text:
Neil deGrasse Tyson
I'm Alan Alda and this is Clear and Vivid, conversations about connecting and communicating
Neil: You know that there's certain foundational pop culture knowledge that almost all of us carry with us, okay? It's a pop culture scaffold. What I do, is I roll that scaffold in and I say, all right, let me try to clad the scaffold, let me clad that with the science I'm trying to communicate with you. I embed familiar things with the unfamiliar, and then you have a comfort level with the new information that I'm trying to communicate.
Neil de Grasse Tyson is an astrophysicist who has brought the heavens to earth for millions of people around the world. For years, he's been able to communicate with us about the universe in ways that make the mystery of the cosmos clear and vivid enough for people like me to be both awed and delighted. I was really curious to know how he did it.
Alan: 00:00 Neil, I'm so glad you're on the show. This is really terrific because, you know, I don't communicate science. My job is to help scientists tell their story. But you're a real scientist and a real communicator.
Neil: 00:13 Okay.
Alan: 00:13 So you are in deep trouble.
Neil: 00:17 Well I assure you, your job is secured because there's plenty of folks who want it who want to ultimately learn science and then try to share it with those who want to know about it. So you've got to keep at it with the institute in Long Island at Stony Brook. That's a first of its kind by my read.
Alan: 00:37 Maybe. I don't really know, but we trained, not only in the States but around the world, over 12000 scientists and doctors now. We're really making progress. But, do you have a theory of communication? What's your engine, as you explain the science to the rest of us?
Neil: 01:18 That's a great word to use, engine. I like that. What I figured out, not on purpose, it just kind of descended upon me. When you speak to people, if you pay attention to their attention span while you're speaking to them, there's a lot to learn from it. Do their eyes drift? Do they look sleepy? Do they still turn slightly away from you because they want to keep walking and you have stopped them in the street? Their body cues that are hugely informative if you cue on them. Do their eyebrows raise up? Is their mouth agape? Do they ask another question? This should be indicators to you on how successful or not
Alan: 02:06 You know what's funny?
Neil: 02:07 What? And the title of your book. What was it …
Alan: 02:11 What … If I Understood You, Would I Have This Look on My Face?
Neil: 02:13 Thank you.
Alan: 02:14 Not only that. This is why we teach improvisation to start our classes in communication. Because the improv exercises get you accustomed to doing exactly what you've just said, to pay attention to the other person. You get so much information from their face and their body.
Neil: 02:37 And they're not even knowingly doing that. It's just autonomic. If you're feeling good, you express it. We're emotional creatures, and so you can definitely cue into that.
Neil: 02:58 So you start there, but then I noticed, I have a difficult concept that I think I'm in a groove and it's not connecting.
Alan: 03:23 So what happens?
Neil: 03:24 So then I got to pull out the pop culture scaffold.
Alan: 03:27 There's a bit of jargon you retain though, right?
Neil: 03:32 Yeah. You take notes on this one.
Alan: 03:34 What kind of scaffold?
Neil: 03:35 Okay, it's a pop culture scaffold. Here's how I think about, this is metaphorically described here. Everybody knows most of what comprises a pop culture scaffold. You've heard of the Pope, you know who Donald Trump is, you know Beyonce. Even if you don't buy her music, you've heard of her. You've heard of the Kardashians. You know that there's certain foundational pop culture knowledge that almost all of us carry with us, okay? What I do, is I roll that scaffold in and I say, all right, let me try to clad the scaffold, because you already have the core knowledge of it, let me clad that with the science I'm trying to communicate with you.
Alan: 04:22 Like what? What would be an example of that?
Neil: 04:24 Okay. I'm trying to describe to you the Coriolis force. This is a little obscure, all right?
Alan: 04:33 The Coriolis force is so connected to the idea that if you go below the equator your toilet runs backwards or something like that.
Neil: 04:41 They wouldn't say it runs backwards, they'd say it runs forward.
Alan: 04:44 They don't know what's going on up north.
Neil: 04:45 You recited sort of the comical version of that, one step across the equator-
Alan: 04:53 Water swirls down the hole in the opposite direction from what we're accustomed to over here.
Neil: 04:59 Yes, but you need huge systems for this to honestly, to manifest honestly in the experiment. You can't just take one step across the border and then claim this works. It has to be a large system. In fact, this Coriolis force is strongest sort of in mid-latitudes. That's why all your hurricanes are there. A hurricane can't cross the equator, you ever think about this?
Alan: 05:21 Whoa, no kidding. Because of this?
Neil: 05:24 Correct, because north of the equator, hurricanes rotate counterclockwise. South of equator, the cyclones, whatever they call them, rotate clockwise.
Alan: 05:32 In trying to rotate the right way, they just weak and fall apart.
Neil: 05:35 They get weak and disappear at the equator, that's correct.
Alan: 05:38 Wow. Now, how do you attach that to the scaffold of popular folk?
Neil: 05:55 Yeah. I say, you know, there was a Cincinnati Bengals football game that I caught by accident as I was channel surfing waiting for a movie to begin. They were overtime, and then it went into sudden death. The Bengals wanted to kick a 50 yard field goal. That's very long. If they kick it and get it, they win. They kick it, and it went up, and it tumbled, it hit the left upright and careened through the posts for the win.
I did the calculation, looked at the orientation of that stadium, looked at its location on Earth, and I happened to know that the winning field goal of the Cincinnati Bengals was aided by a 1/3rd of an inch deflection to the right because of Earth's rotation. The point there is, I know you're interested in football because so much of the country is, and now I bring a bit of laws of physics into it. I tweeted that, by the way, when that had happened.
Alan: 07:24 Is this just a way to get me interested, or did you actually calculate?
Neil: 07:29 No, no. I have some calculations in my utility belt. You want to be overprepared for something, because you don't know what you're going to encounter or what the knowledge base will be of the person you're having the conversation with.
Alan: 07:39 You were calculating the spin of the ball?
Neil: 07:42 No, no. The spin of the ball doesn't matter. It matters for other things, but not for this calculation. What matters is how long is it airborne, and is the ball going north-south? If it's going north-south and it's airborne for three seconds or whatever, I forgot what my calculations showed, that will tell you how much it will deflect, and that's what clouds will do moving through the air.
That's what missiles will do. If you want a missile shooting north-south and you're the military, you have to factor in the Coriolis force to make that happen. In fact, there's a famous case of the British, they already knew about the Coriolis force for their long-range missiles. They went to the southern hemisphere, and all their missiles missed badly. They forgot to flip the mathematical sign in their equations to have the Coriolis force correct in the opposite direction.
Alan: 08:31 When was this?
Neil: 08:32 I forgot where it was. In the last 100 years, the Brits went south to try to fight a war. A modern enough war so that the missiles would go long range.
Alan: 08:43 You know, that's a good indication you should stay in your own neighborhood.
Neil: 08:47 If you're going to be a bully, stay on your own block.
Alan: 08:50 Bully people you know.
Alan: 10:35 So it sounds like you follow the idea that you don't need to tell them everything, but enough to get them interested to know more.
Neil: 10:45 Very perceptive, because so many people, especially academic professors. They're put in a situation where they want to teach something on impromptu, but they feel like they've got to do the syllabus thing. No, no. The person is standing there listening to you in the street. You don't have to be complete.
Alan: 11:01 When they sign up for a course, then you can-
Neil: 11:03 There's an expectation and they're paying for the course.
Alan: 11:07 They won't leave because they won't get their money back.
Neil: 11:10 Exactly. The guarantee is they're going to work no matter what. This is the difference between lecturing and communicating. Anybody can lecture at the front of the room, face the chalkboard or the white board, whatever they use today, without actual reference to whether you're communicating.
Alan: 13:04 You've got an ability that not everybody has, you're a funny guy. What's the role of humor when you're communicating?
Neil: 13:18 I deeply respect comedy as an art form. That's a big part of your professional career. Weren't you a comedian fundamentally before anyone called you an actor?
Alan: 13:30 No, I've always been an actor.
Neil: 13:32 Okay, but you've always had good comedic timing.
Alan: 13:35 I always loved doing, I grew up at the age of two, my earliest memory is two standing in the wings watching burlesque comedians.
Neil: 13:46 Oh, wow. And you turned out okay?
Alan: 13:47 Well, I also watched the rest of the show, so had an unusual childhood, but I always valued comedy. It's a really interesting thing.
Neil: 14:00 Comedy people are very smart-
Alan: 14:02 Yes. You've got to be smart to be funny.
Neil: 14:03 You've got to be smart, and you've got to know things to reshape them and bring them back to the person. So yes. If there's a great movie out but there's a comedian who just put out the hour special, I'm going to watch the comedian. I learn new ways of being entertaining, the rhythm of their storytelling and I try to fold that in, so yes.
Alan: 19:54 You love to communicate to the public, I get that impression.
Neil: 20:02 Let me say that differently. When I'm tasked with it, invited on a talk show, on a podcast … This doesn't count, because we are talking about communicating. I'm talking about other shows where you communicate, when I'm asked about a thing where I have to communicate the thing. I'm hardly ever asked about the act of communicating. This is a very special and rare podcast for me to be on by the way, because I get to share some …
Neil: 20:30 I get to share some of these tactics. I embed familiar things with the unfamiliar, and then you have a comfort level with the new information that I'm trying to communicate.
This, I think it has worked. I ended up doing this without knowing. I think it was my sensitivity to what was working. One day, I sat down and said, oh my gosh, that's what I'm doing. But do you know what it requires, dear sir? You've got to spend some hours every day watching the crazy TV shows that everyone else is watching.
Alan: 22:59 So you know what reference exists.
Neil: 23:00 You've got to watch the football game, you've got to watch the World Series. You don't have to watch all games, watch a few. Look at some of the great players, because people talk about them at the water cooler. Look at what the social media trends are doing, because people are talking about it. When you confront those people, that will be current for them.
Alan: 23:21 That's a really interesting idea.
Neil: 23:23 Yeah. I would say 20% of my life is familiarizing myself with what other people care about whether or not I care about it. I now remembered what you had asked me. You commented that I must really enjoy it. I think about it differently. If I'm asked to communicate, I might as well try to be as good at it as I can, if that's the job of the moment. I mean, why not? I spend so much of my life contemplating the universe. The least I could do is contemplate how to communicate.
On my very first invitation to Jon Stewart when he was on The Daily Show, he's a comedian, he's smart. He's very current events literate. Famous for having people, deer in the headlights, the politician would want to come and want to give their boilerplate, and he would ask them questions through the backdoor, around the side, and they would just be stumped. I said, I am not going to be stumped. And he'd be throwing comedic quips in the middle, and people would be stumbling over the comedic quips. I said, that is not going to happen to me.
I watch a series of his shows. I timed how many seconds he would give you to talk before he would interrupt with a comedic quip.
Alan: 24:33 What did it turn out to be?
Neil: 24:35 It was about seven seconds. Yeah. One, two, three, four, five, six, about seven. That was the average. Of course, there was variation.
Alan: 24:42 You can't start out with any throat clearing. You've got to come in with the goods.
Neil: 24:47 I said, I've got to put out a soundbite that fits in seven seconds, then he interrupts it with the quip, and then we have the funny quip and a complete thought that are on the table. I'm not going back trying to fill it in, I'm not flustered that I didn't get my point across. The rhythm of the host is everything. Otherwise, you're going to go there and just give your boilerplate. You don't fit in with the moment.
I was once on a show where I was, it's on HBO, I was at the limit of my coolness.
Alan: 25:20 What do you mean? Why?
Neil: 25:22 I was the only person in the studio with a button up shirt, it was very hip hop. Everybody had their hat on crooked, from the producers, the writers, the directors, the sound, the lighting. I'm there, the scientist in this hip hop show, and it was like, oh my gosh. They're going to find me out and I'm not going to … I'm trying to hen with them. One of them is from the Bronx, I'm from the Bronx, it was the Bronx in the house. That got me a little bit into the show. At one point they asked me, who's my favorite member of the Wu-Tang Clan.
Alan: 25:58 Oh wow. I'd be stuck there.
Neil: 25:59 I said, I quickly was like, okay, I only know one member, so let me give that name. I said, "Oh, it's the GZA of course." They said, "Oh, good, good, good!" But they didn't know I was drawing on a supply of one.
Alan: 26:15 Did you turn that into science?
Neil: 26:17 I tried. I tried to do that every turn. You'd be surprised how much science there is that's attachable to pop culture. This is why on my podcast that you so graciously agreed to when your book came out on, Would I Have This Look On My Face, that turned out to be a very successful podcast for us, so thanks for agreeing to have that interview beyond the podcast. This wat the 92nd Street Y.
Alan: 26:42 Yeah. Somebody just stopped me on the street yesterday and said he enjoyed that podcast.
Neil: 26:47 Excellent, excellent. I'm helping to make you famous.
Alan: 26:53 I am so much more famous than I was before that podcast.
Neil: 26:59 What was I going to say about that? Oh! The podcast, what we do is, my interview in the podcast and for the version of it that lands on television is with a well known person, but the show, when we cut it together, I have academic experts at the table analyzing subject matter that came up in the conversation with the celebrity type. Why? For StarTalk, you come for the celebrity, but then you stay for the science and the analysis.
Alan: 27:29 For you, they come for the science.
Neil: 27:31 Well, no, I mean, I'm just saying, we also interviewed, who's the one with the most number Twitter followers?
Alan: 27:42 Lady Gaga.
Neil: 27:43 Close. See, you're going into your pop culture references. Katy … Katy.
Alan: 27:52 Katy Perry.
Neil: 27:53 Yes, thank you. Katy Perry was a guest on StarTalk. How did we spin that? Well, she wrote a song about making love to an alien. We've got a segment on what would alien anatomy be like in the show, and is that even realistic. There's science in everything. That's all I'm saying.
It's true, there isscience in everything. And most of us are awed by that when a good science communicator can show that. But sometimes science discovers things that make people nervous. Sometimes when science pulls back the carpet, there are things there that are a little scary. What then? I ask Neil about that – when we come back.
This is Clear + Vivid. Now back to my conversation with Neil de Grasse Tyson.
Alan: 28:20 Let me ask you something. What about what the public is sometimes worried about I think, which is the responsibility of scientists not to investigate things that turn out to hurt us. Marie Curie hoped that her work on radiation, for which she won a Nobel Prize, would lead to cancer treatments and save a lot of lives. She also died from radiation poisoning, and so have many other people when you think it's been turned into weapons. So do you feel that you have an obligation to worry about the consequences of what you discover when you try to figure out nature, or is it just your job to figure out nature?
Neil: 29:14 That's a terribly important question that isn't asked often enough. Here's the problem with that concern. There's a divide in the road. The divide in the road is, are you a scientist tasked with making weapons, and what is your moral compass in doing so? Are you a scientist just exploring the frontier that later on happens to have applications in warfare? These are two very different activities conducted by a scientist. In my recent book, Accessory to War, the subtitle is The Unspoken Alliance Between Astrophysics and the Military.
Alan: 30:04 And that sounds a little ominous.
Neil: 30:12 It does, because in retrospect, the word Accessory to War, accessory's a legal term, when you commit a crime …
Alan: 30:21 And you drove the getaway car.
Neil: 30:23 Right, drove the getaway car. I didn't mean it in the sense of a crime. I meant it in the sense that, no, we didn't make the weapon. Maybe we did design the car that you used. Maybe we did the drive the car away from the scene. But no, we didn't …
Alan: 30:52 And the Manhattan Project during World War 2.
Neil: 30:56 Now this, I'm working my way there. You're ahead of me. Much of my understanding of war was shaped growing up in the 1960s, and your show, MASH, was a 1970s gift to us all, which exposed us to war, Korea, but mostly the Vietnam War were television wars, and so you see war. For me at the time, war equals bad. There was no good war. What do you mean? Why would war ever be good?
That's my starting point in thinking about conflict. When I research for the book, then I realize, wait a minute, there's statues of war heroes of all the other wars, of the Revolutionary War, the Spanish-American War, the Second World War. Soldiers stride a horse holding weapons. I'm thinking, somebody must have felt good about those wars, because these are proud statues. Maybe not all war is bad. Let me think about this more deeply.
Then you realize, it's 1930s and Hitler is rising, and are you going to stand by idly? Hitler invades Poland, 1939, or are you going to say, we need to stop this, civilization needs to stop this, it is our obligation. You enlist, you become a soldier. If you're a scientist, what do you do? You give your intellectual capital to the war effort. This is what spawned the Manhattan Project.
Einstein started the Manhattan Project, little known fact. His letter to Roosevelt said, "It looks like Hitler has got physicists and he's trying to make a bomb of unprecedented power. We cannot let that happen. We have to get a bomb before him." Boom. Bad word, sorry. Sorry, sorry. Bada bing. Bada bing. We launched the Manhattan Project.
Where the moral compass sets in is, all right, by 1944, Manhattan Project is still getting research, and we learn Hitler really isn't where we thought he was with his bomb research. 1945, the Third Reich is collapsing. Okay, we don't really need the bomb anymore. Do you walk away? Are you just a curious physicist? This is cool science, heavily funded, I want to do it anyway, because I want to see if we can do it. Or do you say, it's a weapon, it's my country, I want to defend it with the best weapon we can. This is where the moral compass sets in.
Alan: 37:00 Right. There's an interesting take on this I think in Richard Feynman's experience during the Manhattan Project. He said that he got so excited and so did most of the people working there, that they just wanted to solve the problem. It was a scientific nut to crack.
Neil: 37:19 Here's what happens. Normal science doesn't get funding on that level.
Alan: 37:23 Right, right.
Neil: 37:24 When you get military funding for science and you really are interested in the frontier, but you don't care what then happens, if you know the people funding your work is the military, we can't be so naïve as to think that at the end, they don't want a bomb out of you. That'd be too naïve, right?
Alan: 37:41 They knew they wanted the bomb, but when he saw what the bomb did, he got very depressed, went into a decline emotionally as a result. It suddenly hit him, it wasn't just the thrill of solving the problem, it was a product at the end that was going to really hurt people.
Neil: 37:58 Correct.
Neil: So what I learned was, my historical brethren, the astrophysicist of yore, decades ago, centuries, millennia, we have been handmaidens to military conquest. We didn't build the bombs, but we helped them navigate. We know where the stars are in the sky and what you can see from different parts of the Earth that helps you know where you are on Earth. If you're going to build an empire, a seafaring empire, you're going to want to know where the enemy is, where the promontory is that you'll crash your ship. You want to know all of this. There's been an astronomer on board every one of these ships, or someone trained in navigation by an astronomer.
Take the example of Captain Cook. He explored the South Pacific, he's a Brit. By the way, you know why he went to the South Pacific? There was a transit of Venus that was taking place.
Alan: 34:53 There was a transit of-
Neil: 34:53 Transit of Venus. This is when Venus, in its orbit around the Sun, comes exactly between us and the Sun. You see this black dot work its way across the disc of the Sun as Venus passes exactly between us. Happens once every couple of hundred years, I forgot the exact date, but it's around that infrequent.
Alan: 35:10 He went down to look at it?
Neil: 35:17 He was on assignment from the government. This is where the plot thickens. If you make that measurement, you will learn very interesting things about the solar system, the scale of distances between and among the planets. It's a scientific expedition. Fine. That's what the top sheet says.
Flip it over. By the way, psst, psst, while you're down there, here's some navigation tools we just perfected. Use these to map every new coastline you find, and bring back that information.
Alan: 35:48 So they could conquer it?
Neil: 35:49 That's what he did. Within two decades, Great Britain took control of Australia, New Zealand, Tasmania, Fiji, the Cook Islands. All of those countries and more, take a look at their flags. They've got the Union Jack as an insert on them. It's all because of his voyages to the South Pacific.,So does the scientist have control over what their government does with their discovery or invention? We publish in peer reviewed journals that are publicly readable. If I do something that's, I'm not hired to make a weapon. I want to just explore. Oh my gosh, I just made a discovery and the military looks over the picket fence and says, "We could use some of that."
But I can tell you then, in astrophysics, I don't control what they take from me. But, I can in principle control what I use from the militaryt. As liberal, anti-war as we are as a community, because we're mostly academics, and academics are that, if something shows up on the other side of their picket fence that got declassified and is going to help our work, we say, "Yeah, give me some of that."
One of them is Project Keyhole.
Alan: 39:18 I don't know what that is. What is Project Keyhole?
Neil: 39:24 It's classified. You'll have to redact this. No.
Alan: 39:27 Wait a minute, is it a flying saucers thing?
Neil: 39:30 That was Project Blue Book, the flying saucers. Project Keyhole was a set of telescopes put in low earth orbit looking down as surveillance telescopes basically. We said, "Hey, that's a really well designed telescope. Oh my gosh, look how well you've thought all of this through." When that became declassified, we got one.
Alan: 39:51 And you turned it in the other direction.
Neil: 39:52 Turned it up, and it became the Hubble Space Telescope.
Alan: 39:54 Oh, great.
Neil: 39:55 Not an accident how well that thing worked. Was any of us saying, "Oh, that was used for military"? Now, of course, surveillance is not actively killing people, but it supports operations that do, like the Second Gulf War was completely enabled by space assets.
Alan: 40:11 What about this idea of a Space Force? Does that have military connotations?
Neil: 40:18 Completely. Yeah, yeah, completely. The speeches given, the Trump speech followed by the Pence, Vice President Pence speech, they were very sort of muscle, testosterone, here's my bicep, get off my lawn. Space is our lawn, and you're on it. Get off of it. It was very aggressive in its posturing.
The fact is, space has been militarized for 50 years. If you understand militarization as not that it has lasers pointed at Earth or dropping bombs on heads, but that it enables operations on the ground. The first spy satellite that ever went into orbit was the beginning of the militarization of space, and we've been doing that since the 1960s.
What did the Air Force figure out they wanted to do, under who is the US Space Command? They said, in the tradition of knowing where you are on Earth brought to you by astronomers in antiquity, we want to know where we are on Earth to within very high precision. Let's invent the GPS system of satellites. That is a military project launched by the Air Force, the space branch of the Air Force, and that enabled the Second Gulf War, 2003, to operate efficiently and with very high knowledge of targets, day and night. The command and control of the land, sea and air invasions were all orchestrated by space assets.
Alan: 42:31 So should we have a Space Force or not?
Neil: 42:34 I don't tell people what they should do. I can tell you that it's not, just because it came out of Trump's mouth does not mean it's a crazy idea. The idea's been around for a while. I even proposed it 17 years ago in a commission that I was appointed to by the White House to study the future of aerospace in the country. The reply from a four star general of the Air Force, "We got this. Space is a branch of the Air Force. We don't need a different branch." I said, fine, I'm not going to second guess the general.
But if you do pull it away, then all of the space activities of the Air Force just get shifted over. It's an accounting shift at its most basic form. Then you might add some things to it. I'd throw in asteroid defense if I had control over the portfolio.
Alan: 43:17 That seems like an enormously important question which keeps getting put aside.
Neil: 43:21 Of course. It's not just protecting your borders, it's protecting your species.
Alan: 43:26 That's right.
Neil: 43:26 Yeah.
Alan: 43:30 To me, a kind of minor problem that inhibits both the military uses of space and the scientific uses of space is all the junk out there. How do you know how to launch anything-
Neil: 43:47 Thank you. Throw in space junk as a goal of fixing through the Space Force. Junk effects everything. Not only your spy satellites and other military operations, but it effects your commerce based satellites. Think of, there are entire industries, there are entire companies whose business model requires access to GPS satellites, such as Uber. There is no Uber without GPS satellites, because that's how it knows where everybody is and who's coming and who's going.
The value of our space assets is measured not only in the cost of the satellites, the hardware, but also in the commerce that it enables, the security that it provides. If you have debris interfering with that, then as far as I'm concerned, the military is not doing its job.
Alan: 44:40 I've seen plots of the debris. It's like, how could you find your way through that stuff?
Neil: 44:47 Alan, I think we have been visited by aliens, because they saw those plots of the debris.
Alan: 44:51 They're afraid of getting through it.
Neil: 44:53 They said, "uh-uh (negative), we're going to a different planet."
Alan: 44:57 These people live with their garbage.
Neil: 44:58 We're not going to this cesspool.
Alan: 45:01 Is all that stuff traveling fast? I mean, can you get hit with a bolt?
Neil: 45:05 It's traveling 18000 miles an hour. A paint chip will take your nose off.
Alan: 45:10 Yeah. A little piece of something can knock a hole into your space ship, right?
Neil: 45:14 Yeah, or damage a critical part of your satellite and render this billion dollar satellite obsolete.
Alan: 45:23 Have we had losses like that?
Neil: 45:23 I don't have the full inventory, but we do have evidence that these particles have hit things. There's been satellites that we bring back, and you look at them, there are pock marks on it from debris. It's a problem that would need to be addressed ultimately.
Alan: 45:42 How would you do it? Take up a giant net and …
Neil: 45:45 A vacuum.
Alan: 45:47 You could drag it down, back … What do you do?
Neil: 45:50 I don't know. Yeah, a net. I don't know. What you would need to do is, put it on a downward arc so that it will always encounter thicker and thicker atmosphere, and then it falls out of the atmosphere exponentially.
Alan: 46:38 You've got to probably make a calculation to make sure you don't wind up with some debris hitting 14th Street.
Neil: 46:45 Exactly. I care about 15th Street too, by the way.
Alan: 46:50 I don't know, I like 14th Street.
Alan: 47:08 So here's my question. I've heard you say we're not at the center of the universe. There is no center of the universe.
Neil: 47:16 I tweeted that just a few days ago. It's one of my top 10 tweets now. Apparently it really resonated. I said, "Because the universe has no center, you are not it."
Alan: 47:27 It seems to me that everything is the center of the universe, and therefore nothing is.
Neil: 47:35 You can look like you're in the center, but you're not actually in the center. When you're a ship at sea, it looks like you're in the center of your own horizon, because the distant of the horizon is the same every direction. That makes you in the exact center of a perfect circle.
Alan: 47:48 Well, let's take that round thing that you're positing, the ship is on a globe. If we switch it to a balloon, and you start with a balloon that is so small it's …
Neil: 48:00 Infinitesimal, okay.
Alan: 48:01 Yeah. Then as it starts to inflate, the balloon has polka dots on it, and all the polka dots move farther and farther away from one another.
Neil: 48:10 Polka dot galaxies, right.
Alan: 48:11 But there's no polka dot that's at the center of the surface of the balloon because every other one would compete percentages.
Neil: 48:20 Precisely correct. Consider the questions that people don't ask. There are people that get angry when you say the universe has no center, "It's got to have a center!" Pause. Okay, what is the center of the surface of the Earth? It has no center. People understand certain questions. Here's one, the universe has no edge. "It's got to have an edge." Okay, where's the edge of Earth's surface? You know to not even ask that question.
Alan: 48:43 But you know, one of the problems is what we talked about at the beginning of our conversation, which is what's going on in the head of the person you're talking to. I know from my experience listening to the suggestion that there's no center to the universe, I have a problem because I'm always outside of the universe when I think about it. I think of it as a tiny dot that starts to expand, but I'm always outside that expansion.
Neil: 49:12 Watching the expansion, yeah.
Alan: 49:13 Watching the expansion. You've got to change my point of view somehow.
Neil: 49:17 Keep that point of view. You're outside of it, so you can see the point where the expansion began. If you're on the surface of the balloon, you have no access to that point. If you're outside of it, the balloon is expanding into your space, right, you're in a higher dimensional space, so you have this luxury of perspective. You can say, I know where the center of the balloon is, it's down in the middle. I can access it, but you can't. So yes, the universe has a center. It was where everybody was 13.8 billion years ago, and that's the Big Bang, but you don't have access to that right now.
Alan: 49:53 I'm sure that some people are fascinated by this and some people are already asleep.
Neil: 49:59 No, I'm checking if people are asleep. I'm checking. By the way, there's also inflections in your voice. Are you monotone, or are you interesting to listen to?
Alan: 50:19 I was just listening to athletes today on television.
Neil: 50:23 Was it football? You going to learn football for a change.
Alan: 50:25 No, no. They were hockey players.
Neil: 50:27 Hockey players, all right.
Alan: 50:30 They were very presentable people and had interesting things to say, but they talked in a monotone like this. The athletes talk in interviews always like that. What do you suppose that is?
Neil: 50:40 Some of it is training. If you notice, most of what they say is completely innocuous. "Well, we tried hard. We'll try better next time. I'm working with my team mates. Came here to play, they played harder. We've got to do better next time." They're not going to tell you, "Why did my team mate drop the ball? I'm so pissed off." All of a sudden, that explodes, it explodes. People talk about that and they forget the game.
Alan: 51:08 That's why we try to make people open to the people they're talking to, so the real them comes out. You get animation, you learn more from the person's animation than you do from a recitation.
Neil: 51:19 There are more cues of communication, that's right. By the way, when I'm on a stage, I give public talks many times a year. They always say, "Are you're going to stay behind the podium?" It's like, "What's wrong with you? Why are you asking me … "
Alan: 51:35 I've got to have that same discussion.
Neil: 51:37 What, do you want me to stand here for two hours and talk?
Alan: 51:40 It's a fortress. You hide behind a fortress.
Neil: 51:45 I say, "No, I will use the entire stage." What I've done, I used to dance, I was a performing member of several dance companies … in my day, not anymore.
Alan: 51:54 What kind of dancing?
Neil: 51:55 Three different, one was Afro-Caribbean, another was international Latin ballroom, and a third was a ballet and performance dance on Broadway, jazz dance, that sort of thing.
Alan: 52:07 You lend that ability to talks? I've never seen you do that.
Neil: 52:11 When I'm on the stage and I feel something, my body participates in that feeling. It's not just-
Alan: 52:19 As you say that, you're wiggling away.
Neil: 52:21 I did do a little jiggle wiggle in the chair as I said that. Think about it. Words can be very expressive if you're a good writer, okay? Let's say you're not a good writer, but you still want to communicate. Well, now your facial expressions can aid the words.
You can't see the facial expressions of John Steinbeck when you're reading him, or any of these great authors of the past. They have to rely on their words so you can capture the emotion of the page. If you're not that good, but you're in person, you have your facial expressions to assist the words. If you're on a stage, you have your words, plus your face, plus your body.
Alan: 54:13 And I have the feeling, in fact, I try to operate on this idea, that even when the person you're talking to is not there in front of you and you can't read their face because you're writing for them and they might read this a year from now or 10 years from now and you'll never see them doing it, you can still make an estimate of what they're going through as you lay down the sentences.
Neil: 54:37 Very important comment, because I have seen people, stand up comedians who have become actors. As an actor, you're looking at a camera lens, let's be honest. You're not looking at an audience. They become actors for a little too long. Then they go back to the stage, and they've lost it all. They've lost the ability to read their audience, they've lost the ability to engage. I have found that if I go a long time without the one-on-one or one on an audience, just talking to a microphone or to a camera lens, I don't trust that I'm still connecting.
Alan: 55:28 What about when you write, when you write a book? Are you thinking about …
Neil: 55:32 Oh my gosh. Okay. My previous book to the Accessory of War, Accessory of War is like 600 pages. My previous book, Astrophysics for People in a Hurry …
Alan: 55:45 Great title.
Neil: 55:46 I love it, because you have to pick it up, right? It's like passing a book that says, "Neurosurgery in Three Easy Steps." Got to pick it up. You've got to wonder. You've got to see what's in there.
Alan: 55:58 What happened when you were writing it?
Neil: 56:00 I'll tell you, it's a small book, and that book is the distilled essence of every mind-blowing cosmic scientific thing I know. Mind blowing. It is the sum of every eyebrow raising thing. I'm using these cues.
Alan: 56:16 As you write about it, you're hoping and thinking of ways-
Neil: 56:20 I write about it and I say, this made a person's eyebrows raise the last time I shared this on the airplane when they learned I was an astrophysicist or at the talk show. I have the data, and I'm using the data to inform the sentence. Not only that, if a sentence is carrying a little too much information, it's a little weighty, my next sentence is going to be three words long.
Alan: 56:41 Yeah. You're thinking about the reaction.
Neil: 56:42 I am thinking about their attention span and am I carrying them, every page, and preface, I hate prefaces. Why spend 10 pages on a preface? Just put it in the damn book if it was that important. The preface of my books, they're like, one-and-a-half pages long. You start reading, "I don't like prefaces either. Oh, it ends right there. Of course I can read it," right?
Alan: 57:03 We've run out of time.
Neil: 57:04 Oh my gosh.
Alan: 57:05 The control room is telling me we have to wrap up. Before we go, we have seven quick questions for seven quick answers.
Neil: 57:11 Bring it on. Lightning round. Go.
Alan: 57:13 First question. What do you wish you really understood?
Neil: 57:18 I wish I really understood the limits of the human capacity to know and to understand, I wonder whether we are actually smart enough to actually figure out how the universe works at all.
Alan: 57:34 I wonder the same thing. Okay, number two. What do you wish other people understood about you?
Neil: 57:40 Oh, I don't care about me. I'm not relevant in this. I'm a cosmic messenger. Oh, yes, sorry. I wish I was better understood what my motives for commenting on science in movies. People see me as an annoying … I'm so deeply misunderstood.
Alan: 58:01 You feel better. I agree.
Neil: 58:03 I'm really trying to enhance your movie-going experience when I comment on movies.
Alan: 58:06 Number three. What's the strangest question someone has ever asked you?
Neil: 58:11 Can I please sign their shrink wrapped frozen pig heart that they just pulled from their, it's a medical student, and he had a pig heart. He just wanted me to sign the freeze wrap. I was signing books and things and up comes a pig heart. That was the weirdest thing ever asked.
Alan: 58:30 Okay. How do you stop a compulsive talker?
Neil: 58:34 Go to sleep in front of them.
Alan: 58:38 Is there anyone for whom you just can't feel empathy?
Neil: 58:43 Yeah. People who aggressively think they know something but think they don't. I have no patience and no … especially when they're using it to exploit others. If I were a superhero, these are the people I would protect the world from.
Alan: 58:59 How do you like to delivery bad news? In person, on the phone, or by carrier pigeon?
Neil: 59:06 By text.
Alan: 59:07 By text? That's funny, we haven't-
Neil: 59:09 No, no. A text, you've got to prep the pumps. I've got something I need to share with you, we need to be alone. Let's find a place.
Alan: 59:17 I see, and then in person.
Neil: 59:19 Then it's in person, definitely in person.
Alan: 59:20 Okay, last question. What, if anything, would make you end a friendship?
Neil: 59:27 Oh. That's an important … I would say active dishonesty.
Alan: 59:34 Okay. You've been terrific, thank you so much.
Neil: 59:36 Yeah, okay.
Alan: 59:37 Really, as I always do, I love talking with you.
Neil: 59:40 The same here. We've been friends for a while. Thanks for having me on the show.
Alan: 59:45 Thanks for being on the show.
My thanks the sponsors of this episode. All the income from the ads you hear go to the Center for Communicating Science at Stony Brook University. Just by listening to this podcast, you're contributing to the better communication of science. So, thank you.
Neil's latest book, Accessory to War, is a great read – and I recommend it. Neil and his co-author, Avis Lang, explore the centuries-old relationship between science and military power — and they talk vividly about how science, especially astrophysics, has been used in warfare.
Neil is a prolific science communicator and someone who I admire for how he has helped to raise global awareness around the importance of science and research – and he does so by using good communication methods. You can find out all about Neil by going to the Hayden Planetarium web site at:www.haydenplanetarium.org/tyson
And, if you're in New York – check out the Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History – Neil's just one of the many stars of that show!
This episode was produced by Graham Chedd with help from our associate producer, Sarah Chase. Our sound engineer is Dan Dzula, our Tech Guru is Allison Coston, our publicist is Sarah Hill.
You can subscribe to our podcast for free at Apple Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen.
For more details about Clear + Vivid, and to sign up for my newsletter, please visit alanalada.com.
You can also find us on Facebook and Instagram at "Clear and Vivid" and I'm on Twitter @alanalda.
Thanks for listening. Bye bye!


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The Nest Thermostat was one of the first smart home items to really make a splash, making a name for the smart home market. And the Amazon Echo helped to define voice-activated digital assistants. Now, Microsoft is combining those two elements with the GLAS.
In a partnership with Johnson Controls, Microsoft is putting AI assistant Cortana into a smart thermostat. Microsoft's Cortana has long been available on the company's phone, desktop and gaming platforms, but this is a much more standalone device.
The device itself is a transparent piece of touchscreen glass that displays info you'd expect on a thermostat, but it also responds to voice commands and can work with future Windows 10 IoT Core devices.
The move marks another Alexa competitor entering the space and will likely drive more integrations down the line. Microsoft's Azure platform has many IoT integrations, so manufacturers may be tempted to install it on their next Internet of Things device.
That means security systems could have the Halo-born artificial intelligence controlling their homes, and keeping the alien Covenant at bay.
However, the initial GLAS seems to be targeted toward business users, including restaurants, offices and storefronts rather than residential use. It's not clear when GLAS will launch or what it's cost will be, but it's exciting that Microsoft is finally getting into the smart home with some smarter products.

subset: commoncrawl


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Carpet Cleaning Maida Vale Warwick Avenue W9 London
Outstanding Carpet Cleaning Service Maida Vale
Anyclean was established in 1998 as a small carpet cleaning provider in Maida Vale W9 area. Our knowledge and expertise in deep cleaning carpets are second to none and we are confident that we can clean your carpets beyond your expectations. We successfuly remove dirt, bacteria and stains in residential homes and business premises and we are one of the top contractors in the area.
Services Offered
- Fully equipped technicians
- NCCA trained cleaners
- Stains- free carpets
- Hot water extraction method
- Deep carpet cleaning
- Minimal moisture after treatment
- Odours neutralisation
We achieve unbelievable results at unbelievable prices. Please check our price list below:
Single bedroom ....................£20.00
Double bedroom ....................£25.00
Lounge ....................£27.00
Hallway ....................£15.00
Staircase (up to 12 steps) ....................£18.00
Landing ....................£6.00
Bathroom ....................£5.00
Rug (small) ....................£15.00
Rug (large) ....................£25.00
How We Clean
Our company is experienced in cleaning even the finest fabrics and there is no job we can't do. We always pre-vacuum the carpeted areas to ensure all dry soils and any loose particles are removed. Depending on the type of your carpet, we will apply a product which is designed specifically for your type of carpet in order to give you the best of our Maida Vale service. The final step is to extract and rinse the carpet fibers, deodorise and groom the carpet for an extra freshness and fast drying.
Cleaning Solutions & Equipment
Our equipment is designed to revitalise the look of your carpet by deeply, safely and quickly removing all dirt, spots and bacteria from its fibers. This is the only way to completely extract all remaining cleaning solution, rinse and disinfect the carpet surface and base. The equipment allows the flow of the heat and water which makes it suitable for various types of carpets.
Carpet Cleaners With Experience
Our carpet cleaning Maida Vale technicians always check the final results to ensure your expectations have been met and your carpet looks fantastic. They provide outstanding service as we at Anyclean value our customers and we have employed the technicians who will be able to service you best. They are fully insured, qualified and experiencd in cleaning carpets regardless of their type.
Customer satisfaction is a number one priority for all our customers and for this reason our cleaning in Maida Vale comes with a 100% guarantee. Our experience and expertise guarantees we will give your home a new feel and freshness throughout, but if for some reason we have not met your needs, we will come back free of charge for a repeat clean.
Carpet cleaning Maida Vale and the neighbouring areas:
- Bayswater
- Brondesbury
- Holland Park
- Kilburn
- Ladbroke Grove
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- Little Venice
- Little Venice
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- North Kensington
- Notting Hill
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- Queens Park
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- St Johns Wood
- West Hampstead
Did you know that in Maida Vale W9 we also offer
Domestic Cleaning Maida Vale
Window Cleaning Maida Vale
For a full list of what we do please click:
Cleaning Services Maida Vale
Maida Vale - History & Attractions...
- Maida Vale is a residential district in West London not far from Kilburn. It is served by Bakerloo Line and Maida Vale tube station which was opened in 1915. The main features of the area are Regent's Park, London Zoo a lot of pubs and restaurants. Maida Vale is also a home to one of the British fashion models Kate Moss.
- The name Maida Vale derives form Sir John Stuart's victory over the French at Maida in Calabria, in Italy in 1807. The local public house, The Hero of Maida, was licensed in 1810 and by the 1880s the area was known as Maida Vale.
- During the 17th century the area of maida Vale was held by the Bishop of London and consisted of a few farmhouse settlements surrounded by fields and some woods. The constructing of houses began from the early 19th century on the site along the Edgware Road and Maida Avenue.
- The Maida Vale Housing Estate was built in 1960. It consisted of several high rise blocks to the west of the area. These included mainly joint ventures between the freehold owners The Church Commissioners, George Wimpley & Co. and the GLC.
Most interesting sights and attractions in Maida Vale include:
- Little Venice. As the name suggests the site is interspersed with waterways. Little Venice is consisted of Maida Avenue, WarwickCrescent and Blomfield Road, the streets in the south of Maida Vale which overlook Browning's Pool.
- Jason's Canal Boat Trip. Starting from Little Venice and heading all the way across Northwest London to the heart of Camden, Jason's trip takes passengers on a boat ride along the regent's Canal.
- The Showroom Gallery. Originally based in Bethnal Green, the gallery has existed as a public funded contemporary art gallery since 1989. Originally focused to offer of an artist their first solo show, now the Showroom Gallery is specialised only in commissioning individual arts to make new work for the space on the corner of Boscobel and Pentfold Streets.
- Abbey Road Studios. Situated at 3 Abbey Road, this legendary building was lied in 1830 as a private house, in the exclusive area of St. Johns Wood. The studio began operating in 1931, recording the top orchestras in London. Today the Abbey Road Studios is mostly noted for its music scores.
Famous people associated with the area of Maida Vale include:
- Artist Edward Ardizzone (1900-1979) who lived and worked at 130 Elgin Avenue, in Maida Vale.
- Portrait photographer William Friese-Greene (1855-1921) who from 1888 to 1891 lived at 136 Maida Vale.
- Mathematician, logician and cryptanalyst Alan Mathinson Turing (1912-1954).
- Physicist and electrical engineer Sir John Ambrose Fleming (1949-1945), who was best known as the inventor of the wireless lived at 9 Clifton gardens, in Maida Vale.
- Greek poet and author Andreass Kalvos (1791-1869).
- Israeli statesman David Ben-Gurion (1886-1973), who was best known as the first Prime Minister of Israel, lived in Maida Vale.
- Musician and multi-instrumentalist David Gilmour (born 1946) lived in Maida Vale.
- Musician, lead singer, guitar player and principal songwriter for the rock band The Cure, Robert Smith (born 1959).
- Author, actress and columnist Joan Collins (born 1933), who grew up in Maida Vale.
- Author Nancy Freeman Mitford (1904-1973).
- Television presenter and broadcaster Martyn Andrews (born 1979).
- Writer, feminist and pacifist Vera Mary Brittain (1893-1970), who lived in Maida Vale, at 111 Wymering Mansions.
- Humorist and author Stephen Potter (1900-1969).
- Actor and singer Frederick John Inman (1935-2007), who lived in a mews house in Little Venice for 30 years.
- Oscar-winning actor Sir Alec Guinness (1914-200), who was born in Maida Vale.
- Writer, poet and novelist John Edward Masefield (1878-1967).


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Following on the heels of an announced effort to measure subscription-video-on-demand programming, Nielsen has released viewing data for a top Netflix show, "Stranger Things 2," which roughly shows its competitiveness with traditional TV programming.
During the first three days of its availability, October 27-October 29, the first episode of "Stranger Things 2" averaged 15.8 million U.S. viewers for 2 years+ and nearly 11 million 18-49 viewers.
Nielsen did not offer any comparisons of the Netflix show -- measured by its new SVOD metric -- to that of traditional national TV ratings, which analyze linear, ad-supported TV programming.
When looking at recently released Nielsen broadcast TV ratings, the Netflix show roughly compares well against a number of top-rated entertainment shows.
For example, CBS' "NCIS" episode posted 15.8 million total viewers in the Nielsen live program-plus-three days of time-shifted viewing metric for the week ending October 22. NBC's "This Is Us" earned 15 million total viewers.
The following week -- running against Fox's World Series -- a "NCIS" episode earned 13.3 million total viewers for live program-plus-same day viewing. "This Is Us" earned 10.6 million total viewers.
Looking at a big cable TV entertainment series, AMC's "The Walking Dead," for the first episode of its eighth season on October 22, posted 11.4 million viewers. It is also being measured using Nielsen's live program-plus-same day ratings.
Nielsen says within the first day of its availability, 361,000 people watched all nine episodes of Netflix's "Stranger Things 2." Within the first three days, every one of those nine episodes averaged more than 4 million total viewers overall and 3 million 18-49 viewers.
In addition, over the first three days, U.S. viewers "binge" watched an average 2.9 episodes of "Stranger Things 2" in one sitting.
Nielsen intends to broaden out its SVOD measurement service to include other SVOD major platforms.
Wayne, are the Nielsen numbers for Netflix total audience ( reach ) stats or are they average minute ratings? If they are total reach, the numbers are not comparible with the usual "linear TV" ratings which are shown on an average minute basis. Also, as Netflix has more viewing tonnage than any individual broadcast TV network, it's not surprising that a highly touted series like this does well. However, we should note that, per the Nielsens---only about 10% of the Netflix subscriber base watched---which is rather low, it seems to me. Finally, I realize that its data for the first three days but only 361,000 Netflix subs watched all nine episodes? If "binge watching" is the new "normal" as we are constantly told, this seems like a fairly small percentage of the audience----perhaps the rest will catch up later, I guess.
These ratings aren't comparable with much of anything, and aren't accurate assessemtns of Netflix viewing either:
-Does not count mobile, a big growth area.
-Does not count viewing outside the US, another big growth area.
-Makes the assumption that now is a good time to decide "well nobody is going to watch anymore of season 2 of Stranger Things so let's get an assessment of that." Personally I haven't had time to even start season 2, much less finish. We have no real idea how long it takes for "most" viewers to have watched the show if they're going to. Is it weeks? Months? Years? Without that number, there is no good reason to ever decide "now" is the time for a meaningful assessment.
What I'm curious about: who exacly is going to pay Nielsens for these iffy numbers and why? With no paying customers, Nielsens is not going to keep doing this forever.
Nielsen is paid by a wide range of subscribers, including the broadcast TV networks, cable channels, sybdicators, ad agencies, content producers, financial analysts, etc. on the grounds that it provides information about all of TV that can be measured in the U.S. As measuring Netflix's audience is part of this just about every Nielsen subscriber will be happy to see its data included---even if Netflix doesn't want an independent source researching its audience attainment prowess. Netflix can hold out as long as it wants----that will make no difference to Nielsen at all.
Ed - Read the article again. That 381,000 figure is for the FIRST DAY, not the first three days. That's insane, if you think about it. Nine hours of TV in one day shows a serious dedication. Over the first three days, it seems as though four million people (households?) watched all nine, based on the figures reported.
Michael, the propaganda machine is telling us that "binge viewing" is the "new normal" for almost all viewing and certainly for Netflix. In my book, the puny total of 361,000 people watching all nine episodes of the new series in one day is hardly a sign that most of these shows are mainly watched on a "binge viewing" basis-----as opposed to the normal way---one episode at a time. The average Netflix subscriber devotes only 50 minutes per day to its content so, obviously, the "binge viewing is the new norm" conention isn't really accurate---or even close to accurate. Yes, it happens, once in a while, and more so for an interesting new series----but there are only so many of these----- they aren't being launched every day, are they?


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Title – Parliamental
Author – Meghnad S
Publisher – Harper Collins
Price – 239/-
Pages – 220
Genre – Political Satire
Language – English (moderate use of words from local lingo)
Rating – 4.5/5
About The Author
Meghnad S, an associate editor with Newslaundry is a public policy professional. A columnist and podcaster, he takes pride in being an influence of awareness and ideas on various social media platforms like twitter. Contributing to his cause, he travels across the country and imparts knowledge about civics and democracy.
The Review
The book opens at a vibrant note with a lot of activity happening socially and politically but helps the readers to settle down soon. As you start turning the pages, different characters are introduced and one starts dwelling into their aura. Be it the newly elected confused MP Srikar or an equally confused PA Raghav, Srikar's ever obedient servant cum driver Jeetu or Srikar's encouraging wife Rohini, each have their own space and a parallel narrative which adds to the authenticity of the story. Meghnad has intelligently selected the central theme of his story and very intricately woven a web of interconnected events to keep the readers glued as well as on their toes all throughout.
Parliamental is essentially a mirror of the present situation of the biggest democracy on earth with some elements of fiction infused to maintain the creative taste. Parallels are drawn for sure and efforts have been made to make the common man aware of the acts being played behind the scenes.
Exploiting raw emotions through his characters and sending out strong messages in the form of jibes and satire Meghnad doesn't shy away from presenting his side of the story. A well crafted story beautifully depicting the love for power, hunger for doing right, opportunism, obedience, ignorance, and above all mockery of an established system and invested emotions and loyalties.
The journey of the protagonist coupled with certain revelations along the way will keep you hooked. Parliamental serves multiple purposes. Knowing our rights and understanding the responsibilities of the people we choose to represent us, form an important point of discussion arising from the book. Insights into the working of Parliament and it's keepers has never been so up, close and personal even in fictional works in the past. The intent of equipping the masses with information and in a light and humorous way is indeed commendable.
Also Read – Political Candidates
What's In It For You?
The book consists of 220 pages and the language used is quite simple. Adding an element of interest, the footnotes give detailed explanation about terminology from local or official government lingo. It serves as an insight into the corridors of power with humor and simplicity attached to it. It neither spreads chaos nor an alarm, but is super successful in connecting with the readers from the word go. If you are looking for a quick read with a story line full of drama, humor, satire and sarcasm, this one is for you.
The Highlights
Each character adds to the bling and there are hardly any disappointments in the story. The pace is impressive along with the narration. Nothing seems forced and every dot seems to connect to the right one. Impressive use of footnotes where the author takes creative liberty in describing every form of jargon and term used locally but in a unique manner.
The Low Points
Barring the end I could not find an area which required any kind of rework. Nonetheless, scope of improvement is omnipresent. The end seemed a bit hasty to me as I was expecting an explosive one. Rest assured this book is worth a read.
Parliamental belongs to a genre rarely touched by authors for it's tough to be humorous and flexible with something as sensitive and controversial as this. Having said that, this book is a reminder of what the values of this nation stand for. A deep insight into the depths of corridors of power and an unfading and unending quest for it.
You can purchase a copy (kindle/paperback) of Parliamental from the below listed Amazon link.


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After entirely too long, Koenigsegg could be in the process of staging a world record run at the Nrburgring in the almighty One:1. Following araft of setbacks in 2015, the Swedish supercar-maker was recently caught testing on the grueling circuit in an example of its genre-defining hypercar.
Following the tragic crash of a Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3 earlier last year, the governing body overseeing the usually free-for-all Nrburgringimposed a list of speed limitsfor certain areas of the track and suspended any attempts at setting a lap record. Koenigsegg, who was geared-up and ready to make a strong sprint for the world record for fastest production lap, was caught in the crossfire, unable to get clearance to run without the imposed speed limits.
Now that the Nrburgring has returned to an unrestricted state, the One:1 was caught on video blitzing through a portion of the 150-odd corners on the lengthy track. In the video, the One: 1 makes a mighty sound and appears downright menacing as it slices through the circuit.
The return of 'Segg is no surprise as the automakerannounced earlier this yearthat eagle-eyed attendees would likely see the One:1 stalking the track. It warned, however, it might not be in the capacity in which fans would like. Instead, the One:1 must undergo rigorous testing before the official run is made. After testing is complete, the car needs a hugely talented driver who is intimately familiar with the 'Ring, and one who is comfortable behind the wheel of the 1,341-hp car.
For now, you won't get the pleasure of seeing the full-bore One:1 lap run, but seeing and hearing the car back on the 'Ring is heartening enough.
Take a look at the Koenigsegg One:1 return to the Green Hell in the video below.


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Student Recognition
Students will be recognized for birthdays, academic achievement, good citizenship, perfect attendance, individual achievement and just for being great kids! Teachers are encouraged to develop additional ways to recognize good work and behavior in the classroom.
Principal's Honor Roll
Straight A - Honor Roll of Excellence
Student receives a ribbon (laurel leaves) to wear on ribbon day.
Honor Roll of High Achievement
Any combination of grades A and B - Must also have all
E's,and S's – including conduct and effort.
Student receives a ribbon (books) to wear on ribbon day.
Honor Roll (Grades 2-5)
Straight A - Honor Roll of Excellence
Student receives a ribbon (laurel leaves) to wear on ribbon day.
Honor Roll of High Achievement
Any combination of grades A and/or B
Student receives a ribbon (books) to wear on ribbon day.
Fifth Grade Finale (Grade 5)
At the end of each year a fifth grade recognition program is held. Parents and other family members are invited to school to celebrate the achievements of our fifth graders. Students take a "finale walk" through the school at the end of the program. K-4 students line the halls to applaud the fifth graders as they pass by their classroom.
Bringing Up Grades/BUGS (Grades 2-5)
Bringing Up Grades (BUGS) is a student recognition program for any student who brings up their Progress Report grade in any curriculum area. BUGS student recognition will begin with the second quarter Progress Report. BUGS students receive a ribbon to wear on ribbon day.
Straight A Recognition Letter from Principal (Grades 2-5)
Students who get straight A's all year on their report card receive a letter in the mail from the principal.
Good Citizen (K-5)
Teachers choose Good Citizens for the class for the quarter. Students receive a ribbon (crown) to wear on ribbon day.
Teachers are encouraged to choose one classroom Good Citizen each week in order to provide more recognition for good behavior.
Perfect Attendance (K-5)
Students receive a ribbon (paw) for perfect attendance. The ribbon can be worn on ribbon day.
Student Birthdays (K-5)
Students are recognized on their birthday with a gift from the principal. Birthday names are also shown on the morning announcements.
Academic Pep Rally (K-5)
Academic Pep Rally is held before spring testing. Students are recognized for their hard work during the year and academic achievement. Testing is considered a "celebration of knowledge" at Parsons.


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Hook Norton C of E
Primary School
Live Love Care Think Learn Dare
Here are some of the things we have been busy doing this week:
Next Week:
If wearing boots to school please remember to bring shoes to wear inside.
Monday 18th December School Christmas Lunch, those who stay all day may wear a festive hat.
Tuesday 19th December We shall be watching a Christmas film and having some snacks. Donations of crisps, biscuits or cakes would be welcome, please bring to school on Monday so that we can set up Monday night. Thank you Children may wear non-school uniform (Christmas jumpers?).
For those who stay all day on a Tuesday please note that school finishes at 1.30pm.
Nursery Children return to school on Monday 8th January.
Christmas Eve Crib Service 5pm St Peter's Church A lovely Service for the children, if you can make it. There is also a Service of Celebration on Christmas day at 10am all are welcome.
We wish you all a very Happy Christmas
The Nursery Team


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Is your skin feeling a bit dull? Perk it up with VITAMAN's Face Scrub. Our powerful exfoliating duo of finely crushed walnut shells and bamboo powder removes dry dead skin cells but is still gentle enough to use every day. Aloe Vera Leaf Juice, Allantoin, and Vitaman E combined with other plant ingredients sourced from the Australian Outback, leave your skin feeling clean, fresh and smooth.
To make VITAMAN a cut above the rest, we use anti-oxidant rich organic white tea as our base ingredient instead of plain water. You'll find organic white tea in almost every VITAMAN product, helping to give your skin a healthy fresh feeling.
100ml (3.4 oz)
What we've left out:


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Document Management
You can have access to your accounts, tax returns and even correspondence between us by logging on to your private area of our system: all you need is a password and some basic guidance. So if you're with your bank manager or working overseas, so long as you have web access, you can get hold of your important documents. The system even lets you save your own documents, either to share them with us or simply because you want to store them safely and have access to them when and wherever.
Click here to launch this service *
Please contact Robert Glazer ( email@example.com) for subscription details.


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One of the latest health trends is bone broth, which many believe have a very beneficial effect on the general condition of the body. The good old bone broth is still being prepared in the same way as was prepared by our grandmothers – simmering for several hours on low heat.
We bring you more about this quite ordinary but again unusual trend.
Why Bone Broth Is Popular Nowadays
It contains important nutrients
Basically, bone broth is very healthy, and the proportion of nutrients in the soup varies on the items you use when you prepare it. For example, pork or beef bones are rich in magnesium, calcium phosphorus potassium, and other important minerals for building strong bones. Fish and oyster broth has iodine which is vital for the thyroid health and normal metabolism. In addition, bones have collagen a protein that converts into gelatin, which contains numerous significant amino acids.
It's good for your digestive system
It has been proven that gelatin from the broth can keep the health of the digestive system. Because it connects with water and helps the digested food to pass easily through the intestines. Moreover, gelatin contains glutamine, an amino acid that helps maintain mucous membrane function, which is especially important for people suffering from inflammatory bowel diseases.
It keeps your joints healthy
The main compound created in your tendons, ligaments, and bones is the collagen. When thermally processed, it decomposes and turns into gelatin. Furthermore, gelatin is very important for the health of your joints. Some of them are glycine and proline that our body uses to build tendons and ligaments.
It promotes weight loss
Gelatin from the bone broth contributes to the feeling of satiety. That's why regular broth consumption can help decrease the calories you consume and promote weight loss.
It nourishes the brain and promote quality sleep
Bone broth can promote quality sleep and relax you because of the ingredient glycine. Namely, the results of one study showed that taking glycine when you go to bed will notably enhance the sleeping quality in individuals who suffer from insomnia.This ingredient will improve your brain function, boost your concentration and reduce the need for a daytime nap.
Reference: Bone Broth Benefits for Digestion, Arthritis and Cellulite
Why Bone Broth Is the Ultimate Healing Tool for Arthritis, Autoimmune Disease, and Digestive Problems
Bone Broth Benefits for Health


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RAK Ceramics (Bangladesh) Limited is the country's largest and most respected tiles and sanitary ware brand. The Company was incorporated in Bangladesh on 26 November, 1998 as a private limited company under the Companies Act, 1994 as a UAE-Bangladesh joint venture project. It has started its commercial production on 12 November 2000. It has converted into public limited company on 10 June 2008 and listed in the stock exchanges of Bangladesh on 13 June 2010. The Company has anchored this position on the basis of its market-leading capacities, world class manufacturing assets, high production utilization, optimized cost structures, vibrant sales and distribution network and robust customer engagement programs.
The core business of RAK Ceramics (Bangladesh) Limited is to manufacture and sell of ceramics and gres porcellanato (Porcelain/ fully vitrified) tiles, bathroom sets and all types of sanitary ware. The Company has over 2,500 models active in the ceramic and porcelain tile business and regularly adds several new designs to the product portfolio. The Company manufactures tiles in a very wide range of tiles in the sizes from 20 cm X 30 cm up to 60 cm X 60 cm in Bangladesh location. The Company has over 30 models an exclusive range of sanitary ware to offer with a very wide choice. In sanitary ware various models are produced in wash basins (mounted as well as pedestal), water closets, accessories and marble sets. Besides, the product mix is geared to produce mostly value added products. This paired with the other advantages will ensure a shrunken payback cycle. Production is mostly consumed in local
Our annual production capacities: 11.68 mn sqm of tiles and 1.45 mn pieces of sanitary ware.
Our manufacturing assets: We operate the world class-leading SACMI technology that ensures high-quality, cost-effective output.
Our production capacity utilization: We continue to focus on maximizing capacity utilization. In the year 2016 actual capacity utilization of 68% at our tiles plant and 100% at our sanitary ware facility.
Our cost structures: Our costs are manifested as one of the lowest quartile in the industry by virtue of scale, technological and operational advantages.
Our vibrant sales network: We possess one of the largest and excellent dealers network, operating 4 exclusive showrooms/ display centre throughout the country.
Our consumer engagement programs:
We deliver customized solutions to our customers to their utmost satisfaction even after post sale of products including outright replacement at no extra cost. The current market for the Company includes construction developers, government institutions and local consumers. The Company has a strong market reputation in Bangladesh with a firm network of 92 dealers nationwide and receives strong support
from RAK Ceramics PJSC, UAE in terms of technological knowhow, management and marketing support.
The Company emerged as the first Bangladeshi Company in its industry to be awarded the prestigious ISO 9001: 2008 certification by the UKAS accredited internationally recognized certification agency BVQI in May 2006. As a responsible global leader in the ceramic industry, we are maintaining our commitment to protect and preserve the environment by operating an
Management System which is certified to ISO 14001:2004 standard. The Company complies with ISO 13006:2012 (E), the latest international standard for ceramic tile; locally known as BDS ISO 13006:2012.
The Company's sanitary ware complies with the quality criteria of BDS 1162:2012. Both tiles and sanitary products are BSTI-approved. The Company also awarded as 'Super brand' in 2010, first time in Bangladesh. The ceramic tiles and sanitary wares are continuously tested in the factory's own laboratory and following BS EN ISO 10545:2013 and BS EN 997:2012 standards respectively.
The ownership of RAK Ceramics (Bangladesh) Limited comprises with 75.59% held by the sponsors (71.67% by RAK Ceramics PJSC, UAE and 3.92% by local investor Mr. S.A.K. Ekramuzzaman) and remaining 24.41% is holding by general public including institutional investors as on December 31, 2016. With an annual turnover of over BDT 5,661.41 million in 2016, within the short span of 16 years RAK has firmly established itself as one of the leading manufacturer of high quality ceramic wall, floor tiles, gres porcellanato and sanitary wares products in Bangladesh.


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Bergen Township
Bergen Township
Important Information Regarding Assessment
And Classification of Property
This may affect your
2018 Property Taxes
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, that the Board of Appeal and Equalization for the Township of Bergen, McLeod County, Minnesota, will meet at the Lester Prairie City Hall, Lester Prairie, MN at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, the 5th day of April, 2017. The purpose of this meeting is to determine whether taxable property in the jurisdiction has been properly valued and classified by the assessor and to determine whether corrections need to be made.
If you believe the value of classification of your property is incorrect, please contact your assessor's office to discuss your concerns. If you are still not satisfied with the valuation or classification after discussing it with our assessor, you may appear before the local board of appeal and equalization The board shall review the valuation, classification or both if necessary and shall correct it as needed. Generally, an appearance before your local board of appeal and equalization is required by law before an appeal can be taken to the county boar dof appeal and equalization.
Given under my hand this 9th day of February, 2017.
Tiffany Eggert, Clerk
Bergen Township


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Job Search Results
1 to 34 of 34
(See and edit selected filters to the left.)
Full-Time, 100% Remote Job |Provide a high level of customer service in an online environment and upsell courses when needed for a test prep brand. Must have high school diploma and English communication skills. Full-time, remote position with flexible hours. Outside US only.
Part-Time, 100% Remote Job |Part-time remote position will provide instruction online for a study of accounting theory as it applies to business combinations, governmental and international accounting. Ph.D. required in accounting and CPA certified.
Apr 02Full-Time, Freelance Job |Temporary contract remote position will review credit application packages, evaluate reports/information with respect to collateral evaluation/verifications, and prepare loan documentation. BA degree required or equivalent work experience.
Full-Time, Option for Remote Job | Candidates need to be able to work in the City or State specified Cleveland, OHPossible remote position will be the point of contact for inquiries/complaints through various communication methods, translate material, assist customers, and screen consumer contact for potential product defects. BA degree required and prior exp.
Full-Time, 100% Remote Job |Full-time chat and phone customer service representative needed for a temporary opportunity. This short-term position is 100% remote and involves some alternative hours. HS diploma or GED and excellent English communication skills required.
Mar 29100% Remote Job |Contract remote position will respond to incoming service calls, self-service ticketing queries on behalf of clients, identify, evaluate/prioritize end-user issues, document conversations, and capture information.
Mar 27Full-Time, 100% Remote Job | CanadaTelecommute position providing interpreting services on a full-time basis over the phone and by video. Must be bilingual in English and Nepali and have cultural compentency. Home office must meet requirements.
Full-Time, Partial Remote Job |Full-time job, remote option. Needs a HS diploma and one year' leadership role experience. Evaluate sales data, develop concise data summaries, propose solutions, review current processes and develop systems and procedures to improve operating quality.
100% Remote Job |Temporary computerized system validation position available. The company is seeking recent graduates who have a related bachelor's degree in addition to strong analytical and documentation skills. This is a wfh opportunity paying $15.84-$18.34/hr.
Mar 23Full-Time, 100% Remote Job |Telecommute position providing customer service to members, medical offices, and pharmacies. Inbound call center role requires a year of customer service experience and a high school education. Medial experience is preferred.
Full-Time/Part-Time |Part-time, remote job. Needs to be bilingual in English and Spanish, a HS diploma and six months customer service experience. Assist global brands provide a great customer experience to their customers, build customer loyalty, grow their business.
Full-Time/Part-Time, 100% Remote Job |Seeking seasonal sales and service representatives to provide customer service. Candidates should have a high school diploma/GED and at least a year of customer service and sales exp. This is a work-at-home position; full- and part-time roles available.
Mar 18Full-Time, Option for Remote Job | Candidates need to be able to work in the City or State specified Phoenix, AZOptional remote job for candidate who will interpret providers' prescriptions and create orders as permitted by state regulation, accurately enter data into the pharmacy system, and verify prescription validity. AZ pharmacy license and HS diploma req.
Mar 18Part-Time, 100% Remote Job |Part-time call center representative needed for a remote opportunity with an alternative schedule. This contract position offers flexible hours. Will identify and resolve various customer issues. One year of customer service experience required.
Full-Time, Option for Remote Job |Entry-level customer service representative needed for a full-time, remote option position responsible for answering inquiries, troubleshooting and resolving issues. Hour flexibility, HS diploma, Spanish/English bilingual language skills required.
Full-Time, 100% Remote Job |Provide customer service via telephone in a work-at-home role. Must have English and Japanese fluency and strong customer service skills. Late evening and overnight shifts are required. Must have a HS diploma and good computer skills.
Full-Time, 100% Remote Job |Be responsible for assisting inbound callers with their accounts. Must be fluent in English and either Russian, Portuguese, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Dutch, German, or Japanese. Full-time, remote position.
Part-Time, 100% Remote Job |Patient engagement coordinator for medication therapy management needed for a part-time opportunity. This is a remote position with flexibility in hours. Must be available evenings and Saturdays and be in second year or higher of pharmacy school.
Mar 11100% Remote Job | CanadaWork at home opportunity. Will be responsible for handling calls on demand, conducting interpretation sessions, rendering correct concepts and meanings, and ensuring that client expectations are met. Contract or direct hire position options.
Mar 11Part-Time, 100% Remote Job | CanadaAnswer calls promptly and conduct interpretation according to the conventions of established interpretation protocol. Must have a high school diploma, native Ilocano fluency, and some language training. Part-time, remote.
Mar 11Part-Time, 100% Remote Job | CanadaPart-time contract or employee, remote job. Needs to be fluent in Maninka and English, a diploma and excellent listening skills.Answer calls promptly and conduct interpretation in a friendly manner, speak clearly in both languages and stay calm.
Mar 11Part-Time, 100% Remote Job | CanadaAnswer calls promptly and conduct interpretation according to the conventions of established interpretation protocol. Must have a high school diploma, native Bassa fluency, and some language training. Part-time, remote.
Mar 11Part-Time, 100% Remote Job | CanadaAnswer calls promptly and conduct professional-level English/Kurmanji interpretation. Must have native Kurmanji fluency, a high school diploma, and some language training/education. Part-time, remote.
Mar 11Full-Time, 100% Remote Job | CanadaTelecommute position can be contract or regular. Answer telephone calls and provide Inuktitut interpretation in a professional and helpful way. Must have computer and communication skills and a HS diploma or equivalent. Related experience is desired.
Full-Time, 100% Remote Job |Provide each caller guidance and troubleshooting, all while maintaining a strong brand presence with all customers. English/French bilingual skills required plus strong problem-solving skills. Full-time, remote position.
Full-Time, 100% Remote Job |The work-at-home customer support agent will be answering phone calls, providing guidance to callers, and troubleshooting and resolving their issues. Must be bilingual in English and Spanish. Good computer skills are also required.
Mar 05Part-Time, 100% Remote Job | CanadaMizo interpreter needed for a part-time opportunity. This is a remote position. Must speak fluent Mizo and English. Will take calls and translate conversations. Strong communication skills required. Related education or work experience preferred.
Full-Time, 100% Remote Job |The bilingual customer care representative will respond to inquiries regarding damaged or lost devices and resolve customers' issues. Must have six months' customer service experience. Work-at-home position.
Full-Time, 100% Remote Job |Work remotely supporting customers with inquiries, developing solutions, and performing troubleshooting activities. Full-time, all telecommuting. Must have an associate's degree or equivalent experience, travel industry knowledge, and 1 year of exp.
Feb 19Part-Time, 100% Remote Job | CanadaHandle calls on-demand and render the meaning of conversations between Sichuan Yi and English speakers. Education or work experience in teaching, language assessment, translation or interpretation preferred. Part-time, home-based job for hire or contract.
Feb 18Full-Time, 100% Remote Job | CanadaA Visayan interpreter is needed for a work from home opportunity. Will facilitate interpretation of calls, remain calm during emergency situations, and follow client instructions. Must be fluent in Visayan/English and have excellent communication.
Feb 18Full-Time, 100% Remote Job | CanadaA Norwegian interpreter is needed for a work at home opportunity. Conduct interpretation over calls, remain calm in emergency situations, and follow client instructions. Must be fluent in Norwegian/English and have exp. in language.
Feb 15Full-Time, 100% Remote Job | CanadaWork remotely answering calls on demand and rendering conversations between speakers of English and Chin Tedim. Must have a high school diploma or equivalent, fluency in Chin Tedim and English, and a valid home office. Telecommuting position.
Feb 15Full-Time, 100% Remote Job | CanadaAnswer phone calls, render correct concepts/meanings according to the conventions, ensure client expectations are met, and conduct interpretation in both languages. Fluency in Burmese/English and HS diploma are required. Full-time, 100% remote.


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The following information was provided in a
14 May 1997 telephone interview with a senior priest of the Jaffna
Diocese of the Roman Catholic Church who is based in Colombo. The
views expressed in this Response are his own.
St. Francis Xavier's Seminary in
Colombogam, Jaffna, was established by the Bishop of Jaffna
approximately ten years ago to accommodate Tamil seminarians who
had problems travelling to the national seminary in Kandy. The
Bishop of Mannar also sent his seminarians to St. Francis Xavier.
When Jaffna was invaded by the army in December 1995, the
seminarians and professors left for Kilinochchi in the Vavuniya
area with a minimum number of books. When the armed forces occupied
Kilinochchi the seminary moved to Madhu, off the Vavuniya-Mannar
road, in an area uncleared of militants. The seminary is presently
functioning in Madhu, but at the end of the academic year, which is
in August 1997, it will return to Jaffna.
The senior priest has not heard of any
seminarian of St. Francis Xavier's Seminary being harassed by
either the armed forces or the LTTE.
The senior priest stated that the former
director of the seminary, Father Emmanuel was accused by the
authorities of supporting the LTTE. He denied these accusations,
left Sri Lanka and is presently residing in the UK.
Corroborating and additional information on
St. Francis Xavier's Seminary and the treatment of its seminarians
by the LTTE and security forces in Jaffna, and by the security
forces in Colombo, could not be found among the sources consulted
by the DIRB.
This Response was prepared after
researching publicly accessible information currently available to
the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does
not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular
claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of
additional sources consulted in researching this Information
Senior priest, Jaffna Diocese of the
Roman Catholic Church, Colombo. 14 May 1997. Telephone
Additional Sources Consulted
Amnesty International Report
1996. 1996.
Asian Survey [Berkeley,
Calif.]. Monthly. September 1996-March 1997.
Country Reports on Human Rights
Practices for 1996. 1997.
DIRB Indexed Media Review
[Ottawa]. Weekly. September 1996-present.
_____. "Sri Lanka" country file.
September 1996-present.
_____. "Sri Lanka: Amnesty
International" country file. September 1996-present.
Eglises d'Asie [Paris].
Fortnightly. November 1995-present.
Foreign Broadcast Information Service
(FBIS) Daily Reports. (WNC)
Human Rights Watch World Report
1997. 1996.
Keesing's Record of World
Events [Cambridge]. Monthly. September 1996-February 1997.
The Refugee Council, London. February 1997.
Protection Denied: Sri Lankan Tamils, the Home Office and the Forgotten Civil War.
Sri Lanka Information Monitor:
Situation Report [Colombo]. Monthly. November 1996-April
The Sri Lanka Monitor [London].
Monthly. October 1996-March 1997.
Tamil Information [London].
Infrequent reports. January-February 1996 to June-September
Tamil Times [Surrey]. Monthly.
November 1996-May 1997.
UNHCR-Geneva. March 1997.
Background Paper on Refugees and Asylum Seekers from Sri Lanka.
On-line/Database searches:
World Wide Web


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The Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) advances equity and excellence in educator preparation through evidence-based accreditation that assures quality and supports continuous improvement to strengthen P-12 student learning. Accreditation provides a framework that has pushed educator preparation programs to continually self-assess and conduct evidence-based analysis of their programs and their efficacy. These evidence-based shifts, rooted in continuous improvement, are helping to ensure that preparation programs are more likely to produce successful educators. When an institution or specialized program is accredited by CAEP, it has demonstrated that it meets standards set by organizations representing the academic community, professionals, and other stakeholders. To maintain accreditation the institution or program must undergo a similar review on a regular basis. Typically reviews are conducted every 7 to 10 years.
Morgridge College of Education's Teacher Education Program is a CAEP-accredited program. Listed below are the results of the Annual Reporting measures for the Academic Year 2017-2018.
How are we doing? Any program changes we should consider? Share your thoughts through our TEP feedback survey – click here


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Scholar spotlight: Barbara Gandolfi
Home country: Italy
Visa type: H-1B
MU department: Veterinary medicine
Role at MU: Assistant research professor
Path to MU:
After completing post-doctoral work at the University of California, Davis, Gandolfi accepted an asssistant research professor position with the MU School of Veterinary Medicine. The position gave her more experience in competitive genetics, which was something she was always interested in.
Current work:
In addition to several other projects, Gandolfi is researching two inherited cases of blindness in cats. The main objective of her project is to develop new models that would help resolve human blindness.
Current goals:
She hopes to receive federal funding so she can find a cure for the models she is currently researching.
Biggest surprise about Columbia:
Gandolfi was most suprirsed by Columbia's cold winters, as well as how team-oriented her colleagues are at MU. She enjoys going to Ragtag Cinema and the city's many festivals.


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This is a surprisingly interesting scheme from Esprit, don't you think? We are pleased to see that the repetition of mannequins in an ordinary-space-days appear to be far behind this brand and, well, hands up, these guys are so interesting and really working hard for your 'bucks'. We like that. With their train station-style installation all painfully crafted (probably on a budget but that's OK, right? - no, not really) these guys have delivered a fun, interesting and less than ordinary scheme with minimal cost. We know very well how hard it is to do these things and we wish that the accounts departments of these types of brands would just leave the creative teams to get on with the job and support them in producing lavish schemes; no chance of that happening. Sadly the boys (and females) possibly in Grey suits just love to feel cool and privy to the party. Sometimes, we have to work the floor and just let them think that they are, even if we know otherwise, right?
We will continue bringing you the latest in windows as much as we can over the coming weeks
Thursday, 7 March 2013
Esprit, London
Labels: Esprit
Location: London London, UK
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This Toll Booth is Closed
March 9, 2020 by Cynthia Ruchti
Filed under Daily Devotions, Life Topics
By Cynthia Ruchti –
Each hash mark on the highway ticked off another few inches of a very long road trip. My friend and I made use of every moment, brainstorming new projects, talking about the latest antics of our drama queen and king grandchildren, proposing answers to the national debt crisis, and discussing the intricacies of nuclear physics. Come to think of it, we didn't get to the last two subjects.
Fully engaged in what is always stimulating conversation with this dear heart-friend, we barely noticed the scenery flying by. My friend drove and I took notes when we landed on a plot solution for a new book or a recipe for slow cooker pork chops. The designated recording secretary for our road trip's discussions, I filled a small notebook, writing in the margins, flipping pages for a new rabbit trail subject that caught our attention.
Aware of every nuance of thought and the joy of having time to talk out things we'd only been able to hint at when separated by too many miles, neither of us noticed when my friend pulled into a toll booth with a red X overhead.
Three other toll booths boasted bright green Xs. They were open for business. We, however, were stuck in a closed lane with no way out except to brave the oncoming toll traffic and back out, against the flow of racing, unforgiving steel.
My friend was mortified that she'd missed the big red X. Closed. It had happened so fast, as everything does on a superhighway. We laughed about it after the problem was resolved. But today, as I remember that moment of realization that we'd missed the warning and driven straight into a dead end because we were momentarily distracted, I wonder how many other times in life that's happened to me.
PRAYER: Lord God, don't let my attention waver from the signs You place all around me, the warning signs, the dead end signs, the bridge out warnings, the flashing lights that can keep me from veering off course if I just pay attention. I don't want to get caught in a relationship or emotional or spiritual place with no easy way out.
BIBLE VERSE: "The LORD says, 'I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you,'" (Psalm 32:8 NLT).


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Does the following scenario sound familiar? You're really tired and looking forward to getting some shut-eye. No sooner do you hit the pillow than your mind starts firing off a list of tasks you didn't take care of, making you anxious about getting them done. Next thing you know, you're mulling over that uncomfortable conversation you had with a co-worker that day, thinking how you could have handled it better. Now you start feeling frustrated because you realize it's getting late and you're still not asleep!
Sleep specialists, Colleen Carney, Ph.D., and Rachel Manber, PhD., explore the reasons behind this type of mental activity in their book, Goodnight Mind: Turn Off Your Noisy Thoughts & Get a Good Night's Sleep. These authors claim that by perpetuating feelings of angst and frustration each time you try to sleep, you are inadvertently training your mind to keep you up and repeat these actions in bed. Instead of establishing a cue for your bed to be a place for disturbed tossing and turning, it is recommended to establish your bed as a cue for sleepiness.
The following are some suggestions to help quiet your mind so that you can get to sleep more readily.
Associate sleep with one particular environment and time (your bed and your desired sleep time, and refrain from taking naps.Plan some type of action to avoid times when you tend to want to nap.The biggest culprit, generally speaking, is during evening hours, watching television.Try sitting up straight rather than lying down or slouching on the couch.Keep busy (folding laundry, knitting or doing some easy exercises) to keep you alert.
Avoid activities in bed such as talking on the phone, texting, playing games or watching T.V.Regarding sexual activity, unless you tend to feel sleepy afterward, you're better off having sex earlier in the day, if possible.
Go to bed only when you are genuinely sleepy – not just drained of energy.
Develop a specific sleep schedule and follow it on a daily basis.
If you find you are having difficulty sleeping, get out of bed and engage in a relaxing activity, not one that will make you more awake.
Minimize worrying at bedtime by taking 20 minutes or so during the day to make a list of worries/concerns in one column and their solutions (taken in small steps) in another column.By doing this, you have already dealt with those issues before hitting the pillow.
Occupy your mind with another thought such as a story, hobby or relaxing sport to move away from anxious thoughts.
Have realistic expectations and beliefs about sleep in terms of the actual amount and quality of sleep that is healthy.Don't be negative about your ability to get to sleep.Take a more matter-of-fact approach that you may not be able to sleep at that particular moment, so you'll get up and occupy yourself until you are ready to sleep.
Practicing mindfulness can be amazingly helpful – that means focusing on the present.Start with focusing on your body; your breathing, each part of your body, your immediate surroundings, etc.Drs. Carney and Manber tell us,
"When a thought comes to mind, simply notice it and imagine the words of the thought being written on a leaf. Imagine placing the leaf on a stream and watching it float away until it disappears around a bend. Here comes another thought (leaf). Notice it. Notice the words on the leaf as it floats away. If you notice any negative emotion, accept that it is there; notice it without judgment; gently turn your attention to observing your thoughts once more. Do this as often as necessary; that is, whenever you notice yourself distracted, refocus your attention. If critical thoughts about how this exercise is unfolding arise, put those on leaves too and set them adrift."