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It's the first day of summer! What are your plans for the season? Enjoying some family time while the kiddos are out of school? Heading to the shore for a much-needed daytime nap in the sand? Working on projects around the home? Tell us in the comments, or head over to our Facebook page and join the conversation there!
Need some summertime inspiration? We've gathered a few of our "hottest" 😉 ideas. Here's how to have lots of tail-wagging fun this summer, MUTTS-style:
1. Spend it with your BFF. | Fetch
2. Stay cool. | Fetch
3. Get comfy. | Fetch
4. Get away from it all. | Fetch
5. Make lemonade. | Fetch
6. Give your worries a rest. | Fetch
7. Don't sweat the small stuff. | Fetch
8. Treat yo' self! | Fetch
9. Channel your inner dog. | Fetch
10. Play. | Fetch
Want to stay updated on all MUTTS news? Visit our homepage to sign up for our email list, and get the daily MUTTS strip delivered directly to your inbox!


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When did you play for UC Davis? 2005 – 2006. What positions did you play? I moved around from 8-man to Flanker and covered at Lock from time to time[…]Read more
Author: Tommy Wilcoxson
December Player of the Month: Guilherme Silva
It is a good thing rugby players don't follow the first rule of Fight Club, or for that matter, the second. We are indebted to those bold ambassadors that not[…]Read more
November Player of the Month: Ari Wargon
There's no such thing as fair weather ruggers. In a sport with a regular season that appears in the drab and dreary winter months, it is the sturdy soul that[…]Read more
November Alumni Spotlight: Tyler Harrison
When did you play for UC Davis? I played for Davis from 2006-2011. What position(s) did you play? I played fullback and scrumhalf. Did you receive any awards while you[…]Read more
October Player of the Month: Harrison Morrow
On the verge of battle, Shakespeare famously alludes to it in Henry V as, "We happy few, we band of brothers. For he that today sheds his blood with me[…]Read more
October Alumni Spotlight: Ian Sherman
When did you play for Davis? 86-89. This was a tough time for the club as we were rotating coaches quite a bit, but we had a great leadership group[…]Read more
September Player of the Month: Bradley Maples
Everyone remembers when they first encounter it. For UC Davis winger and this edition's Player of the Month Bradley Maples, it happened in a busy college barbershop in downtown Davis,[…]Read more
First Annual Rugby Alumni 7's Game & BBQ
We are pleased to announce that on October 28, 2017 (10/28/2017) UC Davis Men's Rugby Alumni Association, in conjunction with the UC Davis Men's Rugby team, will be hosting the[…]Read more
Alumni Spotlight: Ben Pettigrew
When did you play for Davis? I played from 1998-2003 What position(s) did you play? I played second row 98-99, I took a year off in 1999 and in 2000[…]Read more
Coach's Corner – July
UC Davis Rugby is gearing up for the 2017-2018 season. The season will see big changes for our club as we move up to D1A. This jump in division means[…]Read more

subset: commoncrawl


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Thursday, March 04, 2010
EOD Experience Benefits Guard Soldier
By Army Spc. Kelsey Blankenship
Special to American Forces Press Service
March 4, 2010 - Army Staff Sgt. Tracy Dice was a 12-year veteran of the law enforcement field when she decided to become an explosive ordnance disposal technician in the North Carolina National Guard. "I wanted to come out of the military with a strong cap for my law enforcement resume, and as we were looking at jobs, EOD popped up, and I asked if females could do that," she said. "When they told me yes, I said that it was for me. It was like the clouds parted and the angels sang."
Dice, who is a member of the 430th EOD Company, said EOD is a lot like law enforcement and sky diving, because they are both thought of as unsafe.
"There are a lot of safeties we have to adhere by in EOD, and you have to rely on your teammates," she said. "If you adhere by those safeties and trust in your teammates, it can be a relatively safe job."
Dice said she believes that everyone can do the same work as long as they put their minds to it.
"I always did my work, and I always had a good work ethic, and when you put that first and foremost, nobody doubts you," she said.
Dice demonstrated her mettle during a deployment to Iraq from 2006 to 2008. She earned her senior badge after three years of conducting EOD missions and became the unit's first female team leader.
When she joined the Guard in 2004, there was one female EOD technician for every five companies, Dice said. Now, as many as four or five women serve in most EOD companies in the active Army. But the National Guard, Dice acknowledged, has yet to achieve those kinds of numbers.
Dice said she likes the bond that is formed among EOD specialists.
"I like the brotherhood," she said. "An EOD technician accepts another EOD technician like nothing else."
For example, if an EOD technician came into town and needed a place to stay, they are always willing to open their homes without any questions asked, Dice said.
"We understand what each other has gone through and are going to go through," she said.
(Army Spc. Kelsey Blankenship serves with the North Carolina National Guard.)
Posted by American Heroes Radio at 10:13 AM
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Dear EarthTalk: What's going on in the music industry with all the CDs and plastic CD holders undoubtedly generating a lot of plastic waste?
-- John S., via email
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), CDs and DVDs are typically manufactured by combining various mined metals (aluminum, gold, silver and nickel) with petroleum-derived plastics, lacquers and dyes. Given what complicated beasts CDs and DVDs are—products with thin layers of different materials mixed together are nearly impossible to recycle—most municipal recycling program won't accept them, leaving consumers to fend for themselves in figuring out how to dispose of them. As a result, most discarded discs end up in the trash.
These difficult-to-recycle materials can pollute groundwater and, in turn, contribute to a whole host of human health problems. But the low cost of producing such top-selling consumer items means that replacing them with something greener is not likely anytime soon.
Research has shown that polylactic acid (PLA), a biodegradable plastic-substitute derived from corn and other agricultural wastes, could replace plastic polycarbonate as a disc's main substrate, but the present high cost of using such a material makes it unlikely to catch on any time soon with those paying to produce mass volumes of CDs and DVDs.
As for jewel cases, most are made out of Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC), an inexpensive petrochemical-based plastic that is notoriously difficult to recycle and has been linked to elevated cancer rates among workers and neighbors where it's manufactured. Furthermore, when PVC is thrown in with regular recyclables it can contaminate entire batches, ruin equipment and cause human health problems. While cardboard and paper jewel cases may be all the rage among a few record labels—Warner Music Group's U.S. division, for example, has been using 30 percent post-recycled paper for the packaging in all of its CDs and DVDs since 2005—the high cost and low durability of such alternatives have kept them largely out of the mainstream.
So what's a conscientious consumer to do? Those willing to pay a small processing fee can send old CDs and DVDs to one of a handful of private companies (such as Washington-based GreenDisk) set up to recycle them into high-quality plastics used in auto parts, office equipment, alarm panels, street lights, electrical cable insulation, jewel cases and other specialized items.
A shift in consumer preferences already underway may be just the thing that will make everyone's personal collections of music and movies greener. Consumers are already able to download some six million individual digital songs via the 500 or so legal online music services now up and running on the Internet. According to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, digital sales now account for some 30 percent of all U.S. music sales and 15 percent globally. And most consumer analysts expect these percentages to grow steadily in the coming years, which is good news for the environment.
CONTACTS: EPA's "Lifecycle of a CD or DVD," www.epa.gov/osw/students/finalposter.pdf; GreenDisk, www.greendisk.com; International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, www.ifpi.org.
GOT AN ENVIRONMENTAL QUESTION? Send it to: EarthTalk, c/o E/The Environmental Magazine, P.O. Box 5098, Westport, CT 06881; submit it at: www.emagazine.com/earthtalk/thisweek/, or e-mail: email@example.com. Read past columns at: www.emagazine.com/earthtalk/archives.php.


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This website is home to the latest news in print, updated daily for quick print professionals. Please subscribe to the newsletter...
This website is home to the latest news in print, updated daily for quick print professionals. Please subscribe to the newsletter...
The official distributors for IDEAL print finishing products in the UK, Duplo International, has announced the launch of the new IDEAL 4860-ET guillotine. Debuted at drupa, the machine is now available in the UK following a hot reception at Duplo's recent London Calling Rocks event at the O2 in early November.
IDEAL has long been the market leader in the small format guillotine market and this latest model looks sure to cement that position for the foreseeable future. Despite a footprint of less than a square metre, the 4860-ET guillotine has a 475mm cutting length, is fully programmable with 99 programmes and features an IR safety curtain - a feature normally only found on much larger models.
The machine is targeted squarely at the copy shop / mid-low volume SRA3 digital printer market and is designed with short-run fast turnaround work in mind. Marc Legge, UK Marketing Manager at Duplo explained, "At this end of the market most guillotines feature a transparent safety guard that has to be lifted and closed between each cut which can be a real drag on production. Replacing the plastic guard with an infra- red system means a typical job can completed in half the time."
Both the blade and clamp are controlled electro-mechanically whilst the backgauge is adjustable in 1/10mm increments for high precision cutting. The 4860-ET features a patented safety system and like all IDEAL guillotines, it is designed and manufactured in Germany so users can be certain of excellent build quality and accuracy.
IDEAL guillotines are available from Duplo's approved dealer network.
For more information regarding Duplo International, please contact:
Marc Legge, Marketing Manager (UK),
01932 263 905


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I'm planning a giveaway once I reach 50 followers!I really appreciate all the support I have recieved thus far.
I just want to show my appreciation. :)
There will be 2 winners.
-Must be 16 or over
-Be a follower of my blog
-Comment below once with your name
-Open internationally
I'm still gathering up prizes so once I'm done, I will post a sneak peak on here,my Facebook and Instagram.
Follow me on Twitter,Facebook & Instagram for more updates.
Winners will be announced once I've reached 50 followers, so get entering to win some awesome prizes. Good luck :)


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Anne, A long, long time ago [1], the POWDER WG had an exchange with Art concerning WAF Access Control. The end result was that we incorporated direct support for the same syntax in POWDER grouping [2], i.e. access-item ::= (scheme "://")? domain-pattern (":" port)? | "*" domain-pattern ::= domain | "*." domain But, an eagle-eyed member of the group has spotted that the current draft (to which we refer) does not support this any more [3]. Do we take it that this syntax is no longer supported by your WG? Thanks Phil. [1] http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/public-powderwg/2007Jul/0004.html [2] http://www.w3.org/TR/2008/WD-powder-grouping-20081114/#wild [3] http://www.w3.org/TR/access-control/#syntax -------- Original Message -------- Subject: About include/excludeiripattern Resent-Date: Tue, 30 Dec 2008 23:12:21 +0000 Resent-From: firstname.lastname@example.com Date: Wed, 31 Dec 2008 00:11:42 +0100 From: Andrea Perego <email@example.com> To: Member POWDER <email@example.com> I'm working through my PP to fix all the pending issues. I'll be posting online a new version in the next few days. However, I have a urgent question, concerning the constraints include/excludeiripattern [1], i.e., those reflecting the syntax for WAF access items. The problem is that, if you take a look at the current WAF document we refer to in the grouping doc, i.e., [2], besides the fact that WAF changed the former title into "Access Control for Cross-Site Requests", the notion itself of "access item" (and the corresponding section) has disappeared. In other words, in [2] there's no definition of the syntax of an access item. I've not checked thoroughly through the change logs to find out why this has been dropped. However, [2] talks about a notion of "origin", which seems to encompass all the stuff concerning access items, and, for this notion, it refers to HTML 5 [3]. Does anybody have any more precise information about this? And what about include/excludeiripattern? Are they still to be supported as they are defined in [1] ? Andrea [1]http://www.philarcher.org/powder/grouping/20081218.html#wild [2]http://www.w3.org/TR/access-control/#syntax [3]http://dev.w3.org/html5/spec/Overview.html#origin-0 -- Phil Archer w. http://philarcher.org/Received on Monday, 5 January 2009 09:33:03 UTC
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.4.0 : Friday, 17 January 2020 16:48:42 UTC


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Efforts to cease the production of pennies in the U.S. have been slow to catch on, meaning banks still have plenty of opportunities to benefit from installing coin counting machines throughout branch lobbies. Even though Americans may complain about receiving small denominations of change when making cash transactions, the long-term accumulation of coins makes it possible for individuals to use automated machines at local financial institutions to easily turn that money into paper currency.
US slower than other nations to adjust coin circulation
The online publication Point of Sale News cited data from RetirethePenny.org that found the last time the U.S. Mint eradicated the use of a coin was in 1857, when it halted circulation of the half cent. While many countries around the world have taken steps to get rid of their lowest coin denominations, the U.S. continues to produce pennies at full scale. This is despite the fact that the cost of producing coins has far exceeded the monetary value. According to The Washington Post, manufacturing pennies requires 1.8 cents per coin, which is nearly double the intended market value. Nickels cost 9.4 cents to produce.
The article revealed that this disparity caused the U.S. Mint to lose $105 million in 2013 just from the production of pennies and nickels. These costs are eventually transferred to taxpayers. A report from Reuters indicated that President Barack Obama has suggested eliminating this production problem by using cheaper metals in the manufacturing process. Aside from the need to save money, the federal government has also identified the growing popularity of electronic payments as a reason to conduct a closer review of domestic coin production.
Coins are no trouble for banks
In the mean time, American consumers will continue to acquire large quantities of change on a regular basis. Banks have a chance to leverage this trend to increase in-branch traffic by offering self-service coin counters as an extra on-site amenity. Turning coins into cash is an attractive option for savings-conscious individuals. Having direct access to these machines will likely reinforce the importance of brick-and-mortar financial establishments in the eyes of consumers. People who visit a bank to complete these tasks will have direct exposure to the long list of other valuable services offered at the business, meaning branches have the chance to attract more customers in the long run.
March 17, 2014


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Friday, 31 December 2010
About those podcasts.....
I have had a horrid cold this last week and so, confined to my sofa with lemsip and laptop, I have been catching up on some reading (well, browsing Twitter).
An article about the growing interest in podcasting in HE took me to a video presentation from Gilly Salmon on the subject, and eventually to ipadio.
Gilly's talk about pedagogical podcasting ended by convincing me of two things: 1)that "podcast" does not have to mean lecture capture and 2) that there is value in the human voice supplementing written or visual material to encourage and support even on-campus students.
I have long been averse to podcasting precisely because I didn't want to offer recordings of lectures. I don't really DO lectures, so maybe that's why. I HAVE however used audio instructions to supplement written ones for students - on preparing assignments, for example - and I have had positive feedback from students about how they do indeed value that "human touch".
I am a big fan of screencapture and I still intend to do more of this - particularly in giving students feedback on assignments. There are times when the audio and the visual need to come together - to (literally) illustrate a key point, perhaps - but Gilly had evidence to show that pedagogical audio podcasting also has a place.
Where audio wins out over screencapture/video is in file size, downloadability, speed and simplicity. The almost universal provision of voicerecorders and mp3 players in mobile phones makes audio podcasting a very efficient way of getting information to students on the move.
So now we come to ipadio (rhyming with i-radio). This is a website hosting "phlogs" - voice based blogs that you phone in. It is also an iphone (and android) app that allows you to record high quality audio using "voice memo" and upload it to your phlog. You can also download the phlog post for editing or upload an mp3 file you have already created. There are one-click links to Facebook, Twitter, and many other blogging sites, codes to allow you to embed the phlog on your own website, upload it to iTunes or provide an RSS feed. One absolutely astounding feature is the incorporation of Spinvox speech to text software which provides a transcript of the phlog. This really adds to the application's accessibility. And you can add images and location data if needed. In fact there is so much going on here that the possibilities are endless.
My own modest ambition is to embed a regular phlog within the VLE Learning Room (I have already successfully done this in a test) as a means of supplementing the module I am teaching. As I have already abandoned the lecture format, my aim is to give the students online and printable material together with audio podcasts which direct them in key activities such as discussion board topics and further self-organised study. Our face to face time can then be used for more in depth discussion of the material and work on group projects.
I have embedded a phlog below, with a photo for illustrative purposes. Enjoy!
Thursday, 28 October 2010
Accessible Learning
Firstly I have written all my notes in Wimba Create so that the material can be accessed via the learning room, read on screen and with links to other material and sites live and instantly available. I like Wimba create and certainly prefer it to endless copies of Powerpoint slides which have to be downloaded. More information can be given on a page than is possible or even desirable on a single slide and illustrations can be included where this would increase the size of a Powerpoint file to several Mb.
Reading on screen isn't everyone's favourite activity so I keep the pages short, include illustrations and focus an key points and, importantly, links to more interactive or audio/visual sites.
Like I said, this isn't rocket science (Wimba Create is a Word add on that is pretty easy to learn), but I already see benefits for the students.
Many of them are off on placement at the moment and unable to make every lecture; some mature students have children and so have been missing this week (which is the schools' half term but not our university's) and ill health, physical disabilities, family bereavements and a variety of other issues do sometimes prevent students attending in person. But I have evidence from the Learning Room usage reports that many of them are looking at the material and even reading ahead to the next week's lectures.
Having the material available to read ahead is particularly useful for students with specific learning difficulties who often find it difficult to keep up with note taking during live lectures.
Saturday, 2 October 2010
New beginnings
I should also mention that I am simultaneously beginning as a student of the University myself as I have just enrolled on a language programme. This has already given me a great insight into the student view of the VLE, how it is used to support learning and simple stuff like how student email works, which as a tutor, I couldn't have known.
As for the VLE, well, from the tutor's perspective, I can say that like all VLEs it has its clunky aspects and its bugs but on the whole I think it has a pleasing element of "customisability" and I quite like the ability to use colour and images - even a Twitter feed and some YouTube videos - to brighten up the Home Page.
It still functions largely as a depository - of announcements, documents, web links, assignments,
module guides - and of course has no option for the student to really interact with it or customise it to their tastes and needs. But there are a couple of useful tools which I hope might encourage some student involvement.
I am going to be promoting the blog tool, for one thing - as reflection will be a large part of all the modules I am teaching. I also plan to use the Discussion Boards, though I have had mixed success with these in the past with distance learning students.
But along side these "institutional" elements, we will also be exploring Twitter, Blogger, Google sites and Facebook as arenas for student collaboration and communication - not just for the sake of it, but because these tools and others like them - are a key part of any organisation's communications strategy these days. Learning to use them is as much about enhancing "employability" as it is about developing general information literacy skills.
With my dual identities as new lecturer and new student at this university, I expect it to be an interesting few months ahead - watch this space.....
Friday, 27 August 2010
There is a portfolio widget available within the VLE, but as with all such platforms, it is only valid for the length of the programme and what I hope is that students will enjoy the idea of regular blogging and creating personal online spaces where they can keep track of their personal and professional development.
Ongoing professional development and personal reflection is important for everyone but particularly so in the human services and I am hoping the eportfolio will be a useful aid for individual supervison as well as career management and recording further professional training.
So I hope the e-portfolios will prove popular and easy to use -and even better - that the students will go beyond the simple templates I have set up to develop really creative learning spaces of their own.
Saturday, 21 August 2010
NHS spends more than £300m on consultancy services
Nigel Edwards, acting chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said: "Any spending of taxpayers' money has to be justified, and the NHS has been asked by successive governments to perform tasks for which internal expertise was not present or needed to be developed. Dismissing all this spending as wasteful is unfounded."
IT and Human Resources were the biggest spend areas - the NHS Chief Executive argues that there isn't the specialist knowledge in the service to meet the needs, and that it would also be wasteful to employ people permanently for "one off" specialist roles. The RCN reply with "shocking waste" etc etc whilstthe opposition retort:
the NHS needs good managers. By wiping away the expertise currently in primary care trusts, [Lansley] is opening the door to consultancy firms
Is spending on consultancy a necessary evil? a clever way of hiding staffing costs in a service beset by targets and spending cuts? a sensible way of bringing in the staffing and expertise needed at the right time? Lazy management? all of the above. Discuss.....
Saturday, 31 July 2010
Use of Social Media in Health Care - Report by Deloitte in U.S.
Issue Brief — Social Networks in Health Care: Communication, collaboration and insights « ResourceShelf
Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.
Sunday, 4 July 2010
PLE BCN July 2010
PLEBCN: a conference with a difference:
What's it all about?
Jordi Adell's introduction http://dotsub.com/view/7023a3f5-5463-4396-aa33-3b78f1557a48Ismael Peña-López'
Alec Couros' http://tinyurl.com/2docaad
and finally from Graham Atwell http://slidesha.re/cIJ3tx
Saturday, 19 June 2010
Partnership working: policy and practice - Google Books
A useful resource for the session on Collaboration across organisations and interagency working
Demos | Publications
A Collection of Essays on the need for collaboration across the public sector
Wednesday, 16 June 2010
Free online course to promote peace, reduce violence in Health Care Settings
Medical Peace Work - free online course
Tuesday, 1 June 2010
Personality profile
BBC/OU Open2.net - Child of Our Time 2010 - Personality profile
Friday, 28 May 2010
Responding to Employers - Moving into the Mainstream
These are the papers and slides from my presentation at the Employer Engagament Conference at DMU on June 11th. Please feel free to explore the rest of this blog for more discussion about e-learning and virtual teams.
Tuesday, 9 March 2010
Adventures in social learning
busuu.com has great resources for learning new vocabulary but I need to practice speaking and listening and with a new, full-time job looming where will I find the time or the right sort of class?
I have used verbalplanet.com before to locate native Spanish speaking tutors with whom I can connect on line at times to suit me, but it can be expensive if you need regular, say weekly, conversation.
At this point in my deliberations I was contacted on busuu by a young woman from Bilbao who wants to improve her rusty English and so we have set up a regular session to chat on line.
This has highlighted for me the power of combining e-learning with social networking. Busuu has a rudimentary but effective (and unobtrusive) social networking element which simply involves "friending" other learners, occasionally messaging one another, correcting each others' posts and sending virtual tokens or gifts. And it has certainly enabled my Spanish friend and I to make this connection which benefits us both.
What I am learning too is how really helpful this peer to peer teaching is. We each choose a topic and we divide up our sessions into half English and half Spanish so we both get the chance to practise our language skills. The fact that we are both learners as well as "teachers" means that, for me at least, I feel less self-conscious about mistakes.
Of course, a less sympathetic partner or one with considerably better skills (or considerably worse ones) might make for a difficult co-teaching relationship: but then it would be easy enough to make one's excuses and leave.
Now I have tried out this form of learning I know I would feel far more confident in contacting other busuu members for voice and text chats.
Saturday, 27 February 2010
A Virtual Revolution
I'd obviously be remiss in my devotion to all things virtual (well nearly all) if I didn't offer some reflections on BBC Two's The Virtual Revolution
I would recommend anyone with a passing interest in the Internet, e-learning, social networking - or even anyone with kids! - to take a look at this three part series.
I found it fascinating to understand the origins of the Internet and of the world wide web (and to understand the difference between the two) - and this in turn helped to explain something of the anti-authority, collaborative culture of the web.
The programme - and the website - also take a look at the generational differences in web-usage and there is an online test you can take to discover more about your web habits - which also contributes to research on the subject. I found out I was a web Bear
This could be a really useful test to offer new e-learning students as a way of understanding their own preferences and behaviours on line, and for e-tutors to assess the potential pace of an online activity....
However, I digress: the web behaviour test aims to provide data on what is happening to our brains as we surf, multi task, etc and to compare different age-groups' behaviours. I am looking forward to hearing about the results.
In the meantime, the programme explored myths and fears about the Internet (wheeling out Susan Greenfield- inevitably) but was equally optimistic about its potential benefits: for example, many South Korean children are afflicted by a new disease of Internet addiction but the country also has outstanding school results (South Korea was cited as the "most wired" country in the world).
The programmes have certainly made me think about my own web behaviours, the connections I make there, the "reality" of on line friendships, the authority, or otherwise of information to be found (Wikipedia was discussed) but also what all of this is going to mean for succeeding generations. Those of us who have come late in life to the web have a particular view of it based on our own paradigms of learning, knowledge, connection, etc. Those born with the web as their natural environment will inevitably be growing up immersed in entirely new paradigms.
This isn't necessarily the nightmare scenario that Greenfield suggests (infantilising etc). I think that inevitably there are difficulties and dangers involved in web use but we are in the learning and developing stage of a new-ish tool: our children, their children, may actually grow to be far more adept at managing not just the technology but also their online identities and relationships than we can currently envisage.
I always remember an edition of Radio 4's "The Long View" discussing video games that compared our current fears about their growth with 18th century moralist's horror at the vogue for reading novels.
It is unthinkable now that we would attempt to stop our kids from reading, but the Baroness Greenfields of the day were advocating just such remedies if parents were to save their children from intellectual and physical laziness, moral turpitude and a life immersed in unhealthy fantasy.....
something to ponder on!
Saturday, 13 February 2010
Informal Learning: Part Dos
There has however been some discussion via email about the topics and format of the classes and whether they were suitable for everyone, and so last week we had a quick review to check everyone was getting what they needed from the process.
We have subsequently agreed to do more "every day" chat topics - to give those with a more limited vocabulary a chance to join in - and each person is going to bring an article or other piece of writing to share and discuss alongside the material that the tutor prepares.
It is no small feat really that we managed to work out all the costs, find a room, a tutor, get everyone to pay up front without major disagreements amongst nine very strong minded individuals and the very slight note of dissent about what we were doing in class has resulted in everyone getting more of a say in what we do in future.
I really love the "gaming" feel of the site - right and wrong answers are signified by sound effects, points are awarded for completing sections of work and the learner's "homepage" is a garden where your trees grow and gifts are added as you progress.
You are encouraged to network by the award of a gold heart if you get lots of friends. Online chat is still a daunting prospect for me but I enjoyed a discussion in two languages with a young man from Mallorca the other day - he wrote in English and I in Spanish, and we corrected each other as we went along. Another time, I chatted in English to an Italian housewife who is trying to learn the language whilst her kids are at school.
I think the reward aspect is very powerful: even the element of competition (similar to Farmville I suspect). My partner , my son and I are all competing to get the highest number of points,(or busberries!) for example. The fact that this is encouraging my son to study French alongside his normal homework and revision is an astounding achievement. And even more amazing is the way it has completely hooked my normally technophobe partner who has never been on Facebook or any other social networking site.
It has made me start to think about how I could introduce more elements of gaming, competition, reward, networking and fun into the distance/e-learning programmes I manage - I am sure with some creative thinking it must be possible to liven up the VLE and make people want to log on for another dose of learning?
One of the other really good things about the site is the way you get instant feedback - not just automated right/wrong on the multiple choice vocabulary tests but in the form of corrections from native speakers (other learners who happen to be on line) - bringing peer feedback into the equation too! This has two effects - for the person being corrected, you get speedy feedback from an expert or experts (in the sense that they are native speakers of the language you are learning) - sometimes you might get two or more options for translating a particular phrase. Secondly, as you are also required to correct another learner's posts you get the feeling yourself of being an expert and of being able to contribute to someone else's development. Oh and those all important 5 busberries!
Monday, 8 February 2010
Work Shifting
ahhh - a blog after my own heart!
Wednesday, 27 January 2010
Informal Learning
As my devoted reader(s) will know, I have been studying Spanish for a few years now and have used a variety of means for improving my vocabulary, grammar, speaking etc. I have had one to one sessions with personal tutors, both face to face and using Skype (see Verbalplanet.com). I have attended cosy WEA classes and I have followed BBC online, CD and TV-based courses.
Last week our lovely WEA class in Nottingham came to an end as our teacher has returned to Argentina. So as a group we have come to the decision that we will carry on - meeting weekly, preparing exercises and practising together. We have hired ourselves a native Spanish speaking tutor and a room in a church hall and are combining our many resources - and cash - to continue making the learning happen. Our plan is to decide together what it is we want to learn or practice, find our own resources and rely on the Spanish speaking tutor as a resource to correct our grammar and pronunciation.
I am excited and a little nervous about what will happen so I will continue to blog about our experiment.
I also Tweeted this week about a site I had been directed to called Busuu.com. This has the usual range of quite well done screen based language exercises but the real fun of it is in the interaction between students.
You can befriend others who are learning the same language as you - or who want to learn your native tongue - and the site provides a facility to text chat with one another and even to connect by video/audio link for live conversation.
As you progress through the exercises, you are asked to post your written answers and to correct those of other students who are studying your native tongue. In this way, work is corrected by a native speaker. Your activity is rewarded by "busuuberries" and your progress marked with little stars and diamonds.
I think it's a brilliant concept - social networking meets e-learning - and really good fun to get involved in. So if you have ever wanted to learn a language - give it a go!
Thursday, 14 January 2010
No tweets please, we're British health workers
This blog post pretty much sums up the experience I - and my NHS based students - have had in trying to explore social networking sites for learning, newtworking, team communication and even health promotion. I agree that the potential threats to a hospital's vital information systems are not to be taken lightly, but the draconian tone taken in the forbidding of such networking sites does really demonstrate how little actual experience and understanding there is of their potential benefits.....
see my previous post about NHS and social media - clearly some people are using it (officially that is) and to good effect
Wednesday, 13 January 2010
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and Twitter
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and Twitter
I really enjoyed this blog post linking Twitter with Malsow's Hierarchy of Needs. Twitter certainly fulfills certain belonging needs for me as a teleworker (see my previous post) and I admit to a spurious(?) increase in my self esteem when I discover I have been "listed", "retweeted" or "favourited"....
As an interesting follow through of this concept, you could think about how using Twitter with a work team might increase motivation....
Friday, 8 January 2010
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.......
oh the weather outside IS frightful and has resulted in me spending an entire week marooned at home: too nervous of the wintry weather to venture onto the treacherous roads and even more treacherous pavements.
Has this affected my ability to do my job? Added to the several £billions lost in productivity during the cold snap? No! of course not... I am a teleworker!
This week I have:
- followed up a marketing lead for a new post graduate course (by phone & email)
- conducted an informal appraisal of a new member of the tutor team and provided him with a number of resources to support his teaching (phone and email)
- checked with the team on progress with the marking of the programme's final module (Blackboard, phone, email)
- held tutorials with a student (via Skype)
- collaborated with colleagues on documentation for the validation of a new Module (email)
- found out about a really interesting up and coming conference and booked onto it (via Twitter and Eventbrite)
- organised some appointments for next week (Outlook calendar)
- read the current edition of a great journal about e-learning (on line)
- discovered a fantastic file transfer site (via postingon Twitter) and used it to send some huge files to a colleague whose email provider kept on rejecting them
- taken part in a research study conducted by an academic based in Brazil (via Twitter and Googledocs)
- started to write up the findings from some research of my own (conducted with distance learning students via Googledocs)
- used the rest of the time to re-work the Virtual Teams module based on that feedback, students' assignments and a personal review of what has and hasn't worked this time.
- taken part in many fun and thoughtful conversations on Twitter and through reading others' blogs
I have also been giving some thought to what the Virtual Leader should be focusing on in times of inclement weather. For the most part, it's the same as usual, but more so.
Making sure the team members are safe and well and not taking unnecessary risks - maybe even issuing some guidance about home working/travel safety and ensuring those who have to be out and about, because of the nature of their jobs, check in regularly.
Keeping in touch - not to check up that those stranded at home are being properly productive, but to discuss with them what they are able to do, what they could be catching up on, checking what support they might need in rearranging commitments, and even just being a friendly ear if they are going stir crazy after a few days stuck behind a wall of snow!
Even more importantly, if just one or two team members are stranded whilst others have made it into the team meeting, look at how you can involve those who have become temporarily disconnected - with teleconferences, Skype or even just an email to fill them in on what is happening. Encouraging team members to buddy up and chat on the phone to keep each other up to date is also a good idea: it's not just the boss who should be oiling the social wheels of the team but all members can share this responsibility.
The great thing about Yammer, Twitter, even Facebook contact with my colleagues this week is that it has given me a sense of continuing to be part of the work community and afforded a few classic "water cooler" moments where we share news and a joke. Continuing to feel included is important for teleworkers.
An "out of sight, out of mind" attitude is just plain lazy leadership, whatever the weather!
Tuesday, 5 January 2010
Sunday, 3 January 2010
Motivation and New Years' Resolutions
Take a look at this blog for some ideas on motivating yourself and others......make your New Year's Resolutions work!
Saturday, 2 January 2010
YouTube - Healthcare and internet in the Netherlands
YouTube - Healthcare and internet in the Netherlands
tags: youtube, healthcare, imp2_learningorganisations, resources
Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.


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… 70 years ago, the NHS (National Health Service) was launched in the UK.
… 70 years ago, the NHS (National Health Service) was launched in the UK.
in 1917 – one hundred years ago – the Third Battle of Ypres began. It is also known as the Battle of Passchendaele. The battle lasted for 105 days, gaining the Allied forces just 5 miles, at the cost of at least a quarter of a million casualties (not including around 220,000 lost on the German side). 90,000 Allied bodies were never identified, with a further 42,000 never even recovered. Having recently been to see the graves of two of my Great Great Uncles who fought in the First World War, it is incredibly painful to imagine not being able to visit them, or to see them resting peacefully after enduring such horrors.
New evidence would suggest that a huge fire in one of the Titanic's bunkers actually played a far bigger role in her sinking than previously believed. Examining rare photographs taken by the ship's chief electrical engineers before she left the … Continue reading
Ian Garden is a military historian and an authority on Nazi propaganda. His latest book, Battling With The Truth, examines the way both the British and Nazi governments manipulated coverage of key events in the Second World War. You can … Continue reading
Dorothy Winifred Gibson (1889-1946) is arguably one of the most fascinating women of the twentieth century. Her story is more than deserving of its own film or TV show and yet, if it was to ever appear on the screen, … Continue reading
I have been to Berlin three or four times in the past eighteen months for work, but have never been able to see more than the airport, the inside of a taxi, the inside of a focus group facility, and my hotel room. When I went back last week, I decided I would finally set things right, so I set out on a 3.5 hour walking tour of the city (The Original Free Berlin Tour – would highly recommend).
Here are the top five things I learned/saw (a little random, granted, but variety is the spice of life):


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Your Water Theme Park Tips that Will Make You Want to Visit One Today!
Summertime is definitely in full swing. So, what do you do when it's hot in Florida, but you want a theme park experience? You plan a day at a water theme park!
It's the perfect way for you to cool off from the unforgiving sun and enjoy the Sunshine State.
Read More13 Spectacular Water Theme Park Tips to Make Your Trip Amazing


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In its recent decision in Saik'uz First Nation and Stellat'en First Nation v. Rio Tinto Alcan Inc., the Court of Appeal for British Columbia (BCCA) confirmed that First Nations may bring actions against private parties in nuisance and breach of riparian rights on the basis of unproven aboriginal rights and title claims as well as Indian reserve rights.
Rio Tinto Alcan Inc. (RTA) owns the Kenney Dam (Dam) on the Nechako River (River) in northwestern British Columbia. The Saik'uz First Nation and Stellat'en First Nation (First Nations) allege that the Dam's diversion and alteration of the water flowing to the River has caused significant adverse impacts on their fisheries resources. The First Nations claimed these impacts unreasonably interfered with their unproven aboriginal title and rights, and their interests as beneficial holders of Indian reserves, justifying an action in nuisance and for breach of riparian rights.
Upon application by RTA, the Supreme Court of British Columbia (BCSC) struck the action as disclosing no reasonable claim. The BCSC held the claims could only be founded on aboriginal title or rights that had been previously proven or acknowledged by the Crown. Moreover, the court held that the "key problem" with the First Nations' claim was that it was advanced against a private party when such claims should be brought against the Crown. The BCSC also held that the First Nations' interest in reserve land is only a right of use and occupation, and insufficient to ground a nuisance claim. Finally, the BCSC dismissed RTA's defence of statutory authority—relying on the licence permitting the Dam—finding that RTA had not established that the adverse impacts to the River inevitably flowed from the actions authorized by the licence.
For further information on the BCSC decision, see our February 2014 Blakes Bulletin: First Nations' Nuisance Action Struck for Want of a Crown Defendant.
The test for striking an action at the outset is whether—assuming the facts alleged by the claimant are true—it is plain and obvious that the claim discloses no reasonable cause of action. The BCCA applied this test and largely upheld the right of the First Nations to bring their claim against RTA. To be clear, the BCCA did not uphold the First Nations' claim itself; that remains to be determined at trial.
Claims Based on Unproven Aboriginal Title and Rights
The First Nations based their claim on private nuisance, public nuisance and riparian rights.
A private nuisance claim requires the claimant to prove interference with an owner's use or enjoyment of land. With respect to ownership, the First Nations claim aboriginal title to portions of the River and surrounding lands. The First Nations also claim an aboriginal right to harvest fish. Comparing fishing rights to trapping rights, which have previously been held sufficient to ground a private nuisance claim, the BCCA held that unproven aboriginal rights and title may constitute sufficient "ownership" necessary to found a private nuisance claim.
Second, the BCCA found that unreasonable interference with the public's interest in harvesting fish from the River may constitute public nuisance. The court also held that the First Nations' claimed aboriginal right to fish may be sufficient to demonstrate that they have suffered special damage as a result of RTA's operation of the Dam.
Third, the BCCA held that the First Nations' claimed aboriginal title to the land adjacent to the River, if proven, could give rise to common law riparian rights.
Most fundamentally, the BCCA overruled the BCSC decision that aboriginal title and rights must be proven or accepted by the Crown before a First Nation can bring an action grounded on those rights. Just because aboriginal rights have not been proven does not mean they do not exist. They are protected by section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982. Their eventual proof (or acceptance by the Crown) may be a necessary component of ultimate success in an action for interference with those rights, but it is not a prerequisite to starting such an action.
Claims Based on Indian Reserve Interests
The First Nations also claimed private nuisance based on their interests in reserves. The BCCA held that the Indian Act provides First Nations with exclusive possession of reserve lands. Exclusive possession of land is sufficient to ground a private nuisance claim.
The BCCA upheld the BCSC conclusion that the First Nations' claim to riparian rights based on their reserves had no reasonable prospect of success because the provincial government had extinguished such rights prior to the creation of reserves.
RTA's Statutory Authority Defence
The BCCA agreed with the BCSC dismissal of RTA's application for summary judgment based on its defence of statutory authorization. The court held that there was a genuine issue for trial, as the statutory authority relied upon by RTA did not prescribe how the Dam was to be constructed. Evidence at trial will be needed to determine whether it could have been constructed in a manner that avoided the alleged nuisance. Additionally, the statutory authority for the operation of the Dam does not prescribe the timing or manner of the releases of additional amounts of water or the temperature of released water. As such, it is not clear whether the water could be released in such a way as to avoid the nuisance alleged by the First Nations.
Although not unprecedented, claims by First Nations against private parties for breach of aboriginal rights and title are unusual. Typically such claims are made against the provincial or federal government, or both. Governments usually have access to historical records and other means to defend aboriginal rights and title claims, and more inclination to do so than private parties given that such claims generally relate to the use of Crown resources. The BCCA decision, however, indicates that First Nations are not limited to making such claims against governments.
It is important to note that the court's reasoning is not only applicable to aboriginal rights but also to treaty rights, which are equally protected by section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982. As such, this decision could have ramifications for aboriginal claims across Canada.
Finally, RTA may seek leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada, which may further consider these issues.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.


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NOTE: This is a rough version of a project I'm working on. I'm posting it now because I would like some feedback, so comments are much appreciated.
I can't prove God's existence. A lot of people want proof, and as much as I would love to, I cannot provide that. What I can tell you is that proof comes with faith. Proof comes with a willingness to follow, even if you don't know where you're going. That's not the end of anything. That's where things start. Once you have faith, God will answer your questions, but nothing will happen unless you are willing to suspend disbelief in the first place. My advice is to do your research. You won't find conclusive evidence for God's existence, but you will find numerous evidence in history and various scientific fields that point to it. I will leave that up to do because, as I said, I'm not here to prove God's existence. I'm writing this to try and help make some things make sense.
This is about the big questions. Why do good people suffer? Why, if Jesus promised to return, has it been 2,000 years? How do science and faith relate? How do you explain impossibilities in the Bible? How do you explain the violence that is not only prompted, but often orchestrated by God? I see these questions come up a lot. Christians and Atheists alike ask them, and I would like to try and address them from a personal perspective. I will try to remain unbiased where I can, but much of my discussion will be coming from a Christian perspective and will be driven by personal experience. Furthermore, this article will not offer an exhaustive study of each topic, but serves as an overview of each and a study of how they relate to one another. Lastly, you will note that I do not cite conventional sources. This is because I am not a Bible scholar. I have a degree in Creative Writing, and secondly, this is, in part, an opinion piece, and although it might help, I don't think you need a degree to study theology. If that doesn't interest you, then I'd suggest moving on.
If this does interest you, we'll start here: why do good people suffer?
I use the word "good" instead of "innocent" on purpose. People tend to ask why innocent people suffer when I think this is the wrong question. It's a dicey topic because, for one thing, "innocent" means different things to different people, and secondly, there are no truly innocent people in the eyes of God. I get that this seems harsh. It doesn't seem fair that some people get to be born in America, completely by chance, eat what they want when they want, and watch football on Sunday night, while a poor family from Syria has to flee their country and seriously worry about where they're going to get their next meal. Furthermore, it's entirely possible and even probable that the people who suffer more have more faith than the people with very easy lives.
Then there are those who choose more difficult lives. They choose to suffer a little to help those who suffer a lot. Sometimes the most wonderful, selfless people suffer the most. There are people in this world who would sacrifice everything to help someone else, whether it's their child or a stranger who really needs their help. These people go out of their way and make their own lives difficult to help others who have it worse than they do.
And what about the child who is born with a serious birth defect and dies before he's a year old? Surely he was innocent. Surely a loving God wouldn't let something like this happen to him and his parents. But it does happen. People die of starvation: are forced to leave their homes: contract treatable diseases that kill them because they were born in the wrong place at the wrong time.
I can't provide a completely satisfying answer. The answer I can provide isn't even completely satisfying to me, but it's the best I can do. First, a quick explanation of what actually happened when Jesus rose from the dead and what it meant. The resurrection meant that humans were saved from sin. It did not mean that we were no longer sinful. Even saints are sinners. Quite frankly, it's extremely difficult, and probably impossible to live a completely sinless life. Whatever happened a long, long time ago, it infused our human nature with something nasty, whether it literally involved an apple or not. Secondly, we need to remember two statements that Jesus makes that help understand the context of this question. He states in Mathew 26:11, "The poor you will always have with you…" and in Mathew 20:16, he says, "The last will be first and the first will be last."
From the beginning, God tells his people to take care of the poor and vulnerable. He constantly makes mention of orphans and widows, and makes sure that these people are remembered by the Israelites. What I think we have to remember is that humanity is much more interconnected than we think or even want it to be at times. We're one big dysfunctional family, and whether we like it or not, it is our duty to take care of the people who need us. God has a special place in his heart for those who suffer, so he certainly hasn't forgotten them.
But why will the poor always be with us? I think there are several answers to this question.
- It's human nature. Whether we like it or not, people have selfish tendencies. No matter how good of a person we are, we naturally take things that we want and whether by accident or intentionally, we keep things from other people. This isn't always a bad thing. It's partly a survival instinct. All animals do it with territory, water, and food. We just happen to do it particularly with money because in a civilized society, money is a survival resource.
- Socialism doesn't work. There will always be haves and have-nots. For a similar reason as I just explained, a society will never be entirely equal. There will always be people who work harder than others, and those who want more than others. For some, living on the bare minimum can be satisfying, while to others, it's just not. Ideally, in a socialist society, the people who are more ambitious or simply have better-paying jobs or just have more resources would freely share those resources with the less fortunate. It's a nice idea, but it doesn't work because a) there are selfish people in the world, and b) too many people take advantage of the system. You can't receive if you don't give anything.
- This is also related to my previous points. Along with money comes status. While it isn't necessary to have money in order to have status, they are generally related. Furthermore, regardless of the means by which it is achieved, people strive for status, and while a given social structure may be fluid, there is, and always will be a status quo. In order to be high on the social ladder, by necessity, there needs to be people below you.
When it comes to the question of child labor, child death, sex slavery and other such tragedy involving children, there are a few things to remember. These things by no means make any of it okay, but they can shed a little light into some dark places. First of all, children who die before the "age of moral accountability" are automatically saved. They go straight to heaven. This could mean that a child who would otherwise have a short and miserable life is now in paradise with their heavenly Father. Again, I'm not saying it makes it any more okay. It's still tragic and quite frankly, unfair if you ask me. But what about the children who do grow to be a little older, only to be cut short without ever hearing about Christ? I think the answer can be intuited. Never hearing specifically about God or Jesus isn't necessarily a problem. It's rejecting him that causes problems. Want proof? "The truth about God is known to them instinctively. God has put this knowledge in their hearts. From the time the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky and all that God made. They can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse whatsoever for not knowing God" (Romans 1:19-20, New Living Translation). I found this after a very brief Google search.
That being said, it doesn't give us license to slack off when it comes to telling people about God and his promises. We are clearly told that we must spread the Gospel throughout the whole world. It's a pretty clear job description for anyone who calls herself Christian. On the flip side, it also doesn't give us license not to seek the truth about God when we have the resources readily available. This actually helps answer our question: why do people suffer? It also leads into the question: why has it been 2,000 years since Jesus' resurrection? First, good people suffer because the rest of us don't do enough to stop it. Remember that the Church, which ideally encompasses all of humanity, is the body of Christ. Most people just think about it in the context of salvation, in other words, we tend to think of it in a very spiritual sense. What it actually means is that we are here now to do Jesus' work in the world. We are here to literally heal the hurting and feed the hungry. We are literally here to be his voice and hands and feet in a very physical, real time sense.
This means finding a cure for cancer through serious medical research. This means starting schools in places where education isn't really available for kids. This means volunteering for or donating to nonprofits that help refugees. This means blogging and trying to answer the hard questions. This means standing up to the bullies who just want to tell you you're an idiot for believing in something. It also means praying. It means being proud of what you believe in. It means not trying to change the subject when people bring up religion, even if that's way easier than having that difficult conversation. This is as much a reminder to myself than anyone else, so bear with me.
One thing to remember is that we are a significant part of God's plan. The other thing to remember is that God has a different understanding of time than we do, so what seems like a really long time to us, can seem like no time at all to him. At the same time, we're told to be ready because Jesus could return and things could drastically change tomorrow or within the next hour. We could argue that so much more could get done and the world could be made a lot better a lot quicker if God chose to be more directly involved. In the Old Testament particularly, he is depicted as doing absolutely miraculous things for the Israelites, singlehandedly winning battles for them. These days it seems that miracles aren't quite as noticeable, if they even happen at all. On the other hand, we cured Polio; we figured out how to use electricity; we figured out how to make a smart phone, for crying out loud. Are any of these things not miraculous? While things happen slower, I think we should consider it a privilege to be so involved in making God's world a better place. Furthermore, it's worth noting that the Jewish religion, which was the context in which the Church was born, started out pretty tiny. This could explain why God had to really directly help them out. Jump ahead to the present day, and not only are we much more advanced in many ways, but Christianity is now the largest religion in the world. These two factors really seem to be significant.
So the question is, do we ever see miracles that could only be explained by the existence of God?
These medical miracles took place mainly in the 1960's and 70's.
Here is the story of an unexplained miracle rescue.
Here is a story of a little girl whose accident cured her of two diseases, and who had a near-death experience, in which she claims to have gone to Heaven.
This is a Facebook page where anyone can write in their miracle stories. There are a lot
Miracles can happen in many ways that we take for granted. Many times we see them just as coincidence or luck. I have a few miracle stories of my own that might change your mind, though.
- My friend told me that he has often had dreams about things before they happen, and they often happen exactly as they did in the dream. This has been happening to him for years now, and is usually the only kind of dream he has these days.
- My friend also told me that his girlfriend's family sometimes gets premonitions and intuitively knows things about the past or future that wouldn't make sense unless they were told these things. For example, my friend's girlfriend intuitively knew that her aunt's house once had a balcony that was taken down before she was born.
- Towards the end of high school, into my first year of college I was starting to have emotional problems. I felt very lonely a lot of the time, even though I knew that my family and friends loved me. I was missing something. I thought I needed a romantic partner, and I prayed about this a lot, though at the time I didn't quite know God. One night, two months into my Freshman year I said "I love you" for the first time in a prayer, without really even meaning to, and an indescribable feeling of love and peace came over me. I've felt different ever since.
Then consider the fact that life on earth exists. The conditions had to be exactly perfect. The planet had to be an exact distance from the sun. There had to be water. The conditions in the air had to be just right. Narrow it down to human life. I don't know the exact odds, but it seems unlikely that any species on earth would be intelligent enough to learn to use language, learn to write, understand abstract ideas, or be spiritual. None of these things help us survive, so from that perspective, they are completely useless abilities. There are explanations for why these things happen, but at the same time, they are extremely unlikely. A miracle is something that seems impossible but happens anyway. Maybe one day we will find a scientific explanation for every miracle, but I see science as a way of understanding God.
In some sense, the answer to any prayer can be considered a miracle, even if it looks like coincidence. Many people assume that God only does or would do miracles through supernatural means, but often, God answers prayers by putting people in the right place at the right time or allowing natural events to happen that allow a person to get ahead or even save their life. God is the commander and creator of both the natural and supernatural world, and these two aspects of reality are much more interconnected than one might suppose.
However, many of the events that are written into history are natural impossibilities. We have already seen that God uses natural and supernatural means to do the impossible, but many of the events in the Bible seem quite unbelievable. They just don't make any sense. How do we explain things like the Creation story, or the flood in the story of Noah, or the parting of the sea in Exodus? To answer this question we need to look at several things. We need to look at the Bible as a whole and determine what, if anything, is supposed to be taken literally or figuratively, we need to look at the historical and cultural context, and we need to look at what these stories are actually trying to tell us if the Bible is supposed to be believed as the timeless Word of God.
First let's look at the Creation story. The first story we are told in the Bible is about the six day creation of the world. Scientifically, this story is completely inaccurate and could not have happened, if it is taken literally. A world cannot be created in six literal days, and even if it could, everything is created in a completely nonsensical order. The theory of evolution teaches that all species originated from one life form and branched off from there. Species were born and went extinct and continue to do so and will always continue to do so. The Big Bang Theory goes back further and teaches that the Universe was created after a singularity exploded and all matter developed from there. If you want the details, I'm afraid you're reading the wrong article. The question is, where did the singularity come from? To me this seems to be an unanswerable question, at least for a girl who studied creative writing with a little philosophy and theology thrown in. However, what we do know, in terms of scientific facts seems very compelling, and some use these scientific theories, which however compelling, could still be proven wrong, as evidence against the supernatural. This is where we must look at two things: historical context, and the use of language.
While many teachings in the Bible are timeless, one must remember that many of the stories, particularly in the Old Testament were written at a fixed point in time, about a fixed point in time. The writer of the Creation story would have had no knowledge of evolution or the Big Bang Theory. They would have had no idea about how atoms interact or how life was created, from a scientific standpoint. Therefore, they pieced together from their understanding of the universe, an explanation of how the Earth was made. However, it isn't the creation that is truly the focus of the Creation story. The focus is God's relation to his creation, and most importantly, his relation to humanity. God creates the universe peacefully, and it is greatly emphasized that this creation is good. It is also emphasized that humans were created in God's image and that we are here to take care of his creation. This is the point we are supposed to take from Genesis. God's creation is innately good, and we are a significant part of it.
So then what about the story of Noah? What are we supposed to take from a story about the near destruction of the whole human race by the God that created it? The point of this story, it seems, was not to describe literal events, but to demonstrate a point about human nature, the nature of faith, and what a relationship with God provides and entails. Noah survives the flood because he is faithful, while many do not survive the flood because of their sinful behavior. I would like to pause and address a related question before moving on. Stories such as this, including stories in Exodus, Joshua, and Judges depict horrible violence, largely orchestrated by God himself towards large groups of people.
It does seem that many of these stories are meant to be taken literally. The Israelite conquest of Canaan was, in fact, a real, traceable series of events. Jesus tells us in Mathew 5 that we are to love our enemies as well as our neighbors. However, the depictions in the Old Testament of conquest and violence make this command seem almost hypocritical. There are several reasons why the violence committed by God and his people may have been exaggerated, for one thing, and also may have been justifiable. Professor Lawson Stone from Asbury Theological Seminary explains in this article, which I will provide in full.
"It's hard to imagine anyone today who is familiar with the Bible not being concerned about the violence in the Old Testament. It's a fashionable bomb tossed by the so-called new atheists, and the easiest way for critics of Christianity to dismiss the Bible. To hear them talk, on every page of the Old Testament cities are burned to the ground, whole populations annihilated. Yahweh, the God of Israel, is in turn portrayed as a wrathful tribal deity constantly calling his people to commit atrocities in his name.
The problem of violence in the Old Testament centers mainly around the stories of Israel's struggle to settle the land of Canaan. These stories center on the books of Joshua and Judges. So establish some starting points by looking in a general way at the question of violence and war in the Old Testament. Then in the installments to follow, we'll turn specifically to Joshua and Judges.
All these presentations will share one important conviction: central to getting the Bible right is hearing it in its own cultural and historical setting. This is not just good scholarship; it's good listening. That's why I'm excited to be sharing with you from a place called Bedhat es-Sha'ab, a little-known and infrequently visited site just west of the Jordan river that is possibly one of the earliest places where Israelites assembled and worshiped as they settled in the land of Canaan. Being an outsider in this barren, desolate place reminds me that the biblical characters didn't live in a world of civilian police, ambulance and 9-1-1 service. Nor did they have 2000 years of reflection on the whole Bible. The Old Testament characters need to be seen and heard in their own time, not dismissed from the perspective of our time.
With that in mind, here are seven facts to to help focus the question of violence in the Old Testament:
Jesus and the NT writers never complain about the violence in the Old Testament. That should flash at least a yellow, caution-light on our hasty dismissal of the Old Testament. Are WE more morally sensitive than Jesus and the New Testament writers? Did they see something in the Old Testament that we miss?
Secular historians and the Bible itself tell us that the land of Canaan at the time of the Israelite settlement was not inhabited by a uniform, indigenous population. Canaan was a crossroads and a diverse culture of many different groups: You know, all the "-ites"-Canaanites, Amorites, Perizites, stalactites, stalagmites… If you'd asked a random inhabitant of Canaan "Whose land is this?" You'd have gotten different answers. It was a no-mans-land.
Genesis 12-50 tells us the Israelites' ancestors had actually lived in Canaan for centuries before their sojourn in Egypt. They were not outsiders trying to take a land from its original owners. In fact, the Pharaohs of Egypt would have seen no real difference between Canaanites and Israelites. They came from the same place, spoke the same language, had the same physical anthropology, i.e. they looked alike. So there is no parallel between the book of Joshua and, say, the European settlers in North America displacing the earlier inhabitants.
This a biggee. By Joshua's day, Canaan had long suffered under a harsh political system. Canaan in the time of Moses and Joshua had been ruled for centuries by Egypt. Egypt had been ruled by foreign kings known as the Hyksos, who possibly came from Syria-Palestine. A native Egyptian dynasty expelled these foreign kings, pursuing them into Canaan. To insure they never came back, Egypt annexed Canaan and ruled it with two aims: first, never-ever would Canaan be a corridor for anyone attacking Egypt!
Second, Pharaoh exploited Canaan economically. He administered Canaan by appointing rulers in the top 30 or so towns. They managed the country like a giant agricultural plantation, a kind of "factory farm." They focused on producing a small number of crops valued by the Egyptian upper classes, mainly olives and a type of grape that thrived only in Canaan.
This reality had serious consequences.
The focus on massive production of a few crops not only risked depleting the land, it also destroyed the locally integrated, self-sustaining economies of small villages and towns throughout the hill country. These communities needed mix of farming and herding just to survive. The Egyptians also yanked the best of the work force out of these towns and villages to toil as forced labor, emptying the rural hill country of Canaan. Many people from Canaan, not just future Israelites, wound up slaves in Egypt. Settlement patterns in Canaan about 1300 B.C., just before the exodus and conquest, show the central hill country of Canaan was largely emptied out.
Under this kind of regime, Canaan was unstable and violent. The city rulers fought each other, hired mercenaries, sometimes cruelly treated the local populace. Bandits terrorized the highways. Men stripped of their land and living gathered around warlords, some of whom were good men, others just thugs or gangsters.
So, by the time Joshua led the Israelites into Canaan, the place was dark and bloody ground. It's just possible that, far from being seen as invaders, Joshua and the Israelites represented the arrival of order, justice, and even peace.
The Old Testament shows us that, even in the conquest stories, the Israelites were not a militarized nation. While other nations boasted of their weapons and crack troops, the Israelites were not a professional army. Likewise, the Israelites were not a huge group. The idea found in some textbooks that there were at least 2.5 million Israelites comes from a misunderstanding of the Hebrew terminology for numbers. Archaeologists tell us that likely weren't 2.5 million people living in all of Canaan and Syria combined!
The books of Deuteronomy, Joshua & Judges stress that, from a military perspective, the Israelites were out-numbered, out-maneuvered and out-gunned. After Joshua, they had no central authority. They were only a coalition of tribes, often divided, often untrue to their own religion. The Bible says they needed miraculous divine intervention just to survive. Hardly the profile of a nation of bloodthirsty, imperialists!
Warlike nations, and all of Israel's ancient neighbors, gloried in their superior weapons and firepower. Images of Pharaoh portray him holding his hapless enemies by the hair and smiting them with a mace or battle axe. Or, we see Pharaoh thundering along in his war chariot, horses' reins tied around his waist, unleashing arrows at cringing, fleeing foes. The Old Testament, in contrast, stresses that the Israelites were poorly armed, confronting fortified cities or huge chariot forces on foot. The Old Testament also emphasizes Israel's lack of metal workers. Again, not exactly a warrior nation.
Finally, the world of Moses, Joshua, Gideon and David was a world of unspeakable violence perpetrated by massive, well-armed professional armies. The kings of Egypt, Asia Minor and Mesopotamia gloried in their brutality and savagery. In countless inscriptions throughout the history of the ancient Near East, the great kings boasted of boring through their enemies' bodies, ripping their entrails out, galloping their horses and chariots through the gore of enemy bodies, splashing through enemy blood as if crossing a river, impaling thousands of "rebels" on stakes around conquered cities, flaying the skin off of their defeated enemies in full view of their families, and hideously mutilating the dead. And you know, almost nobody in the ancient Near East found this shocking. Rather, most thought it glorious proof that the gods had favored the king. Compared to the graphic detail, intensity, and sheer mass of these ancient descriptions, the Old Testament looks rather tame, even modest.
Whatever problems we might have with the violence in the Old Testament, it was One who claimed to be the fulfillment of the entire Old Testament, Jesus, whose Hebrew name was Joshua, who appealed constantly to the OT witness. Schooled in the Old Testament, Jesus called his people to love their enemies and to be peacemakers, not in spite of his Old Testament heritage, but because of it.
That's something to think about."
This, to me, is extremely compelling. However, does it justify the killing of women and children? This article may help answer that question. Note that I personally do not agree with everything that is said in this article, but as I said, I want to stay at least somewhat neutral.
There are two main points I want to focus on.
- "A basic knowledge of Canaanite culture reveals its inherent moral wickedness. The Canaanites were a brutal, aggressive people who engaged in bestiality, incest, and even child sacrifice. Deviant sexual acts were the norm. The Canaanites' sin was so repellent that God said, "The land vomited out its inhabitants" (Leviticus 18:25). Even so, the destruction was directed more at the Canaanite religion (Deuteronomy 7:3–5,12:2-3) than at the Canaanite people per se. The judgment was not ethnically motivated. Individual Canaanites, like Rahab in Jericho, could still find that mercy follows repentance (Joshua 2). God's desire is that the wicked turn from their sin rather than die (Ezekiel 18:31-32, 33:11)."
- "… The Scripture teaches that we are all born in sin (Psalm 51:5;58:3). This implies that all people are morally culpable for Adam's sin in some way. Infants are just as condemned from sin as adults are…. an argument could be made that it would have been cruel for God to take the lives of all the Canaanites except the infants and children. Without the protection and support of their parents, the infants and small children were likely to face death anyway due to starvation.
It's worth noting that most people, myself included, like to see the supernatural with rose colored glasses. We like God's love, and ignore the parts that are scary. God's justice can definitely be scary. As with more allegorical stories like the Creation story, the Flood account, and parts of the Exodus, there is a timeless takeaway from all this. God is serious, and God is righteous. He isn't just one-sided, and he expects us to live a certain way. That being said, he does give us a lot of chances to change, and he helps us out in that effort.
One final point I would like to make before we beat this topic into the ground is that these stories are told from the point of view of the victors. In this next article, Professor Stone narrows his focus down to violence in the book of Joshua. You can find the whole article via the link, but I would like to focus on one thing that, I think, is really key.
"Scholars of ancient military texts remind us that in the ancient Near East, battle accounts used very stereotyped, extreme language. Nuance was not their strong suit! A king would claim he killed every single occupant of a land, only to report how much tribute the presumably dead enemies had to pay each year! Clearly, the claim of annihilation there only meant to convey total victory.
We should also remember that our modern notions of genocide and total war come from our knowledge of weapons of mass destruction and the actual experience of genocide by these means. The ancient world, for all its ferocity, couldn't do better than spears, arrows, swords and catapults. They had no way to envision the literal extermination of whole populations. The language was stock military rhetoric that conveyed an unquestioned, uncontested victory. Maybe that could help us with those statements in Joshua too."
I think that, with caution, this understanding of exaggerated and allegorical language can be applied in our interpretation of many parts of the Bible. Some would argue that if the Bible is not taken literally in its entirety, then none of it can be taken literally, and therefore, many significant teachings can be dismissed. I disagree. If all parts of the Bible are taken literally, they become inapplicable to our modern world. In some sense, they become meaningless. If the book of Revelation is taken literally, it becomes an interesting, but very confusing, and quite frankly, very unbelievable story. Perhaps what is written in Revelation is literally what the Apostle John saw, but even that does not require that the vision be interpreted literally. On the other hand, it is clear that most, if not all of what is written in the letters of the Apostle Paul should be taken literally, though it is still important to keep in mind historical and cultural context.
The most important thing to remember when trying to answer any of these big questions is that God wants us to know him. His Word is timeless, and it will always reveal truth to us. That being said, the things God says and does won't always make sense. People don't always make sense, even when they have the best intentions, so we especially shouldn't expect an all-knowing, all-powerful God to always make sense. God is good, though, and he does love us. This is a personal and emotional issue, and it's been proven through the personal experiences of millions of people. Yes, many believe simply because they want to, and yes, faith provides an emotional crutch to lean on sometimes, but if the stories and teachings we believe in are nothing more than just stories, then a very large portion of the world's population is certifiably insane, claiming to have seen, felt, done, and experienced the impossible. Beyond that, though, it seems that if it weren't true and if it weren't still relevant today, Christianity would have died out a long time ago.
That's not to say that Christianity can't change. There are many examples of how God's people have changed over time, most notably with the birth of the Church shortly after the Resurrection, the official adoption of Christianity by the Romans, and the Reformation, which marked the birth of Protestantism. However, Christianity constantly goes through much more subtle changes. Worship style may change slowly, but the music that is used changes much more quickly with whatever genre of music happens to be popular at the time. This is a good thing, and there are many other examples of similar changes. The Church and the broader culture are meant to be amiable partners.
Freedom of religion means we have the right to believe whatever we want, and we also have the right not to believe anything without being bothered about it. However, it seems that because of this freedom, we've largely given up on the idea of absolute Truth for several reasons. Firstly, postmodern society, particularly in America and other first world countries, has become extremely relativistic. In other words, most people believe that anything could be true, but nothing is necessarily true. No one can claim to know the full truth about anything, but there is nothing wrong with asserting that a particular belief system or philosophy is true. This assertion gives us conviction and direction. In fact, this claim is actually made by those who firmly believe that there is no higher power. It is important to practice humility when claiming something as the truth. This means admitting that, while we know something to be true, we can never know the full truth.
This brings us to my second point. No one is willing to claim any knowledge of absolute Truth because we have become so concerned about offending people. In any given conversation about religion or philosophy, you will often hear phrases such as, "This is just what I believe," or "I don't know for sure, but…" There's nothing wrong with claiming something is true as long as we can back it up with sufficient reasoning, whether it's scientific or historical evidence, or logical explanations, or even personal observation. The problem is that people often see disagreement as a personal attack, and many have the mentality that if you strongly believe something to be true, and if you are unflinching on the matter, you are arrogant and self-righteous.
Third, "Because God says so," is no longer a valid reason for anything outside of Christian circles. To be fair, it's often not a satisfying answer to me at all. I find it extremely frustrating when I'm trying to figure out the reasoning behind a particular teaching, and the only reason I can find is "Because God says so," or "Because the Bible says so." The truth is, this should be a valid reason for things, but it's not a satisfying one.
Lastly, we've become impatient, and we've turned elsewhere for answers. Biology, Chemistry and Physics tell us about how the world works, and how life works in it. Psychology and Sociology tell us about how the human mind works and why we do things the way we do. Economics and Politics give us a social structure to live in. The list goes on. There's a field of study for just about every question imaginable, but we've erased God from the picture. Some would disagree with me, but I see this as a problem for several reasons.
- Having faith in God gives me a reason for seeking answers. It gives me a reason to keep on living. It brings purpose to life. Knowledge without purpose is empty. One might argue that the purpose of seeking knowledge is simply so we can be better at what we do; so we can have smarter and smaller technology, so we can cure diseases, so we can be more efficient and have a more productive society. But what's the point? If there's nothing after this life–if there's no greater purpose–then why does any of that matter? There are surely selfless people who would want to make life easier for the next generation, or for a few generations down the road, but they would have no reason for doing it other than, simply, they were nice. It's much more compelling and motivating to me to believe that there is something to look forward to after this, and I am part of a bigger plan.
- Faith in God provides the most stable moral code. Many would argue that you don't need a god to have a moral code. In a sense, I agree. Whether we have a concrete idea of God or not, morality seems to be partly built into human nature, partly because a lot of it is just common sense. If I'm nice to you, you'll be nice to me. We know intuitively that we shouldn't steal or cheat or commit murder. Furthermore, many belief systems share very similar ideas when it comes to morality. However, without God, morality can change over time, which changes society, sometimes for better, but sometimes for worse. Also, without God, our morality is based on faulty human ideas. With God, the rules don't change.
- If I can't be reliant on God, I have to be completely reliant on myself. Having faith in God, at least to me, allows "I don't know" to be an acceptable answer. Furthermore, if I have to completely rely on myself to get things done, not much will get done. I'm only one person. Not only that, but I'm not physically capable of doing a lot of things. If I can rely on God, I can do the impossible. Prayer works, and if I can rely on God I'm never alone.
God is absolute Truth. Therefore, yes, I believe that everyone should believe generally in the same thing, and our world should strive for that Truth as one. I will not back down from that belief. However, what is also true is that God wants us to have the freedom to choose what we believe, and so do I. I support peoples' right to believe in the Flying Spaghetti Monster if they so choose. I support peoples' right to believe in absolutely nothing at all. While it is the duty of the followers of Christ to tell the Truth, it is not our duty to impose it. We should all surround ourselves with people who do not share our beliefs. We may not ever change each others' beliefs, but we can promote respect, tolerance, and good listening in the world. Remember that Jesus hung out with weirdos and sinners. He didn't have status or power in mind. His mind was set on love, and so should ours.


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About the Firm
Over 30 years ago, Mark E. Stern started his own practice in order to bring dedicated, local legal representation to individuals and families living in Monroe County and Southern Wayne County. When you call our firm, you will speak directly to an attorney, and that same lawyer will handle your case from start to finish.
Mark E. Stern
- Temple University Law School, Philadelphia, PA
- Juris Doctorate
Areas of Practice
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Admissions & Memberships
- State and Federal Courts in Michigan (1983)
- Member of the Consumer Bankruptcy Association of Southeast Michigan & Social Security Law Section SBM
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here in SE VA. Wow - this is starting to get depressing. I would love a stretch of warmish, rain free days - how is it where you live?
So many have been saying it's been more rain than they have ever seen in a season!
We have been singing the "rain rain, go away" a lot to our grandkids
@FastDogWalker2 We had a terribly sunless winter in So IL with a lot of snow and rain. We had maybe 1 day of sun a week, if that. We've had a few sunny days over the past 2 or 3 weeks but we can't seem to get more than 2-3 days of sun a week. The rest of the time it's rainy and glooming. I'm keeping my fingers crossed this changes soon!
Te he, check my nic for northwest Oregon. We did have some sun a few days ago. I know because it is spring ritual to find your sunglasses (and wash them).
Haha, I was just going to say, you should know!
@FastDogWalker2 Here in Western NY it's cold, plus just to top it off it's raining. I am really ready for some nice weather to get outside and work in my flower gardens.
Here in NE Ohio it's been a relatively dry winter and spring. The winter temps were not exceptionally cold either, but it started early and has dragged on later than normal. We've been running anywhere from 10-25 degrees below normal. Today it's drizzly and chilly in the 40's. The normal highs this time of year are mid 50's, but it's supposed to get into the upper 60's this weekend, then colder again next week. Did someone say spring is around the corner? Which corner......I'm still looking for it!
It's not raining here in PA where I am at..yet. But it has been trying to since early this morning. The weather man said scattered rain all day. It is cloudy.
Tomorrow and Sunday, sun and no rain is expected, high 60's. Rain on Monday and Tuesday again.
We had too much rain and flooding last year ( 64 inches) and it appears it might be another rainy year again. I think my feet are getting to be webbed.
I'm in N.E. PA. and I think it's done raining for now. Around 7:30 this morning we were having sleet which turned over to rain. At the moment it's about 47 degrees, but tomorrow and Sunday it's to be 68. I'll take it.
The same here in southeast Texas. To me it has been raining since Hurricane Harvey, we have rain every week almost. The rain starts in this area most of the time and move east.
We missed most of it yesterday and it flooded the city of Lake Charles. I know the feeling when it comes to rain since living on the Gulf, hopefully we will all see some sun shiny days soon. Well I look at the bright side of things we are into Spring usually it would be humid about this time of the year.
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text: This long video is a series of clips put together of our descent off the crown and summit back into the national forest. Its a very difficult hike downwards simply because of the decomposed granite, loose rocks and allot of steepness with no switchback trail to help ease it. All we can see ahead of us is forest which is very dense as you stand on the summit earlier you can sort of map out the area but forest blankets it also so we really were descending into unknown country so I called it Hells Descent and I have to say coming on down was a pain. I had to leap over rocks, climb down boulders and slide down decomposed granite. This is really what adventuring is about its taken the path less taken TRUTH!


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Marc Cuss was visionary in the field of unmanned vehicles. He was a young young engineer working for CDL systems when he lost his battle with cancer in 2006. A scholarship fund has been established in his name, administered by Unmanned Systems Canada in his memory. Canadian students with a vision of the UAS industry are invited to apply for the $2500 scholarship. For eligibility and all other details please click on the Students Tab – Marc Cuss Scholarship.
DEADLINE is 21 September 2017.


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Designed by us and available only at One Kings Lane: The glossy white ceramic body of this double-gourd-shaped table lamp is accented with bands of gold leaf at the neck and base; a black linen Empire shade adds refinement. Handmade in the USA.


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HANOI, Vietnam The ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF) 2019 will take place early next year in the tourism hub of Ha Long City in Vietnam's Quang Ninh province, reported the Vietnam News, a daily English-language newspaper.
ATF 2019, the annual forum regarded as one of the top events of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), will be held from January 14 to 18 to boost tourism cooperation and development.
With the theme "ASEAN � The Power of One", it is expected to underline the strength and beauty of the 10 nations in ASEAN and the beauty of each individual in the community, towards a prosperous, sustainable and inclusive development goal.
A wide range of activities will be held as part of the forum, including formal meetings between officials of ASEAN national tourism organisations (NTO) and meetings between ASEAN tourism ministers and their counterparts from China, Japan, South Korea and India.
Other events include association meetings involving the ASEAN Tourism Association, the Federation of ASEAN Travel Associations, the ASEAN Airlines Association, and the ASEAN Hotel and Restaurant Association, exhibitions and business appointments seeking to facilitate the trade of regional and individual tourism products of ASEAN member states, and a tourism conference.
As part of the event, the unique ATF Travel Exchange (TRAVEX) will be held to make it easier and more convenient for suppliers of ASEAN tourism products and services and international buyers to conduct business.
The authorities of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism and Quang Ninh province organised a meeting on the organisation of the two events.
First launched in 1981 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the forum is the biggest event under the ASEAN tourism cooperation umbrella with a view to promoting the group of the nations as a tourist destination.
It involves all tourism industry sectors of the 10 ASEAN member states, namely Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Source: NAM News Network


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On Saturday December 2, 2011, Ireland played Brazil in the Roller Derby World Cup in Toronto. Here is Fer, number 80 from Brazil, talking just after that game about her team and their experience at the World Cup.
Fer #80 Team Brazil
Posted by Todd Bradley on June 23, 2013, filed in: Other Vids, World Cup 2011


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I was not happy when I reached the conclusion or final part of The Hobbit because I didn't want it to end! Sometimes I'm happy when I reach the conclusion or end of a book because the book wasn't all that great, but there are just some books that are so good. I'm glad that the movies of The Hobbit came out, but I didn't like it when I saw the conclusion or last part of those either since they were also so exciting. To make things better, I've begun to write a really good book with no conclusion or ending part at all that will take care of this problem once and for all.
Quiz: What is a conclusion?
- It is the part of the day right before you go to bed for the night.
- It is the point of something past which there is no more.
- It is the part of a book where you stop reading on a given day.