text:
General admits guilt on 3 counts; denies assault
FORT BRAGG, N.C. – An Army general accused of sexual assault is pleading guilty to three lesser charges, but maintains his innocence on five remaining counts.
Brig. Gen. Jeffrey A. Sinclair pleaded Thursday in a military courtroom at Fort Bragg. His primary accuser is a female captain who claims Sinclair twice forced her to perform oral sex and threatened to kill her family if she told anyone about their three-year affair.
Sinclair is admitting to having improper relationships with two other female Army officers and to committing adultery with the primary accuser, which is a crime in the military. He also is admitting violating orders by possessing a cache of pornography in Afghanistan and to conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman.
Sinclair will now face trial on the remaining charges.


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text:
Ms. Lama Younis
Founder and Managing DirectorCriminologist and Forensic Psychologist
Lama graduated from Saudi Arabia's Effat University in 2005 with a degree in Counseling Psychology. She pursued her graduate studies in the UK and obtained her Masters degree from Middlesex University in London where she double majored in Criminology and Forensic Psychology. She has completed the final requirements for her Ph.D in International Childhood Studies, department of Geography, Environment and Development Studies at Birkbeck, University of London, UK, a world-class institution recognized for its excellence in research and teaching.
Lama's professional skills and strong educational background were determinant in her joining the Human Relations Institute in Dubai, UAE in 2007. The institute offers individuals and organizations across the Middle East professional services in psychology and human resources. In this capacity, Lama traveled across the entire Middle East region, providing qualified and expert consulting and educational services. During this time Lama was also affiliated with Effat University, teaching Developmental Psychology and Communication Methods courses in their Department of Psychology.
Continually in search of furthering her professional development, in 2008, Lama attended a post-graduate course at Harvard University entitled Delinquents, Criminals, Psychopaths, and Terrorists. This course proved crucial to broadening her development and understanding of the relationship between psychology and the law. In Spring 2010, Lama attended "Developing Critical Thinkers", a course at Teachers College of Columbia University which introduced critical thinking as the central process in the practice of leadership and teaching. Intent on building on this knowledge, later that year Lama attended a course entitled "Healing and Reconciliation in Relationships" taught by Harvard University professor Dr. Donna Hicks in the International Center for Cooperation and Conflict Resolution (ICCCR) at Teachers College in Columbia University.
In this course, Lama, using evolutionary theory, explored with Dr. Hicks, emotional human vulnerability and the fact that threats to inner psychological stability are as dangerous as physical wounds. Hicks' framework included the language of dignity and indignity for describing the universal effect of emotional injuries.
In 2013 Lama completed a Level 7 Postgraduate Diploma in Traumatology and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The Diploma is accredited by the Counseling and Psychotherapy Central Award Body. In this same year she was also a guest speaker on a panel in Psychiatry and Behavioral Science and Forensic Science in the Islamic Legal System. The topics discussed on this panel were "Discipline and Punishment of Children" as well as, "Child Abuse: A General Perspective in Saudi Arabia."
In 2014, Lama received an award in the 'Women in Business' category at the 2nd Arabian Business StartUp Awards for her successful contributions to the business world through Hissah Enrichment Center.
Her passion to create change in the GCC led to her powerful campaigns on child abuse and child protection. She was recognised for these life changing campaigns and was listed in 'The 100 Most Powerful Arabs Under 40" by Arabian Business, April 2015 and "Middle East, 50 personalities you need to know" by the Italian news from the world website, SecoloNuovo, April 2015. In May 2015, Lama served as a panel member in the seminar "The Role of Women in Family Business" hosted by Crowe Horwath UAE, in partnership with Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) which was held in support of the noble legislation undertaken by HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE, Ruler of Dubai in 2012, to make it compulsory for companies and businesses to appoint women to their boards and senior managerial roles.
To commemorate survivors of cancer, Lama organised the first National Cancer Survivors Day in the GCC registered by The National Cancer Survivors Day Foundation, Tennessee, U.S.A. on 7th June 2015 where cancer survivors, caretakers and professionals from various fields came together to celebrate, support and share stories with one another on cancer survivorship.
The event paved way to honouring different organizations which work towards the good cause of supporting individuals battling with cancer. In August 2015, to mark World Humanitarian Day by United Nations, Lama organised an awareness lunch where people were educated on the importance of World Humanitarian Day and was asked to be a part of humanitarian efforts by sharing kindness with the less fortunate. As a humanitarian effort, Lama showered children and the general public of the U.A.E with acts of generosity. Lama Younis is a strong advocate for children's rights for the past 10 years and she believes it is time to mark the cause with a name which is 'The Lama Campaign'. 'The Lama Campaign' aims to reach out and educate the people living in the GCC on different topics related to child abuse. Towards the end of the campaign each year, Hissah Enrichment Center will use its profits to visit shelters in developing countries around the world to provide emotional and financial support to abuse victims.
For her distinguished achievements, Lama was awarded "Young Achiever Award 2015" by the World Leadership Congress and "Sustainability Leadership Award 2015" by the World Sustainability Congress. She was also nominated for the Emirates Woman of the Year Award 2015 in the "Visionaries" category by the Emirates Woman Magazine.
Lama's incessant desire to contribute to the well-being of the region continues to gain recognition and support. Among her many distinctions, in 2016, she was listed as one of the "most influential Arab people under 40" and served as a panel speaker for the Young Leaders Global Debate on "Sustainability, science, new media and education".
As evidenced through her dedication, passion and work, Lama aims to enrich communities by providing critical services that will have a meaningful and long-term impact on the gulf region and aims to eradicate the taboo of child abuse in the GCC, Insha'Allah
Services offered: Enrichment of Interpersonal Skills, Personal Power and Self-Esteem, Pedagogy and Learning Support, Mentoring Program Set-up
Telephone: +971 (0)4 391 4073
Email: lama@hissahec.com
Our assessments are offered on-site and throughout the GCC. Please provide your details here.
"The Hissah Enrichment Center and The Lama Campaign is a great beacon for 2 entities that are perpetually active in shedding light on important subjects through workshops, talks, events, educational sessions down to simple coffee morning get-togethers, a culture of always driving a conversation for change and triggering true transformation in people's lives. Everyone at Blessed have nothing but the utmost gratitude for the warmth, kindness and sense of psychological renewal and enrichment gained through every selfless interaction with the wonderful souls at Hissah."
— Lama Riachi, Co-Founder & Creative Director – Blessed
"Hissah Enrichment Center has been a true blessing, both on a personal and a professional level, from the events they host to empower and support female entrepreneurs to the healthy eating workshops in which my teenage daughter benefited from, and of course their family workshops and consultations to help educate families and teachers on child safety. I am very thankful from all aspects and highly recommend a visit to the center to personally meet the founder Lama and her lovely team."
— Mariam M. Al Kassab, CEO & Founder Kidz Venture Nursery & Kids Club
"Loved working with the professional team at Hissah Enrichment Center. Their workshops are very educational and worth attending. I always learn something new and develop new skills from their workshops and events. The team at Hissah Enrichment Center are highly educated and they create an environment that purely adds some peace of mind."
— Aida Mokadem - Founder of Katkoot
"I have had the privilege of visiting the Hissah Enrichment Center and I have seen nothing to compare with it anywhere in the Middle East. It is a calm and professional place with highly qualified and understanding staff who are committed to making a real difference. The Hissah Enrichment Center is doing amazing work and all credit to Dr. Lama Younis and her wonderful team."
— Dr. Farooq Bajwa - Farooq Bajwa & Co, Solicitors
"Giving has various forms. In our case, it comes as "Hissah Enrichment Center". In 2016,Mrs. Lama Younis, Hissah founder & director graciously designed and presented 12 seriesof support workshop for women. The impact on this specific support group that was eagerto meet monthly, touched everyone's heart. Most of the participants were deaf/heard ofhearing women and moms of special children. To design specific programs targeting thisimportant sector of our community is a reflection of the giving ethos of Hissah Center. Allhandouts were translated to Arabic and a Sign Language Interpreter was always present.Hissah Enrichment Center, you touched our lives in so many ways and we are grateful tocollaborate with such an organization."
— Bedour Al Raqbani – Founder Kalimati Communication & Rehabilitation Center
This assessment will help students/clients succeed by discovering a learning strategy that fits their personality.… https://t.co/6AFPO5bFSd
@hissahecenter
"Take time out to invest in you, love yourself and be kind to everyone. Be thoughtful of your words and actions. Yo… https://t.co/IKGqlCdf6w
Our practical training, tools and interactive practice help clients to improve their public speaking skills, build… https://t.co/skbZMrCnAB
We take you on an exploration of Mindfulness practices relevant to improving work performance. #hissahec… https://t.co/MltI6FAx02
"Having a true understanding of what mental illness is... is vital for us to accept and acknowledge that mental hea… https://t.co/rQ9ojqJG24
"Whatever you do, do with all your might." Have a wonderful afternoon! #hissahec #afternoon #quoteofday #greetings… https://t.co/V3CRhIvaSJ
Contact us today for care, discretion and support
The Hissah Enrichment Center will happy to contact you about enquiries and to address your unique needs to one of our experts.
info@hissahec.com

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


It's like I've totally forgotten all about my blog. But I didn't! I really didn't!
Yesterday I went for tea with my friend (she took photo above) and she updated me on the stuff going on in her life and I listened and laughed. But when she asked me what's up with my life, I go blank and say, nothing much. Sigh! Working too much maybe?
Oh I was in Manila (again) in February! Well actually three of us (colleagues from work) wanted to go but well, one of us got pregnant and she can't go. Haha. So left me and another colleague, YYC, to enjoy our honeymoon and giant crabs.
Oh yes. I used to read a lot of books. I enjoy books. But after doing a lot of reading when I did a literature course (approximately 300 thousand million books per week) in University, I've sort of lost interest in reading books. Aside from the obligatory MUST READ BOOKS such as Harry Potter, I really never touched anything else. But recently this love of books has been somewhat rekindled by movies that are based on bestselling books.
When I was in Manila, I watched without being priorly informed of its graphic nature, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. Was quite shocked! And I was watching in Manila, so there were no censorship! Despite so, I was mesmerised by the protagonist, Lisbeth Salander. In my mind I was mostly, "RAGGAD JUA WANITA ANI!!!!" Then I found out that the movie was based on a book! I bought it immediately after the movie!
Anyway, I'm looking for the third book (have read the second book bought from Pesta Buku – eseh – back in early March) which is The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest, so if u guys see it being sold anywhere let me know!
Then a few weeks ago, I started reading The Hunger Games (after watching the movie as well)! Apparently these are children's books but well, there seems to be more killing in this trilogy as compared to The Girl With The Dragoon Tattoo.
I am definitely on Team Peeta.
All this books (macamtah banyak banar) are read from my bed, at night. I bought a pink led reading light. This is my best purchase EVER!!!
It clips on to the book! Saves me the trouble of standing up to switch off the lights when I am sleepy and tired of reading. Seriously, best purchase ever!
March was such an awesome month for me. As usual I indulged in EVERYTHING I desired. And I'd always justify it with "Its ok it's my birthday". LOL will blog about this next time. Or not! I'd like to blog about all the dinner/lunch/coffee dates I had. ❤ Thank u for meeting up with me in March, please know that u guys are my nearest and dearest friends!
Oh btw, I've been obsessively researching about my next destination (Seoul) past few days. I AM SO EXCITED and super looking forward to June!!! Sigh!!! I hope it won't rain or it won't be cold when we're there. Hate cold weather!
What else am I excited about? Oh some of my favorite series are back!!!
Woohoo! I get to see handsome Don Draper again!


text:
Теория граничных орбиталей — квантохимическая теория реакционной способности, основанная на простейшем варианте теории возмущений в методе молекулярных орбиталей, в котором при анализе взаимодействия молекул учитывается только взаимодействие граничных молекулярных орбиталей — высшей занятой и низшей свободной орбиталей.

Разработана в 1950-х годах Фукуи, Кэнъити.

Примечания

Квантовая химия

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Q: Using beamer metropolis theme slides after standout are all standout I love the metropolis theme for beamer. It has a nice feature where you can make a standout frame to add emphasis to that particular slide.
However, when I use the standout frame, every slide after it is also a standout frame. This feels like a bug to me. Does anyone know of a workaround?

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Antifa takes over Portland, again
Home » Antifa takes over Portland, again
America's founders believed that the freedom to express political and religious opinions, even unpopular ones, was central to self-government. Still, the freedom of speech, like all freedoms, has its limits. We can't just shout "Fire!" in a crowded theater, for example.
Antifa, a group of leftist radicals, believes differently. Any ideas other than their own are not only wrong, they're dangerous and must be shut down by, and I quote, "any means necessary."
These are more than words. Just ask Quillette journalist Andy Ngo, a conservative, who has been documenting Antifa violence for a while now. This past weekend, in Portland, he was recording an Antifa mob as they "protested" another rally held by a right-wing group called "The Proud Boys." Protesting is as American as apple pie. It's especially common in Portland. But if you're wearing a ski mask and holding a baseball bat, protester might not be the right word for you.
Antifa knew in advance that Ngo would be there, and he expressed concern for his own safety on social media before going. His concerns turned out to be valid. He was pelted with milkshakes, sprayed with silly string, then punched and kicked to the point that he was bleeding and had to go to the emergency room.
The media coverage, to put it lightly, was odd. CBS described the event only as a clash between Antifa and right-wing groups. The only mention of Ngo was that he claimed on Twitter to have been attacked. Never mind the fact that a journalist from the Portland Oregonian had filmed it.
Left-wing blogger Jesse Signal rightly called the attack insane, listing and documenting other journalists also physically assaulted by Antifa. But many others of the Punderati on the Left debated whether or not Ngo had it coming to him, and whether his politics made him an acceptable target for violence.
Despite their name, Antifa is not ultimately driven by their opposition to fascism. What they consider to be fascism is fully informed by a far-left worldview, including far-left ideologies like socialism, communism, and anarchy. These are ideologies which tend to see opponents not only as wrong, but as obstacles to their utopian fantasies.
The recent Portland "protest" and assault—actually assaults, because there were others—are just the latest in a long string of riots with Antifa at their center. During the Trump Inauguration, 230 so-called "protesters" were arrested for smashing windows and starting fires. In February of 2017 at Berkeley, Antifa demonstrators threw Molotov cocktails to halt a speech by Milo Yiannopoulos. The same month, the Portland city council was forced to shut down a public forum after Antifa threatened violence. In August of that year, Antifa members, trying to disrupt a free speech rally in Boston, threw urine-filled projectiles at police.
Given this history of violence, you'd think Portland authorities would have been better prepared. Mayor Ted Wheeler has come under fire for not containing the violence. In fact, the Portland Police Association has called on the mayor to "remove the handcuffs from our officers and let them stop the violence through strong and swift enforcement action."
Now how exactly the mayor has handcuffed the Portland police, I don't know, but let's hope and pray he will take the necessary steps to preserve order and the safety of his citizens. If he can't or won't, he should step down.
In the same way, a truly free media can't have it both ways. Criticizing President Trump for saying the media is "the enemy of the people" is absolutely justified, but staying mum when one of your own is beaten in the streets by Antifa, just because he is conservative, is absolutely not.
Good for folks like Jake Tapper, who tweeted: "Antifa regularly attacks journalists. It is reprehensible." And good for CNN for allowing Ngo to tell what happened to him, on air.
As I said two years ago, people on both sides of the political aisle who disagree on nearly everything can still agree that the right to peacefully assemble, to debate and protest is a foundation of our Republic, and that political violence has no place in our country, whether it's from the left or the right.
— by John Stonestreet
Stonestreet is the Director of Strategic Partnerships for the Chuck Colson Center for Christian Worldview and is heard on Breakpoint. Copyright© 2019 Prison Fellowship Ministries. Reprinted with permission. BreakPoint is a ministry of Prison Fellowship Ministries.
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Come and discover the neighbourhood of Arc @ Austin Hills and learn about the life, malls, and people in the area. Find out more about the schools and properties that are available in the area.
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Strategically located at the centre of the prestigious Austin Hills, Arc @ Austin Hills comprises of 3 residential blocks, housing 2- and 3-bedroom apartment units. Sitting on 5.11 acres of prime freehold land, the units at Arc @ Austin Hills are sized between 650 sf and 900 sf, with a selling price of between RM286,000 and RM428,000. Having a total of 1843 units, this development will be of moderate density.
Stunningly designed with a glazed glass facade, Arc @ Austin Hills not only comes with full condo facilities but also offers breathtaking views of the prosperous neighbourhood and undulating golf course, owing to its close proximity to the Austin Heights Golf & Hotel Resort. Some of the many facilities here includes not one but a few squash courts, a gymnasium, yoga room, wading pool, Olympic-sized pool, sauna and a Japanese garden with koi pond, to name a few. Furthermore, there is a kindergarten and daycare centre providing further convenience for parents.
Buzzing with well-patronized shops and restaurants, Austin Hills comes complete with amenities that fully supports the modern lifestyle needs of the residents here. Within a 5 km radius, there is the Sunway College, Austin Heights Private & International Schools, Fairview International School, Hospital Sultan Ismail, AEON Big Johor Bahru and Econsave Taman Daya, while within a 20 km radius is the Johor Bahru City Square, CIQ Complex, Johor Premium Outlet (JPO) and Senai International Airport. Also nearby is the all new Austin Heights Water Theme Park.
Arc @ Austin Hills is well connected via major highways and expressways, namely the North-South Expressway (PLUS), Johor Bahru East Coast Parkway, Skudai Highway, Coastal Highway, Eastern Dispersal Link Expressway and Tebrau Highway. As such, Arc @ Austin Hills has carved a name for itself as a much sought-after residential development in that area.
850sq ft unit which is not impressive but enough for a small family. in my opinion, it's a reasonable buy in view of the facilities offered within ARC and surrounding area of Austin Hills in general.
@JLean, yea i think so.
JLean, yes they do. Know much about this project? Is it as bad as what they say about Arc @ Austin Hill?
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I went to see Kanye West's Saint Pablo tour at Key Arena in Seattle last month; I endured the rants about Jay-Z and how Blue Ivy hasn't had a play date with Northi (or something like that), and how the apple/Tidal bs has him feeling "tight," which he exclaimed over and over and which I found to be hilarious. (I'm still trying to incorporate the word "tight" into my everyday vernacular with little success). Ultimately, I went to hear "WAVES" live which he played back-to-back so I got my money's worth because let's be honest, that damn beat is glorious all on it's own.
When he seemed distracted standing there on stage with little to no expression, I thought about Beyonce and how much she puts into a performance and how in comparison Kanye gets to stand there in comfy army boots and sweatpants, no memorized choreography or live band…. anywho, I still enjoyed the show and his music does make me feel some type of way.
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Sunday evenings at 2100 there will be a round table discussion net.
This discussion group is geared mainly for the new or newer amateur radio operator, but older more experienced operators are more than welcome to participate. All questions whether from a new or older amateur operator are good. I was once told by an instructor on a training course I was taking through the railroad, "There is no such thing as a stupid question, with one exception and that is the question not asked." The question when answered will be of benefit to everyone.
The main focus of the round table is on 2m vhf and 70cm uhf operation, but we are open to discuss almost anything ham radio related.
The moderator will up link a number of repeaters to the Mavcom system to facilitate the discussion forum. The repeaters cover mainly from Antigonish to Greenwood and from Halifax to Summerside.
Generally the moderator will ask each individual who logs in at the start if they have any questions of comments for the round table on other occasions we have a topic for discussion. The moderator helps to keep things on topic and moving along. The discussions are designed to last approx 1hr but sometimes run up to 1 3/4hrs.
The beauty of the round table is it gets the new amateur the opportunity to ask questions and get the correct answers from some of the most experienced and knowledgeable amateurs in the Maritimes.
SMART Symposium Power Point presentation (in pdf format) on the round table.


text:
Cycling sport, France, Wine
Everything, or at least almost everything, is decided. Geraint Thomas is the winner of Tour de France 2018. Tom Dumoulin is second and Chris Froome third. It seems that everyone, also his hardest competitors, think that Geraint Thomas really deserves this win, but they would of course have preferred to win themselves. BBC Wales celebrated with yellow jersey on the Welsh Dragon. (I first overlooked that they had changed name from BBC Wales to BBC Wheels.)
The competition for the Green Point Jersey, the polka dot King of the Mountains Jersey and the White Jersey for the best young rider, was decided several stages ago. Peter Sagan, Julian Alaphilippe and Pierre Roger Latour only have to finish today's stage.
Today's stage is, as the final stage has been the last years, short and flat. It is "olny" 116 km. If you think this is really short, get your bike and go for a 116 km ride. It will be some photographing and cheering before they enter the final part in Paris, where the race begins. I hope the riders will let Sylvain Chavanel get a chance to go in a TV-breakaway in Paris, on the final stage in his 18th and last Tour de France. I do not have the statistics, but I do not think any other rider has been in as many breakaways in Tour de France as Sylvain Chavanel.
The stage will probably end with as sprint, as it usually does, among the sprinters who have made it to Paris. As a Norwegian, I hope for Alexander Kristoff of Edvald Boasson Hagen. But to be honest, I think Peter Sagan will be back in business, and take this one too.
The stage takes us through the quarter Saint Germain en-Laye, where the composer Claude Debussy was born August 22,1862. Claude Debussy showed his musical talent early, and was accepted as a student at Paris Conservatory of Music when he was 10 years old. Conservative professors were critical to his more and more unorthodox compositions. But despite that, he won the most prestigious prize for young composers, Prix de Rome, when he was 22, for the cantata L'enfant prodigue. This prize meant a scholarship to go to Rome to study.
Claude Debussy was one of the most important composers at the beginning of the 20th century. He moved away from the traditional tonality. His harmonies were not functional, in the sense that they were not driving the music. They were more "sound colouring". It has been said that none other composer has been plagiarised as much as Claude Debussy. All composers of film music are indebted to him. His music is often called impressionistic, a term he refused.
Claude Debussy was skeptical to Richard Wagner, who had many followers among those who wanted to be modern. Debussy said that Wagner was "a beautiful sunset, mistaken for a dawn". Debussy was skeptic to anything German. Not very surprising for one who grew up with the Franco-Prussian war, and experienced the siege of Paris as a kid.
Artists who are breaking or transcending the conventions in their own time, are often not well received among their contemporaries, also among contemporary artists. Another of the great composers of the 20th century, the Russian born Igor Stravinskij studied for some time with Nikolai Rimskij Korsakov. When Stravinskij mentioned Debussy, Rimskij Korsakov replied something like this: "Don't listen to it. You may end up liking it". Stravinskij ended up liking it.
Here is one of Claude Debussy's important compositions: "Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune", played by The Berliner Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Simon Rattle.
There is some wine production in and around Paris. But it is only a small production and mainly a curiosity. To find what is the local wine of Paris, we have to go some 50 km to the east. We do not have to go any further to find the closest vineyards in Champagne. And there is no wine better to celebrate the final of Tour de France than champagne.
Champagne is a sparkling wine, made from grapes grown in designated areas in Champagne, produced according to the rules for champagne, and produced in Champagne. There are many other sparkling wines produced other places, many of them good, but they are not champagne. And to be honest: I have yet to taste a sparkling wine from other places that is as good as a good champagne.
Most of the champagne sold are made by large champagne houses. They often buy grapes from independent growers, but some also grow their own grapes. They are brands that shall have a consistent taste, no matter when it is produced. A Moët & Chandon Brut Impèrial shall taste like a Moët & Chandon Brut Impèrial, like it did three years ago. They are often made with grapes from several growers, often from different vintages.
Some producers make champagne only from their own grapes, others supplement with grapes from others. In the recent years, there has been a trend where the growers want to produce their own champagne, rather than to sell their grapes to the big champagne houses or to cooperatives. I like this trend, but it makes it difficult to follow the development with many small producers. Many of them produce excellent champagnes, and their champagne is often less expensive than the champagne from the large champagne houses. Guy Charlemagne, is one such producers that has become very popular in Norway.
Champagne is made from three different grapes: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. For historic reasons, some other grapes are allowed, but they are not used, or very little used, in practice. The two main cities in Champagne are Reims and Epernay. The wine growing areas in Champagne are like this:
By DalGobboM¿!i? – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5264890
There are four important wine growing areas. Vallée de la Marne is closest to Paris. Here they mainly grow Pinot Meunier, which is regarded as the least noble of the champagne grapes. It is a cool micro climate along the river, and Pinot Meunier tolerate cold weather better than the other grapes. In Montagne de Reims, between Reims and Epernay, they mainly grow Pinot Noir. Côte de blanc is the best area for growing Chardonnay. Aube and Côte de Bär, further south, was for a long time looked down upon by producers in Reims and Epernay. They would not admit that they were buying grapes from this area, but they did.
In recent years, it has been made some very interesting champagnes in Aube. Some think that the best champagne now is coming from producers in Aube. It is an area closer to Burgundy than to the champagne cities Reims and Epernay, and the culture is influenced by Burgundy. They put more emphasis on terroir, that the wine shall have a character from where the grapes have been growing, than they traditionally have been doing in Champagne.
But we are in Paris, not Champagne. We stick to the part of Champagne that is closer to Paris, meaning the areas around Reims and Eperany.
Champagne is first made as a still wine. It is stored sur lie, on the lees, and must be stored like this for a minimum of 15 monthts, but it is often stored longer. The wine get an aroma from the yeast, often described as brioche, which sounds better than yeast. Some grape must is then added, and it is a second fermentation in the bottles. The bottles are then gradually turned and tilted, so that they ends up with the heads down, with the deposits at the cork. This part is then frozen, the bottles are uncorked and this piece is shot out of the bottle, the bottles are then refilled, corked and labeled. After some further storage, they are ready for the market.
Most champagnes are blends, or cuvées made from many wines, often from different vintages. This blending is a process that requires skills and experience. The still wines are blended before the second fermentation, and they must be able to predict how it will be carbonated after this fermentation, with slightly higher alcohol, etc.
Almost all champagnes are produced as white wines. The colour is in the skin of the grapes. If the skins are removed before the fermentation, the result is a white wine. The majority of rosé champagnes are made as white champagnes, and then some red wine is added. A very few are made as proper rosé is made, where the skins remains in the must during the first part of the fermentation, and are then removed. Genereally, I prefer my champagne white. And I like the proper rosés better than the rosés with added red wine.
A champagne made from only white grapes, in practice Chardonnay, is called blanc de blancs, white of whites. This gives a fresh champagne. It has been a warm summer, and the weather forecast says that it will be a warm afternoon in Paris. A blanc de blancs would be my choice. If really should celebrate, and not care too much about the costs, my choice would be Taittinger Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs. It is an expensive champagne, it is available at the Duty Free store at Oslo AIrport for around 140€. I usually do not buy such expensive wines. But I tasted it when we were visiting Taittinger in Reims last year, and it is an excellent blanc de blancs. I have been tempted some times when I have landed at Oslo Airport, but so far I have resisted this temptation. We can get good blanc de blancs that are more moderately priced.
A champagne made only from red or black grapes, is called blanc de noirs, white from blacks. It will usually be made from Pinot Noir, but it can also be made from Pinot Meunier or a blend of the two. A blanc de noirs can be a good choice if you drink champagne with food. There is a cooperative called Mailly in Montagne de Reims. It only produces champagne from the grand cru vineyards in the area. They make a very good blanc de noirs that is sold at a moderate price.
There are many qualities of champagne. I usually go for the "standard" cuvées. Champagne is an expensive wine, and I cannot afford to buy wines at 100 to 2 000€ a bottle. At least, then I cannot drink wine as often as I do.
There are also "cheap" champagnes. Many cooperatives and other producers make champagne from low quality grapes, often sold to supermarket chains that sell them under their own brand name. The are "real" champagne. But a good cremant or another sparkling wine can then be a better choice. But for those who drink labels more the the content, it is champagne.
Tomorrow is monday, and we get a feeling of emptiness. What shall we do when Tour de France is over? I start the second part of may bikerail trip. I will go by train to where the Moselle/Mosel river starts in Vosges, then cycle along the Moselle/Mosel river to where it flows out in the Rhine river i Koblenz (I cycled along the Rhine river two years ago), and then go by train from Koblenz to Bremen, to Hamburg and to Kiel, and take the ferry from Kiel to Oslo, where the ferry docks a few hundred meters from where I am living.
Next year, there is no World Championship in football or other events that interfere with Tour de France. The start will be a normal time, July 1st. The start 2019 will be in Brussels, which also celebrates that it is 50 years since the Belgian cycling legend Eddy Merckx had the Yellow Jersey in Tour de France for the first time.
The tour starts with a 192 km stage from Brussels to Charlroi, and then back to Brussels. Stage 2 is a 28 km team time trial in Brussels, starting at Palais Royal and ending at Atomium.
Where it will continue from there, is not yet published. We can expect to see many speculations, but we will not know before the stages are presented in October. But it should be a safe bet that there will be a stage to somewhere in Northern France. This means that we will have a few days with Belgian and French beer, before we can find some wines.
I also hope that there will be a stage or two in my part of Languedoc.
Stage 1: Noirmoutier-en-l'Île — Fontenay le Comte
Stage 2: Mouilleron-Saint-Germain — La Roche-sur-Yon
Stage 3: Cholet — Cholet (team time trial)
Stage 4: La Baule — Sarzeau
Stage 5: Lorient — Quimper
Stage 6: Brest — Mûr de Bretagne Guerlédan
Stage 7: Fougères — Chartres
Stage 8: Dreux — Amiens Métropole
Stage 9: Arras Citadelle — Roubaix
Stage 10: Annecy — Le Grand-Bornand
Stage 11: Albertville — La Rosière Espace San Bernardo
Stage 12: Bourg-Saint-Maurice Les Arcs — Alpe d'Huez
Stage 13: Bourg d'Oisans — Valence
Stage 14: Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux — Mende
Stage 15: Millau — Carcassonne
Stage 16: Carcassonne — Bagnères-de-Luchon
Stage 17: Bagnères-de-Luchon — Saint-Lary-Soulan
Stage 18: Trie-sur-Baïse — Pau
Stage 19: Lourdes — Laruns
Stage 20: Saint-Pée-sur-Nivelle — Espelette (Individual Time Trial)
Stage 21: Houilles — Paris Champs-Élysées
Previous PostWines and other drinks of Tour de France 2018. Stage 20: Saint-Pée-sur-Nivelle — Espelette (Individual Time Trial)


text:
Press Releases & Blogs > Lunch & Learn with Lwala Community Alliance
Lunch & Learn with Lwala Community Alliance
| Dominic Portalla
Lwala Community Alliance has been a true leader when it comes to bringing holistic health programs and community led solutions to East Africa. Health eVillages has proudly partnered with this organization since 2012 with the hope of aiding in their mission to mobilize community members to access healthcare services and bring better health outcomes to this region at large.
Last month, we had the fortune of being able to host Executive Director, Ash Rogers and Economic Development Officer, Winnie Oyugi, for an incredibly informative Lunch & Learn at our Nashville office. Our Tivity Health and Sharecare colleagues had the benefit of hearing first hand of some of the outstanding work that is taking place in Lwala Village.
Ash began the conversation with a short introduction and video outlining some of Lwala's key organizational goals. Afterwards, Winnie, a native of Lwala, spoke very inspiringly on her life growing up. She discussed her motivations to attend school and receive an education to help motivate and provide hope to other members of her village. She also discussed her mother, Leah, who after being diagnosed with HIV, not only improved her own condition by treatment through the Lwala hospital, but helped to educate and destigmatize HIV in their village by becoming a Community Health Worker herself.
Lwala Community Health Workers being trained on Health eVillages' mobile devices.
Ash then provided a high-level overview of the main pillars of Lwala's health model, as well as outlining some of the programs supported by Health eVillages. "One of the things we're trying to do at Lwala is create local solutions that have real change; but that real change has a ripple effect throughout the world." A key project highlighted was the Health eVillages/Tramuto Foundation Nutrition Initiative, which aims to help reduce the deaths of children under 5 from the preventable underlying cause of malnutrition. With the help of Community Health Workers who utilize Health eVillages mobile devices, children are properly screened for malnutrition, referred to the hospital and case-managed moving forward. Lwala also provides nutritional supplements/education and even training on how to grow nutrient rich foods for families enrolled in this program.
If you would like to learn more, please take the time to watch the full Lunch & Learn discussion here:


Shining Star Matthew and his mom, Julie, on a hike at our Grand County Family Adventure Program.
Matthew and his snowboarding instructor, Kory, at the Aspen Winter Games Program.
Enjoying a day riding horses with the Shining Stars.
"Why him and not me?" Shining Star mom Julie remembers asking herself this question when her 15-year-old son Matthew was diagnosed with a rare brain tumor. A question no parent should ever have to ask.
Julie can't forget the day her son was diagnosed with cancer. She had taken Matthew to the doctor after he started having double vision during baseball practice in 2014. Soon after, she got a call during work that she never expected. Her son Matthew had cancer – a germinoma, an extremely rare brain tumor.
She immediately picked her son up from school and drove him to the hospital, a drive which seemed like an eternity. How do you tell your child they have cancer?
Matthew was started on 6 months of treatment. He had one of the most aggressive regimens out there for chemotherapy and radiation. He lost a lot of weight, lost his hair, and even developed an allergic reaction to one of the chemo medications.
"When he got diagnosed, we knew of no one else going through anything like this. It was very isolating," Julie shared with us.
Matthew's doctor recommended he attend the Winter Games Program with the Shining Stars Foundation, and he jumped at the opportunity. Matthew joined 70 other pediatric cancer patients for a week in the mountains that he would never forget. He snowboarded for the first time in his life and felt the freedom of cruising down the mountain.
He felt alive. Strong. Limitless.
He met friends he still keeps in touch with to this day. He bonded over shared experiences and traumas.
Once he returned home from Aspen, Matthew and his family were invited to over 70 other events and programs with the Shining Stars, including a five-day family camp in the mountains. It was a chance for the whole family to find healing. They were no longer alone.
Matthew's advice for other kids facing cancer is "Don't keep it to yourself. Don't be afraid. Don't let cancer define you." That is why Shining Stars exists. To help families move past just surviving, to thriving and fully living again. Supporters like you make this all possible.
Matthew, hanging out with new friends at the Shining Stars disco party!


We'll place interesting statistics about Wikibon here in this page.
2/3rds of Wikibon members are IT management professionals (end customers).
Of these, 70% are in managerial roles and 30% are technical professionals.


Award winning breakfast and dinner at Firgrove in Ruthin, North Wales.
Firgrove has been awarded the 'AA Breakfast & Dinner Award' from the AA in recognition of the quality food served at breakfast and dinner at Firgrove. They are the only B&B in Wales to hold this award.
Breakfasts are served between 8 and 9 am, earlier for those who really need to!
There is a wide choice of fresh and stewed fruits, cereals, yogurts, continental meats and cheeses and fruit juices from the buffet tables.
Fresh toast and preserves and a cooked selection is freshly prepared for those who wish.
A selection of teas, freshly ground coffee and hot chocolate is available.
Dinner is available with 48 hours notice. Dinners are served at 7.30pm and guests are invited to join Philip and Anna in the drawing room at 7pm for a chat and to make their choices from the menu. For those who wish to have a drink with their meal, you are welcome to bring your own selection, but we are happy to share the bottles that we open when we eat with our guests.
Anna can cope with most dietary requests, but a little more time may be needed to source special ingredients. Please give ample notice.
A sample dinner menu is shown below. Dinner is £40 per person.
" First class accommodation and food. "
" Lovely accommodation and food with very friendly patrons. "
" Lovely and homely. Comfortable room, lovely breakfast. Good welcome all round. "
" Excellent B&B, great breakfast and peaceful sleep. "
Content is copyright Firgrove Country House Accommodation, Ruthin, Denbighshire, North Wales.


text:
New York Still Charges Teenagers as Adults. Will Cuomo's Bill Change That?
ProPublica March 26, 2015
Written by Leticia Miranda ProPublica, March 26, 2015, 10:32 a.m.
In the United States, 16-year-olds can't vote or buy beer. But there is one place where they are treated as adults: New York state's criminal justice system. New York is one of just two states – the other is North Carolina – where 16-year-olds facing criminal charges are automatically put into the adult criminal system.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo recently announced a plan to end that policy. He has proposed a bill that would raise the age of adult criminal responsibility to 18 and would prohibit minors from being held in any adult facility. But some critics say the bill is filled with caveats and far less than meets the eye.
Here's a review of what Cuomo is proposing and where critics say it comes up short.
Why does New York automatically prosecute teens aged 16 or older as adults?
Because that's been the law for almost 200 years. In 1824, New York created one of the country's first juvenile detention centers – the House of Refuge – for kids under 16 years old. The issue was briefly revisited in 1961 when New York amended its constitution to reorganize its juvenile courts as family courts that also handle juvenile delinquency cases. But the legislative committee assigned to reorganize the courts couldn't decide whether to raise the age of criminal responsibility. Instead the committee called for a study, which then called for more studies.
Aren't teenagers sometimes charged as adults in other states?
Yes. Nine states automatically charge 17-year-olds as adults. And many other states give prosecutors or judges discretion to decide whether a case should be transferred to adult court for more serious charges like homicide.
What is Cuomo proposing to do?
He wants to gradually raise the age of adult criminal responsibility in New York to 18 through a budget bill. The bill would roll out in two phases. The maximum age of juvenile jurisdiction will be raised to 17 on Jan. 1, 2017 and raised again to 18 by Jan. 1, 2018. The bill would also prohibit the confinement of minors under 21 in adult jails and prisons, prevent minors with first-time misdemeanor offenses or probation violations from being held in detention, and create a separate branch of adult courts for teenagers charged with violent felonies.
The bill is based on a set of recommendations published earlier this year by a governor-appointed commission of experts and advocates.
Many advocates support the bill, including the New York City Bar Association. It is "not perfect but it would be unfortunate if we lost this opportunity to really take a step forward for young people," said Mishi Faruqee, juvenile justice policy strategist with the American Civil Liberties Union. "There is a real urgency to this and I hope New York doesn't squander this opportunity."
What are the criticisms of the bill?
The bill has a variety of provisions that actually create stricter sentencing schemes, particularly for kids charged with violent crimes. Currently, most offenders under 19 have their records sealed. Under Cuomo's bill, a youthful offender's previous violent crimes would be taken into account if the person is charged with another one. The bill would also extend the amount of time a juvenile offender would have to serve before being eligible for probation. Judges would also be prohibited from moving teenagers to the juvenile system if the teen was a principal perpetrator or used a weapon.
Alexandra Cox, an assistant professor of sociology at SUNY New Paltz who has worked in juvenile facilities, wrote that the proposed changes "will actually harm the very individuals it purports to help."
The New York State Defenders Association, which provides legal support to public defenders, has called for the bill to be withdrawn. The group wrote that the bill is "too long, too complicated and too nuanced to be rushed through in the compressed political process that is represented by budget negotiations." The commission whose recommendations the bill is based on did not include defense attorneys.
Cuomo's office, in turn, has defended the bill. "If somebody is unhappy or doesn't think [the bill] goes far enough, we'll point to the wide support the legislation has among children and civil rights advocates and law enforcement," said Frank Sobrino, spokesman for the governor.
What opposition or criticism does the bill face in Albany?
Plenty, and from both sides of the aisle. At a February legislative budget hearing in Albany, state officials in charge of the juvenile system fielded a slew of questions by mostly Republican lawmakers. Ahead of the hearing, Republican state Sen. Martin Golden criticized the proposal, telling the New York Daily News, "Some of the most heinous crimes are committed by kids who are 16 and 17." A Democratic assemblyman, meanwhile, has said he plans to push competing legislation that would keep more kids out of the adult system.
ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for their newsletter.
This story was published under creative commons as an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0)


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Michigan certifies Biden win; another defeat for Trump
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan election officials on Monday certified President-elect Joe Biden's 154,000-vote victory in the state, another defeat for President Donald Trump in his futile effort to undermine the results of the Nov. 3 election through baseless legal challenges and unsupported claims of fraud.
Trump's effort to stave off the inevitable — formal recognition of his defeat — is facing increasingly stiff resistance from the courts and fellow Republicans with just three weeks to go until the Electoral College meets to certify Biden's victory.
Time and again, Trump's challenges and baseless allegations of widespread conspiracy and fraud have been met with rejection as states move forward with confirming their results.
In Michigan, the Board of State Canvassers, which has two Republicans and two Democrats, confirmed the state results on a 3-0 vote with one GOP abstention. Trump and his allies had hoped to block the vote to allow time for an audit of ballots in Wayne County, where Trump has claimed without evidence that he was the victim of fraud. Biden crushed the president by more than 330,000 votes there.
Under Michigan law, Biden claims all 16 electoral votes. Biden won the state by 2.8 percentage points — a larger margin than in other states where Trump is contesting the results like Georgia, Arizona, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.
"The board's duty today is very clear," said Aaron Van Langevelde, the Republican vice chair. "We have a duty to certify this election based on these returns. That is very clear."
Some Trump allies had expressed hope that state lawmakers could intervene in selecting Republican electors in states that do not certify. That longshot and legally dubious bid is no longer possible in Michigan.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said in a statement after the vote that it was "time to put this election behind us."
"President-elect Biden won the State of Michigan by more than 154,000 votes, and he will be our next president on January 20th."
The Trump legal team dismissed the certification as "simply a procedural step" and insisted it would fight on.
Mary Ellen Gurewitz, an attorney for the state Democratic Party, told the canvassers that attacks on the election results were "part of a racist campaign, directed by soon-to-be former President Trump, to disparage the cities in this country with large Black populations, including Detroit, Philadelphia and Milwaukee."
Trump has tried to defy the results of the election through the courts. Having no luck there, he moved on to trying to personally influence local lawmakers to ignore the popular vote and appoint Republican electors, a strategy that would send Americans into the streets in protest, election law experts have said. Two local GOP canvassers who certified Wayne County results last week unsuccessfully tried to reverse course after being called by Trump.
Trump met with top Michigan GOP legislators at the White House on Friday and tweeted over the weekend: "We will show massive and unprecedented fraud!"
Trump was facing setbacks in other battleground states as well.
In Pennsylvania, a conservative Republican judge shot down the Trump campaign's biggest legal effort with a scathing ruling that asked why he would disenfranchise 7 million voters with no evidence to back the campaign's claims and an inept legal argument at best.
But Trump's lawyers still hope to block the state's certification, quickly appealing to the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia. The court ordered lawyers to file a brief Monday but did not agree to hear oral arguments.
The campaign, in its filings, asked for urgent consideration so it could challenge the state election results before they are certified next month. If not, they will seek to decertify them, the filings said.
Trump's team insisted it did not want to invalidate all of the 6.8 million ballots cast in the state. Instead, the lawyers said they were taking aim at seven Democratic-leaning counties where they take issue with how mail-in ballots were handled.
"Appellants seek to exclude the defective mail ballots which overwhelming favored Biden, which may turn the result of the election," they said in a filing Monday.
Biden won Pennsylvania by more than 80,000 votes. Other litigation has failed to change a single vote.
Pennsylvania county election boards were voting on Monday, the state deadline, on whether to certify local election results to the Department of State. The boards in two populous counties divided along party lines, with majority Democrats in both places voting to certify.
After all counties have sent certified results to Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar, she must then tabulate, compute and canvass votes for all races. The law requires her to perform that task quickly but does not set a specific deadline.
In Wisconsin, a recount in the state's two largest liberal counties moved into its fourth day at a slow pace, with election officials in Milwaukee County complaining that Trump observers were hanging up the process with frequent challenges. Trump's hope of reversing Biden's victory there depends on disqualifying thousands of absentee ballots — including the in-person absentee ballot cast by one of Trump's own campaign attorneys in Dane County.
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text:
Kyle Lowder dives into familiar and unfamiliar territory
byPatricia Taculao
in Entertainment, TV & Movies
By Patricia Taculao
Ah, Christmas. As the famous saying goes, "'tis the season to be jolly." One well-loved Christmas tradition is binge-watching holiday-themed movies to get into the Christmas spirit.
From late November to January of the succeeding year, cinemas and streaming platforms promote Christmas movies with love, family, kindness, and harmony themes. Most of these films combine reality and whimsy to emphasize the season further.
WFL Productions and Lenaz Film Production take a different approach to the influx of Christmas-themed movies by adding an element that most people usually associate during the summer: a mermaid.
Jessica Morris (left) as the mermaid Daphne and Kyle Lowder as Travis Hunter
A Mermaid for Christmas combines classic themes with an escapist fantasy element only a mermaid can provide. It boasts humor and a touch of magic the whole family can enjoy.
The film stars American actress Jessica Morris as the mermaid Daphne, as she brings warmth, love, and hope through this whimsical holiday offering. It also showcases family performances from Daytime Emmy nominated and award-winning American actor and producer Kyle Lowder.
For those who don't know, Kyle began his career in showbiz two decades ago as Brady Black in the NBC soap opera Days of Our Lives, where he stayed on until 2005. He later played Rick Forrester in The Bold and the Beautiful from 2007 to 2011. Kyle recently returned to Days of Our Lives in a contract role.
In A Mermaid for Christmas, plays the male lead, Travis Hunter.
"He's a really nice guy. He's a very sweet guy, and he owns this bar slash restaurant in a fictional town where the movie takes place," Kyle told Manila Standard Entertainment during the media conference for the film last November 22, Tuesday.
The trouble for Travis starts with the lack of funds to keep his business afloat. But when he starts to feel down, a mermaid will unexpectedly enter his life and "help him in so many ways," as Kyle puts it. Travis also experienced loss and tragedy, so Daphne's presence will help him deal with mental and emotional issues.
Kyle shared that he likes Travis's character and shares similarities with his personality in real life.
"I definitely put a lot of who I am, my life experiences, into Travis's character and in formulating his character. But there were also a lot of aspects in the character of Travis that I personally can't relate to as Kyle," the actor said.
He made some preparations to get into his character's heart and head. As a result, he can proudly describe his performance as authentic and believable.
"It was a combination of both, pulling from my own personality and my own life experiences, and also doing some research to create this character as well," he said.
Joining Jessica and Kyle are Kathleen Gati as Connie Hunter, Arianne Zucker as Tiffany Devereaux, Sheree J. Wilson as Theodora, and Chadwick Armstrong as Beau Hunter.
Michael Caruso wrote and directed the film to bring the holiday feel that people know and love. Its executive producer is Filipino-American Arsy Grindulo Jr., with Tess Reyes and Imelda Napa as producers.
A Mermaid for Christmas is now in cinemas.
Tags: A Mermaid for ChristmasChristmas movies
Patricia Taculao
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text:
\section{Introduction}

The evolution of lattice gauge theory techniques has greatly enhanced our
understanding of quark-gluon dynamics in QCD.
Heavy-light mesons provide an ideal laboratory
for lattice QCD studies.
The static approximation ($m_Q \rightarrow \infty$) in which the heavy
quark propagator is replaced by a straight time-like Wilson line
provides a framework which allows a
quantitative study of masses, decay constants, mixing amplitudes,
and electroweak form factors.[1]
Since heavy-light mesons have only one dynamical
light (valence) quark, these systems are also well suited to the
study of constituent quark ideas [2] and the chiral
quark model [3].

In view of the success of the nonrelativistic (NR) potential
model for heavy $Q\bar Q$ mesons,
one interesting question for heavy-light systems is the
nature and extent of the deviation from the NR potential
picture as one of the quarks becomes light.
Here we present results of a numerical lattice study of this question.
Our findings support a surprisingly simple answer.
The Coulomb gauge wave functions obtained in lattice QCD agree,
within the accuracy of our calculations, with the results of a simple
relativistic generalization of the NR quarkonium potential model.
It is only necessary to replace the NR kinetic energy term in the
Hamiltonian by its relativistic form, leaving the NR
potential unchanged.  The
only adjustable parameter is the quark
mass parameter $\mu$.
This description holds down to fairly small values of the current
quark mass, corresponding to a pion mass of approximately $300 MeV/c^2$, well
into
the region where the NR description fails.

\section{Wavefunctions in Lattice QCD}

In lattice QCD, the properties of hadronic states are studied
using correlation functions of operators which couple to the state.
Originally
local operators were used. More recently smeared (non-local) operators have
been found to improve the ability to extract the masses of meson and baryon
ground states [4].  Many of the present studies have been
done with configurations and propagators
fixed in Coulomb gauge and operators which smear the position
of the quark field uniformly over a spatial cube of variable size.
However a constant cube of any size is a very crude approximation to the
ground state wave function [5].
Hence, the propagator generally has significant
contamination from higher states
out to times large compared to the inverse of the energy splitting between the
ground state and the lowest excited state.

This is a particular problem in the study of
heavy-light correlators because they become noisy
rather rapidly in time.
Unfortunately, this is an unavoidable feature of heavy-light
systems [6,7].
Recently a multistate smearing technique
has been proposed [6]
which allows the extraction of
the properties of heavy-light states
from relatively short times.

The details of the multistate smearing method have been
presented elsewhere[6]. By choosing an appropriate orthonormal set of smearing
functions and diagonalizing the corresponding matrix of correlators, one
obtains the wave functions of not only the lowest lying state in a given
channel,
but also of radially excited states. Here we define the wave function to be
the vacuum-to-one-particle matrix element,
\begin{equation}
\Psi(\vec{r}) = \sum_a\langle 0|q_a(\vec{r},0) Q_a^{\dag}(0,0)|B\rangle
\end{equation}
where $|B\rangle$ is the state of interest. The sum is over color, and
spin labels are supressed.

Here we discuss the wave functions obtained for the 1S and 2S
levels of the S-wave pseudoscalar meson as well as a preliminary study of
the 1P state.[8] The main emphasis will be on the remarkable quantitative
agreement between the lattice QCD wave functions and those obtained from
a simple relativistic quark model Hamiltonian. The results for heavy-light
decay constants and spectroscopy will be presented at this conference
by Eichten.[9]

The investigation used an existing set of 50 configurations
(each separated by 2000 sweeps) generated by ACPMAPS on
a $16^3\times 32$ lattice at $\beta = 5.9$. The configurations
were fixed to Coulomb gauge and light quark propagators
with $\kappa = .158$ were used.
Only the four lowest energy smearing
functions were included ($N = 4$).

\section{Relativistic Quark Model}

The optimized wave functions obtained from our lattice data by the multistate
smearing method turn out to be, within errors, the same as the eigenfunctions
of a lattice version of the spinless, relativistic quark model Hamiltonian,
which
we will now define. In the absence of gauge fields, the free quark Hamiltonian
can be exactly diagonalized by introducing momentum space creation and
annihilation
operators for quarks and antiquarks. In the continuum,
\begin{eqnarray}
H_0 = \int\frac{d^3p}{(2\pi)^3} \sqrt{\vec{p}^2+\mu^2} \sum_i[
\alpha^{\dag}_i(p)\alpha_i(p)\nonumber\\
 + \beta^{\dag}_i(p)\beta_i(p)]\label{eq:H0}
\end{eqnarray}
where the sum is over spin and color labels. In terms of the covariant quark
propagator, the particle and antiparticle operators are associated with
propagation
forward and backward in time, respectively. Since $H_0$ contains no pair
creation
($\alpha^{\dag}\beta^{\dag}$) terms, it is possible to formulate the eigenvalue
problem as that of a one-body operator,
$H_0 \rightarrow \sqrt{\mu^2-\nabla^2} $
If we now turn on the gauge interaction and introduce a heavy-quark, static
color
source, the description of the bound light quark becomes, in principle,
drastically
more complicated. We know that, in the limit $\mu\gg\Lambda_{QCD}$ where the
dynamical
quark becomes heavy, the primary effect of the color source is to introduce a
static,
confining potential $V(r)$ whose form is well-measured and consistently given
by both
$Q\bar{Q}$ phenomenology and lattice QCD,
\begin{equation}
H_0 \rightarrow H = H_0 + V(r) \label{eq:SRQM}
\end{equation}
At this stage, the Hamiltonian can still be regarded as a one-body
operator[10]. As the mass of the quark becomes light, one expects more
complicated effects
arising from the gauge interaction which render the Hamiltonian eigenvalue
problem
intractable. These effects include the creation of gluons and light $q\bar{q}$
pairs,
as well as the exchange of transverse and non-instantaneous gluons with the
static
source. From the numerical results presented in the next section, we conclude
that
these effects are relatively small, and that the heavy-light meson system is
well-described
by the Hamiltonian (6), which we will refer to as the spinless relativistic
quark
model (SRQM).

\begin{figure}[htb]
\psfig{figure=figure1.ps,height=3.0in,width=2.8in}
\caption{Comparison of the 1S state in LQCD ($\times$'s) with the NRQM
(+'s) and the SRQM (boxes).}
\label{fig:toosmall}
\end{figure}

The construction of explicit eigenfunctions of the SRQM Hamiltonian is easily
accomplished by a numerical procedure. First the operator $H$ is discretized on
a 3D
lattice by replacing the spatial derivatives with finite differences
The potential energy V(r) is just the static energy
measured on the same configurations used to study
the heavy-light spectrum.
Then the resolvent
operator $(E-H)^{-1}$ acting on a source vector $\chi$ is computed by a
numerical
matrix inversion (conjugate gradient) algorithm. Finally, the parameter $E$ is
varied
to find the poles in the output vector $(E-H)^{-1}\chi$. The location of the
pole is
an eigenvalue of $H$, and its residue is the corresponding eigenfunction. In
the next
section we compare the wave functions obtained in this way from the SRQM
Hamiltonian
with the lattice QCD results.

\section{Comparison of Wavefunctions}

\begin{figure}[htb]
\psfig{figure=figure2.ps,height=3.0in,width=2.8in}
\caption{Comparison of the 2S state in LQCD ($\times$'s) with the NRQM
(+'s) and the SRQM (boxes).}
\label{fig:toosmall}
\end{figure}

\begin{figure}[htb]
\psfig{figure=figure3.ps,height=3.0in,width=2.8in}
\caption{The 1P state in LQCD extracted from T=2 (+'s), T=4 (boxes) and,
T=6 ($\times$'s}).
\label{fig:toosmall}
\end{figure}

Using the four state smeared correlator described in
section 2 an initial study for
the S-wave
channel was carried out.
After some iterative improvement of the smearing functions, it was found that
the value $\mu = .23$ for the dimensionless mass parameter in the SRQM
Hamiltonian gave the best agreement with the lattice QCD wave functions with
$\beta = 5.9, \kappa = .158$. In Fig.~1 the LQCD wave function
is plotted with the SRQM wave function. For comparison, the
nonrelativistic (NR) Schrodinger wave function (obtained by replacing the
relativistic kinetic term by $p^2/2m$) is also plotted. The mass
parameter in the NR Hamiltonian was adjusted to give the same slope at
the origin in the ground state wave function. Notice that, for large r,
the QCD and SRQM wave functions both fall exponentially. On the other
hand, the NR wave function falls faster
than exponentially ($exp(-\alpha r^{\frac{3}{2}}$), as expected from the
behavior of the analytic solution in a pure linear potential (Airy function).
Remarkably, by including the relativistic kinetic term, the SRQM wave
functions are brought into excellent agreement with those of lattice QCD,
without changing the potential from its nonrelativistic form.

In Fig.~2 we plot the excited 2S state from LQCD along with the corresponding
wave functions from the SRQM and the NR model.
The QCD wave function is somewhat more peaked at the origin, however,
the overall agreement between QCD and the SRQM is excellent.
Here, there are no adjustable parameters, $m$ being already fixed from
the 1S state fit.
Finally, in Fig.~3 we show some preliminary results of a study
of the 1P state. Here the solid line is the 1P wave function from the SRQM.
The data points depict the evolution of the P-wave LQCD radial wavefunction
extracted from time slices $T=2$ (+'s), $T=4$ (boxes), and
$T=6$ ($\times$'s), starting with an approximate guess for the initial smearing
function. The ansatz for the initial smearing function used here was a simple
$re^{-\alpha r}$ form. As the LQCD wave function evolves in Euclidean time,
it appears to approach a true eigenstate whose wavefunction again agrees
remarkably well with the SRQM result, with no adjustable parameters.

\section{Discussion}

Additional studies are in
progress using a variety of lattice sizes, gauge coupling strengths, and light
quark masses.  Preliminary results of these studies are fully consistent with
the conclusions presented here.
The agreement of lattice QCD with the SRQM wave functions suggests
that the relativistic propagation of the light valence quark is
the most important effect which must be included in a description of
heavy-light mesons.
Other field theoretic effects such as the presence
of multibody components of the wavefunction (containing gluons along
with light $q\bar{q}$ pairs arising, in quenched approximation, from the
propagation of the valence quark backward in time) are of less
quantitative importance in determining the shape of
the valence quark wave function.
Further numerical studies of the connection between lattice QCD
and the relativistic quark model are planned.

\section{Acknowledgements}

 We thank George Hockney, Aida El Khadra, Andreas Kronfeld, and
Paul Mackenzie for joint lattice efforts without which this analysis
would not have been possible.  We also thank Chris Quigg for
useful discussions. The numerical calculations were performed on the
Fermilab ACPMAPS computer system developed by the CR\&D department in
collaboration with the theory group. This work was supported in part by
the U.~S.~Department of Energy under grant No. DE-AS05-89ER40518.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaArXiv


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Santa Cruz, but I move too much!
Ouch! Okay, do you surf? If so, where's your local spot?
I used to all the time when I lived in Hawaii and I am going to start up again when I move back to Santa Cruz (I am in the process right now).
About 2 years—not very long.
My whole life is embarrassing! I am very clumsy! I guess the last good embarrassing moment was accidentally walking into a men's restroom. The guys in the urinals kind of hinted to me that I was in the wrong restroom. Or the other day when I fell down some stairs in front of a bunch of people.
Last good advice you got?
Don't touch that—an electric eel simulator thing! You put your hand on it and it shocks you. But I did it anyways and regretted it—it didn't feel too good. I should have listened.
Last time you used your looks to get something you wanted?
For her efforts, Kelsey receives a swimsuit of her choice from the good peeps at B Swim and is the running for the ultimate title; Miss Transworld SURF 2009!


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