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X Games – The Real Cost Men's Snowboard Big Air Elimination event is LIVE from X Games Aspen 2020! X GAMES ASPEN 2020 EVENT SCHEDULE: FRI., JAN. 24 The Real Cost Men's Snowboard Big Air Elimination: 3:30-4:15 p.m. ET Snowmobile Freestyle: 7-8 p.m. ET Women's Ski Big Air: 8:30-9:15 p.m. ET Great Clips Men's Ski SuperPipe Elimination: 9:15-10:15 p.m. ET The Real Cost Men's Ski Big Air: 10:35-11:20 p.m. ET Snowboard SuperPipe Session: 11:30-12 a.m. ET MUSIC: Rae Sremmurd: 12-1 a.m. ET For the full X Games Aspen 2020 competition schedule, click here: https://xgam.es/Aspen2020HowToWatch">https://xgam.es/Aspen2020HowToWatch SUBSCRIBE ► http://xgam.es/YouTube">http://xgam.es/YouTube X Games has been spreading the shred in action sports since 1995. For more coverage and highlights visit our official homepage at http://xgames.com">http://xgames.com ——— Twitter ► https://twitter.com/xgames">https://twitter.com/xgames Facebook ► https://www.facebook.com/XGames">https://www.facebook.com/XGames Instagram ► https://instagram.com/xgames">https://instagram.com/xgames ——— Thanks for watching X Games! #XGames #XGamesAspen2020 #WatchXGames
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I lasted 3 weeks of Blogmas and fell short at the last hurdle, gutted isn't the word I'm looking for. I can't believe I came so close to doing Blogmas, properly, for the first time since I started blogging. But to tell you the truth, it was a real eye opener and so I thought I would reflect back on my Blogmas experience with you today and share my thoughts behind it.
Blogmas isn't something you should take on lightly. It takes hours, days and weeks of preparation and sometimes I really struggled for ideas. It's a lot easier in the first 10 days because you've got the best ideas and you're so motivated. But after the first 10 days I really started to struggle for original ideas and found myself lacking motivation.
It was really hard to think of original ideas for every single day and doing tags and taking ideas from other bloggers isn't always bad, but for me it just didn't feel like me. It got towards the end and I found it was more of a chore to upload rather than being excited to share things with you guys. That's not to say I hated blogging during Blogmas because that's not the case at all. I love blogging and would love to make it a career, I just think I wasn't as prepared as I thought I was.
I know quite a few people who smashed blogmas this year and I loved reading their posts! My girl Holly Kate Gladwell completed blogmas this year and her posts are always beautifully written. If you want someone to binge read then give Holly's a read. But I honestly have no idea how she was so motivated, I should probably ask her lol.
What I realised overall is that the majority of my blogmas ideas weren't genres I blog about a lot. Most of my posts during December were beauty related and as much as I love makeup and skin care, it isn't something I blog about a lot. Fashion and lifestyle is the direction I want to be heading and because of this I found I didn't like all of my posts.
In 2018 you can expect a lot of fashion and a lot of lifestyle from me because I'm so motivated to upload content like that. Blogmas has given me the kick I needed to go in the direction I want and to not write about general things about makeup. A 2018 makeover is needed and I hope you'll all be ready for a new us!


In my previous article, I looked at the amazing result from the 2016 Census, that showed housing loan repayments across the country, and particularly for first home buyers, have not increased over time. In fact, for some groups, they have decreased significantly.
Some of the comments on that post related to the fact that, with current low-interest rates, it's not so much the repayments that are the problem, but the barrier to entry into the housing market presented by the need for a big deposit. This is particularly severe in Sydney and Melbourne.
This increasing barrier to entry could explain why nationally, the 2016 Census showed the proportion of households renting rising to 29.4% of households, up from 28.7% in 2011 and 27.2% 10 years before, in 2006. This is despite an increase in "Not Stated" for tenure type, driven by greater imputation in the 2016 Census.
So more people are renting, and this is particularly the case in Sydney, where it's gone from 30.4% to 32.6% in 5 years, and now represents the largest single tenure type.
So in a very real sense, in many areas, to talk about housing affordability requires a look at renting, and how much people are paying. It's no use having very low mortgage repayments and interest rates if people are paying so much on their rent they can't afford to save for a house.
It's worth mentioning of course that not everyone wants to save for a house, and some people rent by choice. Renting offers a flexibility which home ownership does not, and people are increasingly taking advantage of the tax benefits of housing purchase by buying an investment property while renting themselves. And even though rents have increased, they are still lower than mortgage repayments.
In 2016, the median weekly rent across all dwellings Australia-wide was $335/week, up by $50, or 18% from $285 per week in 2011, and $191/week in 2006 (close to doubling in 10 years). CPI rose by 9.6% in 5 years, so rents have increased about twice the rate of CPI. They are still lower than average mortgage repayments, which stand at $383 per week (ABS records these monthly, and rent weekly, but we have converted those figures).
There is generally a home ownership premium on housing in Australia – as well as paying stamp duty and a large deposit, mortgage payments have generally been higher than the associated rent for the same property, as a premium for being able to modify your property, not be subject to inspections and rent increases, and having security of tenure.
This is why we even have the concept of "Negative gearing", where rent payments don't cover the cost of the mortgage if you're an investor. The fact that this is still the case, with such low interest rates indicates that rental yields have fallen quite a lot in many areas.
This shows that rents have increased in every state and territory, except the ACT, where they were exactly the same in 2016 as in 2011. The largest increases are in New South Wales, and the Northern Territory, up by $80 and $85/week respectively.
States like Tasmania and South Australia, which have much lower rents, have also had more modest increases, though it's worth noting that all increases (except ACT) are well above the CPI level.
Western Australia, while having the third-highest rents after NSW and the ACT, has had a relatively small increase, due to the end of the mining boom there.
We can also mention that renters' incomes are generally lower than those with a mortgage.
So although mortgage repayments are higher, nationally, the average household with a mortgage pays 18.9% of their income on the mortgage, while the average renter pays 27.5% of their income on rent.
Of course, there are other costs associated with home ownership like stamp duty, deposit, rates and water etc. that aren't taken into account here.
In every state and territory, households with a mortgage are on higher incomes than those renting, with the largest disparity being in the ACT. As a consequence, in every state and territory, renters pay a higher percentage of their income on rent, despite rents being generally around 20% lower than the equivalent mortgage.
The general rule of thumb is that anything over 30% of income on housing costs is considered housing stress, or generally unaffordable. As you can see, in NSW, the median renter is almost at this, and not far off in Tasmania and South Australia.
This may indicate where the problem lies with housing affordability.
Rents are high and take a large proportion of renters income. This makes saving for a deposit difficult, and provides a barrier to entry to the housing market. Once you're in the housing market, the currently-low interest rates mean mortgage payments are not onerous, despite being a bit higher than rent.
Certainly, the increase in rents presents clear housing affordability challenges in many areas.
All the updated housing information from the ABS' first release of 2016 Census data is now available in the community profile and social atlas tools for subscribed councils.


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Structure Fire - Witcher Mountain Road
Nearly a month after the partial destruction of his mobile home near Guffey, Lawrence Epps is adjusting, but it hasn't been easy. As reported in the Nov. 27 Flume, his home caught fire on Nov. 24 and firefighters responded in time to save part of it. The aftermath of such a fire is often not reported, but an interview with Epps has provided some insights into how disrupted lives can be after a fire.
Epps does have insurance on the double-wide mobile home that was burned, but he has been having problems getting the double-wide repaired or replaced. He said the insurance company will only pay to repair the damage. But there's a catch there. Since the double- wide is so old, the county will only issue a permit for it to be rebuilt - not repaired, according to Epps. But Epps said that he would have to get a loan to rebuild. He plans to rebuild on the same site, just 12 feet farther back on the property. He stressed that the new house would be a stick-frame house, not a mobile or a modular. In the meantime, he has been staying with friends nearby.
At the time of the fire, Epps told The Flume, he had been staying next door, taking care of his neighbors' dogs and house while they were away. Indeed, he was awakened by the popping and crackling of the fire next door on the porch of his own house when he called 911 back in November. It was about 4 a.m. on Nov. 24 when the Guffey -based Southern Park County Fire Protection District was called out to the structure fire at 10872 County Road 102, the residence belonging to Epps.
Due to an odd aspect of the county's numbering system, all the addresses starting with the numbers "108" on County Road 102 are located on Witcher Mountain Road in the Four Mile subdivision about 10 miles east of Guffey.
The Southern Park County Fire Protection District responded with nine firefighters, an engine, a backup engine and a water tender. Mutual aid was called for from Florissant-based Four-Mile Fire Protection District, which responded with seven firefighters, two engines and a water tender. SPCFPD Fire Chief Gene Stanley extended is thanks for their timely response and help.
The double-wide mobile home was from the 1980s and was covered with very dry wood siding on the outside. The fire started outside the front door on the porch in a faulty electrical box and went up the outside wall and into the ceiling. It got into the floor, as well. The structure outside suffered minimal damage, but there was considerable damage to the interior.
In any emergency response, time is the enemy. In the case of this fire, most of the responding personnel had to drive at least 20 miles on very icy roads, according to Stanley, and that increased the response time.
Stanley said that the sad part is that there is a fire station about two miles up County Road 102 from the Epps home, but due to lack of volunteers in the immediate area, no one was able to respond from there.
Article by: Flip Boettcher
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If Rivian Becomes the Tesla of Pickup Trucks, then Adios to ICE Engines
Tesla has long dominated the electric vehicles conversation, but that's about to change with the emergence of Rivian and its all-electric pickup trucks.
Tesla usually dominates the conversation whenever the topic turns to electric vehicles, but that's about to change. Last year Rivian, a startup also based in the U.S., introduced its first electric vehicle (EV) pickup truck and an SUV model, too. The company has already attracted a new round of $700 million in funding from a group of investors spearheaded by Amazon.
Hold on to your hats! After years of slow growth in the EV sector, Amazon's move demonstrates how quickly the automotive marketplace could pivot to zero emission mobility — with or without support from federal policy makers.
The Rivian EV pickup truck: yes, a pickup, without the emissions
The new $700 million electric vehicle investment is especially significant because Rivian is going toe-to-toe with Tesla to capture the luxury branding market for electric vehicles, and it is stepping into a sector that Tesla has yet to develop.
The idea of pickups as a luxury brand may seem counterintuitive, but high end pickup trucks similar to a past Cadillac's Escalade SUV-style pickup have already piqued more consumers' interest.
In addition, many auto makers have already gained traction with consumers by loading pickup cabins with comfortable amenities.
With that head start, Rivian concentrates on identifying its brand with top level performance, through a singular focus on EV technology from top to bottom. The company describes a "clean sheet" approach that fosters "adventurers at the core of every design and engineering decision."
Rivian is also laser-focused on comparing its R1T pickup with the best that internal combustion engines have to offer in terms of performance. Here's an example from the company's website:
"The Rivian electric drive delivers remarkable power and torque through four independent motors — with 200 horsepower available at each wheel. This precise torque control enables active torque vectoring and maximized performance in every situation, from high-speed cornering to low-speed rock crawling — rain or shine."
In addition, the company declares an impressive battery range of more than 400 miles for its EV pickup truck.
Ruh-roh Tesla, here comes Amazon
Speaking of head starts, Tesla is miles ahead in the publicity department, but the new Amazon-led investment could go a long way toward making this race an even match.
For one thing, Tesla has yet to introduce a pickup model. That provides Rivian with an opportunity to stake out a unique identity for itself — an opportunity it has seized, by emphasizing the pickup as an outdoorsy and off-road experience. That's in contrast with Tesla's image, which focuses on sleek urban mobility.
Rivian founder and CEO RJ Scaringe also emphasizes the power of aligning the company with Amazon's technology platform, as he explained in a press statement:
". . .Beyond simply eliminating compromises that exist around performance, capability and efficiency, we are working to drive innovation across the entire customer experience. . ."
On Amazon's part, the company may anticipate that a fleet of owner-drive pickup trucks would expand its delivery capacity and provide for more leverage when negotiating with conventional delivery partners like UPS.
GM spots an opportunity
With the $700 million in hand, Rivian has now attracted investments worth $1.15 billion.
General Motors is reportedly in talks with Rivian. If that relationship moves forward, it could evolve into a collaborative partnership, possibly focusing around self-driving technology.
GM envisions rapid consumer adoption of self-driving technology and Rivian is also highly vested in self-driving EV mobility.
Amazon and the gig economy
One note of caution applies to the potential for Amazon to grow its delivery network with owner-driven vehicles through the Rivian investment.
The rise of the gig economy is one factor in the stagnation of worker wages over the past generation. The new Amazon venture could exacerbate the trend by pushing the ride-hailing model into the delivery sector.
On the other hand, Amazon has been getting its social responsibility house in order. The company has made notable progress in supply chain areas including packaging and renewable energy.
Amazon's reputation on employee relations is more mixed. The company's recent statements on human rights pave the way for a more balanced approach, but there is still a long way to go.
The concern would be that Amazon's shortcomings in the area of worker treatment could ripple into Rivian's manufacturing operations.
In terms of brand reputation that's no small concern, considering that Rivian has set up operations in a 2.6 million square foot manufacturing plant located in Norman, Illinois. The Rivian operation will take over a space vacated by Mitsubishi just three years ago.
In terms of employee relations, Rivian would do well to learn from Tesla's experience. While Tesla garners rave reviews for its EV technology, the company has long been dogged by various media stories on anti-union practices and other worker complaints at its California manufacturing facility.
Image credit: Rivian/Facebook
Tina Casey
Tina writes frequently for TriplePundit and other websites, with a focus on military, government and corporate sustainability, clean tech research and emerging energy technologies. She is a former Deputy Director of Public Affairs of the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, and author of books and articles on recycling and other conservation themes. She is currently Deputy Director of Public Information for the County of Union, New Jersey. Views expressed here are her own and do not necessarily reflect agency policy.
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One Health EJP – The landmark partnership between 38 acclaimed veterinary and medical laboratories and institutes across Europe.
A landmark partnership between 39 partners, including acclaimed food, veterinary and medical laboratories and institutes across Europe and the Med-Vet-Net Association.
ESV was founded in 2008 to provide a forum for investigators of human, animal, plant, fungal, insect, archaeal and bacterial viruses. Our intention is to organize a meeting that will be of interest to this broad range of virologists, in a manner that stimulates discussion and collaboration among scientists active in all aspects of virology.


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The many facets of Ravenscroft
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Winston Library: Bolstering Learning and Feeding Curiosity for 20 Years
Stacy Calfo
The library, dedicated in 2001 in honor of Charles and Florence Winston, remains "the focal point of an ongoing invitation to explore the world near and far."
When Winston Library opened its doors in 2001, it was lauded as a place where Lower School students could read, research and reflect. Head of School Doreen Kelly, who was then Director of Lower School, said she remembers "with great clarity" the excitement and anticipation among the community.
Above, Winston librarian Emily Zeblo reads to Mercy Irvine's PreK class.
Winston librarians Jessica Ortolano and Emily Zeblo check in with PreK student Abby Mitchell.
"It was an amazing day full of celebration and hope as the Winston Library became the focal point of an ongoing invitation to explore the world near and far through books," she said.
In the 20 years since, Winston Library has served the students and faculty of Ravenscroft exceptionally well, adapting to the rapid evolution of digital media and growing into a hub of creativity and collaboration. It remains a place where students can ask questions, seek answers together and nurture a deep and boundless curiosity — a fitting tribute to the late Tucker Street-era alumnus Charles Winston Sr. '47 and his wife, Florence, the devoted Ravenscroft parents and grandparents for whom the building is named.
In this photo from the 2001 Corvus, honorees Charles ('47) and Florence Winston join their son Bob '80 and his wife, Tracy, at the library's dedication.
"A community space"
The library, nestled near the main entrance of the Lower School, was built as part of an ambitious four-year campaign that also gave the school Murphy Hall Upper School, the Library and Technology Center (now the Keim Center for Innovation and Research) and the Jones Health Center — all part of a 25-year campus master plan crafted to modernize the campus.
In recent years, thoughtful updates to the space within the building have helped staff meet the changing needs of Ravenscroft's youngest learners. More open floor space, fun and flexible furniture, and lightweight, portable laptops give students the option to spread out comfortably and collaborate. (There's even a Lego wall to jump-start creativity!) But the transition is more than physical.
Above, nestled near the main entrance of the Lower School, Winston Library has been a favorite spot for young Ravens for 20 years. Below, a thoughtful update in 2017 reoriented the circulation desk, opened up floor space and brought in modular seating to encourage students to spread out and collaborate.
"The library and the program is so different than what it was 20 years ago," Lower School librarian Jessica Ortolano explained. "It's no longer a space just for books. It's about collaborative teaching and makerspaces."
"It's even more of a community space," fellow Lower School librarian Emily Zeblo added. "We have flex classes so we can see some grade levels more frequently. In the past, teachers might drop off students and leave. Now they interact with the program itself. It's a co-teaching opportunity to help our students become citizen leaders."
Lower School Curriculum and Instruction Specialist Ruth Thomas agreed on the significance of this evolution.
"With the implementation of a flexible schedule and the ongoing curricular-planning partnership of the librarians with classroom teachers, our Winston Library has become an organic and authentic hub of learning," she said. "Every book and every learning tool is accessible to each and every student. Diverse and inclusive books fill the shelves. Every day there is something new to explore.
"Winston Library allows each young Raven to soar!"
Ortolano helps PreK student Henry Prugh find books to check out.
"The mission will last forever"
But Winston Library's impact extends beyond the boundaries of the Lower School. Some Middle and Upper School students, whose love for reading and inquiry was nurtured there, still visit the space to work on research projects. And during the period of remote learning necessitated by the pandemic, Zeblo, Ortolano and their colleagues in the Library and Technology Services Department were a vital resource for both teachers and families.
"A lot of what our libraries do is connect faculty and students to information, so it was a natural progression for us to step into this hybrid space. We employed a variety of innovative approaches that would continue to foster student engagement as well as provide access to books and resources," Angela Finn, Director of Library Services, said. "We were determined to keep students feeling seen and reading when they could not be in our spaces. By providing technology support and collaborating more deeply with colleagues, we were able to foster human connections even during such a difficult time."
That's just how the staff of Winston Library want it.
In these photos from 2017, Lower School students enjoy the many resources and activities offered in Winston Library.
"When I was in graduate school [in library science], a teacher asked our class about our own early experiences in a school library. All of us had similar experiences: it was restricted, and younger students couldn't check out a book unless it was from a specific section," Zeblo said. "I want every child who comes into this space to experience the opposite of that. This should be a place they can come and get questions answered, explore on their own and feel freedom."
"Winston Library is more than a physical space. Its impact on our students goes well beyond these four walls," Ortolano concluded. "While the gift from Bob ('80) and Tracy Winston helped build the building, the mission their generosity made possible will last forever."
For the Winston family, such growth and joy is at the heart of their philanthropy.
"Giving to something that impacts young children in such a positive way benefits the giver as well," Bob Winston said. "We are blessed to have the opportunity to be involved with such a great institution."
Natalie Liddle and Jane Dill, students in Mercy Irvine's PreK class, explore the library's collection of Fiddlesticks, which help build spatial awareness, problem-solving and critical thinking skills.
Why do YOU love Winston Library?
We asked students, parents and teachers what makes Winston Library such a special place for the Lower School community. Here's what they had to say!
Then-Lower School librarian Barbara Buescher and media aide Evelyn Stevens display books in this photo from the 2002 Corvus, captioned "There is never a dull moment in the new library."
Students enjoy an activity in Winston Library's reading terrace — a favorite spot for storytime — in this photo from the 2007 Corvus.
We asked students, parents and teachers what makes Winston Library such a special place for the Lower School community. See what they have to say in this video!
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Three Cheers For Ravens Spirit
Lower School students wave pom-poms provided by the Parents' Association during the Parade of Athletes, the finale of fall Spirit Week and the kickoff for Homecoming Weekend.
Contemporary Spaces, Innovative Programming Define the New Center for Student Life
Two named gifts, the Norona Wellness Room and Patio and Papou's Kitchen, exemplify and expand Ravenscroft's commitment to student well-being.
Anonymous Gift Honors the Legacy of "Coach P"
Michelle Piette, founder of the athletic training and sports medicine program, remains a treasured mentor to her students.
Family's 2016 Gift Elevates Global Experiences at Ravenscroft
Inspired by a desire to help students get "out of their comfort zone," John and Kristin Replogles' 2016 endowment makes travel and service programs more accessible.
Izzy's Playground Excites Growth and Exploration in Our Youngest Ravens
The expanded early childhood playground, a gift from parents Geoffrey and Courtney Brock, will evolve and change with students' needs.
Reimagining Parent Volunteer Efforts for the Fund For Ravenscroft
An innovative team structure helps Fund For Ravenscroft volunteers channel their passion for the school into making connections and fundraising on behalf of Every Raven, Every Day.
"The Vision Was Very Clear"
Design thinking translates "dreaming" into reality for the Olander Center for Student Life at the A.E. Finley Activity Center.
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The United States entered World War II after a surprise attack by the Japanese on December 7, 1941. U.S. officials feared that Japanese Americans would betray their country and help Japan. Nearly 120,000 Japanese Americans were taken from their homes and moved into relocation centers, which some viewed as concentration camps. The internees, backed by many other Americans, believed that their fundamental rights as U.S. citizens had been denied. Years later the government apologized for its unjust actions.
Reading Champion: Who Will be King?


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Marcus Burk – Digital. Marketing. Communication.
Open Source: Why do people work for free?
On one of these warm summer evenings on a garden fest, I told in a group of friends that I work for a WordPress agency. A befriended entrepreneur answered, "Ah, WordPress! That's great, everything's free, I've done our whole website with it!". It only took a short time until he pushed afterwards: "Why do they do everything for free, don't they want to earn any money?
We talked about Open Source, the community behind WordPress and the free web. And that when everyone works together on something, a strong ecosystem is being created from which everyone can benefit – and ultimately everyone can earn money from.
But the question still stuck in my head. And I had to think about this post about a developer who uploaded over 14,000 commits to a GitHub repository in 20 years.
Why are people motivated to invest their time and professional skills in open source projects for which they are not paid?
And why are there companies that use these technologies and can make a lot of money with them without giving anything back?
The Internet does not work without Open Source
In fact, much of the Internet is based on open source technologies. Without Open Source, our Internet would be unimaginable. And that Wikipedia is not a serious source was probably on of the biggest scams of our educational system.
That #Wikipedia isn't a serious source is the biggest nonsense our #educationalsystem told us.
For this reason, Google currently operates and supports over 2,000 such open source projects. Because open source creates innovations that would otherwise not be possible and we all benefit from them.
Companies can simply use these software for themselves or change it to their needs. Often it's small things, a few lines of code, that solve big problems.
This is a great opportunity for everyone. For example, for small and medium-sized companies or young technology companies and start-ups that cannot afford to develop everything themselves.
In addition, every developer in the world depends on learning and applying open source code in his or her career.
And open source projects, such as WordPress, make freedom of expression accessible to everyone in the world. Free of charge and without registration or regulation.
Companies make use of Open Source
Unfortunately, very few companies behave responsibly with open source and give something back. Be it through active cooperation, support or a fair share of the earned money.
Owen Williams describes in his article The Internet Relies on People Working for Free how some of the world's largest companies shamelessly make use of free technologies and how they generate profits from thousands of hours of work by a single developer.
The article tells the unbelievable story of the developer Daniel Steinberg, who almost single-handedly and unpaidly maintains a technology on which millions of smartphones depend. And he asks the question, why none of the companies that benefit from his invention wants to support him in the maintenance.
Giving something back is important
I am very proud that we at Inpsyde are aware of our responsibility to give something back to the WordPress community. We share our knowledge in the community, work on the further development of the Content Management System and publish a part of our plugins for free use. One of them is the backup plugin BackWPup, which has already been downloaded over 9 million times and is available free of charge to users all over the world.
That's how you give something back.
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Home Office in the Corona Crisis – and beyond?
Digital Gardening – A Metaphor on growing Web Projects
Marcus Burk


Head Feels Bruised But No Injury. Do You Have a Tender Spot?
Head Feels Bruised But No Injury: Why Do I Have a Tender Spot?
» Head Feels Bruised But No Injury: Why Do I Have a Tender Spot?
Some people are blessed with health: they never come down with colds, never have to take a day off work, and never get involved in serious accidents. For the rest of us, aches and pains are all too common. These aches and pains come and go, some worse than others. Particularly worrying, though, are tender spots on the head that seem to come back time after time.
Of course, when you're in an accident, you can understand why your body is in pain. You can follow why it takes time to heal. What is more puzzling is when you suffer from pain and tenderness on the back of your head, but there is no apparent reason why. The pain just came from nowhere, and nothing you do seems to make it any better.
If you found this page, you must be experiencing a sore spot on the back of the head. If you had hit your head, or you were in an accident not too long ago, you would know what's causing it. But the worst thing about scalp tenderness is that it seems to be caused by nothing at all.
To help, we have created this guide, so that you can get to the bottom of why your scalp is painful when pressed. There are many problems which might be the cause; some infections or illness, others chronic stress, and others skin conditions.
Why Does My Head Feel Bruised without Injury?
What Is the Tender Spot on My Scalp?
The kind of pain that you are experiencing is surprisingly common, albeit confusing. It can be irritating to find that you have a tender spot, which feels painful to the touch just like a bruise, but which has no obvious cause.
But even though you might not be sure what could cause pain like the kind you are experiencing, there are a number of potential causes. Scalp and head sensitivity can be caused by two central problems: physical damage and skin conditions.
The reason why physical damage could cause your pain is obvious; impacts cause bruises and damage that can last for a long time, especially in sensitive areas like the scalp and the back of the head. But even if your pain is not caused by bruising, physical damage could still play a part. For instance, your lymph glands could be swollen, or your nerves could be damaged by chronic posture problems.
But more common if your pain is not caused by bruising are skin conditions. There are many skin conditions which could be the cause of your pain. Each of them is discussed in more detail below.
Something which can confuse matters is that tender spots such as these can also co-occur with other symptoms.
Headaches. Headaches frequently co-occur with different kinds of pain. The reason is simple. The stress of pain anywhere around the body, and especially the tension in the neck muscles that pain in the head and shoulders can cause, is almost guaranteed to cause headaches.
Rash. You may find that you develop a rash around the area of your pain. This could be because of one of two reasons. First, if your pain is caused by a skin condition, then your skin condition may cause both pain and a rash. But if you continually brush against the area of your pain, this may independently cause a contact rash.
Sensitivity elsewhere in the body. If your pain is caused by the condition fibromyalgia, you will find that you have sensitivity elsewhere too. Fibromyalgia causes skin sensitivity at various pressure points in the body. These are at various points on the arms, legs, and torso. If you have sensitivity on the back of your head, you may feel some in those other locations.
Spasming. If your pain is caused by muscle or nerve damage, you may also suffer from spasms. If you have never experienced spasms, your muscles will contract and relax of their own accord. This does not hurt, but it is irritating.
So, what might be causing your tender spot?
Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition which has only recently been recognized by the medical community. It is characterized by pain and sensitivity throughout the body, as well as many other problems. Among the locations of tenderness throughout the body, fibromyalgia also causes pain at the back of the head.
The primary symptom of fibromyalgia is that you suffer from trigger points. These trigger points are located at various locations around the body. So, for example, fibromyalgia sufferers will typically experience pain around the elbows, hips, lower back and knees.
It is also common for sufferers to experience pain at a number of points around the neck. Typically pain will cluster around the larynx and at the point where the neck and the skull meet. People with fibromyalgia also experience greater sensitivity of the skin, and so can develop painful points anywhere on the body.
These spots may develop bruising, or they may not. Fibromyalgia is not entirely understood by science, so signs and symptoms can vary.
If you have fibromyalgia there are some pills and creams you can try to help with the pain.
This Fibromyalgia Support Supplement may help reduce common symptoms like headache, pain, mental fog, energy dips, and problems with sleep.
Penetrex Pain Relief Therapy is great for managing itchy spots and will calm down an itchy scalp.
Fibromyalgia is not the only physical problem which can cause a tender spot on the back of your head. The problem may be your lymph glands.
Another physical reason that you may be experiencing a sore spot on the back of the head? It could be a problem with your lymph glands. More specifically, the problem could be that your lymph glands are swollen in response to a particular trigger. This can cause sensitivity at the base of your skull, where there is a cluster of these glands.
Lymph glands or lymph 'nodes' are what make up your lymphatic system. This system helps your body to combat infections, injuries, and diseases. They come in various sizes, from the size of a pinhead to as big as a grape. There are three key locations where clusters of lymph glands concentrate: the neck, the armpit, and the groin.
Are you currently fighting off a cold or the flu? If so, your lymph glands may have swollen to fight the infection.
Have you incurred an unrelated physical injury such as a scratch or bite on your neck, shoulders or face? When the body fights off potential infections of wounds, the lymph nodes swell up to combat them.
Do you suffer from a glandular condition which makes your lymph nodes behave erratically?
If any of the above applies to you, your lymph nodes may have become swollen and painful. This could be the cause of your tender spot at the base of your skull. The best thing to do is to fight your cold or wound infection using antibiotics and proper wound dressings.
But, you say, 'I think that is caused by a skin condition and isn't just something general!' Dermatitis is a condition which inflames the skin, causing a rash and some swelling. In the very worst cases, you may also experience skin flaking and even blisters. This could, therefore, be what is causing your tenderness.
Contact dermatitis is a common condition, which can affect any part of the body, the scalp and back of the head included. The areas that it affects can become sore to the touch. The tricky thing about dermatitis is that you will not be able to see it on the scalp. The only thing you will be able to see is dandruff.
Soaps and washing powders. Some people experience dermatitis due to biological washing powder, others because of non-biological washing powder.
Cosmetics. The cause could be anything from certain skin creams to foundations and mascara.
Hair products. Shampoos and conditioners could cause dermatitis. So if you have a sore spot due to dermatitis on your head, this could be why.
It can be difficult to treat dermatitis on the scalp through regular means. Typically, people choose to treat their dermatitis with topical creams. This is far more difficult when the patch is underneath your hair. As such, you may prefer over the counter oral medication which can reduce your inflammation instead.
Puriya Cream is a fantastic cream to treat eczema, psoriasis, dermatitis, and rashes. You can see your itchy bumps disappear after just after two days of using this product.
Seborrheic dermatitis is a specific kind of dermatitis, not caused by contact with irritants. Instead, seborrheic dermatitis is caused by a problem with your sweat glands and hair follicles. The exact cause is unknown. But it seems to be triggered by similar triggers to other forms of the condition. If you can see past your hair, you may notice that the skin has become yellow, greasy and thickened.
Seborrheic dermatitis has the same symptoms as contact dermatitis. Your skin becomes red and sensitive and begins to flake. In the worst cases, you can develop blisters. Since it is in some way related to sweat glands and hair follicles, seborrheic dermatitis typically occurs where there are many pores in the body. One such place is the scalp.
This form of dermatitis is not contagious. That being said, you may find that a number of the members of your household experience it at the same time. This is because you may all be experiencing the same trigger, such as a kind of shampoo, or washing powder. The giveaway to look for is dandruff. You need to use a specific seborrheic dermatitis shampoo if you have colored hair.
These are classic signs of seborrheic dermatitis. All forms of dermatitis, this one included, make the affected area sensitive. This could, therefore, be the cause of your sore spot. Like other forms of dermatitis, you should treat your condition with topical creams and oral medication.
Another disorder of the skin that can cause scalp and head pain is scalp psoriasis. Psoriasis is a condition which, like dermatitis, can affect any part of the body. Its cause is unknown, and there is no complete cure, although you can choose from many treatment options. Psoriasis could, therefore, be causing your spot on head painful to touch.
Psoriasis causes itchiness and inflammation around the affected area.
The affected area turns red, although unlike dermatitis, will turn a silvery color in worse cases.
Psoriasis can cause tenderness and pain in the skin, and even in the joints and tissue below. This is known as 'psoriatic arthritis,' and could be the cause of your tender spot.
Like dermatitis, psoriasis is treated using topical creams and ointments.
If the moisturizing cream does nothing for your skin, there are alternatives. Corticosteroids and Vitamin D creams are two examples.
Phototherapy, a treatment whereby you use ultraviolet light to treat the skin and lessen symptoms.
Systemic treatments such as oral or injected medicines. These methods are especially useful if you have psoriasis around your body, not just on your scalp.
Scalp ringworm is the last potential cause of your tender spot on our list. If you weren't aware, ringworm is not caused by a real, live worm. Instead, ringworm is the term for a common fungal infection which is also the cause of jock itch and athlete's foot. Ringworm is therefore contagious, unlike the conditions mentioned above.
It can occur anywhere on the body, including the scalp. When ringworm occurs on the scalp, its scientific name is tinea capitis. Like other skin conditions, ringworm causes flaky, itchy skin. But it can also cause hair loss, which can be disconcerting. This hair loss can be permanent after an extended period of infection.
When it occurs on your scalp, ringworm can give you painful sores. These sores are large and obvious and look almost like small calluses. Specifically, these sores are abscesses caused by the fungal infection of ringworm. They gradually fill with pus and can grow to an inch or more in size. As you can imagine, this can be quite painful indeed.
Antifungal shampoos that reduce the scale of infection. These shampoos also make it more difficult for your infection to spread.
Antibiotics to treat the bacterial infection which may affect your abscesses.
Topical antifungal agents which can treat minor complaints.
Oral antifungal agents that attack the deeper-seated fungal infection. Infection reaches down into the hair follicle, and so can be impossible to treat with creams.
In conclusion, your tender spot could be caused by any number of problems. If you feel that the back of your head feels bruised to touch but no injury, you may have a painful skin condition.
Do you have pain that comes and goes elsewhere around your body? More specifically, do you have pain around the elbows, inner thighs, lower back, and neck? If so, you may have fibromyalgia. This is especially likely if you also have trouble concentrating and difficulty sleeping. Fortunately, there are many products that you can use to tackle the pain of 'fibro'.
Are you uninjured, but fighting off an infection? Do you have a cold, the flu, or a wound on the upper half of your body? If so, your lymph nodes may be swelling to attack the infection or illness. Antibiotics and wound treatments should help.
Do you have dandruff on and around your tender spot? If so, you may have a form of dermatitis. If the patch is greasy, you may have seborrheic dermatitis. Topical moisturizing creams can help, as can changing your lifestyle. The same applies to psoriasis.
Do you have large sores with puss and your scalp skin is flaky and itchy? You may have ringworm. There are many antifungal options for you to choose from. Natural methods such as essential oils, as well as over-the-counter ointments, can reverse the fungal growth of ringworm.
Is Shingles on the Scalp Contagious?


Florian Schneider seems genuinely shy. He kinda winces and shrugs after saying anything. It's more like he wasn't expecting to be interviewed, and just froze up on camera, hoping it would soon be over. Thom Yorke, however, is a genuine prick. Why can't a journalist ask him about his career ambitions? I saw nothing offensive about those questions, and the interviewer seemed equally baffled by yorke's hostility. And Gordon Lightfoot is in another dimension altogether.


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Home » Nature
5 Largest Tornadoes Ever Recorded
January 11, 2019 January 11, 2019 by Jennifer Jones
Tornadoes are some of the most violent and devastating natural disasters that happen on Earth. While tornadoes do happen from time to time in other countries, unfortunately the United States gets hit with tornadoes more often than any other place in the world. Due to this, all of the largest tornadoes on record have occurred in the United States. While there have been many more tornadoes than are on this list, these are the only tornadoes where the width was noted, which is the criteria we used to compile the list.
Tri-State Tornado
Max Width: 0.68 – over 1 mi (1.09 – 1.61 km)
Location: Southern Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana
Duration: 3 hours, 37 minutes
Max Category: F5 (retroactively assigned)
Highest Winds: Unknown, but traveled at forward speeds in excess of 73 mph (117.48 km/h)
Although it was not the largest tornado, the Tri-State Tornado is known for setting several other records, including being the deadliest tornado ever recorded in the United States. There were 695 deaths, which is twice as many as the second deadliest tornado in the U.S. Since the Tri-State Tornado happened in 1925, it was retroactively classified as a category 5 tornado on the original Fujita scale.
The Tri-State Tornado holds the record for longest path, which is estimated to have been between 151 – 235 miles (243 – 378.3 kilometers). Additionally, the Tri-State Tornado has the longest know duration of any tornado at 3 hours and 37 minutes. Although the Tri-State Tornado was strong, it was quite small in comparison to the rest of the tornadoes on this list and only reached a max width of about one mile (1.61 kilometers).
No one knows for sure if the Tri-State Tornado was only a single tornado or if was actually a series of tornadoes that caused the reported damage.
Bridge Creek-Moore Tornado
Max Width: 1 – 1.4 mi (1.61 – 2.315 km)
Location: Grady, McClain, Cleveland and Oklahoma counties in Oklahoma, USA
Max Category: F5
Highest Winds: 301 ± 20 mph (484 ± 32 km/h)
Source: Wikimedia Commons via Erin D. Maxwell
The Bridge Creek-Moore Tornado was part of the Great Plains Tornado Outbreak that occurred on May 3 – 4, 1999. As the name of the tornado suggests, the town of Bridge Creek was hit the hardest by the tornado. When the tornado got to the town, it had reached its peak width of between 1 – 1.4 miles (1.61 – 2.315 kilometers).
Unfortunately, the tornado's path cut through a large number of mobile homes in Bridge Creek and about 200 mobile homes/houses were completely obliterated. The Bridge Creek-Moore Tornado also lasted for over an hour and passed over several towns. By the end of the tornado's destruction, 36 people were dead and nearly 600 people were injured across all the affected areas.
In total, the Bridge Creek-Moore Tornado destroyed and estimated 1,800 homes, damaged about 2,500 homes, which amounted to about $1 billion in damage.
Mulhall Tornado
Max Width: 1.5 – 4.38 mi (2.4 – 7.05 km)
Location: Mulhall, Oklahoma
Duration: Unspecified
Highest Winds: about 260 mph (418.43 km/h)
Source: news9.com
Depending on the source, the Mulhall Tornado is a contender for being the largest tornado ever recorded. Differing accounts report that the Mulhall Tornado's peak width was over 1.5 miles (2.4 kilometers) and up to 4.38 miles (7.05 kilometers).
Like all of the tornadoes on this list, the Mulhall Tornado did a significant amount of damage. Every building in the town of Mulhall was damaged in some way by the devastating tornado. Surprisingly, only one Mulhall resident was seriously injured.
Despite the size of the Mulhall Tornado, there were no fatalities because the tornado mostly passed over rural, unpopulated areas.
Hallam Tornado
Max Width: 2.5 mi (4 km)
Location: Jefferson, Saline, Gage, Lancaster, and Otoe counties in Nebraska, USA
Highest Winds: about 200 mph (320 km/h)
Source: harkphoto.com
Before the 2013 tornado in El Reno, Oklahoma the Hallam Tornado was the widest tornado on record with a maximum width of 2.5 miles (4 kilometers). Although the Hallam Tornado swept through many counties, it was named after the town of Hallam, which was hit the hardest. The tornado leveled nearly all of the homes and businesses in Hallam.
Fortunately, the Hallam Tornado mostly passed through sparsely populated rural areas. By the end of the storm, one person was dead and about 40 people were injured.
According to news reports, the Hallam Tornado was so wide that many people did not even realize that they were witnessing a tornado.
El Reno Tornado
Max Width: 2.6 mi (4.2 km)
Location: Canadian County, Oklahoma, USA – especially south of El Reno
Max Category: EF3
Highest Winds: 301 mph (484 km/h)
The 2013 El Reno Tornado is widely considered to be the largest tornado ever recorded, based on width. However, according to some sources the Mulhall Tornado was larger. At its peak, the massive El Reno Tornado reached a width of 2.6 miles (4.2 kilometers) and speeds of up to 301 mph (484 km/h). Despite its strength, the El Reno Tornado was only categorized as an EF3.
The El Reno Tornado lasted for about 40 minutes and by the end eight people were killed, all in their vehicles. Three of those people were experienced storm chasers. In addition to the fatalities, the El Reno Tornado injured over 150 people.
In 2015, scientists built a new tool which allowed them to piece together video footage from the event and see what was happening inside of the El Reno Tornado.
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"Kosher By Design: Teens and 20-Somethings" is being released on October 27 and to thank JITC for reviewing it on October 26, KBD will mail a free copy of the book to the JITC reader who wins the following contest.
You may enter the contest as many times as you like! To enter just refer a friend to JewintheCity.com by having him or her subscribe to the site by email (look for the box in the upper right hand corner of the site), subscribe to the JITC YouTube channel, and or join the JITC FB fan page.
Each sign up (site subscribtion, YouTube, and FB) counts as a separate entry. Refer as many friends and family as you can, and when you do, just email me at jewinthecity@gmail.com with the names, email addresses, or screen names of your referrals and your own name will be entered into the contest that many times. The winner will be announced on the site in the October 26th review. Good luck!!!


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Are allergen triggers hiding in your stable?
By Margaret Evans
At one time we owned a palomino mare who, in her senior years, suffered from heaves, an allergic-based disease that compromises breathing and is similar to how asthma affects humans. Zona had lived all her life in Brandon, Manitoba, and came to us on the west coast when she was in her early twenties. She had a persistent cough and her breathing was audible, especially when she was eating. While the more humid atmosphere of the coast helped, what was really beneficial was keeping her on pasture most of the time, away from the dust and spores in the barn. What also helped her condition was sourcing a better-quality grass mix hay and dampening it to eliminate dust.
Like humans, horses can be hypersensitive to a wide variety of allergen triggers including insect bites, pollens, dust and molds, chemicals in crop sprays, hay dust, stall bedding materials, wool (sometimes in saddle pad and blanket products), grooming sprays, shampoos, synthetic materials such as neoprene found in boots and pads, medications, supplements, and some ingredients in feed pellets.
Around the world, allergies in humans are on the rise, but whether there has been a corresponding rise in allergies in horses is still unclear.
"I don't know if there's been an increase in allergies," says Wendy Pearson, assistant professor, equine physiology, University of Guelph. "I would suggest that we may be a little bit better at diagnosing and identifying what they are. I don't know if they are more frequent, but we are just better at recognizing them."
When a horse has an allergic reaction, its immune system perceives something from its environment as a threat and launches a response that is out of line with the normally benign condition. It leads to him becoming hypersensitive to the agent, or allergen, and his defenses are elevated so that, when next exposed, his reaction is quicker and stronger. The allergic reaction produces a chemical response that triggers the release of histamine, which can result in swellings or itching or other adverse physical conditions.
The two most common sites for an allergic reaction are the skin, which can suffer from hives (a cluster of swellings) and pruritis (intense itching), and the respiratory system when horses have a persistent nasal discharge and frequent coughing.
With winter approaching, horses may be spending more time in stalls and barns where dust gathers in hay rooms and the corners of stalls, and mold and mites can be found in dark corners of feed and tack rooms. If horses have been living out on pasture all summer, they may display a reaction to being inside once the windows are shut and the doors closed.
The most common causes for skin irritation are biting insects such as blackflies, horn flies, and stable flies, as well as the biting midge – the notorious "no-see-um" insect. Those bites result in sweet itch, also known as pruritis or seasonal recurrent dermatitis; the allergic response is a reaction to the proteins in the saliva of the midge. The intense itching can drive horses crazy, causing them to rub and scratch their skin, often developing a ratty tail, tangled mane, and inflamed skin patches on the belly, shoulders, or across the withers. All the rubbing and scratching can lead to secondary infections.
While biting midges are dormant in winter, the itch that a horse may have experienced in the fall from the midges' biting behaviour can continue for a number of weeks. In severe cases, the horse may have incurred a skin infection, which itself causes itchiness. Even though the midges have gone, the horse will continue to scratch and rub himself, continuing the self-traumatizing behaviour until a cycle of relief can eliminate the irritation.
Hives may start as a few small, soft lumps on the horse's neck, then quickly progress across his shoulders and sides. What triggered it may not only be insect bites but a variety of environmental allergens such as pollen, mold, and dust that the horse inhales, as well as contact allergens such as bedding, conditioners, and fly sprays.
But not all horses respond to allergen triggers in the same way, or even at all. A study conducted by researchers at the University of Edinburgh and published in 2015 in the journal, PLOS One, showed for the first time that, while all horses respond to allergens, their immune system can react in two different ways. One of the responses to the allergen is the release of certain substances secreted by cells in the immune system, known as cytokine lL-4. The other response, which is the release of another cytokine IFNy from the immune system, is to block different immune cells and negate the effects of the allergen. The animals in the study were Shetland ponies, and their responses to midge bites were similar to what happens in people with allergies.
The intent of the study was to better understand how the immune system responds to allergen triggers, and thus be able to prime the human immune system to respond to allergens in a way that does not influence reactions. Allergies are complicated interactions between genetic and environmental influences, and it is still a work in progress to understand why some individuals, and some horses, develop sensitivities and reactions to certain substances while others do not.
Respiratory allergies can occur in any season, and winter is no different. With hypersensitive horses, their airways may be further irritated by hay and bedding dust, and these animals will present with a persistent runny nose and possibly watery eyes. The more complex Recurrent Airway Obstruction condition, previously called heaves and now referred to as Equine Asthma Syndrome, presents with coughing, wheezing, and laboured breathing, which impacts the overall health of the horse.
A persistent nasal discharge is often a telltale sign that the horse has a respiratory allergy. Photo: Pam MacKenzie
As with people, an allergic reaction in a horse can show within minutes or hours of exposure, and it may be from an unusual source. Years ago, a friend purchased a new saddle pad for her Thoroughbred eventer, but he became restless when being saddled. After mounting and warming up, the horse exploded with bucks and resistance. At first, she did not connect the saddle pad with her horse's behaviour, but it soon became obvious that the saddle pad, made of wool, was the reason. The wool was itchy to the horse and an immediate source of irritation. And it may not have been the wool itself, but the chemicals and dyes in the product.
Being aware of the horse's hypersensitivity to certain allergens is one half of the challenge; knowing how to help the horse avoid exposure is the other half. Treatment strategies always include allergen avoidance, topical therapies, and systemic medications such as antihistamines recommended by your veterinarian.
Horses can be hypersensitive to a variety of triggers including dust from hay and bedding. To reduce exposure to dust and keep horses from tunnelling into big round bales, open the bales and scatter the hay around. Photo: Canstock/Hanatipplova
Avoiding allergy triggers is the first place to start. With busy working and riding schedules it's easy to overlook the darker recesses of barns, but a good regular cleaning of the walls and corners to remove buildup of dust, spider webs, and any floating material will help to minimize exposure. Feed should be kept in resealable plastic bins and purchased in smaller quantities so it can be replenished frequently to stay fresh, and so that the feed at the bottom of the bin doesn't get moldy. Clean feed storage containers and buckets regularly. If mice are a problem, set traps and minimize their numbers; mice droppings add to dirt and dust on the floor. Keep the tack room warm to avoid dampness and prevent mold and mildew from forming on leather. Ensure all blankets are clean and dry on the inside where mice can't get at them for nesting material, and mites cannot reach them to feed on skin cells.
These are house dust mites, to which some horses are sensitive. A study in Australia found house dust mites in all horse blankets tested, and that horshypersensitive es reacted to the dust mite allergen on serum allergy testing. Photo: Wikimedia/Gilles San Martin
In a study done by the Department of Veterinary Science, University of Sydney, Australia, researchers tested 14 horse rugs and two saddle blankets for the presence of house dust mites. Dust samples from the rugs, blankets, and 16 control sites were collected with a vacuum cleaner with a modified attachment and filter. Dust mites were extracted with a floatation technique. Eight rugs and all control samples were positive for mites, and the study confirmed that house dust mites can indeed spread to horse blankets. The study also confirmed the dust mite allergen reactivity on serum allergy testing of hypersensitive horses. According to the report, it was the first study to document the presence of house dust mites in the equine environment. Further research was recommended to evaluate all the immunological responses, provocations, and avoidance measures to minimize exposure of allergic horses to the microscopic translucent mite that is barely 0.02 mm long.
It may not be totally clear why horses are sensitive to such tiny creatures, but avoidance and blanket management are essential to reduce risk. Frequent washings or cleanings are recommended, as well as isolating the blanket and keeping any rugs or blankets used on the hypersensitive horse away from blankets being used on other horses to avoid cross-contamination.
Helping a horse's immune system cope with allergens spans not just avoidance and medications, but supplements too. In her article Spirulina, a Mighty Immune Modifier (Canadian Horse Journal, July 2015), Pearson focused on the properties of blue-green algae (BGA), also known as spirulina, found in fresh water, saltwater, tropical springs and, more recently, spirulina farming ponds.
Pearson says that the most well-known clinical effect of BGA is its ability to modify immune function.
Spirulina, a type of blue-green algae (BGA), has the ability to calm overactive immune states such as allergies, and enhance immune function. Photo: ©Canstockphoto/Magone
"There is abundant evidence that overactive immune states (such as allergies) are calmed with BGA at doses as low as 10 mg/kg BW, both local and whole-body," she writes. "And histamine – an important instigator of allergic symptoms – is strongly inhibited by BGA. However, in cases where an up-regulation of immune response is needed (such as during vaccination or exposure to a virus) BGA enhances immune function and protects animals against disease."
Pearson believes that BGA is now more widespread in use.
"There is some really nice data on this in managing allergies [in people]," she says. "There isn't anything on horses but there is some really nice, very good research data supporting the use of BGA in allergic conditions."
At one time, Spirulina was classified as a plant because of its richness in plant pigments and its ability to photosynthesize, but a better understanding of its genetics and physiology has resulted in scientists moving it to the bacteria kingdom and placing it in the genus Spirulina. Three species within that genus are studied specifically for their nutritional and therapeutic values.
Many horses do far better living outside rather than living in a barn. In a paddock environment, horses will naturally adapt to conditions so long as they have adequate food, fresh unfrozen water, and shelter from wind and rain.
"This is my bias," says Pearson. "Horses do better outside all around. They are more content, have far less diseases, and incidents of development of allergies in pasture-raised horses is almost zero. As soon as you put those animals in a barn, close all the doors and windows and put hay, bedding and other horses in there, it's a breeding ground for allergens.
Horses that live outside are exposed to far fewer allergens. They are healthier in general, and will adapt to cold temperatures as long as they are provided with adequate shelter, sufficient food of good quality, and a plentiful supply of fresh, unfrozen water. Photo: Shutterstock/Natalya Rozhkova
"I bought a fairly high-end dressage horse. He had lived his whole life in a stall or a tiny paddock by himself. When he got to my farm, he lived out with 45 other horses and was never happier. He was very sound, very healthy. Horses are herd animals and thrive best with others."
Depending on breed, horses will grow excellent coats in winter to cope with conditions. They are much better at adapting to the cold than we give them credit for.
"I am a big fan of haylage as long as it is properly prepared and cured," says Pearson. "The haylage that we typically think about for dairy cows, baled at around 40 to 45 percent moisture, is not good for horses. You have to get haylage that is somewhere around 24 to 27 percent moisture. But if it is too low, you don't have a good environment for the microbes to ferment the material. If you have well-prepared and well-preserved haylage, it is nutritionally exceptional. It is a very hygienic feed, so it's low in dust and it has a much better nutritional profile compared to dry hay.
"Because we had a lot of horses last year and we had a loafing shed, the haylage could be stored under cover. Fifty horses would completely consume an 800-pound bale in 24 hours. Because they consume it quickly, it is safe feed. The problem with haylage comes when it sits outside, it doesn't get completely consumed, gets exposed to wetness and sunshine, and then there is a botulism risk. Haylage has got a bit of a bad rap because of botulism, but mainly because it's not managed properly. As long as the haylage is consumed completely within about 48 hours and not exposed to rain or direct sunlight, it is a very safe, nutritious feed.
"In certain paddocks on our farm and when we didn't have access to the giant loafing sheds, we would feed the giant bales. We would open them up and throw the hay out and scatter it. That way, the horses aren't standing in one spot trying to feed off a tight bale. There are ways to manage haylage or round bales safely. It's the same hay you would be putting into square bales; it's just the management of it."
Regardless of time of year, horses can show signs that something in their diet might not agree with them. It may surface as hives, a swelling, hair loss, or diarrhea. A food allergy should always be discussed with a veterinarian who will provide guidance on protocols to isolate the offending substance which can then be eliminated. When it comes to subtle signs, it is really important to start recording when the signs first appeared, what the horse was fed both in the barn and in the pasture — including hay from a new hay supply source — and what treats might have been given. Dewormers should also be included, especially if they are new products not previously used. After that it becomes a process of elimination to see what may have triggered the reaction, or allergy, so that the appropriate steps can be taken.
Whether certain horse breeds are more susceptible to allergies is largely unknown, but a recent international study published in the Journal of Animal Breed Genetics and conducted by scientists in England, Belgium, Sweden, and the Netherlands looked at equine insect bite hypersensitivity (IBH) by biting midges in Icelandic horses and Exmoor ponies, and found an IBH predisposition in both breeds. It may be that a variety of horse breeds has a susceptibility to allergens, but because of the genetics of individual horses within the breed, they may or may not develop allergies.
Another genome-wide association study conducted in the Netherlands with 200 Shetland pony mares and 146 Icelandic horses identified several genomic regions associated with insect bite hypersensitivity.
In our modern world, with so many synthetic materials and various food sources entering the barn, it is not surprising that allergic reactions can occur with our equine friends. Sourcing the offending triggers and eliminating them just makes good horse sense.
Main Photo: Urticaria or hives is a skin reaction to allergies or other stressors. It often starts as a few small lumps on the horse's neck, then progresses across the shoulders and sides. Photo: Sutterstock/Horse Crazy
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Disneyland |
Bob Iger named Disney CEO in shocking development
Then Disney CEO Bob Iger arrives at the world premiere of "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker" in Los Angeles in 2019. (Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, FIle)
By Cnn Com Wire Service |
In a move that shocked Hollywood, Bob Iger, one of the most notable CEOs in the history of the Walt Disney company, is returning to run the media empire.
Bob Chapek, who replaced Iger in 2020 as CEO, is stepping down immediately.
"We thank Bob Chapek for his service to Disney over his long career, including navigating the company through the unprecedented challenges of the pandemic," Susan Arnold, Chairman of the Board for Disney, said in a statement on Sunday night. "The Board has concluded that as Disney embarks on an increasingly complex period of industry transformation, Bob Iger is uniquely situated to lead the Company through this pivotal period."
The announcement, while deeply surprising to the media industry, comes at a time of great evolution for Disney. The company is coming off a lack-luster earnings report that showed growth for its streaming endeavors but at a great cost of $1.5 billion in the fourth quarter. That report sent Disney's stock to tumble after a year of sluggish to bad performance.
Chapek guided the company through the pandemic, one of its most tumultuous periods in its nearly 100-year history, but ultimately Disney decided that its future was in better hands with Iger.
Iger has an almost mythical status as the leader of Disney. He spent 15 years as CEO and was instrumental in acquiring major brands like Marvel and Lucasfilm, the home to Star Wars. Iger also kicked off the streaming revolution at Disney with the creation of Disney+ in November 2019.
Disney said Sunday that Iger has agreed to serve as CEO for two years with "a mandate from the Board to set the strategic direction for renewed growth and to work closely with the Board in developing a successor to lead the Company at the completion of his term."
The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.
Cnn Com Wire Service
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Welcome to X Bats, home of the finest hand-crafted, professional grade wood baseball and softball bats... the first choice for serious players.
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text:
Q: Live actions in Ember How can we implement live actions in ember without reload or pressing an action button?
for example, if I'm filling a form to change the password,
In the confirm password input, I need to check the matching of these two passwords lively(without pressing any button)
This is just a case?
how can I implement this?

A: See the twiddle or gist. There's plenty of different approaches.
1). Bind an action to the oninput event of two input fields
<input value={{password2}} oninput={{action 'setPassword2' value="target.value"}} />
<input value={{passwordConfirm2}} oninput={{action 'setPasswordConfirm2' value="target.value"}} />

with custom action handlers that invoke a function on input:
actions: {
  setPassword2(val){
    this.set('password2', val);
    this.updatePasswordsMatch2();
  },
  setPasswordConfirm2(val){
    this.set('passwordConfirm2', val);
    this.updatePasswordsMatch2();
  }
},
updatePasswordsMatch2(){
  this.set('passwordsMatch2', this.get('password2') === this.get('passwordConfirm2'));
}

2). Same as above but use onchange if you only want the event to fire on blur + change
3). 2way binding (old school ember way) with computed properties observing both the password and the confirm:
passwordsMatch: computed('password', 'passwordConfirm', function(){
   return this.get('password') === this.get('passwordConfirm');
})

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Keep your savings or your loans with local Eagle Creek indie community banks or credit unions. When you bank local, more money stays in Eagle Creek because the interest, the deposits or the loan payments you make help the bank to lend to local businesses or families in your community. These banks can offer the same capabilities as the big banks, but they concentrate on serving only one or two communities based on their smaller asset size. Since they're locally owned and focus on serving the businesses and families in their geographic area, they build up local wealth in your community. And there is usually greater stability in personnel at a Eagle Creek community bank meaning that you'll likely be dealing with the same banker for years.


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News: ACT, Big Impact, News, Research
Two-pronged approach to improved solar
Researchers at the Australian National University have developed a unique way to boost the efficiency of silicon solar cells. They have also shown the maximum potential of ultra-thin, extremely lightweight, semi-transparent materials, called transition metal dichalcgenides, to generate electricity using sunlight. These 2D materials have the potential to be incorporated into a wide range of devices and buildings, harvesting sunlight to power themselves.
Australia receives 10,000 times more solar energy from the Sun each year than its total annual energy consumption. However, use of solar energy is still limited due to: less than optimal efficiency of commercial silicon solar cells and the limited sites, such as rooftops and solar farms, currently available from which to harvest solar energy.
Dr Hieu Nguyen's team at the Australian National University has developed a unique way to boost the efficiency of silicon solar cells by using hydrogen to reduce defects and impurities, and to boost electrical conduction. They use the advanced instruments including the transmission electron microscope at the Microscopy Australia ANU facility.
They are also addressing the second limitation by showing the potential of ultra-thin, extremely lightweight, semi-transparent materials made of the transition metal dichalcogenide to generate electricity using sunlight.
The knowledge and methods developed will help ensure solar energy to have deeper and broader penetration into our lives. They also help improve the efficiency and robustness of low-cost solar energy devices, reduce energy costs, and make solar energy become a reliable, affordable, sustainable and clean energy source for Australia.


My sense of awe and wonderment was suddenly interrupted by a cold, hard realization. This was the same point in my pregnancy that I had once had an abortion. My awe and wonderment turned to shock and horror. I sat there trying to comprehend what I was seeing. Questions filled my head. How could this have happened? Why? This didn't make any sense. The counselor's words echoed in my mind. "…a clump of cells the size of a pencil point." What? A wave of emotions swirled like an angry storm within me but eventually left nothing but inconsolable grief.
I fought back tears as I told Bryonna of that day so long ago. I told her that her baby had a heartbeat and it's very own DNA that is a map of everything her baby would become. Cells are now in place that will become everything from skin to muscle to eyelashes!
We would spend many, many hours on the phone. It was not uncommon for us to spend the entire afternoon talking about her pregnancy, her family and friends, her childhood, my childhood and on and on. We had come to know each other in a very intimate way and yet we had never laid eyes upon one another. After several months of this telephone friendship I decide it was time to meet face to face.
Bryonna lived about an hour away. The drive gave me some time to reflect upon the last few months. It's so ironic and yet so beautiful that when you reach out to help someone else that you are also the beneficiary. In the thirty five years since my abortion nothing had gone so far to heal my heart as my friendship with this incredible lady. I had an emotionally vested interest in this special woman and her baby.
I pulled up in front of the apartment where Bryonna lives and waited for her to come down. After quite some time a young woman emerged walking slowly and cautiously with the assistance of a cane. My heart ached as I thought of how my own daughter was the same age as Bry. For the first time, I truly appreciated the physical challenges that she faced.
Bryonna's Cerebral Palsy could cause muscle spasms or cause her muscles to lock in one position. She also dealt with severe asthma and strabismus. Bryonna had always anticipated being in a wheel chair at some point but it seemed as though this pregnancy would bring that day much sooner than she had hoped.
Over a very long lunch, Bryonna told me more about herself. Her own mother had three abortions and had intended upon aborting her at five months gestation. Fortunately, Bryonna's grandmother had talked her mother out of that due to her advanced pregnancy. At three years old Bryonna would attempt to walk on her knees but could not stand. She was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy. While other children would run and play, Bryonna could only watch.
Bryonna would spend a brief time in foster care as a baby until she was placed in the care of her grandmother. She told me stories about her grandmother who had passed away a few years earlier. I immediately fell in love with the woman who must have been responsible for the loving heart I witnessed in Bryonna. Bry had described her as "the only person I could ever count on".
In her adolescent and teen years Bryonna would spend six long years in the foster care system while her grandmother was in a nursing facility. These were years that I imagine would turn most people's heart to stone. Tears filled my eyes as she told me of being called worthless and of no one even noticing when she ran away for several days.


Enjoy our monthly LOCAL Life Spotify playlist – the perfect Hilton Head and Lowcountry tunes. Discover new music and our team's favorites. Each month we feature a different theme, from party playlists and songs to set sail to, to bridge tunes and Lowcountry jams.
April is a wonderful time for sports lovers.
Continue reading "LocalLife Playlist: Sports Jams"
If the dreary Lowcountry winter has you feeling blue, take comfort knowing greener days are ahead.
Continue reading "LocalLife Playlist: The Green Playlist"
Many locals would not call Hilton Head Island home if there was not a bridge.
Continue reading "LocalLife Playlist: Bridge Tunes"
Continue reading "LocalLife Playlist: Get Sorted"
For those looking to pump up their charity game, we offer this collection of sensational, inspirational and celebrational tunes about giving.
Continue reading "LocalLife Playlist: What gives?"
Trolling offshore and waiting in the duck blind can get boring. You need a playlist for that.
Continue reading "LocalLife Playlist: Lowcountry Jams"
The Lowcountry and South Carolina have inspired many musicians over the years.
Whether it's switching up your hairstyle or gutting your master bathroom, makeovers can be a scary thing.
Continue reading "LocalLife Playlist: Makeover Music"
For people of a certain age, seven-inch 45 rpm vinyl records are what music was, and is, all about.
Continue reading "LocalLife Playlist: Collectable 45s"
Party like it's 1776 with these patriotic tunes bound to get the festivities started.
Continue reading "LocalLife Playlist: Patriotic Party Playlist"


text:
Trending Now in News & Politics
Jacob Chansley
News & Politics | Things to Do
Crammed into a Truck and Unable to Breathe, This George Mason Grad Became a Refugee at 6. Erblin Nushi Reflects on His Childhood Trauma in the Short Film "Bini."
Written by Adia H. Robinson
| Published on September 14, 2018
A still from the film "Bini" courtesy of Tilia Entertainment.
Erblin Nushi was six years old when Serbian soldiers came to his hometown of Peja, Kosovo and packed his parents, sister, and him into a truck to the Albanian border. In Albania, the refugee family found safety until the end of the Kosovo War, when they were able to return to a changed home.
Now 26, Nushi has turned his experience of that day into a 20-minute film Bini, which he shot over five days in Kosovo. Originally his senior thesis project at George Mason University, the film—named after his childhood nickname—was selected as a finalist for the Student Academy Awards and received the DC Shorts Film Festival jury prize for Best Local DMV Film. Nushi chatted with Washingtonian about recreating the day in Kosovo 19 years ago.
Can you walk me through that day?
For me, it was just like any other day. At first, it was pretty normal because the next day was supposed to be a holiday and we did shopping and got candy. That's why I have the reference to the candy in the film now. It was really strange because I didn't know what was happening. I was being protected by my parents. The whole time I was told we were going away for something and I didn't know where we went until after. Everything went crazy. I just remember a lot of people in the streets and everybody leaving. It's a very big blur for me because it was so long ago. I was six. But I have flashbacks of us being crammed into this truck and not being able to breathe and people screaming.
What was it like translating that into a film?
It was a really interesting thing because I was so young [at the time and] I was not able to comprehend what was happening. When I wrote the story, I knew the extent of the trauma that I had gone through, but I wasn't really experiencing it or any PTSD until we were actually filming. When we were on set, recreating all of that was bringing back those memories. It was day three when it really hit me. I was like, 'Oh my god, I really lived through this.' It's harder. For me, not being aware was a little bit easier.
How did you come to terms with the trauma?
All of this is a healing processes for me right now. As a country, we moved on really fast from the war and we never really talked about it. We were just happy to move on, create new lives, and have our own country for once. The people who lived through [it] don't talk about it. My family never spoke about the day. I had these flashbacks and didn't know how to process them because no one spoke about them. When I made the film and talked about it, I didn't feel alone anymore.
Behind the scenes, Nushi chats with the young actor who plays him in the film. Photograph courtesy of Tilia Entertainment.
Why make it now?
I wanted to tell this story because of everything that's happening in the current day with the refugee crisis and children being separated from their families. Being a victim and having gone through it myself, I don't wish it on anybody. Seeing the stuff happening around the world now, it breaks my heart. I want to do something about it. This was the only way that I found [I could] say something and give a voice to those people through my art. The film was for all the lives that were lost in Kosovo, to memorialize them and give them a voice, because they were pretty much forgotten. I usually make films that have social justice issues because I love creating art, but for me—to be satisfied with it—it has to have some meaning and message.
What's next for you now that you've graduated from George Mason?
I'm working on a couple of projects. Every filmmaker's goal is to make a feature film. I'm writing Bini as a feature. I'm expanding it, because there was a lot that didn't make it into the short. When I was writing the script for the short film, I interviewed a bunch of people about the day that it happened and how their experience was. It's so different from one person to the other. How I saw it at 6 years old was completely different from someone who was 15, and 30 and 40. The impact was just so different, and that's so interesting to me.
Bini will be screened during the DC Shorts Film Festival on Saturday, September 15 at 8 PM, and Sunday, September 16 at 4 PM and 8 PM. All showings will be at Miracle Theater, 535 8th St SE.
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Adia H. Robinson
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Do Min Request and Max Request need to be set up for Course Requests?
I am setting up course requests and I don't want to enter a Max and/or Min number of requests before the requests are entered.
No. Min and Max Requests located in Course Request Setup do not need to have a value in order to allow teachers to make course recommendations or for students and parents to request courses.


Differential alterations of common carotid and femoral artery distensibility in 12-week-old spontaneously hypertensive rats.
OBJECTIVE: In essential hypertension, the mechanical properties of the radial artery have been shown to be largely unaltered, whereas more controversial and less reliable data have been obtained for the common carotid artery. We therefore examined the distensibility/pressure relationships of the predominantly elastic common carotid artery and of the predominantly muscle-type femoral artery in 12-week-old normotensive Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats and spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). METHODS: Eleven 12-week-old SHR and 10 age-matched WKY rats were anesthetized with sodium pentobarbitone. Blood pressure and pulse rate were measured by catheters inserted in the common carotid and in the femoral arteries, while contralateral arterial diameter was continuously recorded via an echo-tracking device. Arterial compliance was derived according to the Langewouters formula, and its values were normalized for the diameter, to obtain distensibility/pressure curves and to calculate the distensibility index. The Peterson elastic modulus was also calculated in order to obtain a pressure-independent estimate of arterial mechanical properties. RESULTS: Femoral artery distensibility/pressure curves and distensibility index were similar in the two groups of rats, the latter being 1.13+/-0.13 mm/mmHg10(-3) in SHR and 1.28+/-0.15 mm/mmHg10(-3) in WKY rats (means+/-SEM; NS). In contrast, in SHR, common carotid artery mechanical properties were clearly impaired, as shown by a marked reduction in distensibility index (2.55+/-0.16 mm/mmHg10(-3) in SHR versus 3.4+/-0.3 mm/mmHg10(-3) in WKY rats; P< 0.05), and by a significant increase in the Peterson elastic modulus. CONCLUSIONS: In the SHR model, high blood pressure alters the mechanics of large arteries even in the relatively early stage of the disease; however, the alterations are not homogeneous inasmuch elastic-type vessels are affected to a much greater extent than muscle-type vessels.
CNR and Ospedale Maggiore di Milano, Italy.
Previous Document: Effects of cigarette smoking on carotid and radial artery distensibility.