After baking my bread from what I thought was 100% natural ingredients with no additives what could be nicer than a ham sandwich made with homemade warm bread.
Let me see, what is in the fridge. Ah a packet of cooked smoked ham with honey and mustard I picked up at the local discount store.
Well that picture is not very clear. So I will list the contents of the packet.
Pork, salt honey, mustard, dextrose, sodium acetate, sodium ascorbate, triphosphates, spice extracts, sodium nitrite all packaged in plastic which carries an 07 mark.
Easy Bake Yeast for bread baking which contains: Yeast, Sorbitan Monosterate and Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C). The flour used to bake the bread contains more ascorbic acid. The butter in the sandwich contains added salt and possible residues of chemicals used on the cow's coat and hormones used to boost dairy production.
I am fast going off the thought of eating this sandwich.


worship God, grow closer to Christ and make an impact on others.
Come experience our casual, contemporary services for yourself!
We are located on West Main Street in Lebanon, behind the Dunkin Donuts.
Click here for a map to find us.
Making an Impact on Families and Community for Generations to come!


text:
Bizarre shape of interstellar asteroid
By Paul Rincon
Science editor, BBC News website
image copyrightESO/M. Kornmesser
image captionArtwork: 'Oumuamua is now fading from the view of telescopes
An asteroid that visited us from interstellar space is one of the most elongated cosmic objects known to science, a study has shown.
Discovered on 19 October, the object's speed and trajectory strongly suggested it originated in a planetary system around another star.
Astronomers have been scrambling to observe the unique space rock, known as 'Oumuamua, before it fades from view.
Their results so far suggest it is at least 10 times longer than it is wide.
That ratio is more extreme than that of any asteroid or comet ever observed in our Solar System.
Interstellar visitor given a name
Using observations from the Very Large Telescope in Chile, Karen Meech, from the Institute for Astronomy in Honolulu, Hawaii, and colleagues determined that the object was at least 400m long, rapidly rotating and subject to dramatic changes in brightness.
These changes in brightness were the clue to 'Oumuamua's bizarre shape.
"Looking at the asteroid light curve database, there are five objects (out of 20,000) that have light curves that would suggest a shape up to an axis ratio of about 7-8 to 1," Dr Meech told BBC News.
"Our errors are very small, so we are confident this is really elongated. Also, one has to realise we don't know where the rotation pole is pointed. We assumed that it was perpendicular to the line of sight. If it were tipped over at all, then there are projection effects and the 10:1 is a minimum. It could be more elongated!"
image copyrightNASA/JPL-Caltech/IAU
image captionThe object's velocity and eccentric trajectory suggests it originated outside our Solar System
But in other respects, 'Oumuamua (pronounced oh MOO-uh MOO-uh), appears to resemble objects we know from closer to home.
"We also found that it had a reddish colour, similar to objects in the outer Solar System, and confirmed that it is completely inert, without the faintest hint of dust around it," Dr Meech said.
These properties suggest that 'Oumuamua is dense, comprised of rock and possibly metals, has no water or ice, and that its surface was reddened due to the effects of irradiation from cosmic rays over long periods of time.
Although 'Oumuamua formed around another star, scientists think it could have been wandering through the Milky Way, unattached to any star system, for hundreds of millions of years before its chance encounter with our Solar System.
"For decades we've theorised that such interstellar objects are out there, and now - for the first time - we have direct evidence they exist," said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for Nasa's science mission directorate in Washington DC.
"This history-making discovery is opening a new window to study formation of solar systems beyond our own."
If planets form around other stars the same way they did in the Solar System, many objects the size of 'Oumuamua should get slung out into space. The interstellar visitor may provide the first evidence of that process.
image copyrightESO/F. Kamphues
image captionThe Very Large Telescope in Chile was used for observations
As regards how 'Oumuamua became so elongated, Dr Meech explained: "There has been speculation among various team members about this. Sometimes very elongated objects are contact binaries... but even so, the pieces would be longer than most things in the Solar System, and our analysis shows that it is rotating fast enough that they should not stay together.
"One of our team wondered if, during a planetary system formation, if there was a large collision between bodies that had molten cores, some material could get ejected out and then freeze in an elongated shape.
"Another team member was wondering if there could be some process during the ejection - say if there was a nearby supernova explosion that could be responsible."
The cosmic interloper was discovered by Rob Weryk, a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute for Astronomy and a co-author of the new study, which is published in Nature journal.
Weryk and fellow Institute for Astronomy researcher Marco Micheli realised it was going extremely fast (with enough speed to avoid being captured by the Sun's gravitational pull) and was on a very eccentric trajectory taking it out of our Solar System.
The asteroid's name, 'Oumuamua, means "a messenger from afar arriving first" in Hawaiian.
Follow Paul on Twitter.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Zatokrev / Vancouver Split
A split release between two of Switzerland's most epic bands that cuts just twenty minutes of intensity up before fading out is a great snippet of what is going on in that country.
Zatokrev are like a more metalcore-inspired Neurosis, with a steady grind to their work, these two tracks are from the same sessions as last year's album 'Bury The Ashes'.
The contrast between the raspy frontman Fredryk and the chugging and determined riffs on display show a band capable of shifting through moods through the space of only ten all-too-brief minutes.
A label debut for new band Vancouver proves to be a full-on and harsh two tracks, with a never-ending stream of sound that almost recalls early Converge in places, the chunky bass sound and careening guitars somehow just work together to create this pacey, focused beast. Even when breaking things down like on first track 'Love Made Automato' they still sound intense and brooding.
An interesting release that should encourage people to check out both band's albums, it could also could be seen as a stop-gap to many. Had the tracks been exclusive (Vancouver's tracks here are practice space recordings and a third track recorded at the time will appear on a split 7' with Austrian band Fresnel) it might be worth more, as it is, a good taster, but nothing more.
Forums - - Zatokrev / Vancouver - Split


text:
Q: change upload folder and putting the location of the image in the api - sails.js I have a client-side application register form that send data to my sails.js based server.
other then the basic data that's being send, i also have an image upload that uploads the image to ./tmp/uploads
here is my server side code(in the controller):
upload: function  (req, res) {
   req.file('avatar').upload({ dirName: 'uploads' }, function (err, uploadedFiles){
      if (err) return res.send(500, err);
      res.view({
        items: uploadedFiles
      });
   });
}

1) how do i change the folder that the files goes to? i obiously dont want the files be saved in .tmp folder
2)how do i insert the image location to the data api that has just being created? and speaking of image location, how do i access the image file? i usualy expected something like this localhost:1337/.tmp/uploads/file.jpg would work.

A: 1) You have to put an absolute path in the prop 'dirname', for example:
var PATH = '/var/www/app/uploads';
req.file('avatar').upload({ dirname: PATH }, function (err, uploadedFiles){

Or you can use a relative path to the controller:
var PATH = __dirname + '/../uploads';
req.file('avatar').upload({ dirname: PATH }, function (err, uploadedFiles){

2) You have access to every model in your controllers, suppose that you have an Image model, you could save the location this way:
Image.update({id:1},{location: PATH + '/' + uploadedFiles[0].filename})

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


1. Select and purchase a book from the JCDS Library Wish List. The wish list can be found at Amazon.com.
The JCDS Library Wish List is generated at Amazon.com, but a hardback copy of any book on the list would be a welcome donation from any source. Books may be personally delivered to the school library, or shipped directly to: JCDS Library Birthday Books, 10063 Baymeadows Rd, Jacksonville, FL 32256.
2. Write a note that indicates the birthday child's name, month and day of birth date, and homeroom teacher. This note can be placed in the physical book or noted on the online order.
3. Email csenn@jcds.com when a birthday book is selected, and we will email a reply as soon as the book is received. In order to ensure delivery in time for the birthday child's special day, donors may purchase books as far in advance as they choose.
• The library staff will print the birthday child's name on an honorary book plate to be placed on the inside cover of the book and create an honorary mention in the library card catalog.
• Students will be able to search the birthday child's name in the card catalog and find the entry for the donated book.
• The child's name and donated book will be added to the birthday book display in the library.
• Birthday books will be presented in front of the child's class, and the honoree will have the option of being first to borrow the donated book.
Thank you for your birthday book donation!
Please feel free to email library@jcds.com with any questions.


A real time CPRI compression solution is experimentally investigated. Tests have been performed on a LTE fronthaul link measuring its impact on EVM and latency. The obtained results show a 73% compression compliant with 3GPP specifications.
This work has been funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 iCirrus project (grant no. 644526) and 5G-PPP 5G-Crosshaul (grant no. 671598) and the French LAMPION project (ANR-13-INFR-0002) 2016 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other uses, in any current or future media, including reprinting/republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes, creating new collective works, for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted component of this work in other works.
Cite all versions? You can cite all versions by using the DOI 10.5281/zenodo.1044331. This DOI represents all versions, and will always resolve to the latest one. Read more.


There's a proverb that says "March comes in like a lion and out like a lamb." It starts with cold, wintry weather, but usually ends with much nicer spring-like weather. At least here in the greater Boston area, the month of March has certainly come in like a lion.
This entry was posted in Holidays/Culture, Idioms. Bookmark the permalink.


text:
This Lamborghini has been turned into an incredible work of art
August 18, 2019 /0 Comments/in Car News, MSN Custom Autos /by John Redfern
Some might argue that a Lamborghini Aventador S is already worthy of display in an art gallery, with bold lines and geometric shapes.
However, the Italian supercar manufacturer has taken things further, inviting young street artist Skyler Grey to create this bespoke collectors item.
The grand unveiling of this special Lamborghini is part of Monterey Car Week 2019, taking pride of place in the Lamborghini Pavilion at the Pebble Beach Golf Course.
A complete blank canvas
It takes a brave person to use a paint roller on a $420,000 (£342,000) supercar, but that was exactly what 19-year-old Skyler Grey did.
Lamborghini invited the young artist to its new paint facility at the Sant'Agata factory, allowing him to unleash his full arsenal of street art tools and techniques.
Along with the rollers, Grey
used air brushes, spray guns, and stencils to transform the original Arianco Atlas (orange) paintwork of the V12-powered Aventador S.
Bold splashes of yellow, orange, and white have been used by Grey to bring turn the Aventador S into something Andy Warhol would be proud of.
Planning the design concept took almost a year. Grey needed to liaise with various teams at the Lamborghini factory to ensure his vision was viable.
Actually turning his ideas into a finished creation took a total of three weeks. The artist completed the exterior design by signing his name on the bodywork.
Total stitch up
Not even the interior has been spared from a makeover, with the Grey adding an extra custom design to the real panel.
Grey has added the embroidered image of a cartoon bull, surrounded by splashes of simulated paint. Lamborghini used its skilled upholstery experts to make the design come to life.
By contrast, the remainder of the cockpit in black leather with orange stitching seems almost subtle.
Fighting the counterfeiters
Along with pushing the boundaries of cars as art, Lamborghini has used new technology in selling the finished Aventador S.
With Grey's work already attracting an impressive following, it is perhaps unsurprising that an avid art collector has snapped up the finished mid-engine coupe.
Lamborghini has used blockchain technology to register and certify the car as authentic. The aim is to stop anyone from attempting to pass off an imitation of Grey's work as the real deal.
Grey's Aventador creation is the latest addition to a list of Lamborghinis turned into works of art. Earlier this year, photographer Fabian Oefner released images of a classic Miura which appeared to be exploding into component parts.
However, this special Aventador S is due to start firmly in one piece for now. The Lamborghini Pavilion at Pebble Beach will see it on display alongside other regular production models.
Lamborghini has also revealed a new roadster version of the Aventador SVJ, limited to just 63 examples. Also on show is the Huracan Evo GT Celebration, which pays homage to the endurance racing success of the brand.
BMW is going to Coachella with art-covered i8s
Hyundai makes a bold statement with unique Tucson N Line art car
Lexus has made an art car
https://i1.wp.com/www.motoringresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Lamborghini-Aventador-S-2019-Art-Car-001.jpg?fit=1920%2C1080&ssl=1 1080 1920 John Redfern https://www.motoringresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/mr-top-motoring.svg John Redfern2019-08-18 15:02:482019-08-18 15:02:48This Lamborghini has been turned into an incredible work of art


text:
Gaggle Safety Management
Texas 5,001-25,000 students
Wichita Falls ISD
Once You Save One Student's Life, the Investment Has Paid for Itself
Wichita Falls Independent School District (ISD) implemented 1:1 Chromebooks without having a formal system in place to monitor students' mental, emotional, and social health issues.
Wichita Falls ISD revamped their district culture, implementing new physical, emotional, and social health supports, including the Gaggle student safety platform.
Administrators have intervened in at least 10 different situations where 2:00am phone calls or in-home visits helped thwart potentially dangerous situations.
"We're thinking about what students feel, what they're thinking, and how they're doing emotionally."
Michael S. Kuhrt
For Wichita Falls Independent School District (ISD), monitoring the mental and emotional health of 14,100 students across 26 campuses was difficult, if not almost impossible. Its most useful tool was the Gallup Student Poll, which was administered once a year to students in the fifth through twelfth grades.
"This will be our third year doing the poll, and that's the only longitudinal data we really had to work with," said Superintendent Michael S. Kuhrt. The poll focuses on questions like "Do you feel connected?" and "When you're at school, do you feel that an adult at the school cares about you?"
In certain instances, the answers gave Wichita Falls ISD administrators the information they needed to be able to intervene when situations arose, and to respond accordingly to those issues. When the district realized three years ago that it needed a more formalized approach to monitoring student mental health issues, it called on Gaggle for help.
Everything Became Real
It's been three years since Wichita Falls ISD rolled out its 1:1 Chromebooks initiative. Relying on a combination of Chromebook filters, it was able to detect when students were visiting prohibited websites and/or otherwise going against the district's usage guidelines.
"We felt pretty safe," said Kuhrt. "Then, when we started using Gaggle to monitor what students were really talking and writing about online, all of a sudden everything became a lot more real."
This happened right around the time the district was putting the finishing touches on its new belief system. The new approach included developing systems that would identify and meet the physical, emotional, and social needs of Wichita Falls ISD's students. "We spent the last year evaluating, adjusting, and looking at the systems that we currently have in place to support those needs," Kuhrt explained.
Today, attention to student health is embedded in everything Wichita ISD does. "We're thinking about what students feel, what they're thinking, and how they're doing emotionally," Kuhrt said, "much like we do with academics and everything else. We've codified it into our strategic design framework."
You Can't Afford Not to Have This
Since implementing Gaggle, Wichita Falls ISD has used the student safety platform to intervene in about 10 different situations that could have turned into crises had no one responded or helped out at the right time. In some cases, the Gaggle alerts prompted administrators to make calls to students' homes at 2:00am or to make an impromptu home visit.
"Those are the extremes," continued Kuhrt, "but we also saw some really disturbing things that students were talking about and risks they were taking that just weren't healthy." He said Gaggle raised red flags quickly in these situations, letting the district know that something was amiss and that it needed to act.
In other situations, students intentionally posted comments that would get Gaggle's attention, knowing that it would provide them with a safe place for expressing their fears and concerns.
"They knew we'd catch it and follow up," explained Kuhrt, whose team uses a flowchart to identify the contacting and intervening process that kicks into gear when Gaggle flags a problem online.
To other schools or districts that are considering a student safety platform, he said it should be a natural choice for any institution that wants to keep its students and staff safe from harm. "I don't think you have a choice but to get Gaggle," Kuhrt stated. "Once you save one child's life, the investment has more than paid for itself."
READ THE FULL STORY HIDE THE FULL STORY


The Associate General Counsel will be responsible for providing day to day legal support to the US government, commercial, international defense and intelligence and/or platform business units. This individual must have experience in drafting and negotiating standard and non-standard commercial contracts, interpreting and drafting license terms, advising internal business leaders on risk and developing solutions. Some international and/or US government contracting experience is preferred. Proven personnel management skills and excellent written and verbal communication skills are required. This position reports to the Vice President and DigitalGlobe General Counsel.
Lead attorney supporting one or more regional and/or functional business groups within the company.
Analyze complex business and legal issues to provide legal services and advice to commercial and US government business units for sales transactions, domestic and international.
Develop complex business contracts and determine when legal actions are necessary.
Interpret requests for proposals, develop contract positions and articulate the positions with supporting documentation to management.
Support the development and offering of new products.
Draft and provide guidance/training on contract templates and procedures.
Responsible for managing and developing junior attorneys.
Provide such other support as requested.
Juris Doctorate degree with an excellent academic record from accredited law school. MBA preferred.
Admitted in Colorado or eligible for admission.
15+ years of experience, with some in-house experience and law firm experience preferred, and 10+ years of management experience.
Extensive transactional experience. Must be able to structure and draft agreements for complex transactions.
Excellent customer relations and negotiating skills.
Proven ability to manage and work on a team.
Ability to travel as needed, including internationally.
Professional and positive approach to daily business.
Must be team oriented and have the ability to think creatively in resolving business and legal issues.
Must be able to lead teams of people to meet corporate goals and deadlines.
Hardworking, service oriented, self-starter with excellent communication skills.


90' Golbourne with a low cross on the run from the left wing, too close to Tom Heaton who gathers at his near post.
89' Byrne clattered as he charges down the Clarets 'keeper. Referee waves away Wolves appeals.
89' Burnley fire the free-kick towards the Wolves box but it's dealt with by the home side.
87' Henry picks up the ball on the edge of the Burnley area before bending a cracking effort just wide of the target.
87' Back-to-back shots from Afobe and Byrne from 18-yards, both blocked before the visitors hook clear.
85' McDonald gets a stern talking to by the referee as Wolves concede a free-kick in the middle of the park.
83' Afobe heads down McDonald's cross into the path of Edwards who fires just wide of the target on the turn.
81' Matthew Taylor with another free-kick into the Wolves box - again met by McDonald but this time deflects into the hands of Ikeme.
81' Matthew Taylor's free-kick from the Burnley right wing is headed clear by, first man, McDonald.
77' Sub for Burnley: Stephen Ward replaces Ben Mee.
76' Edwards sets Henry as he charges into the Clarets box, he fires a low cross towards the six-yard box but it's hooked clear.
75' Sub for Burnley: George Boyd is replaced by Matthew Taylor.
74' Byrne chips a cross towards Edwards at the back post, the midfielder rises but just can't get on the end of it.
73' Tendayi Darikwa whips a cross in from the right wing but it's too close to Ikeme who gathers at his near post.
68' Afobe rises and narrowly heads wide form Henry's cross from the right wing. Close again from the striker.
Vokes get a loud ovation from all corners of the stadium as he jogs from the field.
65' Sub for Burnley: Sam Vokes is replaced by Rouwen Hennings.
62' The ball lands at the feet of Afobe just inside the Burnley box, his left footed shot misses just wide of the upright. So close.
59' Henry looks to glance a header inside the far post from Iorfa's cross but the effort misses just wide.
57' Double sub for Wolves: Carl Ikeme and Nathan Byrne replace Emi Martinez and Sheyi Ojo.
55' George Boyd rounds Ikeme and finds the side netting but he'd long been flagged offside.
53' George Boyd with a left-footed effort from outside the Wolves box drags harmlessly wide.
52' Ojo looks to break to the byline, he appears to be brought down by Tendayi Darikwa but the winger sees yellow for simulation.
47' Quick attack from Wolves - Edwards picks out Ojo on the left wing who shoots for goal but misses over the target.
And we're back underway at Molineux. Wolves now attacking the goal in front of the North Bank.
H/T Wolves 0-0 Burnley: The sides go into the break level after a half of very little opportunity. Both teams defending well so far.
45+1' Henry's looping ball towards the back post is just missed by a leaping Ojo and the ball runs long.
45' Ben Mee sees yellow for bringing down Ojo as Wolves look to break.
42' Great ball from Henry cleared in the Clarets six-yard box before the winger bends a left-footed shot just wide of the target.
41' Afobe rises in the Wolves box to head a Burnley corner clear. Martinez gets out to smother the follow-up ball.
Passing the 40-minute mark and there haven't been many chances to speak of so far. Both back lines on top. Remains 0-0.
38' The corner's worked short before McDonald lifts a ball into the Burnely box. Joey Barton's clattered by Tom Heaton as they both jump.
37' Henry whips a deep free-kick into the Clarets box where George Boyd heads behind for a corner.
35' Edwards looks for goal first time from 25-yards out after Ojo wins the ball in midfield but his shot is blocked at close range.
32' Henry looks for goal from the free-kick but Tom Heaton gets across to pick the ball out of the air as it heads for the top corner.
32' Great work from Golbourne to drive forward on the left wing, the ball's worked to Ojo who's brought down for a free-kick.
30' McDonald looks for the run of Afobe but his pass is just too long and Tom Heaton gets up to gather.
26' Afobe released into the Burnley box, he shoots from a difficult angle and forces Tom Heaton to palm over his crossbar.
22' Sam Vokes rises to meet Joey Barton's cross from the right wing but the forward just can't get there and the ball runs long.


July 18, 2012 — Ethiopian strongman Meles Zenawi may not survive his battle with an unspecified illness that's thought to be blood cancer, according to western diplomatic sources who spoke to the Telegraph news agency.
The 57-year-old dictator is being treated in a Brussels hospital as a private patient and is listed as being in 'critical' condition by European officials who asked not to be named.
"He is being treated as a private person and the information is confidential but it is understood that he is critically ill," a diplomat informed the London-based news agency.
The ailing premier is thought to suffer from a number of illnesses including blood cancer, brain tumor and type 2 diabetes.
After weeks of denial, the Ethiopian government admitted Meles was being hospitalized on Monday but denied he was in critical condition.
A scheduled news conference by the government to clear up his health status to the media Wednesday afternoon was postponed without explanation, leaving many citizens to wonder if the regime is buying time for a successor.


Lothringen country, after the thirty year war, devastated by misery, hunger and all kind of diseases... Human solidarity creates spontaneously small iles of help and hope; from a small group of Sisters of St. Charles Borromeo in Nancy, a larger community grows and roots in 1837 in Prague where the hospital Pod Petřínem and Congregation in Řepy are founded as a second province of the Sisters. Care for children and adults, and later on for 83 years, hands offerred to convicted women. Further activity was interrupted by the state forced exile of Sisters expelled to border region for 40 years. After the so called velvet revolution, the Sisters came back to provide new services for needed – sick and elderly, and also, in historical tradition, to cooperate with the Prison Service for the benefit of convicted women.
Saint Charles Borromeo Home is a church institution where four different worlds are joined to create quite a unique project. These are the Congregation of Sisters of Mercy of St. Charles Borromeo, elderly and sick people, convicted women, and lay staff. These four worlds meet within the Home spaces to create together the environment of mutual help and cooperation.
The Home's mission is to care for people who are sick and advanced in age. In order to fulfil the mission, we provide social and curative stays in the wards and day care centre. To the wards, we accept patients for transient period when their families are unable to secure a good quality care to their sick or not self-sufficient members. Within one year, more than 400 patients alternate on 92 beds meanwhile their families get the needed help in difficult situations.
Many families or relatives who care for their close members get often into difficult situations when they are unable to secure relevant care for a transitory period, or they are exhausted and need a rest before they could provide further care. Sometimes it is necessary to bridge certain period from submitting the application for residence in a permanent institution when home care becomes impossible. Such need is a core idea of social interim stays. During the time when an elderly person is comitted to our care, we do our best to provide him/her with complex treatment which involves, apart from medical treatment, also physiotherapy, ergotherapy and cultural events to restore self-aid; we also offer spiritual aid, and, within possible limits, we respect individual needs of all entrusted to us.
We offer after treatment and rehabilitative stays to in-ward patients for period when they do not require acute medical care but cannot be without nurse care. In order to ease their transfer to their families in better condition or, at least in a stable condition to some residential social institution, we provide for them top quality care of our physicians and other medical staff together with basic condition rehabilitation. It involves also general activation and participation in cultural events; by means of loving milieu of spiritual services, the patients are accepted with all individual wishes and needs, the dying persons are surrounded with compassion and professionally administred palliative treatment.
Day visits to the pleasant day care centre also help families and elderlies who, during work days, spend their time there meanwhile their caring people are at work. Therefore they can live in their families and do not feel precociously expelled to a permanent medical institution. These are in general people advanced in age, incapable of self-aid and very often physicaly or mentaly handicapped, often with various kinds of dementia so they cannot be left at home on their own. During the visit in the day care centre, they are provided with not only all day nutrition and hygienic assistance but, above all, with ergotherapeutic and physiotherapeutic programmes, various activities which they can either watch or také part in; also the need of social contact within the group supervised by the kind staff is satisfied there.
We do not regard spiritual aid as a mere "extra bonus" but consider it an essential and needed part of our service to all clients and patients. For us, spiritual aid is one of basic human needs which we try to fulfil according to individual personal demands.
Every elderly committed to our care has the full right to use spiritual help offered consisting of private discussions, lending spiritual literature, prayers in group or private, meetings with priest, taking the Holy Communion, direct attendance of services in our church or listening it via audio and video transfers, possibility of common prayer and spiritual guidance in general. He/she has also the right which usually cannot be any longer indicated by him/her and is, therefore, in that case our full obligation – the right to be guided in his/her last hours of life by our presence, compassion and prayers. Our care for dying persons does not end at providing hygienic and medical needs. It equally comprises understanding of their deepest and essential need which finally remains as the only and ultimate one – the reconciliation with others, with the own life and death – and to pass away peacefully, being aware of security.
The important aspect of spiritual care is a respectful relationship, equally complaisant and open to everybody's mind, to persons of different communions and atheists. Everybody's own conviction is to be highly esteemed by all of us.
The Sisters` mission is very simple – strong by faith, efficiently serve all in need. It is really no matter who the needed are; it could be a sick or dying person, child or adult mentally or physically handicapped or deprived of freedom as well as a poor – either in spirit or health, someone who, perhaps, lives in materiál abundance but lacks the essential – purpose of life, love and assurance, sense and awareness of security.
Local community consists of the Sister Congregation. Some of them are employed in the Home, some, mostly elderly, help within their limits and create family background for the others. The Sisters are engaged in spiritual care for the patients, they work in the church, také part in the Home activities, meet people from vicinity, the staff, the patients and their visitors as well as the convicted women. The community of Sisters also lively cooperates with the local parish.
In comparison with large hospitals, ours is relatively a small one, therefore it is more important to become successful in creating friendly, open and helping relationships. In every family, variety in characters, age and education exists naturally. The more this variety mediates the unity and enhencement and not parting lines, the more benefits gain our patients and ourselves too. We do not intend to change other people but to change ourselves, our mutual relationships, our work, our attitude towards the people entrusted to us. We would like to be an encouragement for each other and return home joyful from success; we would like to behave to our co-workers, as well as to ourselves, in a moderate, pleasant, kind, and tolerant manner.
The volunteers have been an important part of the St. Charles Borromeo Home from the beginning, and are connected to the staff and Borromean Sisters by cordial friendship. They help not only the patients but also the staff to organize cultural and social events. Volunteers are mostly students and retired people but also people in work age are among them. The volunteers do not bring money to the Home but they do create values.
The Prison Sentence Ward Repy as a part of the Custody Prison in Ruzyne is an indispensable part of St. Charles Borromeo Home. Convicted women thus actually stay in the Home where they have opportunity to work – mostly cleaning, gardening, laundry, kitchen work. Because the Home provides sick people care, there is a new opportunity for the clients of the Prison Service to work as sanitarian personnel – for that work there is a possibility of requalification in sanitarian training course. The certificate gained there is valid for application for the job in the new service in health/social institutions after serving the sentence. For resident Prison Sentece Ward, women are chosen based on psychological testing, their personal characteristics are assessed as well as the kind of the crime committed, expert opinions are considered. The Home enables them to participate in cultural events, concerts etc., they can touch spiritual values and the world of the Sisters. Especially nursing care for sick provides them a not yet usual opportunity for them – to think about life, illness, helplessness, old age, and dying. They touch real world, they are learning not only new working habits but also how to accept nice relationships and trust given them by their co-workers. All this very often causes the change of their attitude.
The Home environment provides background for mutual meetings and common cultural, spiritual and social events where the Home staff and volunteers také part in cooperation with the Prison Service clients, local inhabitants and parish communionists. Various types of schools come to visit our patients and attend various events organized for them – in range from small children up to university students.
Combination of all the activities creates a full cultural offer for the patients as well as for seniors and handicapped persons from the vicinity.
The Home also became a training centre for five sanitary schools where the students follow a good example of thorough work of our staff. Also we gladly give our time to numerous excursions from home and abroad which would like to learn interesting and effective connection between various types of health, social and training services.
All this brings also benefit for our patients who are pleased by the other people interest in them and the environment they live in. They do not feel expelled from the society and gladly give evidence how content they feel with us.
Neither in history nor today, fair and reliable level of such services could be covered only by financial sources from the state (subsidies, insurances). We are always dependent on support which we ourselves have to find, to ask and be always grateful for.


text:
Resources for: Japanese Studies
All databases A-Z
by David Faust Last Updated Jun 17, 2021 3 views this year
East and Southeast Asian News
by David Faust Last Updated Nov 23, 2021 3 views this year
by David Faust Last Updated Jun 2, 2021 8 views this year
by David Faust Last Updated Sep 30, 2021 2 views this year
Contact me for research help on this subject.
David Faust
This guide is designed for new researchers who need to find articles, sources, and get started with research in topics related to Japanese studies.
Start with:
Academic Search Premier
A great place to start your research on any topic, search multidisciplinary, scholarly research articles. This database provides access to scholarly and peer reviewed journals, popular magazines and other resources.
Bibliography of Asian Studies
Search topics, especially in the humanities and the social sciences, on East, Southeast, and South Asia published worldwide. You can also find citations to journal articles, chapters in edited volumes, conference proceedings, anthologies, and more.
Then try any of the following:
Complete Database for Japanese Magazine and Periodicals from the Meiji Era to the Present
Index to periodical articles published in Japanese, including those in former Japanese colonies, and including local periodicals not present in many other indexes. Coverage is from Meiji Era to the present.
If you get an enable cookie message off-campus, then do a refresh of your browser, so the correct page will load.
Access is limited for a few simultaneous users. Please log off after use to release seats for others.
MagazinePlus
The largest searchable database in Japan with over 7 million records, including a wide range of scholarly, general interest, business, and sports periodicals. The database permits searches by keyword, author, publication title, or publisher. It does not provide full-text access.
MagazinePlus requires that U of MN users sign a user's agreement with staff at Wilson Library. Please visit the Reference Desk on the first floor of Wilson Library to sign the agreement and get the URL for accessing MagazinePlus.
Japanese Studies Advanced Guide
Extensive list of databases and websites for more advanced research.
Painting Edo: Japanese Art from the Feinberg Collection
Harvard Art Museum online exhibition.
East Asian Library
Collection, in Wilson Library, focused on Chinese, Japanese, and Korean language materials, serving the instructional and research needs of the East Asian studies and more.
URL: https://libguides.umn.edu/japan


I love my roommate and I love birthdays. So celebrating her 26th was wonderful! Good food, good company, and the best way to bring in 26!
Not all are do blessed as to genuinely like spending time with their roommate. I am so blessed, and therefore so grateful. It's our last week together before she moves on to other exciting life events, so I'm feeling sappy.


Since you'll already be changing your clocks this weekend for Daylight Savings Time, why not install new light bulbs at the same time you're changing your batteries in your smoke detectors? Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) is reminding customers that they can save money – up to $7 per bulb – on Advanced LED light bulbs with in-store rebates at participating home improvement retailers.
Advanced LED light bulbs use about 75 percent less energy than traditional incandescent bulbs and offer a supreme light quality that makes rooms look and feel great.
PG&E is encouraging customers to stop and take advantage of PG&E's instant rebates and embrace the long-term cost savings they provide. Advanced LED light bulbs are designed to last 20 years or longer and are backed by a five-year manufacturer warranty. They offer many other benefits over incandescent and fluorescent types; they're non-toxic, dimmable, cool to the touch and offer instant brightness and brilliant color and warmth that looks better in any room.
To find these instant rebates, look for PG&E's Advanced LED emblem on eligible products at home improvement stores throughout Northern and Central California. PG&E is partnering with major retailers such as Home Depot, Lowe's, Ace Hardware, Costco and 99 Ranch Market to give customers instant rebates and make the Advanced LEDs easy to spot on store shelves. To find a participating store, visit www.pge.com/advancedLED and look for PG&E's Advanced LED signage in the lighting section.
The Advanced LED emblem signifies products that meet or exceed a voluntary California Energy Commission quality and performance standard for LED light bulbs. Advanced LED bulbs offer enhanced color, efficiency, durability and other features important to customers. Lighting manufacturers created the Advanced LED light bulb to specifically meet California's highest standards in energy-efficient home lighting.
Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG) , is one of the largest combined natural gas and electric utilities in the United States. Based in San Francisco, with more than 20,000 employees, the company delivers some of the nation's cleanest energy to nearly 16 million people in Northern and Central California. For more information, visit www.pge.com/ and www.pge.com/en/about/newsroom/index.page.


text:
The Anti-Death League by Kingsley Amis
Continuing my survey of Kingsley Amis's fiction, inspired by reading an excellent biography of Amis, we come to The Anti-Death League. Although it has its flaws, this remains one of my favourite Amis novels and, re-reading it now, I was impressed by how vividly I remembered certain sequences in it from literally decades ago.
Amis was a fan of crime and spy fiction and The Anti-Death League is his attempt at a spy novel. He isn't entirely comfortable with the form — plotting was seldom Amis's strong point and the espionage narrative here is stop-start and often crops up in perfunctory chunks, as if the author's real interest is elsewhere. Which indeed it is. On the other hand, this aspect of The Anti-Death League is fascinating for its relationship with Amis's books about James Bond. He wrote two non-fiction volumes about Ian Fleming's character and, after Fleming's death (and shortly after The Anti-Death League), Amis wrote a 007 novel himself called Colonel Sun which probably remains the best Bond story not written by Fleming.
The Anti-Death League centres on a military base guarding a secret weapon and Amis's army experience during the Second World War is put to good use here. There is a sense of veracity to his soldiers, particularly the way they begin energetically swearing whenever their life is made more difficult (invariably by a superior officer).
And there are some classic Amis observations about the army, and the British class system, as when describing a character's batman (this odd English term means an officer's servant or butler): "his contempt for politicians... would have been totally admirable if expressed in a better accent." Elsewhere, it is said of a handsome young soldier, "He would have been a good model for a recruiting poster... had it not been for his air of intelligence."
The book features a large cast of characters, so large in fact that the author himself grows weary of describing them. "Two men in their thirties... One was very tall and very thin with ears at right angles to his skull. The other was just a man." This is one of the flaws of the book — there are so many characters that the reader loses track of who is who among this extensive roll call.
It doesn't help that the characters are almost all soldiers at the same military base, some with utterly unmemorable names, some of them unmemorable characters, some alternately referred to by their first and last names — some with last names that sound like first names; I give you Captain Brian Leonard.
All this is a recipe for chaos and incomprehension (I'm still trying to work out who the @£$# 'Alistair' might have been...) and this confusion is aggravated by some clumsy and careless proofreading as in the crucial scene where Max Hunter (one of the few characters I could keep track of) suddenly disappears from the narrative without Amis bothering to tell us he has left the room. And the muddle reaches a frustrating climax at the final grand reveal, where we learn the identity of the spy and I thought... Wait a minute, who the hell is that?
Nevertheless, there are occasional fine moments of action and suspense in the novel and some superb comic characterisation, notably a brilliantly nasty shrink who projects his sexual obsessions onto all his psychiatric patients.
And there is also some quite touching characterisation, like the army padre who is very fond of his dog, who has just become agitated in this scene: " 'It's all right,' he said, stroking her head... 'It's nice of you to worry about me, but there's no need.' "
Amis's gift for description is also strongly to the fore, as in the spy hunter's alarm at learning of a minor security breach: "Leonard felt as if a hot sponge had been pressed against the back of his neck." Later in the book Leonard wearily parks his car, drained after a long, hard and unsuccessful night of spy-hunting and there he "sat for some moments accumulating the will to get out."
There is also a memorably terse sex scene — "It was fine; it was successful; it was over." — which would have done credit to Dashiell Hammett describing a heist. Or again, when the hero is asked by his friend to disclose the details of a secret mission, and the tension is resolved by a three word sentence: "Churchill told him."
Amis's love of science fiction is also an influence on the novel, not just on his choice of a highly portable tactical nuclear weapon as a MacGuffin for the story, but in his impressive description of it in action: "There was the sharp knocking bang of an ordinary rifle cartridge, and then what might almost have been a small piece of the sun came into being across the valley." The sound is described as a "summarized thunderclap."
Later on, a sound from a loudspeaker is presented as being "like a brontosaurus clearing its nostrils", an image which recalls the ship's siren which was like an "ogre breaking wind" in Amis's That Uncertain Feeling.
There is also a strong science fiction influence at work here in the notion of a "node" of death which the characters are passing through in their lives — dangerous at the edges, deadly at the centre. Although this is arguably more like supernatural fiction, especially in the vendetta one of the character carries out against god — the book could as easily be called The Anti-God League, though admittedly that would be a much more crappy title.
Perhaps the most agreeable, and successful, spy-novel aspect of The Anti-Death League is when one of the characters goes nuts and begins to hilariously describe himself as a character in a sub-Bond style spy novel, averting a pulp-fiction apocalypse and being waited on hand and foot by nude servants: "[His] last exploit had saved the world from destruction by death rays... [his] eye ran lazily over their naked forms." (I'm being coy about his name here because I don't want to spoil any surprises in the book.)
For all that it's full of fun, this is ultimately one of Amis's darkest novel. I also think, despite its numerous deficiencies, it's one of his best — although it is merely a warm up for such splendours to come, in the shape not just of a much more successful spy novel (Colonel Sun) but also a classic ghost story (The Green Man).
(Image credits: Sparse pickings, just the striking US hardcover and handsome Penguin Modern Classic from Good Reads. The British hardcover with its elegant Raymond Hawkey/Adrian Flowers jacket photo — Amis's first illustrative cover from Gollancz — is taken from an ABE seller and the great — and hilariously misleading — Bond style Ballantine cover is from another ABE seller. The earlier Penguin cartoon cover, by the talented Arthur Robins (misspelled "Robbins") is from Amazon UK. The later Penguin cartoon cover is also by Arthur Robins and is from Amazon dot com.)
A Walk Among the Tombstones by Scott Frank
A couple of weeks ago I wrote a post about Lawrence Block's fine novel A Walk Among the Tombstones (thanks, Miranda!). I concluded by saying I was looking forward to seeing Scott Frank's film adaptation. Well, I've now seen it and I was irresistibly reminded of the days when I was a young teenager illicitly attending what were then called "X-certificate" films — films you had to be 18 or over to see. And not because Frank's movie is an 18-certificate picture, although it is very much that.
What I remember is a particular occasion when I went to the cinema with a bunch of friends. We were all about 15. And we were challenged. Before they let us in to the movie, they asked us how old we were. Each of us in turn said, "I'm 18" — except for one of our party. He faltered and said, "I'm 17." Now, he was 15 just like the rest of us. So his answer has always struck me as very strange. That is, he managed to lie. But he just couldn't bring himself to lie enough.
This came to mind during A Walk Among the Tombstones because the book was published in 1992 and, due to some technological aspects of the novel, it is very much tied to that period. It was the days of pagers, long before cell phones ruled the earth. And this was crucial to the plot. So I wondered whether Scott Frank would update the movie to make it contemporary, or do it as a period piece (which would enable him to leave some of the subplots intact).
Well, it turns out he's done neither. The movie isn't contemporary or set in 1992. It's set in 1999. For no apparent reason. There's endless references to Y2K in the dialogue, in newspaper headlines, in ads on passing buses and even on a giant graffiti mural Liam Neeson strolls past. But it's all irrelevant, and rather pointless. In other words, Scott Frank managed to backdate the movie, but he just couldn't bring himself to backdate it enough.
Scott Frank — who is a terrific screenwriter and no mean director — has taken considerable other liberties with Lawrence Block's novel. Some of which are good, others not so much. He's injected the tragic backstory of the hero Matt Scudder as a major element of the movie, cunningly played out, and that works supremely well.
But numerous subplots and characters from Tombstones have bitten the dust. Frank has preserved the big setpiece ending with the ransom payment in the cemetery and much of what happens afterwards. And he's kept — and even built up — the role of TJ, who is Matt Scudder's teenage streetkid sidekick. And he's really gone to town on the Alcoholics Anonymous aspect of the book.
But he's got rid of, for instance, Scudder's callgirl girlfriend — which makes the movie considerably bleaker than the book and has the unfortunate unintended side effect of making Scudder's relationship with TJ seem a bit suspect.
Two of Scott Frank's great early screenplays, Out of Sight and Get Shorty were adaptations of novels by Elmore Leonard, and they succeeded largely because Frank remained remarkably faithful to the source material. He even preserved many of the quirky little details. But his approach to Lawrence Block's book seems dramatically different. Maybe he doesn't regard Block as quite so important a novelist as Elmore Leonard. If so, he's mistaken. And if he'd stuck more rigorously to Block's orginal he could have avoided some of the more ridiculous contrivances of the movie and his reworked plot (a sinister network of video shops; counterfeit banknotes with wet ink; a magical escape from handcuffs).
A Walk Among the Tombstones is a good movie. It's dark and engrossing and well worth seeing. But it's not a great movie. And Lawrence Block's book is a great book. In fact it's a classic of the genre. It's a pity Scott Frank didn't seem to feel the same way. And perhaps therefore he missed coming up with a film which could also have been a classic.
My verdict? Read the book and then see the movie, and see what you think of the changes Scott Frank made.
(Image credits: Thin pickings at Ace Show Biz.)
How Not to End a Movie
Before I Go to Sleep is an engrossing and clever thriller. It is directed by Rowan Joffe with a script by him based on the novel by S.J. Watson. (Joffe previously wrote an excellent screenplay for the outstanding George Clooney thriller The American.) Before I Go to Sleep is also superbly cast (Nicole Kidman, Colin Firth, Mark Strong) and beautifully photographed.
Unfortunately, it features a final scene so badly miscalculated that it almost nullifies all the positive qualities of the preceding movie. And for anyone interested in movie scripts or film storytelling, it's worth briefly considering what went wrong here...
Inevitably, this is going to involve some spoilers, so if you think you might want to see the movie, I strongly advise you to watch it and only then read this. Thrillers thrive on surprise, and I'm about to let some cats out of the bag.
First, however, I'd like to cite another movie which blundered spectacularly in its final moments – and for much the same reason. Billy Elliot was a touching story of a skinny working class kid who wants to be — of all things — a ballet dancer. Against all the odds, and predictable prejudices, he succeeds.
And at the end of the movie we jump ten years to watch the grown up Billy in action. Suddenly there's this big hairy bastard we've never seen before, and don't know from Adam, bounding around on stage. The grandiose ending just doesn't work — because we have no emotional investment in this stranger. Who is this big hairy bastard? Where's the plucky, skinny kid whose plight we've come to care about? Catastrophically misjudged, I say.
Similarly, at the end of Before I Go to Sleep, our amnesiac heroine, played by Nicole Kidman, is reunited with the husband and son she thought she'd lost forever. And we are given to understand that her memory is coming back.
The problem is, we've never seen the husband and son before in the movie. Not as they are now. So they come across as total strangers. And the grand emotional ending has no emotion impact whatsoever. The reaction of the audience is, Who are these jokers?
Rowan Joffe pulls out all the stops for this tearful reunion, pouring on syrupy music and drawing the camera back in a long retreating tracking shot. All to no avail.
I'm afraid the patient is dead on the table, doc. No amount of electricity shot through this corpse will ever make it sit up. I guess the only way to conceivably make such a scene work would be to cast huge stars as the husband and son. Maybe Johnny Depp for the hubbie. And for the kid — Christ, I don't know — Justin Beiber? That at least would make the audience think they knew these people. But even that might not work.
There is an old screenwriting adage: Show, don't tell. Meaning you should dramatise a scene and actually see it, rather than just try and report it in dialogue. Well, in this case Joffe should have done exactly the opposite. Tell, don't show.
Do it as a scene between Kidman and Mark Strong as her sympathetic shrink, both of whom we've come to know well throughout the movie, and let their dialogue indicate Kidman's recovery.
I don't want to pillory Before I Go to Sleep, which is otherwise a good film. But this really is how not to end a movie.
(Image credits: All the pictures are from Ace Show Biz.)
Posted by Andrew Cartmel at 10:12 1 comment:
A Walk Among the Tombstones by Lawrence Block
With the exception of Thomas Harris, famed for dreaming up Hannibal Lecter and creating the whole serial killer genre, I would say the greatest living crime writer is Lawrence Block. But whereas we're lucky if we get a Thomas Harris book every ten years, Lawrence Block is blazingly prolific. There are 18 titles in his Matthew Scudder series alone.
Although I've been increasingly aware of Block and the superlative quality of his writing, I am a late discoverer of this series, having only read my first Scudder novel (which is actually chronologically the tenth) — A Walk Among the Tombstones. Thanks to the magical Miranda, the UK editor of Hard Case Crime, an advance copy of Hard Case's lovely movie edition of Walk Among turned up in the mail the other day. Cue a series of late nights as I sat turning pages, unable to put this powerful, gruelling novel aside.
I won't give away much if I reveal that A Walk Among the Tombstones concerns some exceptionally vicious kidnappers. Block's stroke of genius is to make the first victim of these kidnappers a drug dealer, which means he can't go to the police. Instead he goes to private detective Matt Scudder.
What makes this fictional private eye different from all the others on the market? He's a former cop and reformed alcoholic — nothing new there. But what does distinguish this Scudder novel is simply the brilliance of Block's writing. The plotting is brisk, original, unpredictable and shocking. Great fundamental carpentry. But beyond that we have Block's prose which is of an impressively high order. It's cool, vivid and highly readable. His characterisation is also terrific; I especially like Scudder's streetkid sidekick TJ. And in keeping with this, Block has a knack for smart, authentic-sounding dialogue. Given that his characters include a young black hustler, an old Irish bar owner and a Russian gangster, it's just as well.
And his dialogue is also often very funny, as in this exchange about a struggling ex-junkie: "He's pissed of at God." "Shit, who isn't?" Or when Scudder and his callgirl girlfriend discuss a very strange woman they've just met. "She was probably on magic mushrooms, or some hallucinogenic fungus that grows only on decaying leather. I'll tell you one thing, she could make good money as a dominatrix." "Not if her leather's decaying."
This dark, sardonic sense of humour pervades the book, which is told by Scudder in the first person. When a computer hacker tries to enlighten him on a technical issue, Scudder ruefully observes, "It was a little like trying to explain the fundamentals of non-euclidean geometry to a field mouse."
Combine this with a plot driven by relentless and unremitting suspense — there are sequences when you literally won't be able to stop reading — and you have an exceptional novel and a classic crime thriller.
What I should warn readers about is that this is a novel which pulls no punches. It's often gruesome and extremely violent. (That pond water in front of Liam Neeson ain't tinted red for no reason.) But this is balanced by the humour, warmth of characterisation and the fact that Scudder is a proper hero. A genuine good guy and urban knight errant. Down these mean streets...
Promisingly, the movie of Walk Among the Tombstones, which is due out soon, stars Liam Neeson and is written and directed by the outstanding Scott Frank. Fingers crossed, we could all be in for a treat. Personally, I'll be first in line when it opens.
(Image credits: With the exception of the lovely film tie-in — thank you, Miranda! — the covers of this great novel are a pretty dull bunch. The Hard Case beauty can be found here at the Hard Case website. The best of the rest is the Avon skull edition, which I gleaned from ABE. The others are from Good Reads.)


A new report has found that investing in new medicines pays for itself by reducing other public health expenditure. The modelling, published in The impact of pharmaceutical innovation on premature mortality, hospital separations, and cancer survival in Australia, was conducted by American economist Professor Frank Lichtenberg.
The report estimates that innovative medicines saved taxpayers almost $7 billion in hospital costs for people up to 80 years of age in 2011 – more than the cost of reimbursing these medicines through the PBS.
"Premature mortality for all diseases fell by 24% in Australia between 1998 and 2011 and around 60% of this can be attributed to innovative medicines," Professor Lichtenberg said.
"This research estimates that innovative medicines saved over 140,000 years of life before the age of 75 in Australia in 2011".
According to the report, innovative medicines which were first listed on the PBS between 1989 and 2002 cost $5.8 billion in 2011. This period is used because once an innovative medicine is listed on the PBS it takes nine years for it to reach peak usage.
"Without these medicines, the cost of hospitalisation in 2011 would have been 13% or $6.8 billion higher", said Professor Lichtenberg.
The report has also estimated how medicines listed on the PBS affected cancer survival. The five year survival rate for all cancers in Australia increased from 49% to 62% between 1986 and 2007. An estimated 40% of this improvement is the result of new medicines listedon the PBS. In the absence of new medicines, the five-year survival rate would have been 57% in 2007.
"This report should provide confidence to the Government that listing new medicines on the PBS is an astute investment", said Mr James.
The report – titled: The impact of pharmaceutical innovation on premature mortality, hospital separations, and cancer survival in Australia – was released today by Medicines Australia and completed by Professor Frank Lichtenberg from Columbia University. It was funded through an unrestricted grant from pharmaceutical company MSD.
Statistical models are used routinely in social science to explain the relationship between different variables. These models mimic experimental research but use data gathered over time rather than results from controlled experiments.
"Difference in differences" models calculate the impact of a particular intervention (e.g. the introduction of new medicines) on an outcome (premature mortality). They do this by comparing how the outcome changes in groups where the intervention is common to groups where it is less common.
Australian data is available for mortality and for the introduction of new medicines for different diseases. It is therefore possible to document the relationship across diseases between the number of new medicines introduced and the decline in premature mortality, and thus to determine the strength of the overall relationship between these two variables.
There are big differences in how premature mortality changed for people with different diseases. For example, for patients with heart disease it fell 42%. However for lung cancer patients it fell by just 9%. A major part of the difference in premature mortality between diseases can be attributed to differences in the number of new medicines listed on the PBS.
Using this "difference in differences" approach, it is possible to estimate how much new medicines contributed to the overall decline in premature mortality observed above. This same approach can be used to estimate the impact of new medicines on other outcomes of interest, including cancer survival and hospital use.


A few weeks ago, I started playing and singing songs about the cross and the resurrection. I was a little worried, because all the children seemed to know about Easter was bunnies and egg hunts. It's hard not to get excited when people around you are talking about candy and bunnies.
We could have left out the candy and easter egg hunt, but in the end we decided that it might actually help us make Resurrection Sunday memorable. I started talking about the cross. We talked about the crown of thorns, and that made a big impression on Bethel. I reminded them about the mesquite bushes we avoid when we go hiking. They have two inch thorns all over the branches, and it wasn't hard for them to understand how that hurt. Anytime after this discussion, when I asked about why we were celebrating Easter, Bethel brought up the thorns.
It was helpful that in the Bible story book we're using at the moment (Leading Little Ones to God), Lee read the lessons on the cross and resurrection the week right before Easter. So we had some formal discussions, but also some informal discussions.
At the last minute I decided to make a big meal. I was a little ambitious, but I got the children helping (since my goal was for the day to be memorable, I wanted to make them as much a part as I could). I was making some odd dishes, so I added a Jello salad (just layers of Jello in colors the children picked out).
I had the children make name cards for the table, and told them to draw pictures that reminded them of Easter. They suggested bunnies and eggs. Sigh. But I told them that those don't remind us of the cross and the resurrection, and then they started thinking right: a cross, a crown of thorns (Bethel's suggestion), a tomb (David's suggestion, since he thinks tombs are cool). I suggested that they draw a lamb, and David asked why. That gave a good opportunity to stumble over trying to explain in simple language how God's people killed a lamb to cover their sins, and to remind them that God would send someone who would die and make a way for their sins to be taken away. David didn't tell me to stop, so I think he was interested.
Easter morning we have a sunrise service, outside, and we went. It's cold at the foot of the mountains. That's one way to make it memorable. The only problem was that I forgot the children's coats, and it was hard to keep the blankets on them. Then Laurel was fretful, partly because she resented my fuzzy blanket and wanted hers, the one I forgot with the coats. Then Bethel had to go potty… we didn't make it on time. So the morning service wasn't memorable like I would like it to be, but there's really no way to tell what seed fell on good soil.
I had to remind myself that it is the message, not the feeble messenger, that is important. It's easy to think that my children's spiritual growth is entirely dependent on my explanations, my feeble attempts to talk easily and naturally about God, my ability to see Scripture applied to everyday life. These tasks I am told to do, learning as I practice what works best, but when I feel inadequate for the task I must remember it is the gospel that is the power to save, not the earthen vessel.
It sounds like you had a great day with little kids. We did just as you decided to do and included a little eggs and candy in the holiday – with quite a bit of church and reading. And any attempt to do a service or whatever was a chaotic scene when they were all little – but now they are able to sit still. You have the right perspective – you have no idea what seeds have been planted.


The women of color coalition will work to create unity across boundaries that have been both internally and externally constructed to oppress but that have also empowered women of color to build pride. This coalition will give voice and strength to experiences that are often marginalized and will foster further self-reflection and awareness of issues that affect women of color at Cornell and in the broader world.
Join the Greek Tri-Council as they sponsor a roundtable discussion on sexual assault!
The purpose of this roundtable discussion is to create a safe and open dialogue addressing potential policy changes and solutions to the problems we face regarding sexual violence at Cornell. While no single discussion or action can eradicate this problem altogether, we hope to join forces with a diverse group of Cornellians — Greek, non-Greek and faculty — taking a collective step towards a more tangible solution and a more inclusive dialogue.
The event is open to the entire Cornell community, and will consist of a series of small group discussions followed by a larger open forum.
Do you want to contribute to the women of color community? Do you want to gain conference planning skills?
Please email pc527@cornell.edu if you have any further questions.
Like dancing and or moving your body to music?
WELLLLL. This is the opportunity for you!!
is holding tryouts to add more members to our wonderful team.
We are the New York State Latino Leadership Summit (LLS) Committee at Cornell University. We are reaching out to you because we are excited to announce that the Second Annual New York State Latino Leadership Summit, a student-led initiative, will be taking place on Saturday March 5th, 2016 in Sage Hall from 9:00am-4:45pm. The purpose of the LLS is to increase communication and foster cross-collaboration between community and campus leaders who promote Latino education, civic-engagement, cultural enrichment, and professional development. We would like to cordially invite you and the members of your organization to attend this year's Summit! Please distribute this message to your general body members.
Last year the Summit was a success, having a variety of workshops and speakers, multiple organizations present, and an overall attendance of 80+ people; this year, we hope that your organization will be able to make it too! The LLS team has been working diligently to ensure the development and success of the Summit in order to address the needs of the Latino community. By participating in the event, you will have the opportunity to network with other Latino students and professionals involved in a plethora of fields including finance, business, engineering, community planning, and many more. In addition, the Summit will be offering workshops that range from the development of your personal brand to improving your entrepreneurial skills. More importantly, by attending the Summit, you will be connected to a sound support network that extends beyond the Cornell area.
We truly hope that you consider attending this enriching experience in order to continue advancing the progress of the New York State Latino community. For your convenience, we have also included a link to the official LLS website in this email, where you can now register for the event. In the meantime, if you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at nysllschair@gmail.com.
The application for the University of Louisville Cancer Education Program (CEP) is open! CEP is a program dedicated to recruiting, educating, and motivating undergraduate and professional students to pursue further training and future careers in cancer research. The program is 10 weeks long in the city of Louisville, KY --home of the Louisville Slugger! For those of you that live out of the KY area, housing is provided if you request it on your application. Moreover, you also get a summer stipend of $4,000.
The program provides a myriad of opportunities for scholars interested in pursuing an MD, PhD, MD/PhD, or if you are merely interested in getting some awesome research experience. Furthermore, CEP strongly encourages scholars to present their summer research projects at national conferences, and also publish their results in scientific journals. By working alongside renowned faculty and physicians, you will be taught various techniques as you progress --so don't worry if you have no past research experience.
For your convenience, I have attached a copy of the application form for the program and a link to their website. If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact me. Good luck with the application --it is due on March 1st!


text:
Dow Jones Industrial Average Dips, Aims For Best Week Since 2011
Bill Ackman's Big Plans for Valeant
Celeste Taylor
The DJIA is down so far today, but is still on pace for its best weekly gain since 2011
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) is sitting lower for the day, although the Dow is still aiming for its best weekly gain since December 2011, after notching a record-high close yesterday. Energy stocks are falling as December-dated oil futures plummet 3.3% to $43.19 per barrel, with a rise in October crude output casting doubt on a production-cut deal from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). The Nasdaq Composite (COMP) is still struggling as the tech sector continues to take a hit, and as healthcare stocks take a breather from their post-election rally. Elsewhere, the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index surged to 91.6 from 87.2 in early November, in a reading taken before the U.S. presidential election.
Continue reading for more on today's market -- and don't miss:
Bill Ackman's big plans for Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc (NYSE:VRX).
The controversial CEO email that has this food delivery stock in the hot seat.
Checking in on the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY), and other noteworthy stats at midday.
Plus... one retailer taking a tumble, the chipmaker soaring to record highs, and a tech stock hitting new lows.
Among the stocks with unusual volume at midday is retailer J C Penney Company Inc (NYSE:JCP), after posting weaker-than-expected quarterly sales. JCP is currently trading 0.7% lower at $8.75, with options crossing the line at eight times their average intraday pace, with calls leading puts, 40,000 to 35,000, and option volume on pace to hit an annual high.
Chipmaker NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) is among the top performers on the Nasdaq today, currently up 25% at $84.73 -- and earlier notched an all-time high of $84.85 -- after delivering an exceptional earnings report. As a result, the tech stock -- set for its best day in more than a decade -- received a flurry of optimistic analyst attention, including no fewer than 14 price-target hikes. NVDA is now up a whopping 156% so far this year, and has been ushered higher by its 50-day moving average since February.
Tech stock Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB) is among the worst performers on the Nasdaq today, trading 16.7% lower at $8.95, after slashing its 2016 fiscal-year forecast on weak demand, and receiving a subsequent downgrade and price-target cut from Stifel. Year-to-date, PLAB is now down over 27%, and earlier notched a new annual low of $8.20.
The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) is up 4.3%, or 0.6 point, at $15.37.
Today's put/call volume ratio on the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) is 2.42, with puts more than doubling calls. At last check, SPY was down 0.5%, or 1.1 points, at $215.80.
Find out where the Dow lands right after the closing bell. Sign up now for Schaeffer's Market Recap


text:
It's official! Dundee is one of the driest places in the country
by Reporter
March 22, 2017, 7:40 am Updated: March 22, 2017, 8:03 am
Sun seekers enjoy a balmy day in Broughty Ferry beach
Dundee has been ranked among the driest cities in Scotland, helping to cement its reputation as the country's sunniest place to live.
Data from the Met office showed that the City of Discovery has the fewest rainy days per year (124), together with Edinburgh.
The total annual rainfall is slightly higher than in the capital, at 722mm compared to 704mm, but it was still one of the lowest in Scotland.
A spokesman from the Met Office explained that the Atlantic-driven weather system is what makes Dundee drier and sunnier than west coast areas.
Grahame Madge said: "It is all down to the geography of Scotland.
"Most of the weather comes in from the Atlantic, with moist air being forced up toward the western highlands.
"As the air rises it cools, and when it gets to a certain point it rains — it's what's called the orpgraphic effect.
"As a lot of the rain is released in the western regions, by the time the air makes its way over to the lower regions of the east coast, it is drier.
"Dundee is also sheltered by the Cairngorms and other high regions, meaning that it is generally warmer.
"Of course Scotland also has other influences on its weather, but the major influence comes from the Atlantic, so western parts tend to be wetter."
Glasgow was ranked the wettest city in Scotland, with rainy weather on nearly half of the year (170 days), and 1124mm of rain per year.
This was followed by Aberdeen, with 139 rainy days and 815mm of rain.
The figures were gathered from the Met Office by rain harvesting systems company Freeflush.
Dundee has held the title of Scotland's sunniest city for years.
In addition to its relatively warm and dry weather, Dundee has also received recognition in recent years for being one of the nation's friendliest cities.
Meanwhile, the City of Discovery was also recently listed as one of the best places to live in the UK by the Sunday Times.
Dundee a better place to live than 'posher but duller' Perth, says prestigious guide
New government in Lebanon ends three-month deadlock
Netflix reveal blockbuster viewing figures for third series of The Crown
Woods not thinking about PGA Tour history ahead of Farmers Insurance Open


text:
< Hacking and Whacking Morning Art >
The Error of Our Ways
by Alex Belth | March 20, 2012 9:47 am
Bronx Banter Book Except
The following is from Pete Dexter's essay in "Damn Yankees." Dig in.
By Pete Dexter
A sheltie is a medium-size breed of canine that walks around with a nest of shit in its pants. In his own circles this earthiness makes him fascinating company and kind of a celebrity at the off-leash park, although the same earthy quality is worrisome to families with toddlers who, being toddlers, hug dogs without caring much which end they are hugging. Aroma-wise, there isn't much to choose from, one end or the other.
Shelties also bring to the playground a tradition of nipping. A sheltie is born to herd sheep, after all, a species nobody has accused of being too smart for its own good, and the herding of which amounts essentially to creating and then organizing panic, which means taking little bites of ankles and feet, and there are times, in spite of countless reminders, when old habits take over and a sheltie just has to have the feel of live flesh in his teeth. The sheltie himself is close to blameless. You are, after all, who you are. We should keep that in mind.
The sheltie who nipped the author last Christmas belongs to his daughter and answers—well, doesn't actually answer, but some- times looks up—to the name Jonesy, and until the baby showed up no dog ever had it more his own way. In fact, until the baby showed up the dog himself had been the baby—doting parents, daily brushing, special food, a park next door, maintenance ap- pointments to keep his nails clipped and the gunk off his teeth, endless toys—the salad days.
Naturally enough, the baby's arrival left the dog suffering from a lack of his normal attention and so, upset and confused, Jonesy went back to what works and bit the first stranger through the door. The resulting infection put the author in the hospital for ten weeks and very nearly finished him off. If the animal had sat on the author's foot after he'd nipped it, the author would not be here to tell the story.
Which probably would have been fine with Chuck Knoblauch.
But bygones are bygones, and things were not so easy for the dog, either. Once the baby showed up, barking in the night and herding humans, which had been baby-talk scolding offenses before, were suddenly federal cases, and in the way these things sometimes go, after his mistake—and it was a mistake, you could see the surprise on the animal's face as he sat on the floor with the author's ankle still in his maw along with the bitter mingle of human sweat and human blood, looking up and wondering how this could have happened—after that mistake, Jonesy was driven out one Saturday afternoon to the rural setting where he now resides, with afternoon naps under the porch and chickens to herd and no toddlers to clutch him from behind, and he is free to come and go as he likes and to bark in the night (the new owners are getting on in years and take out the hearing aids after the eleven o'clock news).
Which is as close as you get to a happy ending with dogs, but not so happy when you're talking about second basemen.
We are speaking now of Edward Charles Knoblauch who, like Jonesy, had a good thing going and then fucked the rooster. A colloquialism they use quite a bit out on the farm.
What the farmer and his missus are referring to when they say "fucked the rooster" is a class of mistakes that by their very nature are hard to forget. That happen in a moment of carelessness or bad luck and are as good as tattooed across your face for the duration of your life. That become so closely associated with your idiot self that later on when another idiot does exactly the same thing, your wife gets mad at you all over again.
The author speaks from experience here, having once made such a mistake—a miscalculation of the goodness of human nature in a not especially human precinct of Philadelphia—and the incident follows him to this day. Not just the memory of the night—which is kept in easy reach of the author's wife (who regular readers call "poor Mrs. Dexter"), handy as her purse any time the author, like Jonesy, feels his breeding and the undeniable itch to do what an author's got to do—but the myth of that night, which has a life of its own.
For example, about three years ago, twenty-five years after the fact, one of the weekly papers in Philadelphia heard a new version of the evening in question and flew a reporter to Seattle with the idea of going through the details with the author all over again.
The author was just finishing his seventh novel—we're talking about writing, not reading—and for unknown reasons concluded that the request for such an early interview was a signal that he had finally written a book that was exactly right, and he vividly remembers the feeling—dead bats dropping off the walls of his stomach into a river of bile—as he realized that what the reporter wanted to talk about wasn't the new book but a twenty-five-year- old street brawl the author had been trying to live down ever since it happened.
Which we suppose could be how the eventual subject of this essay, Chuck Knoblauch, feels when somebody comes poking around to ask about some night he, too, would prefer to forget. The difference being that Knoblauch has the good sense not to talk to any of them—or at least not talk to the author, who should have seen it coming, having gone through several hundred pages of material to write a sensitive appreciation of the psychological abnormality that affected him (known variously as Steve Blass Disease, Steve Sax Disease, and Chuck Knoblauch Syndrome, among other things)—and in all those pages found only one true- sounding, consequential remark by Knoblauch over the last dozen years: Don't tell anybody where I live.
So the author came to this exercise suspecting he was not in friendly territory and that there was an excellent chance Chuck Knoblauch didn't care if he appreciated his syndrome or not. That it was possible Knoblauch had had as much appreciation as he could stand.
Still, the author wanted to be part of this book and felt like he had something to contribute. Meaning that even if his insight into the game was a slim volume indeed, he did, as it happens, know quite a bit about fucking the rooster. So apologies to Mr. Knoblauch for the intrusion, but we are who we are and we do what we do. Ask Jonesy.
"The Errors of Our Ways" is from "Damn Yankees: Twenty-Four Major-League Writers on the World's Most Loved (and Hated) Team," edited by Rob Fleder, and published by Harper Collins/Ecco.
Categories: 1: Featured Book Excerpts Sportswriting
1 Alex Belth ~ Mar 20, 2012 10:28 am
Fucked the rooster. Too good.
2 Dimelo ~ Mar 20, 2012 11:11 am
Yeah man, I loved that line too.
3 Ara Just Fair ~ Mar 20, 2012 1:14 pm
I can't be the only person who checked out the BB today and screamed in their head within a nanosecond, "Pick up the @#$#@$@#$ ball!"
4 joejoejoe ~ Mar 20, 2012 1:39 pm
He could have been throwing the ball with his feet for all I care. 4 years in New York, 4 World Series, 3 wins. His woes were incredibly public but advanced defensive stats show he was no worse than Jeter or Bernie out there even with the odd duck beaning Keith Olbermann's mom in the stands. It may look bad to miss 4 foot putts but you have to have a strong iron game to even be in that position.
I felt horrible for Knobie's throwing troubles. Remember, though, he made that great play in the 8th inning of Coney's perfecto?
And no matter how bad things got in the field he was always a pain in the ass at bat. Good offensive player.
[5] He was a good base runner too. 112 SB, 37 CS in the Bronx. He worst year baserunning was also his worst year with the throwing yips so maybe there was just something wrong with his focus. He grabbed 19 steals in 22 attempts in his last year in KC so he was still pretty sharp in a lot of ways when he left the game. Pete Rose ran into an out 43% of the time when he tried stealing a base but that's being a gritty gamer. Throwing outs away as Knoblauch did gets you labeled an all-time head case.
7 The Hawk ~ Mar 20, 2012 4:34 pm
With Knoblauch, the good outweighs the bad, by far. He was a huge part of those teams' success.
8 kenboyer made me cry ~ Mar 20, 2012 5:16 pm
A nest of shit in it's pants. A nest of bees in your beard? I liked Knoblauch a lot, and his throwing yips were supportive in a way for that softball game we all play sometimes.
He is a well remembered Yankee, a winner.
Yeah, seemed like a mixed up guy. He was on the juice which doesn't help his legacy in some quarters and he was arrested for a domestic dispute with his wife, too. I can't imagine they love him in Minnie, either, though his "deke" of Lonnie Smith in the '91 Series is famous.
10 weeping for brunnhilde ~ Mar 24, 2012 9:05 pm
Omg, the Picasso image to illustrate "fucked the rooster" is fucking inspired.
Perfect timing, perfectly absurd.
And the image itself, of course. Of all possible images of roosters, that's the perfect one.


text:
Q: What are the "Requires full screen" and "Supports multiple windows" options in Info.plist for a Xamarin iOS deployment? Does anyone know what these options on the iOS deployment for a Xamarin Forms app do? I can't find any place they are documented:
1) Requires full screen
2) Supports multiple windows

A: Requires Full screen and Supports Multiple Windows
IOS 9+ supports resizable apps with multi-window support. Unless you are re-writing your app to support multi-window, you will be requiring 'Full screen'. This is a hint to iOS that you do not support multi-window, and basically makes iOS 9+ work like previous versions in this regard.
You can have a look at this document .
In addition : About Supporting Multiple Windows in iPad
iOS 13 now supports side-by-side windows for the same app on iPad. This enables new experiences and drag-and-drop interactions between windows. This document shows you how to setup your application to support this feature, and introduces these new features.
Here is the document .


text:
OUT NOW - US
COMING SOON - US
Eye For Film >> Movies >> Lost Lives (2019) Film Review
Reviewed by: Jennie Kermode
"What happened makes less sense at a distance, but it's only when we pull back that we can see it clearly."
The death we begin with occurred in the late Sixties. It was the first time the Troubles claimed the life of a child - a boy caught by a stray bullet that came through his wall. His father thought he had fainted - didn't realise what had happened until he noticed that the back of the wee lad's head was covered in blood.
Over 3,700 people are believed to have died as a result of the Troubles, around one in every 14 of them a child. It would be impossible to tell all their stories in the course of a film like this. Drawing on David McKittrick's book Lost Lives: The Stories Of The Men, Women And Children Who Died As A Result Of The Northern Ireland Troubles, documentarians Dermot Lavery and Michael Hewitt take a sample of stories to represent the whole. Lost children and babies. Whole families killed at the same time, with no-one left to identify the bodies. Police officers. Soldiers. Bomb-makers. Secondary casualties - those who took their own lives or wasted away because they couldn't bear the loss of their loved ones. A convicted killer who took his own life because he couldn't bear the weight of what he'd done.
We could talk about the innocent and the guilty, framing the discussion as it was conventionally framed for decade after decade whilst the Troubles persisted, but there's no room for that here. That murderer mused on how easy it had been to do what he did in that space, in that time, and how only after wars - seconds afterwards - did he understand the horror of it. We hear about the kidnapping and killing of 14-year-old Philip Rafferty and how it affected his Jewish uncle, who had lost a cousin to Hitler's concentration camps. There is the same sense, throughout this, of small human lives crushed by the vast movements of history. The same tremendous sense of waste.
A group of the country's most capable actors take it in turns to tell the stories; one can imagine the strain on them, too. We see newspaper clippings, photographs of the deceased, pictures of the homes where they lived and the places where they died. Empty stairwells in ruined red brick buildings, mouldering paint flaking from the walls. Warehouses and garages like caves. Snowy hills on the edge of town, thick with pines. The camera drifts around an empty Belfast, presumably visited in the early hours, the absence of people making it feel as if every inhabitant of the place has been snatched away. It focuses on dirt and neglect, on industrial machinery lying idle. It catches the fierce, obsidian blue of crashing waves against the docks, pulls back and up into the sky to reveal that lush greenness that speaks to Northern Ireland's intrinsic wealth and beauty. The awfulness of what took place stands in contrast to this potential. What happened makes less sense at a distance, but it's only when we pull back that we can see it clearly.
If you think that going to sit in a cinema and hear a list of stories like this sounds dull, you'll be surprised by how hard this film will grab you. Distance does nothing to reduce the emotional impact. And yet somewhere towards the end, there's hope. No certainties, but the suggestion that a change of perspective and the will to hold onto it, to believe in a positive future for Northern Ireland, is all it takes to make the difference.
The full list (of known names) runs over a black screen when the rest is gone. There's no time to read them all, but they're clumped together in blocks so one can get a sense of the scale of it year by year, identifying past periods of hope and years of escalation. The passing of the Good Friday Agreement and then, at last, this century, those names beginning to thin out. Some clusters still, but in 2011, just one name. In 2014, just one name. In 2018, just one name. In 2019, Lyra McKee.
Reviewed on: 18 Oct 2019
Share this with others on...
A documentary about the lives lost to the Troubles in Northern Ireland.
Director: Dermot Lavery Michael Hewitt
Country: UK, Ireland
Search database:
©2006-2020 Eye For Film. All rights reserved.


"Trailblazers is a much needed program addressing girls in schools that can be a model for them to discover their own trail to find out and express who they are. Using Sophie as a model is inspiring to give young girls the push to explore, challenge themselves, and become the best they can be. Developing the love of movement, play, and exercise in the context of exploring their world can show many of them their own way."
"You made me realise that if I put my mind to something I can achieve it"
"We can take this and use it across the school – the butterfly effect."
"You have made me feel more confident in myself and know that all I have to do in life is be myself in front of other people"