viz., we should expect "diagnostic shards"; chapters 2 and 3). The next three chapters identify Matthean (chapter 4) and Lukan redaction (chapters 5 and 6) in Gos. Thom., followed by a general summary of Thomas's most salient redactional feature (which Goodacre calls "the missing middle"; chapter 7). The next two chapters explore important issues in Thomasine scholarship: orality and literacy (chapter 8) and the date of Gos. Thom. (chapter 9). The last chapter raises the questions of how and why GThom used the synoptics (chapter 10), and a brief conclusion appreciates Thomas for what it is (a mid-second century CE text) rather than attempts to force Thomas into the mold of the first-century CE synoptic Gospels.
Goodacre provides a formidable argument that takes account of the primary texts involved (the Greek texts of the synoptic Gospels, the Greek fragments of Gos. Thom. from Oxynrhynchus, and the Coptic text of Gos. Thom. from Nag Hammadi). But if you're original language skills are rusty, you will still be able to grasp the finer points of Goodacre's case. I want to stress this point: Goodacre does not avoid the complicated and technical issues; instead, he provides accessible and clear discussions of these issues. This is a rare skill, but those familiar with Goodacre's work will recognize it as characteristic of him.
A couple other points, in potpourri fashion:
- Goodacre expends a relatively lengthy discussion (twenty-six pages) on orality and literacy; he even references [*cough *cough] my 2009 JSNT article, "Reading and Hearing in Ancient Contexts." And his intentional use of "familiarity" instead of "dependence" to describe GThom's relationship to the synoptics moves in a helpful direction to help us appreciate how texts might function in antiquity and how they might influence other texts. And he is rightly skeptical, in my view, of many of the current discussions of "orality," "oral cultures," and "oral mentalities." However, the function of both orally and textually expressed tradition in early Christianity and the relationship between these expressions of tradition and Gos. Thom. still requires some attention.
- If any of the chapters of Thomas and the Gospels is disappointing, it would be chapter 10 ("How and Why Thomas Used the Synoptics"). Goodacre's main point is that Gos. Thom. weaves in redacted sayings from the synoptics among his new, non-synoptic sayings in order authenticate the new by means of association with the (almost) traditional voice of Jesus. "The Synoptic material legitimizes the strange new material, interweaving the familiar with the unique, so providing a new and quite different voice for Jesus that at the same time is plausible enough to sound authentic to Thomas's earliest audiences" (2012:180). I have three problems with this line of argument:
- First, Goodacre began chapter 10 by noting that "it is by no means a given that early Christian sayings collections should feature extensive parallels to the Synoptic Gospels. Thomas's multiple cases of Synoptic sayings contrasts with works like the Gospel of Mary and the Dialogue of the Savior, which are relatively poor in such material" (2012:172). In other words, later Gospels did not feel the need to echo the canonical Gospels in order to legitimize their portrayal of Jesus' life and/or teaching. Therefore, even if the result of Gos. Thom.'s redaction of synoptic material is to legitimize its image of Jesus, we still need to explain why Gos. Thom. chose this (apparently unnecessary) route to enhance its presentation of Jesus.
- Second, I do not think Goodacre grants sufficient attention to the very different reception Gos. Thom. received vis-à-vis the synoptic Gospels. While the Thomasine author must have hoped his Jesus struck his readers as "plausible enough to sound authentic," he (if I may) either conceived of his audience in rather narrow terms (not Christianity more generally) or he failed to be persuasive. As far as I am aware, we lack any direct evidence that Gos. Thom. enjoyed any broad-based popular reception. If I am right, then Goodacre needs to take more seriously that Thomas's view of Jesus was sufficiently idiosyncratic (= odd) that we cannot assume he would have perceived the synoptic Jesus as an appropriate source of authority. In other words, given the implication of Gos. Thom. 13, in which both Peter (= Mark?) and Matthew put forward inadequate views of Jesus (see Goodacre 2012:178–79), it is by no means obvious that our author should then appeal to these texts in order to persuade his audience of the veracity of his Gospel.
- Third, Goodacre's explanation of Gos. Thom.'s use of the synoptics avoids the question of why the Thomasine author should choose and redact the specific synoptic texts that Goodacre has so persuasively demonstrated bore influence over their parallels in Gos. Thom. At points throughout the volume Goodacre raises precisely this question (e.g., see 2012:94–95, on Gos. Thom. 72 and Luke 12.13–14). However, in chapter 10, it would have been helpful for Goodacre to draw these strings together and to explore not just why Gos. Thom. redacted the synoptics but why specific parallels from the synoptics appear in Thomas (and not others). In other words, rather than casting the synoptic parallels as augments to the legitimacy and plausibility of the non-synoptic sayings, this chapter ought to have spent more energy explaining the synoptic parallels' own contribution to the peculiarly Thomasine vision of Jesus.
- Unlike a number of other scholars in recent days (including David deSilva [mentioned here], Samuel Byrskog, Tom Thatcher, and perhaps Christopher Tuckett, among others), Goodacre rightly eschews the influence of NT scholarship's form-critical heritage over our understanding of the development of tradition (oral as well as written). Some of the best moments of this book are when Goodacre attempts to break the discussion free of a form-critical paradigm and into a redaction-critical paradigm.
- However, there are problems with a redaction-critical paradigm, and the most salient one (for me) was the attempt to construct evolutionary (or simply redactional) trajectories between texts. Goodacre does well to demonstrate the inadequacies of the influential Koester-Robinson model of trajectories, which assumes a form-critical view of tradition. However, his own literary trajectory (e.g., 2012:195, but in other places besides) suffers similar problems as any construction of linear developmental models. For example, the increasing authorial self-representation in Mark and Matthew to Luke to John to Thomas might look nice, but its correspondence with the relative dating of these texts should not lure us into supposing that earlier Christian texts (Gospels and otherwise) always avoided authorial self-representation and later texts increasingly featured the authorial voice. Our earliest Christian writer, Paul, overtly emphasized his identity in his texts, and that emphasis was not merely a function of the genre of his texts (viz. letters). In light of Paul's references to "my gospel" [εὐαγγέλιόν μου; euangelion mou (Rom. 2.16; 16.25; see also Gal. 1.11)], it is not much of a stretch to suppose that Paul's preaching of the gospel would have included a measure of self-disclosure, and if he had written a Gospel we might have even expected him to engage in authorial self-representation.
I could provide a few more critical comments. More importantly, I could go on and on (and on) in praise of this book. If you have any interest in Christian origins, Jesus, and the Gospels (even if not in the Gospel of Thomas), and especially if you are interested in the Gospel of Thomas, you should pick up this book.
One last thing. At first blush there's nothing audacious or provocative about Goodacre's title: Thomas and the Gospels: The Case for Thomas's Familiarity with the Synoptics. However, we might take seriously the definite article: "the case." I found Goodacre's case compelling, and I am now even more emboldened to describe Thomas as late and familiar with (I might not say "dependent on," but then again I might) the synoptics when I discuss this text with my students. Those who disagree and consider Thomas an independent text now have a formidable challenge in the face of this, the case for Thomas's familiarity with the synoptics.


text:
Freedom in the World
You are here
2013 Scores
Freedom Rating (1 = best, 7 = worst)
Civil Liberties (1 = best, 7 = worst)
Political Rights (1 = best, 7 = worst)
Burma's political rights rating improved from 7 to 6, and its civil liberties rating improved from 6 to 5, due to the successful participation of opposition parties in legislative by-elections and the continued easing of long-standing restrictions on the media, private discussion, public assembly, civil society, private enterprise, and other activities.
In April 2012, opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy (NLD) swept parliamentary by-elections, having boycotted the main elections in 2010. The NLD's inclusion in the political process was accompanied by the continued liberalization of the media, internet, and economy, and by the sporadic release of political prisoners. Burma's relations with foreign democracies also improved during the year, with several significant visits by international leaders. Despite this progress, ethnic and sectarian violence flared in parts of the country, and armed conflicts between the government and some of the country's ethnic minority militias remained unresolved.
Burma gained independence from Britain in 1948 after a long anticolonial struggle. In 1962, following a period of unruly parliamentary politics, General Ne Win led a coup that toppled the civilian government. The ruling Revolutionary Council subsequently consolidated all legislative, executive, and judicial power and pursued radical socialist and isolationist policies. As a result of decades of mismanagement by unelected regimes, Burma, once one of the wealthiest countries in Southeast Asia, eventually became one of the most impoverished in the region.
A new military junta, eventually led by Senior General Than Shwe, dramatically asserted its power in 1988, when the army opened fire on peaceful, student-led, prodemocracy protesters, killing an estimated 3,000 people. In the aftermath of this violence, a younger generation of army commanders created the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) to rule the country. The SLORC refused to cede power in 1990 after the National League for Democracy (NLD) won 392 of 485 parliament seats in Burma's first free elections in three decades. Instead the junta nullified the results and jailed dozens of NLD members, including party leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who spent most of the next two decades in detention.
In late 2000 the military leadership, who renamed themselves the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), began holding talks with Aung San Suu Kyi, leading to an easing of restrictions on the NLD by mid-2002. However, the party's revitalization apparently rattled hard-liners within the regime during the first half of 2003. On May 30 of that year, scores of NLD leaders and supporters were killed when SPDC thugs ambushed an NLD motorcade. Arrests and detentions of political activists, journalists, and students followed the attack.
The largest demonstrations in nearly 20 years erupted in cities across the country in August and September 2007, triggered by a sharp fuel-price increase. The 88 Generation Students, a group composed of dissidents active in the 1988 protests, formed the vanguard of many demonstrations. The protest movement expanded to include thousands of Buddhist monks and nuns, who were encouraged by the general populace. Soldiers, riot police, and members of the paramilitary Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA) and the Swan Arr Shin militia group responded brutally, killing at least 31 people. The crackdown targeted important religious sites and included the public beating, shooting, and arrest of monks, further delegitimizing the regime in the eyes of many Burmese.
In May 2008 the government pushed through a constitutional referendum despite the devastation caused by Cyclone Nargis, which had struck just a week earlier, killing over 150,000 people. Burmese political opposition and international human rights groups denounced the new charter, which was approved by an implausibly high margin and would ensure military control of the political system even after elections. In an apparent bid to remove potential obstacles prior to the voting, the authorities continued to arrest and imprison dissidents throughout 2009. More than 300 activists, ranging from political and labor figures to artists and bloggers, received harsh sentences after closed trials, with some prison terms exceeding 100 years.
The national elections held in November 2010 were neither free nor fair, as the SPDC had hand-picked the election commission and wrote election laws designed to favor military-backed parties, leading the NLD to boycott the polls. There were many allegations of rigged "advanced voting" and other irregularities. Ultimately, the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), the political reincarnation of the USDA, captured 129 of the 168 elected seats in the Nationalities Assembly, or upper house, and 259 of 330 elected seats in the People's Assembly, or lower house. The USDP also secured 75 percent of the seats in the 14 state and regional assemblies. The Rakhine Nationalities Development Party and the Shan National Democracy Party (SNDP) earned the second-highest percentage of seats in the Nationalities Assembly and People's Assembly, respectively. However, the vote for ethnic minority parties would likely have been higher had balloting not been canceled in several minority-dominated areas. The National Democratic Force (NDF), a breakaway faction of the NLD that decided to contest the elections, won just four seats in the upper house and eight in the lower.
Outgoing prime minister Thein Sein, who had retired from the military to register as a civilian candidate, was chosen as president by the new parliament, and took office in March 2011. SPDC leader Than Shwe officially retired, but he reportedly retained influence through his allies in the new government.
Thein Sein took a number of steps toward reform in 2011, easing controls on the media, releasing scores of political prisoners, urging the return of political exiles, and legalizing peaceful demonstrations. He also launched a dialogue with Aung San Suu Kyi, who had been released from house arrest shortly after the elections, allowing her to travel the country and meet with members of her party.
In April 2012, the NLD participated in by-elections for both chambers of the national parliament. The party won all 37 seats at stake in the lower house, with one seat going to Aung San Suu Kyi. In the upper house, the NLD captured four of the six seats that were contested, with the other two going to the USDP and the SNDP. However, voting was postponed in three constituencies in the war-torn Kachin State.
Also during 2012, the authorities continued to liberalize the environment for foreign media operating in Burma, further eased constraints on internet access, and all but eliminated censorship of the domestic press. Aung San Suu Kyi became a regular fixture in the national media, and her image was widely visible in Burmese towns and cities, including in private homes and taxis. Meanwhile, diplomats from democratic countries were allowed to travel within Burma far more freely than at any time in the past, and a series of high-profile visits by international leaders included one by U.S. president Barack Obama in November.
The government met with some success in 2012, especially with the Karen National Union, in its long-standing effort to convince ethnic minority militias to give up their claims to autonomy. However, the Kachin Independence Army, one of the largest groups, had resumed fighting with the government in June 2011, and the conflict continued to intensify throughout 2012, with major battles occurring on a weekly basis.
Perhaps the most significant challenge for Thein Sein's government that emerged in 2012 was an outbreak of violence between the Rohingya minority—Muslims who the government asserts are illegal migrants from Bangladesh—and the Buddhist populations of Rakhine State. Long-simmering animosity between the communities was stoked by allegations of criminal attacks and reprisals. More than 100 people were reportedly killed, tens of thousands more were displaced, and mobilizations of government security forces led to allegations of human rights abuses. The situation in Rakhine State remained tense at year's end.
Burma is not an electoral democracy. The military, which has long controlled all executive, legislative, and judicial powers, carefully rigged the electoral framework for the 2010 national elections, which were neither free nor fair. The process of drafting the 2008 constitution, which the elections put into effect, was closely controlled by the military and excluded key stakeholders such as the NLD. Although the charter establishes a parliament and a civilian president, it also entrenches military dominance, and allows the military to dissolve the civilian government if it determines that the "disintegration of the Union or national solidarity" is at stake.
The bicameral legislature consists of the 440-seat People's Assembly, or lower house, and the 224-seat Nationalities Assembly, or upper house. A quarter of the seats in both houses are reserved for the military and filled through appointment by the commander in chief, an officer who has broad powers and is selected by the military-dominated National Defense and Security Council. The legislature elects the president, though the military members have the right to nominate one of the three candidates, with the other two nominated by the elected members of each chamber. The charter's rights guarantees are limited by existing laws and may be suspended in a state of emergency. The military retains the right to administer its own affairs, and members of the outgoing military government received blanket immunity for all official acts. The military budget is still not publicly available, although some parliamentary scrutiny of military affairs has recently become possible.
In 2011 and 2012, the government allowed members of the parliament to speak about democratic rights. The legislators' time to speak was severely limited, but many of their speeches received coverage in the domestic media, and they were not harassed for their remarks.
In 2010, the Political Party Registration Law gave new political parties only 60 days to register, mandated that existing parties reregister, and required parties to expel members currently serving prison terms. However, during the 2012 by-elections, there were fewer restrictions on party organization and mobilization, with only sporadic reports of mild interference, and many parties, including the NLD, convened meetings and rallies throughout the country.
In a system that lacks transparency and accountability, corruption and economic mismanagement are rampant at both the national and local levels. Burma was ranked 172 out of 176 countries surveyed in Transparency International's 2012 Corruption Perceptions Index. The government in 2012 continued to pursue economic reforms that had begun under the military regime, including the privatization of many state assets. However, the process has been marred by accusations that it primarily benefited family members and associates of senior government officials. While the space for public debate of these sensitive economic issues is still limited, there is a growing consensus that the country's future development will require more transparency.
The government has relaxed some restrictions on the free operation of the press. Private publications and blogs are proliferating, and the state has gradually removed prepublication censorship protocols. Previous restrictions on internet access have been largely unraveled, and the primary limitations are now bandwidth and access to inexpensive connections. Efforts to attack opposition media and internet operations have sharply diminished. Nonetheless, the violence in Rakhine State in 2012 generated unprecedented online vitriol, especially against those perceived to harbor pro-Rohingya sympathies.
The 2008 constitution provides for freedom of religion. It distinguishes Buddhism as the majority religion, but also recognizes Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and animism. At times the government interferes with religious assemblies and attempts to control the Buddhist clergy. Buddhist temples and monasteries have been kept under close surveillance since the 2007 protests and crackdown. The authorities have also discriminated against minority religious groups, refusing to grant them permission to celebrate holidays and hold gatherings, and restricting educational activities, proselytizing, and construction of houses of worship.
Academic freedom has been severely limited. Under the military junta, teachers enjoyed no freedom of expression and were often held accountable for the political activities of their students. Universities were sporadically closed, and many campuses were relocated to relatively isolated areas to disperse the student population. However, there have been signs of more open academic discussion since 2011, as well as eased restrictions on private education, and there are growing efforts to reform the University of Rangoon, with significant support from foreign backers.
Freedoms of association and assembly are better respected than under the military regime, though there have been unsystematic efforts to rescind laws restricting freedom of assembly and public expression. Authorities reportedly remain concerned about the destabilizing potential of large-scale demonstrations, and continue to rely on repressive crowd-control tactics. In November 2012, security forces violently dispersed a protest by monks and villagers against the expansion of the Letpadaung copper mine in upper Burma. The assault, which caused significant injuries among the protesters, drew a public outcry and an unusual apology from a senior police representative. Other public gatherings during the year, including some that were technically illegal, proceeded largely without incident.
Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) providing social services in remote areas, especially those where ethnic conflict continues, regularly face threats to their activities. International humanitarian organizations have expanded their work in the country but continue to encounter severe restrictions and monitoring, again most notably in ethnic minority areas. In 2012, international organizations met with fewer obstacles in acquiring visas for their members to visit the country, and a growing number of domestic NGOs sought to influence the government's reform efforts.
The government violates workers' rights and represses union activity. Some public-sector employees and ordinary citizens were compelled to join the USDA during the years of military rule. Independent trade unions, collective bargaining, and strikes are illegal. However, garment workers have held strikes in Rangoon in recent years, with fewer repercussions than in the past. Various commercial and other interests continue to use forced labor despite a formal ban on the practice in 2000.
The judiciary is not independent. Judges are appointed or approved by the government and adjudicate cases according to its decrees. Administrative detention laws allow individuals to be held without charge, trial, or access to legal counsel for up to five years if the government concludes that they have threatened the state's security or sovereignty. Political prisoners have often been held incommunicado in pretrial detention, facilitating torture, but it is unclear exactly how widespread such practices were in 2012. The government allowed several large-scale prisoner releases in 2011 and 2012, and the freed inmates included some political prisoners. However, the release of political prisoners often coincides with trips abroad by Burmese officials or visits to Burma by high-profile delegations, and conditions are often placed on the release of political prisoners, who can be arbitrarily returned to prison. Impunity for crimes and human rights violations committed by state security forces remains deeply entrenched.
Some of the worst human rights abuses take place in border regions populated by ethnic minorities, who comprise roughly 35 percent of Burma's population. In these areas the military kills, beats, rapes, and arbitrarily detains civilians, according to human rights groups. The Kachin, Chin, Karen, and Rohingya minorities are frequent victims. In 2012, renewed fighting in Kachin areas resulted in some 100,000 people being displaced from their homes. Tens of thousands of ethnic minorities in Shan, Karenni, Karen, and Mon states still live in squalid relocation centers as a legacy of previous military campaigns.
China's sizable investments in various extractive industries in Burma, in addition to the migration of hundreds of thousands of Chinese workers and businesspeople, have led to rising anti-China sentiment in recent years.
Burmese women have traditionally enjoyed high social and economic status, but women remain underrepresented in the government and civil service. Notwithstanding the prominence of Aung San Suu Kyi, few women have achieved public recognition during the current political opening. Domestic violence and human trafficking are concerns, and women and girls in refugee camps are at an increased risk of sexual violence and exploitation by traffickers. In the past, the Women's League of Burma has accused the military of systematically using rape and forced marriage as weapons against ethnic minorities during counterinsurgency campaigns.


text:
Live from Crown Heights on August 24th 2017
Rav Dror will be in New York from June 2017 till September 2017, for private or public bookings please email email@example.com
We are opening an Emunah Center in NY – USA Campaign- https://emunah.com/u-s-emunah-center-campaign-2017/
Feeling Generous? To help support our videos & projects, visit emunah.com/donate
Subscribe, Like, Share, write us a comment, and stay tuned for more!
Follow Us On –
► Our Website- http://Emunah.com
► Youtube – http://bit.ly/2lod0zN
► Facebook – http://fb.com/RavDror
► Twitter – http://twitter.com/ravdror
► Instagram – http://instagram.com/ravdror
► SoundCloud- https://soundcloud.com/ravdror
► Google+ http://bit.ly/1ALdBwo
► iPhone app – http://apple.co/2jvrmkn
► Android app- http://bit.ly/2jvhU01
Join our Whatsapp Broadcasting Group – Send a WhatsApp message to +972528443917
Rav Dror brings us rare honest pure principles of truth, that will touch the heart of anyone who truly tries to listen to his inspirational words. Our hope is that these inspirational videos will bring you closer to HaShem (The Creator) and inspire and motivate you to find your connection to God with joy, faith, and trust.
Rav Dror teaches us how to live a simple life with a strong emphasis on personal prayer with the creator.
Learn the real meaning of life, the real purpose in living, find fulfillment, acceptance, and discover the good points in yourself and others.
We help people worldwide find answers to lifelong questions, and discover a loving way in how to serve God, and how to reveal their spirituality with joy using their minds, their talents, and their emotions.
Rav Dror Moshe Cassouto is from Jerusalem, Israel, and gives all of his classes from the Emunah Center located in the heart of Jerusalem. The Rav Dror youtube channel and website Emunah.com were started to spread his inspiring classes all over the world.
Check out much more at Emunah.com
May the Creator Bless you Always!
Please Subscribe, Like, Share, and Comment, Thank You!


text:
Please scroll down for the download instructions.
Beautiful themes make a lot of difference; it helps your webpage look beautiful and attractive. Whether you are selling a product, sending an invitation, or creating leads, whatever it is, an impressive and attractive theme can increase the possibility of getting a good response from viewers.
We provide the best and very attractive theme on our website that you can download for free. We made it easy for you to have quick access to the most beautiful themes for your website. We have gathered quite a few creative, inspired, beautiful designed themes to suit your every need. A theme decides the way that you can make your online store attractive to the audience. Each theme is different and they have different layouts and styles and they are sure to provide an amazing experience for your customers.
Please share to download
lds yw theme


text:
How can we do a better job of sharing the ocean with whales and dolphins in one of the U.S.'s most populous areas?
Have a question?
How would you prefer us to contact you?
By EmailBy Phone
Help researchers find out how human activities affect marine mammals and help develop strategies to reduce the risks.
If you're walking along one of Southern California's broad beaches, you've got a good chance of seeing a whale spouting or a pod of dolphins riding the ocean waves. This coastline supports a rich community of marine mammals, including the blue whale, the largest animal to have ever lived on Earth.
But it is also home to Los Angeles Harbor, the busiest port in the United States. The whales and dolphins that migrate through or live in these waters face constant threats from human activities: heavy shipping traffic, commercial and recreational whale-watching boats, oil rigs, and pollution. Help researchers find out how these activities affect marine mammals and help develop strategies to reduce these risks.
From both the shore and the deck of a boat, observe marine mammals—how they behave on their own, and how they behave when boats or other disturbances are around. You'll learn how to estimate their distance from you and how to use photos to identify individual whales and dolphins. You'll take in the beauty of the California coast and of Santa Catalina, one of the picturesque Channel Islands just across the water. And as you do, you'll be working to protect some of its most majestic inhabitants.
This research tracks when and where marine mammals are in the area, which can help keep conflicts with boat traffic down.
There's evidence that whales expend extra energy trying to avoid boat traffic and forage less when boats are nearby, which could push these animals past their limits.
It can be hard to fathom that a creature as massive as a whale could be at the mercy of us puny humans. But, of course, we all share the coastal regions like Southern California, and conflicts are bound to occur.
Collisions between whales and boats have risen steadily since the 1950s as ships have gotten larger and faster and whale populations have recovered from the whaling industry. Marine mammals are injured or even killed after becoming entangled in fishing gear. And there are less lethal, but very troubling, threats that come when maritime traffic intersects whale and dolphin home ranges or migratory paths. This traffic may cause animals to move their paths further offshore, or to forage less when in the presence of boats. Such impacts could increase the animals' energetic costs while decreasing their gains from foraging, and could push an animal past its limits, especially in years when prey is limited.
Observe dolphins off the coast.
By helping these researchers make observations of how whales and dolphins behave around boats and helping to track where these mammals move and appear, you'll contribute to an accurate picture of what exactly happens between whales and humans at this crucial place where our species intersect.
Explore the coast of Southern California, from the striking cliffs of Palos Verdes to the picturesque and lively Dana Point. This populous area also has abundant natural beauty. In addition to the mammals you'll be officially observing, you may spot seals, a variety of seabirds, and tide-pool creatures like sea stars and sea urchins.
Visitors often stop at Dana Point Harbor, where you'll be based, to shop, fish, bicycle, and, of course, whale watch. The town is also well known for its surfing history—the film Endless Summer was produced here.
The team will spend some days about 35 miles (55 kilometers) offshore on Santa Catalina Island. This quiet (outside of the tourist town of Avalon, at least) spot is home to, among many other species, a herd of bison, descendants of 14 animals brought over for a movie shoot in 1924. Your time there will give you a glimpse into Southern California's distant, wilder, past.
This is a summary:
Join this team for one or two weeks.
* Days 2-7 will repeat for two-week team members.
Expect days full of variety and activity. After breakfast at the accommodations, the team will split into two groups, which will:
The small groups will rotate tasks, so everyone will have a chance to try every task. After your days in the field, you'll have leisurely evenings to cook, share meals, relax at the accommodations, or otherwise enjoy the mild Southern California nights.
Although we of course can't guarantee whale sightings, your expedition coincides with peak numbers of foraging whales, such as blues and humpbacks, in the area, along with permanent resident populations of dolphin species. We look forward to welcoming you to the Pacific Ocean and introducing you to some of its most impressive, yet vulnerable, inhabitants.
Investigate whale behavior on a marine mammal survey.
Help Dr. Stelle to track whale and dolphin populations in Southern California.
Dr. Lei Lani Stelle has researched Steller sea lions, the ecological interactions between gray whales and mysids (swarming zooplankton), and river otters. For Earthwatch, she's in Southern California researching whale and dolphin populations.
Stay in a homey condo in the small city of Dana Point, which has stunning vistas that overlook the Pacific Ocean and access to a number of beaches. You'll share rooms with bunk beds with two to four other volunteers.
You, your teammates, and your team facilitator(s) will share recipes and cook together; you'll pack a lunch to take into the field each day. Southern California also has a huge variety of restaurants where you might eat a meal or two. Vegetarian, vegan, and many other diets can be catered for (with advance notice to Earthwatch).
Please write a testimonial for this expedition. You may only write testimonials for expeditions you have been on.
You must be logged in to write a testimonial.
Have you been on this expedition?
Leslie Smith | Monday, August1, 2016
What a great way to help the planet and have a vacation! Loved every minute of my EarthWatch adventure!
Kathy Hornreich | Wednesday, July27, 2016
This expedition was a wonderful experience. Scientist, Lei Lani Steele, was an incredible teacher, leader and guide - so knowledgeable about these mammals. We took data while on the water noting location, time and species and upon returning to our home base, recorded the data into spreadsheets. The weather was perfect and the home base was very accommodating. Our team showed the best type of teamwork and everyone got along. Just a great experience learning about the different species, the dangers they face in the ocean from both ocean life and human life. Would recommend to everyone interested in saving sea life.
Pam Curtis | Sunday, July 12, 2015
Best travel experience hands down! The research team was so welcoming and I learned so much about marine mammals during the trip. The data entry was interesting and really helped me feel like I was helping in a significant way. I appreciated Lei Lani's patience and teaching style. She never made us feel like we weren't capable or worry that we would make a mistake. Her students were equally as patient and so intelligent and warm. Her organization kept everything running so smoothly.
I enjoyed the evenings just talking with the other members of the team who were all such interesting people. I never felt that I was bored or wanted to do something else because we were so busy during the day and saw and did so much that taking time in the evening after dinner to talk and read and enjoy the ocean breeze was a treat.
I took a chance on this trip having never heard of EarthWatch Institute and they exceeded my expectations. It was a perfect trip for me. I highly recommend to people of all ages and abilities. Thanks to Lei Lani and Shane for creating such a great experience and doing such meaningful work for our planet!
Fatima Ali | Thursday, July 17, 2014
This was my very first Earthwatch expedition. For anyone wanting to take this trip, beware of having a great time!
The house is comfortable and charming. Professor Leilani and the whole team was wonderful! I had never been to Southern California and if you have not either, then this trip is very worthwhile. Not only is the place gorgeous but Professor Leilani's research is very intriguing as well. Professor Leilani and Shane were awesome to be around, very knowledgable and caring about their family and the research team. Really enjoyed being at home and on the boat. Their daughter, Zoey always lit up the room with energy and excitement!
Keep in mind you do spend a lot of time on the boat during the day so its best if you keep yourself covered and apply sunscreen religiously. We had to pack our lunches (sandwiches and snacks) everyday for the boat trips, remember to take a bottle of water and trust me, you do need snacks when you're out on the water. Tasks such as cooking dinner or washing the dishes were assigned at home. Bring a good lens if you have one for your camera! On my very first day we spotted a BLUE WHALE! Very exciting! The rest of the week however we did not have any more whale sightings but the team after me did! But I had the rest of the week just always surrounded by dolphins everyday so it really depends. Nonetheless, I am very grateful to have met the people I did on this trip. They really made this expedition amazing beyond belief.
Regardless of spotting marine mammals or not, this trip is highly recommended for those who want to be involved with marine research and who want to enjoy a week or two with Professor Leilani and her team!!
Karen Rodriguez | Wednesday, June 04, 2014
My 16-year old grandson and I were thrilled to spend a week helping Dr. Lei Lani Stella with marine mammal research. We were rewarded with numerous sightings of blue whales and dolphins, including a baby blue who "played" under and around our whale watching boat for a good half hour. My grandson got a taste of scientific research. I just had fun on all the boat trips where we sighted whales every time. Sharing household duties and fun evenings with Lei Lani and her family was relaxing and informative. Great trip. We'll do it again one day!
Emily Close | Friday, May 09, 2014
I participated in this expedition with Lei Lani two summers ago with my family and it was an amazing experience. Not only did we get to study the different ways in which dolphins and whales interact with each other but we were able to travel to different areas around Huntington Beach and see many different species of animals, not limited to whales and dolphins. I thought that the trip was organized very well and the activities that we participated in were fun and not overwhelming. I would encourage anyone to go on this trip, it was a great educational opportunity and Lei Lani was very knowledgeable about all aspects of studying these animals. It is also very fun and you get to meet a lot of new people that travel from all over the country to come on these trips. I met a woman from Wisconsin, and people from many other different states. I was 18 when I went on this trip, but she was much older. The activities are not overwhelming so I would encourage people of any age range to participate!
Laura Istead | Friday, May 09, 2014
I was fortunate to be able to work with Dr. Lei Lani Stelle and her research team in the summer of 2012 as a part of Earthwatch. It was an incredible experience. Lei Lani and her team go out of their way to make sure you have the best experience, you feel like family from the moment you arrive. Having spent the majority of my life in landlocked parts of Canada, I knew very little about the ocean and its magnificent marine mammals. I learned so much from Lei Lani about marine mammal behaviour and had many opportunities during the trip to view blue whales, sea lions, dolphins and seals in their element. It was really valuable to see these animals up close and to be a part of a research team that is working to help protect them. I felt like my work was very valued by the team, which I think is an important part of the volunteer experience!
One magical memory that will always stay with me is when we were on a small boat, collecting data around Catalina Island and we found ourselves in the middle of a superpod of Common Dolphins. They were everywhere! It was pure magic to watch these beautiful creatures bow-ride on our small boat, almost close enough to touch. Everywhere you looked there were dolphins happily swimming and racing around us. It's something you definitely need to try and experience!
There are many Earthwatch Expeditions to choose from but I would highly recommend you spend some time with Dr. Stelle out on the California Coast. You won't regret it!
Please login to post a comment or question.
How can we keep shark and ray populations strong? Find answers while exploring some of the world's most beautiful reefs.
Climb aboard a motorboat and sail a tropical "inner sea" in search of endangered dolphins and whales in Costa Rica.
What's swimming in Walker Bay? Get to know the sharks that live there so that we can better protect their habitat.
Why have Pacific leatherback sea turtles almost disappeared? Look for answers and solutions on Costa Rica's beaches.


text:
S k a t e L o g F o r u m
Inline Skating and Quad Roller Skating
Forum Hosts: Jessica Wright | Kathie Fry
FOLLOW US: Our Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Email
|Home - Forum Index - Africa Skating - Asia Skating - Europe Skating - Oceania Skating - Pan America Skating - Roller_Rinks - -
Forum Administrators: Jessica Wright and Kathie Fry | Email Us
Access code for buying and selling subforums: "skates"
How To Get a User Account and Posting Privileges in the SkateLog Forum
Use Google to Search the SkateLog Forum
|Quad Vert All kinds of aggressive skating on quad roller skates including quad vertical roller skating, quad bowl skating, quad skatepark tricks, and street skating tricks in quad skates.
|Thread Tools
|Display Modes
|October 23rd, 2012, 07:19 AM
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Canada
Posts: 47
Hi I am a 46yr old woman that has done many crazy ass sports over t he years and recently have joined the sedate world of roller derby.
I thought that I could supplement derby with some vert skating, so went to local park. Well I geared up and all these young kids smiling big ass smiles but encouraging me that I could do it. Unfortunately my brain wasnt working.
I found myself at the BIG end of the park and didnt even think of skating around to the small side of the park. Afterall what's a pithy 12' drop of a ramp, ha I can eat that for breakfast. Well I proceeded down with great confidence the 1st run an upon hitting the flat at bottom found myself flat on my back halfway to other side of ramp(aprox6'). Now my arm swung back and smashed pretty hard into the concrete, it hurt like mad. I pulled and twisted it and thought nope not broken just sprained.
So I crawl back up and attempt a 2nd time with confidence yet again but with a little hesitation but lots of encouragement from the peanut gallery. WHAM!!!! it happens again, almost identical spot and with similar force and similar fall, arm swinging back. Now I am MAD! I quickly pick myself up and crawl back up. As I am getting ready I pummel the peanut gallery for as much help as possible and attempt again.
Yup, this time I get past that dreadful spot in bottom of bowl(ramps) and am just about ready to ascend the facing rampp when WHAM, it gets me same as before. my whole body hurts. So, red face I finally crawl over to the small side which one of the kids pointed out to me and continue just doing some small jump stuff and learning to go down a small 4'ramp. Needless to say, a week later I go to doctors and we discover the thumb is broken. Badly! Needed surgery and 3pins and 2.5months to heal.
Now, I still want to learn vert for something rad to do, but am very leary of reinjurying my thumb or even the other one which has been in a sprained state for 2months now. unfortunately I have noone cool enough to join me at park and I hate doing things all alone now. Are there some little tricks to learn vert? Is there some books or pamphlets on it?
Shate or Die! Derby is my new Rodeo
|October 23rd, 2012, 07:33 PM
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Brantford, Ontario, Canada
Posts: 1,102
1) Start with small ramps
2) Wear wrist guards. Learn to fall with your hands open so the plastic splint hits the ground. Don't fall with stiff arms. That's how things get broken.
3) Talk to Biff about the bigger stuff.
David A. VanBelleghem
"Of course I talk to myself. It's nice to talk to somebody sane."
|October 23rd, 2012, 09:50 PM
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 2,026
Slide down into the bowl and start from the bottom. Once you can skate up to the top of a bowl, only then, will you most likely be ready to drop in from the top.
Btw, you were probably standing up too much. Keep your body perpendicular to the surface that you are riding on. It goes against wht your brain is telling you, but physics is a bi**h!
Factory Rider for Pro'Designed Inc.
..................Biff Riley.................
|April 5th, 2013, 12:30 PM
Junior Member
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: UK
Posts: 17
It gave me the instruction and confidence to drop in the first time (youtube vid). I succeeded! Second time I fell on my bum but had crash pants on so it's was ok. I think my body needed to fall to learn not to fall as it did not happen since. I always wear my full derby gear plus crash pants when park skating as it gives me confidence to try out stuff without having to worry about hurting myself.
Good luck!
|April 5th, 2013, 11:36 PM
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Notts. UK
Posts: 103
Nike Tiempo footy boot Build :Avenger Alu, Avengers 92a, Qube 8 Balls.
Still got my Bauers
|April 7th, 2013, 10:17 AM
Junior Member
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: UK
Posts: 17
|July 20th, 2013, 06:34 PM
Geriatric Quad Class
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Old folks home
Posts: 396
Good for you Apocalypse!!!
Vert will definitely improve your Derby and vica-versa.
Most of us need to crawl b4 walking so maybe balance and stance is best practiced on the smaller slope transitions b4 dropping into the big bowls
Yes, sk8'n with buds is what it's all about.
Maybe you can talk a few of the Derby team into at least dropping by if not in.
"If the good Lord wanted us to walk he wouldn't have invented roller skates." ~Willie Wonka 1971
60 secs of Quad Vert Fun http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYJgY2PJ_vk
|Thread Tools
|Display Modes
Linear Mode


text:
Somers High (SHS) Class of 2002 Alumni List
Help us Update the Somers High 2002 Class List by adding any names missing from the list below:
Registered Alumni
2002 Class List
Know Somers High Class of 2002 graduates that are NOT on this List? Help us Update the 2002 Class List by adding missing names.
Spider-Man was the top movie in theaters in 2002, with a lifetime gross of over $403,706,375. Among TV shows in 2002, Friends was the most popular of the year.
Reunions and Somers High School News
More 2002 alumni from Somers HS Somers, CT have posted profiles on Classmates.com®. Click here to register for free at Classmates.com® and view other 2002 alumni.
If you are trying to find people that graduated in '02 at Somers in Somers, CT, check the alumni list below that shows the class of 2002.
Don't forget to upload your Somers High School pictures and check on the latest info about any Somers High School reunion.


text:
As with any online forum, we have some rules you must (these aren't suggestions, abide by them or die) follow. The following are No-Nos.
- Illegible/Obnoxious posts: If you can't take the time to post in reasonably coherent English and add some maturity to your post, we won't bother to host your post. The forum isn't going anywhere, take your time and maybe even hit the Preview button.
Penalty: +1 warning point for repeat offenders.
- Spam (Minor): "first post", dumb image macros, and the like. Useless poop that just bothers people.
Penalty: +1 point for repeat offenders.
- Spam (Destructive): Goatse and the like.
Penalty: +1 point on first offense; +2 for subsequent offenses.
- Spam (Advertising): Naturally, a community covering all Halo games would be quite broad and attract many people who have things to share. However, we will ask that you refrain from doing so outside of the Community (aka "User Lounge") section; moreover we will ask that you not advertise for things that are not clearly Halo-related until you have distinguished yourself on the rest of the site.
A special related note: This site doesn't support Buying/Selling/Trading threads. Please take such business elsewhere, as there are plenty of other sites around far better-suited for it. If you have something specifically related to Halo or Halo modding that you really want people here to see, run it by the staff first before posting; we'll let you know if it's okay. Non-Halo B/S/T threads will be removed on sight; Halo-related B/S/T will at the very least be temporarily hidden so that the staff can talk it over.
Penalty: If you're just here to advertise we'll kick you out.
- Flames, Flame-bait & Aggression: Don't get mad at people; don't try to get people mad, or anything else that qualifies as "trolling". Everyone play nice.
Penalty: +1 point on first offense; 2 points for subsequent offenses.
- Piracy/illegal content: Being a modding site we of course will walk a few gray areas. That said, linking to or posting keygens, cracks, serials, copyrighted software, games, movies and so forth will not be tolerated and will result in instant suspension at the very least.
Penalty: Staff's discretion, and possibly reporting you and your IP to the copyright holds and your ISP.
- Alt accounts: You are a single human being. You are allowed one account allocation. Even if you have different personalities in the noggin, you may still only have one account.
Penalty: Staff's discretion
Offending posts will be deleted/edited on sight at staff's discretion. Additionally, users who prove to be consistent annoyances (or worse) and get Warning Points will be subject to the following degrees of ban:
- Time-out: 1 to 3 days off the forums for people who need to cool down or re-think their attitudes. Given any time a user accumulates 1 Warning Point.
- Detention: 1 week to 1 month off the forums. Given to people when a time-out isn't enough; happens when a user accumulates at least 2 Warning Points.
- Suspension: 1 month to 1 year off the forums. Given to people who are repeatedly negatively affecting the well-being of the community. More than 5 points and this happens to you.
- Expulsion: Out for a year or more. You get this if you mess up big time (10 points).
Also, members who don't validate their accounts after 10 days will automatically have their account purged or banned (as we'll assume you're a spam bot)


text:
Wirefly helps you save on cell phones and plans by offering innovative comparison tools so consumers can make educated choices. Start saving today with Wirefly!
Wirefly helps you save on Internet service by offering innovative comparison tools to compare Internet providers in your area.
Test your current internet connection with our speed test and see what services your provider can handle. Find out your download speed, upload speed, latency, and more.
Test Your Internet SpeedInternet Speed Test
Wirefly is the best place for business owners and IT managers to compare business internet service in Charlotte, TN. Businesses cannot succeed without an internet connection in today's world. Even when the company doesn't do business through the internet, a connection is still important. Many employers require email and online messaging for vital communications. Even customers use the internet to reach out to a business with questions, which is often the easiest route. Customers can send emails; which companies can also respond to later. This is more convenient than a customer help line, as an employee is required to be present 24 hours a day, seven days a week. To find the best internet service provider in Charlotte, TN, businesses can compare providers at Wirefly.
|Download Speeds
|User Rating
|Phone Number
| Speeds up to
100 Mbps
$14.99 - $165
|(855) 650-4217
| Speeds up to
45 Mbps
$14.95 - $49.99
|(855) 650-4220
| Speeds up to
2000 Mbps
$19.99 - 299.95
| Speeds up to
40 Mbps
$10 - $109.98
|(844) 686-2613
In the past 20 years, there has been an evolution in the options available for internet connectivity. The advancement in technology has facilitated this evolution. It is the right time for businesses in Charlotte, TN that have been using a single option to explore other options. It is unwise to stick with your outdated internet provider because you might be missing out on the opportunity for a major upgrade. However, you should remember that each option has its own few setbacks that are unique. One of the limitations is availability. Some internet options are very efficient. The only problem is that they have a limited distribution network. Therefore, it is necessary for you to thoroughly research on the options that are available in your area before making your final decision. The common internet options available are fiber optics, cable, DSL, satellite, fixed wireless, and T1.
Most business ISPs in Charlotte, TN provide internet connectivity and other services as a package. Thus, it is wise to find an internet firm that offers the full package. Some of the services that you should expect are business web hosting, business phone service, and email. A combination of these services will assist you in saving a lot of money. Clients get to enjoy full service for internet connectivity from their providers. The providers are responsible for service and support because they have the professionals to handle the task. Thus, you will save money that would have been used to hire an expert in-house. You will also reduce your operational costs.
It is important to look for an internet provider that offers consultative services to your business. Their experts will be able to determine the specific needs of your enterprise. The ISP will let you know about things that will increase the efficiency of the business. For example, they may propose that you upgrade your existing technology. The best ISP providers in Charlotte, TN advise their clients on the bandwidth that they require. They calculate the amount based on the number of employees and devices in use in the company. They may also suggest that your business should adopt remote management of devices.
If you've ever waited hours for a file to download or upload, you likely know the level of frustration that comes along with it. Settling for lower internet speeds for your business can be counterproductive and actually harmful in some ways. When it comes to your business, you cannot settle for a basic speed that barely keeps your internet operations afloat. You want something that can handle both your downtime, as well as peak times when your website is being accessed by countless internet connections. This paves the way customer retention, higher efficiency, improved productivity, and potentially increased sales.
Before signing your name on the dotted line for any Charlotte, TN business ISP plan, ask the consultant to confirm that it will handle your everyday operations. Check the fine print, and confirm that there aren't any limitations associated with the plan such as bandwidth throttling or download caps.
It's imperative that you also inquire about a business ISP's security measures. It's commonplace for any reputable business ISP in Charlotte, TN to offer defenses against spyware, viruses, spam, and other online threats. In addition to this, they should offer solid backup support and protection for mobile platforms.
Though ISPs normally provide assistance, companies that depend on the Internet for their service necessitate additional support. A company has more to lose if an Internet slowdown occurs. A secure Internet connection will guarantee sales and keep staff productive.
A business should utilize a business ISP in Charlotte, TN that provides a Service Level Agreement. This type of agreement ensures uninterrupted up-time or something similar. The company should pay attention to solutions offered if the Internet connection is interrupted. The prevailing countermeasure offered is a credit off the bill if the Internet breaks down for a certain length of time. In addition, an ISP should be asked about support phone lines for businesses and how efficient their tech department is when handling issues.
Another crucial point deals with comprehending what has previously worked for other ISP subscribers. Wirefly assists businesses with comparing business Internet plans in Charlotte, TN. Occasionally, a new service provider may arise and give the impression that they will provide the best service. This is why it is important for a business to do their homework, as they may easily settle for less than they need or deserve. Suggestions founded on experience is priceless.
The choices that you have are reliant on the location of the business, in this case, Charlotte, TN. Limited options should not prevent you from performing an in-depth analysis is still needed. It guarantees the business gets the best available service.
One also needs to determine if their ISP is prepared for new technological changes. Internet network technology is constantly evolving, and a competent ISP should upgrade their services to incorporate these changes. One of the upcoming technologies to look out for is IPv6, an internet protocol that was built to replace IPv4. IPv4 is limited on the number of devices it can support. IPv6 on the hand can support an unlimited number of devices. With the exponential growth of Internet of Things (IoT) and more devices getting connected to the internet IPv6 utilization is set to increase. IPv6 makes it easier to connect devices to the internet as each device can be assigned a public IP address. When selecting an ISP, it is vital to consider all the issues that have been discussed.
Wirefly offers great deals on a large selection of smartphones, cell phones, tablets, mobile hotspots, and other wireless devices for the nation's most popular carriers. Use Wirefly's innovative cell phone and plan comparison tools to ensure you are getting the best deal on the market. Shop with confidence knowing that Wirefly wants to help you find the best prices on cell phones, cell phone plans, TV, and Internet service.


text:
It Doesn't Feel like 15 Years
And these word spoken by then Rays Team Owner Vince Namoli to the Tampa Tribune might sum up the great celebration and also the knowledge that we still had a long journey ahead of us before that First Pitch in 1998. "It's been a path of 10,000 steps, 10,000 phone calls, 10,000 frustrations. Now we're at the end of the path, but we start a new path," Naimoli said. "We start to focus on hiring a general manager, on the Dome, on the development of the franchise, on the minor-league system, on Opening Day 1998. We're into the fun path."
I still remember both announcements as if it was yesterday and still have that memory of finally hearing we had our dream of a professional baseball team in our sights and had a hard road ahead of us, but one that always has been a pleasure. From our first pick (Paul Wilder) in the 1996 First Year Players Draft, to the recent announcement of two-time All Star Hank Blalock being signed by the Rays, to paraphrase an old television commercial, this team has come a long way baby!
And today I hope all Tampa Bay fans take a moment after 12 pm to again try and remember and enjoy this moment. Sure we might have had a few rough years starting out before our Rays farm system began to churn out players like outfielder Carl Crawford, Rocco Baldelli, or pitcher Joe Kennedy who showed us that building through our minor leagues was our path to the top. And less than 7 years after Crawford first played on the turf of Tropicana Field, we envisioned a rise to Playoff status, and an eventual ride to the World Series.
And as we near that special moment in time today, it is actually fun for me to go back in time and remember I was sitting in a local gym when the announcement hit the airwaves that sent the room into an instant celebration. Because around me also working out were minor league players from the Orioles system and also a few University of Florida football players getting ready for Spring drills. Instantly the mood went from working out to celebrating, and I know we were not alone in wanting to paint the town red that night.
20 Comments
Okay – I still slip and call them the Devil Rays sometimes! ;-) HAPPY BIRTHDAY to the Rays!!
You owe the Rays Foundation $1 for that slip up.
I can get away with it only because it is in the context of the story because that was their "original name" when they announced them in 1995.
But I will forward a few dollars anyway becuase I like the Rays Foundation and their many charitable causes.
I thought of opping another bottle of champagne, but I am down to my last one and might save it for October………maybe.
Rays Renegade
Wow. Has it really been 15 years? Where does the time go? The Rays organization certainly has been through a roller coaster ride and I know you've enjoyed every minute of it. (Well, maybe not EVERY minute.)
Actually, I have enjoyed most of the Rays moments since the beginning.
I guess it is rooted in the fact as a kid I wanted a MLB club to call my own, and finally got one and have never taken them for granted at all.
Been lucky to get in close and also have a balanced relationship between myself and the team's actual goals and results over those years.
I got used to the expecation and came to grips with the realities of having a team steeped in talent, but low in the fiscal coffers.
Rays Renegade
Only 15 years! Wow, well lets hope for 15 more great ones with Evan Longoria and that young pitching staff leading the way!
Brady- (BK and Teen-Tiger)
Not sure if we will have 15 more of Longo, but we should see at least (hopefully) another 5 years.
And the Rays pitching staff will age a bit before they get younger again within the next few years.
I am thinking we might not see too many over 30 starters for the Rays for quite a while, unless it is James Shields or Matt Garza.
But it is going to be fun.
Rays Renegade
15 years?? Unbelievable. I'm like Julia. Every once in a while I think Devil Rays.
Yeah, I catch myself saying devil rays, but then correct myself. This should be a good year for the Rays. The window of contention only stays open for so long before it shuts. Though, I think the rays are in good hands and have a lot of depth ready to burst onto the scene. Good Luck http://clevelandbaseball.mlblogs.com
Caaaaaaching! Another dollar for the Rays Foundation & Rays President Matt Silverman.
I have not had that same trouble mainly because I follow thew team religiously, so that is my excuse and I am sticking to it (lol).
Even if they play like tham at times, this is far from the 1998-2007 Rays on the field now…..and that is a great thing!
Rays Renegade
Since you catch yourself…..No dollar taken from you!
It is a year that is so high in expectations knowing the payroll will dip considerably in 2011.
But then again, 4 of the top 5 salaries will either be gone, or re-signed at a significant "local" discount.
I knbow Carlos Pena wants to retire a Rays, but will the salary demands equal what is availiable following 2010…..To be continued
Rays Renegade
WOW… 15 years… doesn't time fly when your having fun… it's always tough when a player wants to stay, but either the team has diferent ideas or maney becomes an obstacle, sometime i think when a player says he wants to stay teams think they can get htem for next to nothing…
Outside the Phillies Looking In
Oi, those early D-Rays unis are so ugly… glad they got over that!
I have to agree with Jeff, those were so atrociously ugly! Good thing you got a fashion designer in town :)
I agree that the last quote was genius. How did he know the name would be changed.
I kind of like the Devil Rays, it had a ring to it.
But now its just Rays. One syllable.
But your team isn't boring itself Cliff, it is very successful and its astonishing how far they came from nothing.
Hopefully the Browns can follow in your footsteps. :)
The reality of not being in Philly, New York, Los Angeles or Chicago is that money flows downhill for us from revenue sharing and hopeful rises in attendance at Rays games.
The Rays Concert Series during some of the low attendance series will boost the overall attendnance.
Just look at teams with some of the concert, Royals, Mariners, Diamondbacks, all teams that might not bring in fans just by their names.
Rays Renegade
Actually the 1999 D-Rays jerseys that were black with a more defined spectrum of the rainbow on the logo was a bit more subdued to the pre-2001 Rays green and white with blue piping vests/jerseys.
Almost surprised the name "Rainbow Rays" did not stick tightly to the team with those jerseys.
I still have about 3 of them hidden in the closet.
Rays Renegade
Not sure who made the intial uniform decision for the newbie D-Rays, but Rays owner( at the time) Vince Namoli gave the final stamp of approval.
Not blaming him at all, but people were going to buy it no matter if it was a blank T-shirt with "Rays " scribbled across the chest.
My submitted choice was actually Ospreys, which is a pretty well known hunting bird in these parts of Florida. Especially at the outdoor ballparks near water.
But, such is life.
Rays Renegade
15 years and you have a retro uniform for those special occasions too! You are a very big part of their history my friend.
I am going to paraphrase an old bumpersticker here:
"Floridian by Birth, Rays Fan by the Grace of God"
I have been lucky to be here since the beginning.
Think of all the great stories I am going to have for the retirement home in 20 years.
Guess I might not be popular with retirees from the Northeast….(lol).
You know history, and if you are not part if it, you are in the way of it.
Rays Renegade
I can't agree with Jeff and Ted, I Love those retro Rays hats! The black ones with the purple Rim they wore back in 2004(?). I was looking for one when I was in Madeira Beach but I couldn't find one my size.
I remember buying one of those black hats back in 1996 and wearing it for almost 2 years before the first game.
The best thing about the re-invention of the Rays caps is that you can trace them right to the team's own evolution from the loveable losers' of 1998, to the 10th year anniversary, and Playoff berth.
Hope you and your family had a great time in "Mad. Beach".
That region has gone through some amazing transformation over the last few years, along with the new bridge being the main traffic snarl.
Rays Renegade


text:
YAM - Yet Another Mailer (#2) - YAM2.8 - how to set the email from header (#102) - Message List
With YAM 2.7 it was possible to change the email "From:" header in the message window (under the option tab). It seems this is not possible anymore, or is there a way to do this with YAM2.8?
Message #378
With YAM 2.8 you now have the concept of "identities". That means, you are now supposed to create an identity for each email address you want to be able to send mail from. All you have to do is to go to the "Identity" configuration pane in the YAM configuration window and setup a second or more identities. As soon as two identities are setup YAM will show you a cycle gadget in the write window which will allow you to select the identity you want the email to be sent from.
Besides this new cycle gadget, the new "identity" mechanism will allow you to automatically select a different signature per identity or select a different sent folder or even select a different SMTP server if you use more than one provider for sending emails.Jens MausFeb 25, 2013, 1:46:34 AM (7 years ago)


text: Manx Shearwater Puffinus puffinus W 70-85cm. Skims low over sea on stiffly held wings. Contrasting dark upperparts and mainly white underparts are seen as bird banks and glides. Gregarious when feeding is good. Sexes are similar. Adult has blackish upperparts and mainly white underparts with dark wing margins. Juvenile is similar to adult. Voice Silent at sea; strangled coughing calls uttered after dark when nesting birds. Status Fairly common summer visitor. Seen mostly at sea; only visits land to breed, after dark. Nests in burrows on remote islands.