text:
Dark times. Dark humor
Memo to Jeff Greenfield (and Bill Maher): Irony lives.
Check out this article! https://www.salon.com/2001/09/21/terror_humor/
Carina Chocano
September 21, 2001 11:21PM (UTC)
I'm walking to the gate at Atlanta's Hartsfield airport, which is eerily quiet. Hovering television sets punctuate the long passageways, delivering small blasts of information like grim perfume ladies in a department store that's seen busier days. Newscasters are using words you don't ever hear in an airport, forbidden words that could get you arrested were you to so much as utter them there -- and suddenly, totally inappropriately, my mind screams, "Jehovah! Jehovah! Jehovah!" in a Monty Python falsetto.
This is exactly the sort of thing Jeff Greenfield is talking about on CNN when I reach my gate: ironic detachment -- of a generation that purportedly gets its news from late-night comedians, of the media in general. A round-table of irony experts has been assembled to discuss whether we are less serious than other generations, whether the shift from hard to soft news is the product of ironic detachment in media or the other way around. He shows a few somber Letterman and Leno clips, a few seconds from the soap operas and prime-time dramas that resumed their places on the airwaves this week, and asks somberly, "When will it be OK to laugh again?"
It's the kind of question that makes it at least possible to laugh when there's nothing to laugh about.
Greenfield is blaming something -- it's not entirely clear what -- on the evolution of the news in this country to a form of entertainment. "What happened to change news from hard to trivial?" he asks.
Richard Stolley is a former People magazine editor who once drafted a memo of priorities for the magazine that began with "Young is better than old, pretty is better than ugly" and ended with "Anything is better than politics." He blames it all on too much news. Greenfield turns to journalist Richard Reeves, who once had to publicly apologize for calling President Ford a "clown." Is he responsible for our detachment, for the shift from hard news to soft? Reeves blames it on Nixon. Then Greenfield blames it on late-night comedians.
Nic Robertson, a CNN correspondent in Afghanistan, calls in to explain that the banning of satellite dishes there has added to the introspective nature of the country. This strikes me as ironic, given the introspective nature of the discussion I'm listening to right now.
I'm not old enough to remember the first televised war, but I remember enough to know that Vietnam-era television was the blunt instrument that thrust the war into the American consciousness. My recollections of the second televised war, the made-for-TV Desert Storm, are more vivid; foremost among them is the sense that the grimmest aspects of that conflict, brought to you by Exxon, ended up on the cutting-room floor. Last week, we watched as television journalists struggled to make sense of the events as they happened and cope with them along with the rest of us. And yet within seconds of the tragedy, it had been christened as though by a Hollywood marketing executive, and music had been composed and graphics had been styled to drive home the sense of foreboding and fear.
Still valiantly trying to define what makes for appropriate humor where politics are concerned (which is in itself, of course, a joke), Greenfield implies that the humor of past generations, namely the one celebrated in HBO's "Band of Brothers," was inherently benign, that past generations found a kind of fuzzy, innocent solace in humor. They watched Jack Benny on TV and escapist comedies on the big screen to forget, if only temporarily, the awfulness of the present. A joke about army food was good-natured joshing, he suggests; a jab at the president is not.
Greenfield's plea: "How long will this last? Can we make light jokes, not ironic ones?"
Maybe, but it is questions like this that make it hard. Past generations didn't have to listen to journalists equate past generations with Spielberg- and Hanks-produced miniseries. Local news stations did not further "dramatize" drama with bombastic shark-attack music and sensationalist graphics done up in thick sans serif fonts; correspondents did not hold up the detritus of disasters for cameramen to get a closer look, or zoom in on lost shoes; and TV stations didn't have real live disaster footage from every conceivable angle, available to show again and again and again.
There was nothing funny about the events of last week, but there is a dark irony in the fact that there was something familiar about the wall-to-wall coverage that followed when the shock began to wear off. After all, the same names and faces expounded round-the-clock when O.J. Simpson made the slow trip up the 405 freeway, when the Monica Lewinsky scandal broke, when Chandra Levy disappeared and her boyfriend the congressman wouldn't talk. Last week made the television news media look like the boy who had spent years crying Wolf Blitzer.
Here's what I think Greenfield's real question is: Did the news-as-entertainment trend somehow let last week's tragedy take us completely by surprise? It's a valid one. Journalists have a responsibility to inform the public with no regard to ratings. But whose responsibility is it to point it out when they don't? And what's the most effective way to do it? Something inconceivably horrible happened to all of us; does this mean that the powers that be should be spared all scrutiny?
No, but it takes having good aim and a clear view of the target for attempts not to misfire. Bill Maher, the rather mirthless host of ABC's "Politically Incorrect," had a Wile E. Coyote moment this week when a comment he made blew up in his face. In the same tone of mock outrage that marks the delivery of many comics, Maher said, "Staying in the airplane when it hits the building, say what you want about it, it's not cowardly. We have been the cowards lobbing cruise missiles from 2,000 miles away. That's cowardly.''
The remark was precisely as funny as a million other TV talk-show lines, which is to say not very, but was deemed out of bounds. His target -- the U.S. servicepeople who we assume will soon be shot at -- was too broad, and worse, undeserving of criticism for actions for which they are not entirely responsible. Maher was forced to apologize. He explained that his criticism of U.S. military actions "was meant for politicians who, fearing public reaction, have not allowed our military to do the job they are obviously ready, willing and able to do, and who now will, I'm certain, as they always have, get it done.''
(It will be interesting to see if the exact same sentiments, expressed by a high-minded person in a high-minded publication, will cause a similar stir. "If the word 'cowardly' is to be used, it might be more aptly applied to those who kill from beyond the range of retaliation, high in the sky, rather than to those willing to die themselves to kill others." So writes Susan Sontag in the new New Yorker.)
Humor, particularly sarcastic and ironic humor, is a weapon against insincerity and exploitation. It has always been the principal weapon of the disenfranchised precisely because it is effective. And light jokes about, say, news anchors' hairstyles make a pretty dull weapon. Dark humor, cathartic release, gets darker as the times do. Jewish humor, the root, it might be argued, of our current sensibility, has always understood this. Irony is the last resort of the angry and powerless, and will not be going away soon.
Carina Chocano writes about TV for Salon. She is the author of "Do You Love Me or Am I Just Paranoid?" (Villard).
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See what our Senior Editor on the West Cost, John Reid has to say about the new Horizon AS3X system used in the Beast bi-plane. This system makes it much easier to fly small micro planes and we were able to try it out first hand with all three aircrafts. Right now, this system is installed in the Gee Bee, The Beast and the Hyper Taxi. John will tell you what he thinks about the Beast and this new system in it.
Could not agree more with the review. AS3X feels like a true "game changer" in the micro market. I could not believe how much of a difference it made from my V1 Beast to the 3D Beast. Now coming out in other 1s micros, completely sold. I fly my beast in some pretty serious winds now and don't worry about it at all. 3D is WAY more do-able, though still a challenge for folks like me with limited skills. Great tech advance though.


Created by Ekta Kapoor, Itna Karo Na Mujhe Pyaar is an Indian drama TV series which focuses on the life of a divorced couple. Starring Ronit Roy as Dr. Nachiket Khanna and Pallavi Kulkarni as Ragini Patel, the plot of the show revolves around the challenges faced by the separated couple. Watch Itna Karo Na Mujhe Pyaar online to be a part of this heart-warming love story. Though deeply in love, the protagonists had to part ways because of a misunderstanding. And now when they meet after fifteen years at their daughter's wedding, they still feel the same love towards each other. Will their children be able to get them together? Or fate has something else written for them? Watch Itna Karo Na Mujhe Pyaar all episodes to know what happens next.


The Prescott City Council on Tuesday, March 26, unanimously turned down the Save the Dells position that 500 acres of land in the Granite Dells be set aside as a regional park.
Elisabeth Ruffner may not be happy about this, or at a minimum controversies live on.
Prescott lost something this past week — its magnitude is almost unfathomable.
• SUNSHINE— As you have seen in the pages of the Courier this week, it is Sunshine Week. This is an effort to show the importance of public records and transparency in government.
Wiederaenders: Daylight Savings Day? How about Find a Phone Booth!


text:
Kalchbrenner et al (2014) presented Dynamic Convolutional Neural Network for semantic modelling of sentences. This model handles sentences of varying length and uses dynamic k-max pooling over linear sequences. This helps the model induce a feature graph that is capable of capturing short and long range relations. K-max pooling is difference from local max pooling and outputs k max values from the necessary dimension of the previous convolutional layer. For smooth extraction of higher order features, paper introduces Dynamic k-max pooling where the k in the k-max pooling operation is a function of the length of the input sentences.

where  is the num,ber of convolutional layer to which pooling is applied,  is total number of convolutional layers,  is the fixed pooling parameter of the top most convolutional layer.  The model also has a folding layer which sums over every two rows in the feature-map component wise. This folding operation is valid since feature detectors in different rows are independent before the fully connected layers.

Wide convolutions are preferred for the model instead of narrow convolutions, this is achieved in the code using appropriate zero padding.

This network models performance is related to its ability to capture the word and n-gram order in the sentences and to tell the relative position of the most relevant n-grams. The model also has the advantage of inducing a connected, directed acyclic graph with weighted edges and a root node as shown below.

Folding and K-max pooling layers are not readily available and has to be created using keras functional apis. Keras model summary is also presented below for reference.

```
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Layer (type)                     Output Shape          Param #     Connected to
====================================================================================================
input_1 (InputLayer)             (None, 5000)          0
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
embedding_1 (Embedding)          (None, 5000, 200)     70444000    input_1[0][0]
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
conv1d_1 (Conv1D)                (None, 5000, 128)     76928       embedding_1[0][0]
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
conv1d_2 (Conv1D)                (None, 5000, 128)     102528      embedding_1[0][0]
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
conv1d_3 (Conv1D)                (None, 5000, 128)     128128      embedding_1[0][0]
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
max_pooling1d_1 (MaxPooling1D)   (None, 1666, 128)     0           conv1d_1[0][0]
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
max_pooling1d_2 (MaxPooling1D)   (None, 1250, 128)     0           conv1d_2[0][0]
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
max_pooling1d_3 (MaxPooling1D)   (None, 1000, 128)     0           conv1d_3[0][0]
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
concatenate_1 (Concatenate)      (None, 3916, 128)     0           max_pooling1d_1[0][0]
                                                                   max_pooling1d_2[0][0]
                                                                   max_pooling1d_3[0][0]
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
conv1d_4 (Conv1D)                (None, 3912, 128)     82048       concatenate_1[0][0]
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
max_pooling1d_4 (MaxPooling1D)   (None, 39, 128)       0           conv1d_4[0][0]
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
flatten_1 (Flatten)              (None, 4992)          0           max_pooling1d_4[0][0]
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
dense_2 (Dense)                  (None, 9)             44937       flatten_1[0][0]
====================================================================================================
Total params: 70,878,569
Trainable params: 70,878,569
Non-trainable params: 0
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
```

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


THINK: Regardless of how patient and gracious God is toward people, most will ultimately reject His persistent offers to be a part of His kingdom. They are preoccupied with their own interests and endeavors and they show little interest in God's plans for their life. Ironically, in their attempt to get all they can for themselves, they end up missing their ultimate purpose and passing up the greatest reward.
RESPOND: If the servants represent God's prophets, who is "the stone the builders rejected" (21:42)? What do you think it means that "he who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed"? (See Luke 20:18 note.) What do the "wedding clothes" represent? (See 22:11 note.) What did Jesus mean when He said, "many are invited, but few are chosen"? (See 22:14 note.) Who are the "few" and in what sense are they "chosen"?
PRAY: Give thanks to God for extending to you the gracious invitation to be part of His kingdom. Pray for friends who have not accepted the invitation or have outright rejected God up to this point. Pray that they will accept Christ before it's too late. Ask God to use you to reach them, regardless of the cost.
ACT: As you go through the day, view the people around you like those on "the street corners" (22:9) whom the king invited to his banquet after others had turned down his invitation. As a willing servant, deliver God's invitation without prejudice, keeping in mind that the invitation went out to "both good and bad" (22:10). You could take the first step in bringing someone closer to Christ simply by inviting a new friend to join you for lunch or to come with you to youth group this week. If you have not personally accepted God's invitation, you can do so right now by asking Jesus to forgive your sins and take charge of your life.


I would probably not qualify as a real blogger in Australia if I didn't have some kind of opinion on Gina Rinehart and Fairfax, so here goes. This is not new. Rinehart has been stalking Fairfax for months, and if there was ever any doubt that it was political then this minor bombshell did away with it. But the spin this week is about her refusal to sign the Charter of Independence, as the other Fairfax board members have. So suddenly the trope is not 'balanced media' as previously, but 'independent media'. That's a bit of a shame, because it's a seriously easy position to attack, largely for the reason that it's absurd.
Just think about the content of the charter, which devolves power over reporting and editorial to the editor without interference from the board. Chris Mitchell's tenure at The Australian, and to some extent the evidence that's been given at the Leveson inquiry, tell us pretty unambiguously that you don't need to have direct, personal control over a newspaper to determine its editorial leanings. With enough shares and board seats, Gina can influence or control the editors and thus the newspapers, even if she signs the charter.
That power also rests with the current board. The independence, currently much-vaunted, is a bit of a myth - editors don't get appointed to The Age or the SMH without the board having some idea of their political leanings. Moreover, read the comment threads on those papers' websites, or the commentary in other papers, and you'll find plenty of people accusing the Fairfax media of hopeless bias to the progressive side of politics. Dressing up the anti-Rinehart argument in independence terms invites the mockery of anybody who doesn't see a bias to the liberal left as impartial, and further inflames the conspiracy of a leftist elite trying to pull the wool over all our collective eyes.
Newspapers make decisions every day about what to run on the front page, what to push further into the paper, what to cover and what to ignore. They choose opinion columnists, filter letters to the editor and write editorials. More subtly, they hire journalists who want to work in a political and cultural environment they are comfortable in. The idea that all those decisions can be managed by some objective criterion of newsworthiness is absurd. The concept that out of this morass an independent and impartial instituion can emerge is optimistic in the extreme.
There are not many media organisations which blatantly make false statements and ignore facts - at least not outside the opinion column. When they do, they are either well-known for it (I'm thinking Fox News) or the media's self-obsession catches it out pretty quickly, as with Dennis Shanhan this week. That kind of act is the biggest 'threat to democracy', to take another recent trope, but it's more or less under control.
So what's to worry about? Well, still some things - having a media landscape domianted by right-leaning voices is probably not good for democratic choice or policy in the long run. But it's disingenuous to suggest this is a fight between the good, old-fashioned, impartial journalism of Fairfax and the new-right, truth-distorting approach of News Limited.
Let's be honest. The Age and the Sydney Morning Herald are not 'independent', whatever that might mean. They are newspapers of the centre-left. That's just as worth defending, ultimately: without them, a socially liberal, left-leaning view of the world will have no reflection in the prioritisation of stories, editorials, op-eds (except surrounded by columns denouncing the intruder). How do people who hold that view get news? How do they come to understand the arguments for the things they are inclined or have been taught to believe? How do others come to understand the arguments against their views?
It would probably be going too far to say that those things would be actually impossible, but they'd certainly be more difficult and, as a result, done by fewer people. This is the oft-talked-about, abstract public discourse. It's important. And it's important, not that it contains unadulterated and unbiased truth, but that it contains more than one side of the story.
So let's stop pretending. Pretending that we're fighting for truth, when we're fighting for balance. What's at stake here is not facts and reality. It's a voice for the liberal, progressive side of politics which, although under-represented in the ranks of mining and media billionaires, is a very real part of Australian political life and should stay that way.


Very small pub about the size of a front room. There are just two booth tables and a couple of small tables in the window. The dark wood bar has, to one end, a corner set up with a dart board and a juke box. Beer is on offer daily until 7pm from £1.70 and spirits from 85p. There are a few Jack Vettriano pictures on the wall which, although adding some colour, do not help this rather smokey pub look brighter.
I've just come back from the place. Laurie's has a new owner since December and the bar is much better than it was this time last year. The dartboard and jukebox have gone. There are new sofas and seating plus SKY tv. The whole place has a comfortable feel and the new owner and staff are friendly. Prices are competitive and there is a good selection of beers and spirits. Customers range from students to city workers to locals living down the street. Rather than go to one of the binge-drinking chains in town, go to Lauries for a decent bar where you are not hassled every 10 mins.


Michigan State hockey is still looking for a new head coach and some news came out over the weekend that a Spartan coaching alumni will not be behind the bench.
George Gwozdecky, the former Ron Mason assistant, has stated that while he has been in contact with Michigan State he plans on staying with Valor Christian, the Colorado prep school he currently coaches.
After a comment from George Sipple last week revealed that Gwozdecky and Danton Cole were the front runners for the head coaching job, it would appear that at this point the job is Cole's to turn down. He was considered the runner up in the last hockey coach search Michigan State had when they hired Tom Anastos.


In the last issue of the Reporter (V40 N4 -- Organize your facts with a Steward Fact Sheet), we provided a form you can use to collect and organize the information you will need to process your grievance. That form will not only help you organize your evidence, but if you are thorough in filling it out, you will have covered all the bases and be ready to go forward with a strong case.
But what is your case, exactly? You won't know until you've sat down with all of the information and studied it. Don't jump on the first issue that you see — or think you see.
We cannot stress this point too much. It is very easy to listen to a member's complaint and immediately jump to the conclusion that you know how the grievance should be handled.
Remind yourself: You don't know anything until you've collected all of the facts and studied the complaint, the evidence, and the contract (or whatever forms the basis for the grievance).
One problem with jumping on the first issue that comes to mind is that you might not collect all the information you need to argue your case effectively. The second problem is that even if you collect all of the information, you might frame your argument in such a way that it is impossible to win.
Let's look at an example adapted from an actual experience at one of our lodges. The lodge has a reasonably good relationship with their employer, but recently the company has hired several new supervisors.
His first day on the job, one of the new supervisors fires Joe M., a seven-year employee who is popular with his co-workers. He can often be seen before or after work hanging out in the parking lot with several other employees who all ride motorcycles.
This group enjoys talking about their bikes and can often be seen riding together on weekends. Like a lot of motorcycle riders, they also enjoy long hair, beards, tattoos, earrings, and clothing with Harley logos and motorcycle-related cartoons and pictures.
Joe immediately files a grievance, but before his grievance has even been heard at the first step meeting, one of Joe's best friends, Bill B., is fired. Bill also files a grievance.
Word gets around the yard pretty quickly that the new supervisor doesn't like bikers. The workers who ride start talking about how to get rid of him. The steward handling these two grievances is not a biker, but he has long hair and wears an earring. He doesn't want to have a supervisor who is prejudiced against people who dress that way.
The steward, who is also new to the job, isn't sure how to get ready for the first-step hearing. Can he argue that discrimination based on looks or interests is against the law? How does he show that the supervisor is prejudiced?
He spends a lot of time talking to other long-haired workers and bikers, asking them if the supervisor has ever said anything to them about the way they look or shown any favoritism for workers who dress more conservatively. He hears quite a few things.
One biker says the supervisor sometimes stands in the parking lot before work, smoking and watching them. Another says he goes out of his way to talk to the workers with short hair, but ignores the long-hairs. Several others share observations that seem to show prejudice, but none of them can relate a specific statement or action where he clearly discriminated.
The steward takes down all of their statements, though, and goes into the meeting planning to argue that the sheer volume of observations is enough to show bias, even though there is no "smoking gun."
At the first-step hearing, the supervisor wastes no time making his case. Both Joe and Bill have excessive absences and tardinesses. Both have sufficient violations that the previous supervisor should have fired them.
The steward looks at the attendance sheets, which support the supervisor's statement. He realizes immediately that he was asking everyone the wrong questions, but takes a shot anyway, saying people on the floor think the supervisor is biased against bikers.
The supervisor smiles and opens his wallet. He shows the steward a photo of a younger version of himself, with beard and long hair, sitting on a Harley at the rim of the Grand Canyon. "You guys have me figured all wrong," he says. "I just want to start off with a clean slate here."
It is always tempting to jump on the first issue that comes to mind, and prejudice -- either against individuals or anti-union prejudice -- is often the first issue that comes to mind.
But you need to let your investigation decide how you'll argue your case. If this steward had done the proper research with an open mind, he would have known about Joe and Bill's absences and perhaps been able to discover some mitigating circumstances.
Instead, he had no defense for their actions and made himself appear foolish in front of the company.
It is not easy to keep an open mind throughout the entire investigation process. We tend to think we see what the issue is and begin focusing our questions in that direction. Doing so can lead you to collect the wrong facts.
When you speak to the grievants and witnesses, avoid the temptation to direct their answers. Don't ask leading questions, like "When did the supervisor lose his temper?" Ask simple, direct questions, like "What did you see? What did you hear?"
Once you have all the facts, you can begin looking for an issue. As you look at the facts, look for a way to take the negative argument. That is, let the company make their claim, then force them to prove it.
The positive argument is always more difficult to prove, so avoid claiming company bias.


Antonin Dvorak (1841 – 1904) was the musically inclined son of a butcher who was born in Bohemia, now in the Czech Republic. He studied music in his little hometown of Nelahozeves and began composing soon after graduating from the only music school in Prague. Dvorak played the viola for the Bohemian Provisional Theater Orchestra and composed on the side. It wasn't until he became the organist of the St. Adalbert's church in Prague that he acquired the financial security to focus on his personal compositions. He was heavily influenced by traditional and folksy styles of music and found ways to engage with them in his compositions. He also began to incorporate African and Native American styles he encountered as the Director of the National Conservatory of Music in New York city, where he briefly lived before returning to Europe.


text:
Home > News and Research > Coronavirus > COVID-19 Threatens Access to Care for Millions With Diabetes
COVID-19 Threatens Access to Care for Millions With Diabetes
By Quinn Phillips | Published January 7, 2021
It's well know that people with diabetes — both type 1 and type 2 — are at a higher risk for poor outcomes related to COVID-19, including a higher risk of hospitalization and death. But the current pandemic doesn't just affect the health of people with diabetes who develop COVID-19, as shown by a new survey from the American Diabetes Association (ADA).
To get cutting-edge diabetes news, strategies for blood glucose management, nutrition tips, healthy recipes, and more delivered straight to your inbox, sign up for our free newsletter!
The survey, conducted in partnership with Thrivable and Diabetes Daily, aimed to cover a representative sample of the 34 million Americans living with diabetes. It shows that as the pandemic has wrought widespread economic and personal financial damage, many people with diabetes have developed new challenges to their medical care and self-care that may put them at higher risk for complications of the very virus causing the pandemic — as well as at higher risk for diabetes complications in the future.
Reduced access to food, drugs and supplies
The new survey, outlined in an ADA press release, shows a crisis in access to many key aspects of diabetes care, including food, drugs, blood glucose testing supplies and health insurance.
One of the most alarming findings is that the pandemic has dramatically reduced access to food. More than one in four respondents said that the pandemic has reduced their ability to access healthy food, and one in five rely now in some form of nutrition assistance, such as the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP or food stamps), or a local food bank. Among those receiving nutrition assistance, 46% said that the food they're getting isn't good for diabetes management. About one in five respondents said they can't eat as frequently as they need to eat for effective diabetes management, and one in five also say that they've been forced to choose between buying food and drugs or medical supplies.
Access to healthcare has also been hurt by the pandemic. Even though delaying routine care hasn't been recommended, 43% of respondents said they had done so since the start of the pandemic, often out of fear of exposure to the virus that causes COVID-19. And one in five respondents said they had skipped or put off getting access to technology to help manage their diabetes, such as an insulin pump or continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) system. Financial hardship was the most common reason given for not pursuing these technologies.
Among insulin pump or CGM system users, 15% said they had delayed getting refills for supplies during the pandemic, with 70% giving financial hardship as the reason.
Since the start of the pandemic, 12% of respondents experienced disruption in their health insurance status, often due to a personal job loss or the job loss of a spouse or someone else providing them insurance. This number represents only insurance loss, and doesn't include people who already lacked insurance at the start of the pandemic. Among those who lost their insurance, 19% turned to Medicaid (the joint federal–state insurance program for low-income people) for coverage, while 13% became uninsured. The rest reported eventually getting some other form of health insurance.
More telemedicine use, increased openness to vaccine
One potentially hopeful finding of the survey was that people with diabetes are more open to getting a COVID-19 vaccine than the general population, with 37% saying they planned to get it as soon as possible. People with diabetes were less than half as likely to say they would never get the vaccine than the general population.
In a trend that may have long-term implications for diabetes care, respondents reported using telemedicine at a rate seven times higher than before the start of the pandemic, with 73% reporting some form of a virtual visit during the pandemic. Among those who had used telemedicine, 40% said it made diabetes management easier for them, and more than half said they planned to keep using telemedicine once the pandemic is over.
One notable finding from the survey is that people with diabetes were far more likely than the general population to report having voted in the 2020 U.S. presidential election. A remarkable 89% of respondents said they voted, a rate that's 35% higher than that of the general population. Among those who voted, 58% said they did so remotely, such as by mail or by using a ballot drop box.
Want to learn more about coronavirus and diabetes? Read "Coronavirus and Diabetes: A COVID-19 Update," "Healthy Eating During Hard Times" and "COVID-19: Staying Safe at Work."
Quinn Phillips
Quinn Phillips on social media
A freelance health writer and editor based in Wisconsin, Phillips has a degree from Harvard University. He is a former Editorial Assistant for Diabetes Self-Management and has years of experience covering diabetes and related health conditions. Phillips writes on a variety of topics, but is especially interested in the intersection of health and public policy.
More Diabetes Recipes

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


is designed for final expansion of EPS beads.
Preexpanded beads are fed to the blockmold and heat-treated to expand and mold themselves into a styrofoam block inside the molding chamber. Saturated water steam is used as heat transfer medium.
The feeding process is automatic and pneumatically controlled through feeding valves.
The valves are actuated by a pneumatic cylinder (Camozzi, Italy). A vacuum unit is compulsory to ensure that a block is cooled and stable inside the blockmold chamber.
After cooling the block is knocked out either by the pneumatic cylinder, or by compressed air (air cushion) depending on the type of the blockmold.
We manufacture two types of BLOCKMOLDS: closed and open.
The customers have an option to select the material of the inside surface: high quality carbon steel or stainless steel.
The principal difference between these types of blockmolds is EPS block dimensions and capacity.
Preexpanded beads are fed to the blockmold and heat-treated to expand and mold themselves into a styrofoam block inside the molding chamber. Saturated water steam is used as heat transfer medium. The feeding process is automatic and pneumatically controlled through feeding valves.
After cooling the block is knocked out either by the pneumatic cylinder, or by compressed air (air cushion) depending on the type of the blockmold. We manufacture two types of BLOCKMOLDS: closed and open.
The customers have an option to select the material of the inside surface: high quality carbon steel or stainless steel.The principal difference between these types of blockmolds is EPS block dimensions and capacity.
As soon as the vacuuming (cooling) cycle is over, the end door opens and the finished EPS block is knocked out by compressed air onto a trolley to be transported to the sheet cutting area. The main advantage of this blockmold over the open-type one is higher capacity owing to a larger operating chamber (2,5 to 3 times as large, depending on the modification). The drawback is than the length of blocks is limited.
We can manufacture off-standard size blockmolds at the customer's request..
**CAMOZZI (Italy) brand pneumatic cylinders. A compressor of Pg =10 atm, min. capacity 0,16 cub.m/min, receiver volume 60L is required for the normal operation of the pneumatic system.
— recycled mode: recycled EPS is heat-treated and compressed by means of a movable plate.
EPS block molding from virgin raw material (expandable polystyrene beads).
EPS block molding from recycled material (ground EPS).
The next stage is stabilization by vacuum. The finished product is knocked out by air cushion. Process media flows (steam, vacuum, compressed air) are directed and distributed by pneumatically controlled dampers and valves.
For more information on how to produce styrofoam from recycled material click here.
The internal volume is comprised of a process chamber and a cooling compartment. A block is molded inside the process chamber and is then transferred to the cooling comparment by a push rod driven by the pneumatic cylinder. New batch of material is fed to the empty process chamber, and the molding cycle repeats.
The machine operates in a batch/continuous mode. A section of the block molded during each cycle in the process chamber is sintered onto the previously molded block inside the cooling compartment. The strength of this joint is virtually the same as the strength of the body of the block. In this way, the machine produces an endless (in theory) bulk of expanded polystyrene cut into blocks of required lengths. Standard guide length is suitable for blocks of up to 2000 mm. This length can be increased to 3000 mm at the customer's request.
The structure of this blockmold is patented, Russian patent No 40019.
Manufacture, sale and use of open-type blockmolds produced by companies or persons other than VyatkaStroyDetal Group is a prosecutable offense.


Brendan is a Director in the Consulting team at Social Ventures Australia (SVA).
Brendan has led SVA clients through strategic planning, outcomes management and organisational review processes, supporting social purpose organisations to improve their impact and sustainability.
Brendan works on the ground with First Australian community organisations and peak bodies, including the Kimberley Land Council (KLC), Kanyirninpa Jukurrpa (KJ), the Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency (VACCA) and the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services (NATSILS). He has also worked extensively with government departments and agencies, including the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (PM&C) and Indigenous Business Australia (IBA).
To read more about these projects, Brendan has shared his expertise in articles on his engagement with KJ, an evaluation for PM&C and his work with IBA.
Brendan began his career as a commercial lawyer at Allens and worked in Jerusalem for the Office of the Quartet Representative, Tony Blair, in pursuit of Palestinian economic development. Brendan holds Bachelors of Laws (Hons) and Creative Arts from the University of Melbourne and a Master's degree in Comparative Politics from the London School of Economics (LSE).
SVA Consulting was engaged to facilitate and support the co-design a set of voluntary Indigenous Investment Principles.


Well, it's been an insanely busy week for me, as I got back into the swing of things at work, and in life in general. As such, I didn't get to write as much as I wanted to, so here is a weekly round-up of some of the goings-ons in the World of travel, points and miles. I'll try to call out the top four or five stories on a weekly basis in the future.
While a little steep, it is a great resort, and if you're sitting on a stockpile of Marriott points, it's a definite option for a Caribbean vacation. The property is marketing each tower as a separate hotel. While the Cove and maybe Royal Towers could be a deal, I don't think the Beach and Coral Towers are particularly good values considering that a night here can routinely be had for les than $150 per night.
I normally don't make it a habit to devote an entire post to a stay at one hotel unless it is truly an exceptional property and/or stay. Our recent stay for two nights at the Boscolo Venezia fits both criteria.
Situated in the quiet Carranegio neighborhood of Venice, about a 15 minute walk from the hustle and bustle of the Rialto area, the Boscolo Venezia is a wonderful escape from the crowds of tourists. The Boscolo is an Autograph Collection Hotel, and is part of the Marriott family of brands.
The front of this property is on one of the outermost canals, and the rear is located on the Laguna. Though it was a bit of a walk to all the major tourist spots, I feel this neighborhood is a better representation of the "real" Venice. A number of restaurants and small grocery spots dot exist every block or so instead of the wall-to-wall boutiques and restaurants that one may find in other parts of Venice.
The property itself was formally the French consulate, and it is simply a stunningly beautiful building. The lobby features a couple huge Murano glass chandeliers, which is fitting since one can see Murano from the pier in the rear of the property. Connected to the lobby is the restaurant, bar, and patio where breakfast is served daily — more on that later.
The highlight of the property is a massive garden that stretches a good 100 yards from the rear of the lobby to a smaller wing of the hotel overlooking the Laguna. Off to the side of the garden are a pair of garden rooms that each feature their own private patios in the middle of a separated rose garden. We were fortunate enough to be assigned both of these rooms when we checked in to the Boscolo after our flights from the States. Though the rooms were not available until about 3pm, they were well worth the wait.
The rooms themselves weren't overly huge, but they were very nice inside with marble flooring, wood ceilings, and a marble bath with double sinks. Without question, the highlight of these two rooms were the massive patios. Each patio is roughly the same size as the interior space of the room. It is a stone tiled space with a table and four chairs. Directly adjacent to the patios is a grassy area featuring plush lounge chairs that can be used during the day for relaxation and sunning. About twenty yards away is the pier overlooking the Laguna where there was another table and set of chairs for a wonderful little happy hour spot. These rooms simply made our stay, as they provided a wonderful little semi-private oasis where we could relax and adjust ourselves to European time.
Service all around the hotel was prompt and friendly. Ice was brought to the room upon request in a silver champagne bucket without a problem. As Marriott Gold and Platinum guests, we received complimentary breakfast every morning. Breakfast consisted of quite an elaborate spread filled with breads, meats, cheeses, jams, fruits, yogurt, and an incredible selection of pastries. There were at least five different types of fruit juices available along with champagne for those mandatory vacation mimosas. A full menu with eight or so made-to-order warm dishes was also available. I enjoyed the poached eggs one morning, and another egg dish the second morning. My only complaint would be that this restaurant seemed to get quite busy and crowded on the second morning, and the staff seemed to be a bit overwhelmed. It wasn't really a problem, as we were not in a rush, but some of the service did fall between the cracks that morning.
A great service offered by the Boscolo is a water taxi to St. Mark's Square. Running four times daily in each direction, you can take a scenic, fifteen minute boat ride directly to St. Mark's Square in a wooden Venetian water taxi. Space is limited, so you must sign up with the concierge, but we didn't have a problem getting the boat we wanted. The hotel also offers a free daily shuttle over to Murano, but we did not partake.
All in all, I really enjoyed staying at the Boscolo Venezia. The massive garden provides a wonderful space in Venice to relax away from the crowds. I really enjoyed the quiet Carranegio neighborhood in which it was located. Though a bit on the pricey side, it is readily available with Marriott points, and because of that, I would certainly consider staying here again on a future visit to Venice.
We originally planned on staying at the Boscolo for only one night, but about a week prior, we changed out flights necessitating an extra night. My uncle used Marriott Points to pay for our second night. The Boscolo is a category 8 hotel, and can be reserved for 40,000 Marriott points. Since this is the only Marriott family hotel in Venice proper (on the actual island), I consider this a very good use of Marriott points if the price is as high as normal (> €300). It would be quite the hassle to stay in the Mestre area on the mainland and have to train or bus to Venice every day, in my opinion.
We booked the first night with cash, as there was a last-minute special available for the property at about €180 per night. This is a pretty good price for a property of that caliber in the very expensive hotel city of Venice.
We met my Aunt and Uncle just past customs at Venice's Marco Polo International Airport about twenty minutes after we arrived. Due to the location of our hotel in the Cannaregio neighborhood, the Orto Stop on the Alilaguna was by far the easiest location to access. This happens to be the first stop on the Venice's Alilaguna Orange Line, and cost €15 per person for the 30 minute boat ride.
From the Orto stop, it was a short, three-minute walk to the Boscolo Venezia Hotel. Upon check-in, we were informed that our rooms would not be ready untl 2pm, so we stored our bags at the front desk and headed out to explore Venice.
The Boscolo Venezia is located in the quiet Cannaregio neighborhood – about a 20 minute walk from the crowds of the Realto and San Marco Square areas. We walked around the streets and canals of Venice before stopping for lunch near San Marco Square. We settled on a restaurant with a nice courtyard where we enjoyed pizza and beer – both of which were excellent.
After lunch, the rain started to come down, so we walked back to our hotel. Upon returning to the hotel, we were pleasantly surprised to learn that we were upgraded to a set of two garden villa rooms. The rooms were standard sized, but they each featured massive courtyards situated in a secluded rose garden away from the main building of the hotel. Jet-lagged from the night before, we took a three hour nap before having a nice happy hour out on our patio of the Boscolo Venezia. We had a tasty dinner of pasta and seafood at a local place in Cannaregio– Ristorante Diana and then retired for the evening for some much needed sleep.
After a good ten hours of sleep, we woke up to a fantastic breakfast spread at the Boscolo, which was free due to my Marriott Gold status. The Boscolo runs water taxis four times per day to and from San Marco Square, so we took the 10am taxi through the canals of Venice right to the front steps of St Marks. After taking in the sights and sounds of the San Marco, we proceeded to one of Venice's most exclusive hotels, The Gritti Palace for a drink on its back patio overlooking the Grand Canal. What a spectacular way to spend the afternoon!
We followed this up with another (expensive / overpriced) drink at a Bar Gelateria Al Todoro, which was on the water near St. Marco Square. At that point, we were ready for a late lunch, so we lost ourselves in the winding alleyways of Venice and found ourselves at Ristorante Alla Conchiglia, a cute little restaurant overlooking a canal for a quintessential Venetian lunch of calamari, pizza, wine and beer. Later in the day, I stopped for about 45 minutes to watch the world go by in a nice plaza near the Rialto Bridge while my girlfriend shopped in some of the great boutiques. We took a nice, afternoon stroll back to the hotel to have a continued happy hour on our wonderful patio at the Boscolo. Later on that evening, we took a short walk to a local seafood restaurant for an excellent dinner at Ostaria da Rioba.
After another glorious night of sleep, we awoke to a rainy Venice morning – and it was cruise day! We packed all our things after a short breakfast and met a water taxi at the Boscolo pier on the Lagoa just a few feet away from our room. In less than twenty minutes, we were at the Cruise Ship Terminal ready to board our cruise on Holland America Line's Nieuw Amsterdam.
I absolutely loved Venice. It's such a magical city. It's the only city that I can think that is purely a pedestrian city (with the exception of the boats and gondolas in the canals). We thoroughly enjoyed just losing ourselves in the winding streets and alley-ways of the city, sampling the incredible Italian cuisine, and taking in some of the sights in one of the most picturesque cities you'll find anywhere.
One of the eight wonders of the modern world, Cristo Redentor is a sight to behold. Perched almost 3,000 feet over the city on the Corcavado, Cristo Redentor is a must while you're in Rio. Our group hired a private guide who took us in a bus up to the top of Corcovado. The statue was impressive, and the views of Rio are purely spectacular. This is one of the few places I've ever been where I got the chills taking in the views and just realizing where I was standing at that moment in time. It's truly the iconic symbol of Brazil, and it was surely an amazing experience.
Ipanema is without a doubt the most active beach in Rio. Centered around lifeguard post 9, Ipanema is the epicenter of scantily clad Brazilians of all shapes and sizes. Spending a few hours here soaking in the sun and some cheap Brazilian beer is a must. I ended up spending the better part of six hours on Ipanema with my group of about 12 friends. Many beers were had. Brazilian gifts were procured. Dental floss bikinis were seen. The weather was a perfect 80 degrees and sunny. It was pretty much paradise.
The caipirinha is the iconic adult beverage in Brazil, and there's nowhere better to have it than on one of the country's most famous beaches. Our group had multiple caipirinhas during this trip, but none perhaps as memorable as late night along the sidewalk at Copacabana. It was an awesome time just people watching and enjoying this Brazilian treat.
After the trip to Sugarloaf, the group was led by our guide, Carlos to a large market in downtown Rio called Feira de São Cristóvão. Here, we at lunch at a fantastic spot called Estação Baião De Dois. We got what amounted to a mound of meat – and that was fine by everyone. Absolutely delicious. We appeared to be the only Westerners in the place, and that was a good thing – the food was amazing.
This was at the very top of my list! I love going to sporting events when in other countries. I always try to attend a futbol game when I'm in Europe or South America. Maracanã is the epitome of international soccer. In addition to being the de facto home of the Braziilian National Team, it was also home to the first FIFA World Cup Final. It will be the home of the 2014 FIFA World Cup Final. And of course, it will also be the site for the Opening Ceremonies of the 2016 Summer Olympic Games. Needless to say, I was pretty pumped about getting to see a soccer game in this venue – arguably the most famous soccer venue in the world (no disrespect to Wembley and Camp Nou). We had amazing seats – about fifteen rows up from midfield for the game between Sao Paulo and hometown Botafogo (one of four teams that call Rio home). This marked my second soccer game in South America in six months (River Plate in Buenos Aires last March), so naturally, I was thrilled.
One of the first things people think of when they think of Brazillian food is the Brazilian steakhouse, or churrascaria. Popularized by chains in the states such as Fogo de Chão and Texas de Brazil, these places are literally all you can eat steak… just delicious. We ate at one of the more popular places in Rio called Porçao in Ipanema. It was indeed delicious, albeit relatively expensive. In the future, I'd probably head to a more low key place where I would likely get the same quantity and quality of food for maybe half the price.
We took the tram up to Sugarloaf mountain – another popular landmark in Rio. From here, you can see another angle of the beaches, and downtown, as well as a very unique view of planes approaching the Santos-Dumont Airport – from above! The tram ride up to the mountain is fantastic featuring awesome views of the beaches and harbor.
As the main liquor ingredient in the caipirinha, cachaça is a liquor that is foreign to most Americans. So naturally, like good tourists, we set out to sample all sorts of cachaça at Academia de Cachaça in Leblon. This place had dozens upon dozens of different flavors, types, and kinds of cachaça – it was pretty impressive. I admittedly did not partake in too much of it since I was glued to my phone awaiting updates on the season opener for my beloved Auburn Tigers. Needless to say, the rest of the group sampled multiple types of cachaça.
When I show up in a foreign city with no clue what to do as far as nightlife is concerned, I've found that a pub crawl is a great way to get introduced to some of the livelier neighborhoods in the city. Three of use decided to partake in the Pub Crawl Carioca. This was a good time with a mix of locals and tourists. We went to four places in Leblon, Ipanema, and Lagoa. While some pub crawls are a bust, this one was most certainly not!
My hotel for the weekend was the JW Marriott Rio de Janeiro. Its location in the middle of Copacabana is hard to beat. The hotel itself is great — I really had no complaints, as the location really just makes the place probably the premier place to stay in Rio. The room was more than adequate, and the club lounge was great. One of the coolest features of the hotel is its 18th floor rooftop pool, bar, and terrace. The views of Copacabana in the front, and Corcavado in the back are ridiculous. With a few beers and caipirinha's in hand, our group enjoyed the first evening on Friday night as the sun went below the mountains in the West.
Though three nights and four days is plenty of time to see Rio, there are still several things that I would have loved to do if I had even more time in Rio. And that may happen in the near future, as I'm currently booked to return to Rio de Janeiro next June for the 2014 FIFA World Cup!
Lunch at Estação Baião De Dois.
As I landed in Istanbul last Valentine's Day, I received an e-mail alerting me to an inordinately low fare to Rio de Janeiro on United for pretty much all year. I just happened to be on this trip to Istanbul with a bunch of travel friends, so the only logical thing for us to do was to immediately book a trip together to Rio!
So there we were, drinking free alcohol from the Club Level of the Grand Hyatt Istanbul – just blocks from Taksim Square. And what were we doing? Planning out what to do in Istanbul that weekend? Nope.
We were trying to book the most insane routings you could think of to get to Rio de Janeiro over Labor Day weekend and rack up as many miles as possible. At the time, this was a great idea since I was gunning for United Premier 1K status. Now, having achieved that status a few weeks ago, this routing looks pretty silly — even to me.
Thursday morning, I will be flying to Orlando — and then Houston to catch my Thursday night redeye flight to Rio de Janeiro. On Monday evening, I'll be on the overnight flight back to Houston and then will be connecting to Denver, back to Orlando, and finally home to DC. It's a total of 14,812 miles in an airplane — a perfect way to spend the weekend, right?
There are at least a dozen travel / miles enthusiasts who are making this trip, and we have a bunch of events planned. I'm slated to stay at the JW Marriott Rio de Janeiro — smack-dab in the middle of the famed Copacabana Beach. I will be staying a total of four days and three nights in Rio – a perfect getaway for Labor Day weekend. During my time here, I will be spending some time on the beach, touring various sights including Sugarloaf Mountain, Christ the Redeemer, and the beach neighborhoods of Leblon, Ipanema, and Copacabana. I also plan on sampling a ton of Brazilian food including dinner at Porcao – one of the more famous churrascarias (Brazilian-style steakhouses).
Sunday, I'll be attending a futbol (soccer) game at the famous Marancana Stadium — the future site of the 2014 FIFA World Cup Final and the Opening Ceremonies of the 2016 Olympic Summer Games. I especially can't wait for that, as I love going to sporting events in other countries.
I've been to Rio before, but was only there for a few hours on Ipanema Beach during a layover to start out my crazy 15-day adventure this past June. I'm definitely looking forward to spending some more time in Rio. Who knows? If I love it, I may just go back for the 2014 FIFA World Cup — I've already got award tickets booked just in case!
Does anyone have any suggestions for some other things to do or places to eat while in Rio? If so, I'd love to hear them!


text:
The zodiacal light, as seen from Kilimanjaro.
Photograph by Kwon O. Chul, TWAN
With Light Pollution, Perseids Meteors Less Spectacular
The weekend meteor shower will not be fully visible in most parts of the U.S and Europe.
ByMelody KramerNational Geographic
Take a look up in the sky tonight. Do you see the Milky Way?
If not, you're not alone.
It is estimated that two-thirds of Americans cannot see the Milky Way from where they live, says Scott Kardel, managing director of the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA.)
The IDA uses the Milky Way's visibility as a barometer of how much light pollution exists in the sky. Nearly all Americans and Europeans have some degree of light pollution where they live, with the worst offenders being large cities, where it's just about impossible to see anything other than the brightest stars. And in places like New York City or Shanghai, even those usually aren't visible. (Related: "Our Vanishing Night" from the November 2008 National Geographic magazine.)
So is there any hope for city-dwellers around the world who are looking to enjoy the upcoming annual Perseid meteor shower, which will peak from early Sunday morning to Tuesday morning, sending as many as 100 meteors per hour streaking across the night sky? (Related: "Opinion: Bright Lights. Big Problem.")
Kardel says it'll be tough.
"If you can get out of town, you should," he said. "And if you can't, look for dark open spaces. You're looking for shaded environments without bright lights near your eyes. But in the brighter cities, it's going to be challenging." (Use the IDA's Dark Sky Finder to help.)
Kardel spoke to National Geographic about light pollution, why he wants to regain the darkness, and tips for viewing the Perseids.
If I'm in a city, how does the sky look different, compared with a place where there's little to no light pollution?
Everything that you can see in the night sky in a city is magnified more than a thousand times over in a dark environment. This time of year, the summer Milky Way arches overhead in the early evening, and it is absolutely brilliant and detailed. But you're going to have trouble seeing it like that in a city. It's a hugely dramatic difference.
What about the Perseids? How would they look different if I were in one of the darkest spots in the United States instead of where I live, in Washington, D.C.?
For the meteor shower, when you have a darker sky, you'll be able to see different meteors. The big ones are visible everywhere. The fainter ones will only be visible from darker spots.
Where are the best spots in the U.S. to see the meteor shower?
You want to go someplace really dark. We're in the process of working with people around the world on what we call international dark sky places -- these are places that have been rated as having extraordinary nighttime skies. There are communities, parks, and reserves included.
Why is it important to make sure the sky is dark?
It's important to remember that a night sky was accessible to everyone through human history, and now that's gone. The night sky influenced art and science and religion for thousands of years—and it did something that we're now cutting ourselves off from. The night sky is a resource that belongs to all of us.
What does a community or park or reserve have to do to become a dark sky place?
For parks and reserves, they have to meet a certain threshold of darkness or minimum sky brightness. For communities, they also have to have lighting of the proper type in terms of making sure lights are fully shielded and downward pointing, instead of pointing up or putting glare in your face. They also have a plan to make sure it's going to stay that way and provide some kind of educational outreach.
I live in a major city that's not going to ever fully get rid of light pollution. Is there anything I can do to improve the quality of light in my city?
Anyone has control over lights of their own. It's important that lights are on only when they need to be on. You can have an off switch or a motion sensor. It's also important to know that you're only using the amount of light you need. And you should make sure that [outside] lights are pointed downward, not into someone else's yard.
What more could larger cities do?
There's the ability to use motion sensors for streetlights. We're now to the point where there are solid-state lights like LEDs that can be turned on and off so that after hours they can go down to 50 percent brightness or be turned off entirely. But if someone's walking down the path, the lights would come back up to full brightness. That offers tremendous potential for cities.
Santa Rosa, California, for example, removed one-third of their streetlights and then took another third and dimmed them in brightness. Their goal wasn't to restore the night sky but to cut down on greenhouse gas emissions. As a result, the sky is darker and they're saving hundreds of thousands a year.
What about safety?
More light makes people feel safer. That's been established. But whether more light actually makes people safer is a different question. In many places, it seems like adding light at night doesn't achieve the desired results.
Does light pollution affect animals or the ecology of an area?
It certainly affects nocturnal animals. Migratory birds fly at night, and there are tremendous problems when there are illuminated structures because they fly right into them. If buildings are not illuminated, those collisions actually go down.
There's also a problem with searchlights—bugs get caught in them and have a hard time breaking out. We've all seen moths and other insects drawn to light. That is a disruption to the ecosystem as well. Things that want to eat them are drawn to the light.
We've also noticed that because of light pollution, the birds that typically wake up before dawn and start singing in the sunrise start earlier, so they're getting less rest.
Switching gears a bit now: Does the color of the light make a difference in terms of damage to the night sky?
The color of the light does make a difference. Most of what we see when we see ordinary white light is a mixture of what we see in a rainbow. In a streetlight, there's a variety of different types. But an excess amount of blue is most damaging to night sky.
Blue scatters the most for the same reason the sun makes the sky blue in the daytime. It makes the sky proportionately brighter, and it also triggers our sense of glare. Blue is also what helps our internal clocks know what's day and what's night, so blue light—whether from a streetlight or a computer screen—can throw off circadian rhythms.
What about cell phones? I've been to outdoor nighttime events where it seems everyone has a cell phone out.
Cell phones have a high level of light pollution for you personally but low for the night sky. Unless, of course, you're out with friends and you've gotten used to the dark and then they turn on their cell phones. You would lose your dark adaptation. In terms of affecting our own circadian rhythms, light at night from a cell phone right in front of your face can certainly throw you out of whack.
One last question: What's the darkest place you've ever been?
I was a teenager camping with friends in the mountains in New Mexico, and I remember seeing so many stars that I couldn't tell what constellations were what. I was overwhelmed in a good way. There were more stars than I was used to seeing, and the familiar stuff was entirely lost.


Home Muslim rights discourse Is There Much of a Difference Between Trump, Obama, and Clinton?
Obama agrees 100% as does Hillary Clinton. Profiling Muslims and their institutions, businesses, places of worship, etc., as being more likely to produce terrorists is the basis of Obama's "Countering Violent Extremists" program he has been pushing on the Muslim community for years.
When Muslims say that this is profiling and should be stopped, government agencies like the DHS, FBI, Obama's Justice Department say that these programs are necessary to stop terrorism.


This recipe is the last of my 30x30 recipes! And just in time, too!
This is another wonderful Grandma recipe and it has a fun story to go along with it!
But, when Grandma went to the refrigerator to take out her sour cream, she realized that she had picked up sour cream with chives by mistake! Not to be discouraged, Grandma worked with what she had and came up with a whole new savory sour cream twist! In fact, she even submitted the recipe to a cooking magazine and was published!
So thank you, Grandma, for another delicious and inventive recipe!
In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together the water, 1 teaspoon sugar, and yeast. Let the mixture set for 5 minutes or until foamy.
Then, add the sour cream, 1 tablespoon sugar, baking soda, eggs, and shortening. Mix until well combined. Slowly add the flour, kneading until smooth.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and roll the dough into a 24x6 inch rectangle. Spread half the dough with a thin layer of garlic butter. Sprinkle the dill and 2 tablespoons of parmesan over the top.
Fold the dough in half and press the edges together. Use a sharp knife or a pizza cutter to slice the dough into 1-inch strips. Gently twist the strips and place on a baking sheet. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise until doubled; 20-30 minutes.
Bake the twists in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. Brush the twists with the remaining garlic butter and sprinkle with the remaining parmesan. Bake for another 5 minutes or until browned.
Congrats on making it through your list! Your ambition amazes me. :) Looks delicious.
Aw good one grandma! I love sour cream with chives!! Congrats on finishing your 30 x 30, that's an awesome accomplishment!


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Just like other spy cameras it is easily concealed. Spy camera surveillance has never been easier. The spy cameras tiny size makes hiding not a problem. Hide in a plant, a book, a car, garage, or your office, the only requirement is to make sure the small lens is facing the desired target. When properly placed, the wide camera angle will give you a complete view of a normal size room. Best of all, for covert needs in mind, the kit includes 9v battery clips to allow the camera to be powered via 9v battery instead of requiring an AC adapter.
On April 19 2012 NewsOK reported that when visiting their elderly relative at the Quail Creek Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, an Oklahoma City family noticed things missing and was convinced something was not right. Concerned, they placed a spy cam in her room so they could see what was happening when they were not around.
The Spy cam captured video of a horrible scene. Two employees were forcibly manhandling their loved one.
Lucy Waithira Gakunga, 23, and Caroline Kaseke, 28, are the two employees accused of the abuse and were then fired from Quail Creek and turned over to law enforcement.
The video footage from the spy cam was handed over to law enforcement which allegedly shows Gakunga cramming latex gloves into the elderly patient's mouth while Kaseke watches and in another instance shows Gakunga lifting the elderly patient into her bed and then shoving the side of the patients face until she laid down.
The home conducted their own investigation after the family showed the tape to the home of 92 residents and in a statement, Quail Creek Nursing and Rehabilitation Center condemned the actions of two employees accused of abusing an elderly patient and said the nursing home is assisting police.
Monday, both women were arrested for neglect by caretaker.


Well-positioned in Tai Kok Tsui, Bridal Tea House Tai Kok Tsui Anchor Hotel is the ideal point of departure for your excursions in Hong Kong. The hotel is not too far from the city center: just 1 km away, and it normally takes about 40 minutes to reach the airport. For sightseeing options and local attractions, one need not look far as the hotel enjoys close proximity to Langham Place, Hong Kong Trade & Industry Department, Olympic MTR Station.


When you are involved in an accident, an attorney can help you get compensation for your injuries. In many cases, the testimony of witnesses at the scene is important, but you may also require the help of expert witnesses for your case. Your attorney will suggest when it's appropriate to seek expert testimony, and they will also find the experts to support your case in court.
Expert witnesses are specialists in their field. While they weren't present at the scene of the accident, they have specific knowledge that is relevant to the case. For instance, an expert witness could reconstruct the accident and explain how fast each vehicle was going before the impact, where the vehicles were located in relation to each other, and at which point the drivers started applying the brakes. Information like this could help the jury or judge understand what happened at the scene of the accident. This directly impacts the outcome of your case.
There are many different types of expert witnesses. For example, you will find many of them in the healthcare field. A medical doctor's testimony could be valuable in demonstrating the types of injuries the accident caused as well as the projected recovery time. Their testimony can be useful in evaluating any future care that may be needed as the result of the accident and if you're likely to suffer other long-term consequences as a result of your injuries.
Another type of expert witness is an economist. They may be called on to calculate property damage, lost wages, or lost earning capacity. Each case requires the help of different types of experts, although many cases will need medical experts and economists to calculate actual and future damage.
Technically, you don't need to hire any expert witnesses to support your personal injury claim. However, if you want a chance of succeeding, it's rarely enough to tell your story of what happened. An experienced car accident attorney in Bradenton, FL, can help you build your case with the help of expert witnesses. Their testimony is crucial to clearly explain to the court what happened and why you should receive compensation for your claim. In addition to proving fault and causation of your injuries, expert witnesses can also help determine what your claim is worth.
You don't have to know which expert witnesses are needed for your case. That's the job of your attorney. Don't be surprised if several experts are needed to prove your claim. It's best to trust your lawyer here because they have more experience than you.


IN A WORLD filled with mediocrity, incompetence, open office plans, and morons, ONE SUBSTANCE raises the hope of humanity: COFFEE. Strap in for the caffeine thrill ride of your life, as our heroes wage war against corporate crap. WATCH as caffeine, flooding their veins, equips them with the WEAPONS to battle even the most ridiculous situations; like employees who's jobs should be outsourced or automated. MANAGERS who don't know what the hell they're talking about. PEOPLE with high-pitched squeaky voices. AND slow computers that can only operate one Adobe program. AT. A. TIME.
STARRING: THE WOMAN with the slow, BUZZING COMPUTER. THE MAN who sends snarky emails to clueless n00bs and LIKES IT. AND, for the first time, THAT FACILITY MANAGER who's the nicest guy in the ENTIRE BUILDING.
BE THERE for the HIGH. The EMOTION. The SARCASM.
Coming to a theatre no where near you, because you're at work UNTIL FIVE.


Hey guys, it's been awhile since my last post. I've been getting back into realflow lately, and have a question for the avid python scripters out there. I'm tasked with making a boiling liquid. I know this has been talked about and I may use those options. But I was thinking of something that is much lighter on sim time. My idea was to emit dumb particles from below a realwave mesh. Then calling a python script on collision with the realwave mesh I would kill the dumb particles and emit liquid particles in a spherical shape and have an outward force to create the splash. What I need to know is if there is a way to make a list of the particles colliding with a realwave mesh. I can't find much in the docs about particle and realwave interactions, and the "emitter.getCollidingParticles" command only returns particles that are colliding with geometry not realwaves or other particle system. Does anyone have a solution for this? The idea behind this system it to make it very light on sim time so speed up our production. Thanks guys.
Just thought I would update you guys on what I'm doing. I've figured out how to get the particles position at impact. I would like to know a better way to doing this but this is what I've got so far.
First, apparently realwave can't detect collisions from particles on it's reverse side. So I've had to flip over my sim. Kinda silly but it works. So, I've set my bubble particles to collide and then "on surface" setting to Place. I'm running a python script that gets the position and kills the bubble particle if it moves less than a given tolerance. I'm working on emitting the splash particles.
I would like to know if anyone has an idea of how to emit particles in a spherical formation. Rather then emit from one point. I would like to tell my emitter to emit say 1000 particles in a given radius from a given point.
I've exactly the same problem on a production. I ll let u know if i find something.
"Do not feed the trolls"
wow holycause, that's awesome. Great script. I really liked this idea but after talking with my supervisor it won't work for this shot. I'll actually be going with something very similar to what tmdag posted. But I will come back to this later. And I'll share what I find on it. Thanks guys.
In our case, we can't use only particles, we have to use RWs.
The big reason we are going with a full particle sim is because we have a clear container and we want to see the interaction of the bubbles and the liquid below the surface. Like I said, I'll probably be revisiting this later when I'm not swamped with other things, cus I totally want to get this to work. I always prefer to work procedurally, because it's much easier to repeat things later.


text:
Kia fleet helps keep Australian Open 2011 on the move
- Number of vehicles provided for Australian Open tournaments over 10 years of sponsorship totals 909
- More than 300,000 kilometers expected to be clocked by specially-trained volunteer drivers
- On- and off-line Kia related events round out the Australian Open 2011 experience
(SEOUL) January 17, 2011 ? As the major sponsor of the Australian Open 2011, Kia Motors handed over a fleet of 101 specially-equipped official tournament vehicles to Tennis Australia during a ceremony in Melbourne on Friday attended by executives from Kia Motors Australia and Tennis Australia, as well as Kia's global brand ambassador, Rafael Nadal. This year celebrates Kia's 10th consecutive sponsorship of the Australian Open and the ceremony brought the tally of Kia vehicles provided to the tournament over the last decade to 909.
Accepting the Kia Courtesy Fleet on behalf of Tennis Australia, Tennis Australia CEO Steve Wood acknowledged the importance of the Kia cars to the logistic success of the Australian Open. "Kia Motors makes a huge contribution to the running of the Australian Open and I am once again very pleased to accept this courtesy fleet."
The fleet of vehicles on location this year, the Kia Sedona (Carnival) people mover, all-new Sportage and Sorento CUVs, all-new Optima sedan and Cerato (Forte) 5-door hatchback models, will transport players, officials and VIPs to matches and other activities throughout the grand slam tournament. "The sight of the Kia fleet ferrying players, media and officials around Melbourne is synonymous with the Australian Open and contributes to the tangible excitement and buzz that the event brings to the city of Melbourne," Mr. Wood concluded.
"As a proud sponsor of the Open, we are providing an opportunity for athletes, volunteers and guests to experience the excitement of the tournament with relative ease, while providing them with the opportunity to experience the excitement with Kia vehicles," said Kia Motors Australia President and CEO M.K. Kim.
The Kia courtesy fleet will be driven by approximately 20 specially trained volunteer drivers who expect to clock more than 300,000 kilometres over thousands of journeys during the Australian Open 2011.
In addition to supplying vehicles, the Kia Fan of the Day and Fan of the Tournament events are in their fifth year. Every day, a Kia Fan of the Day will be chosen as the most creatively dressed or painted fan and be projected on giant screens in Rod Laver Arena then put to online votes on the Australian Open website (www.australianopen.com). Each winner of the Fan of the Day will be awarded a digital camera and entered into the Kia Fan of the Australian Open 2011 to compete for the grand prize of an LCD television.
"Kia Motors' long-term partnership will, no doubt, continue to delight and excite Australian Open fans. Kia's commitment to quality and fun is demonstrated clearly through its sponsorship, and we are thrilled that Kia Motors will invigorate this year's tournament with new and exciting competitions for fans, a critical element of the tournament," said Mr. Wood of Kia's partnership with Tennis Australia.
Another online contest prior to the tournament was held through Kia's official Facebook fan page (www.Facebook.com/KiaMotorsWorldwide), whereby two winners were granted an all-expenses paid trip for two to the Australian Open. Winners submitted stories which were selected by Kia personnel to be put to an online vote through Facebook. Winners will join in the Kia Lucky Drive to Australia tour in late January. Kia distributors in 23 countries selected lucky customers for the Kia Lucky Drive to Australia tour. Customers will have access to one men's and one women's semifinal match, a behind-the-scenes tour of Melbourne Park and a Melbourne city tour.
Kia also continues to support grassroots tennis through the Kia Amateur Australian Open. "Through Tennis Australia, Kia supports the junior coaching program to help identify and develop the next generation of Australian Open stars," said Mr. Kim. "The Kia Amateur Australian Open is an annual opportunity for a young player to share in the excitement of the main event playing against qualifiers from 15 other countries in the second week of the Australian Open."
Kia live sites will continue to give fans in Sydney and Melbourne the opportunity to view the tournament. In addition, Kia will host marquee activities at the Grand Slam Oval equipped with a Kia car display and other promotional activities to expand the Kia brand experience for tournament attendees. Throughout the tournament, Kia vehicles will be displayed around Melbourne Park, alongside the Grand Slam Oval, Kia experience kiosks and Kia face painting stalls.
Photo Caption: (1) Left to right : M.K. Kim, Kia Motors Australia President and CEO; Rafael Nadal, Kia global brand ambassador and world #1-ranked tennis player; Steve Wood, Tennis Australia CEO. (2) Left to right : M.K. Kim, Kia Motors Australia President and Steve Wood, Tennis Australia CEO during handover ceremony at Rod Laver Arena.
Video of the Kia vehicle handover ceremony in streaming-quality (for Web use), print-quality stills and other press material are available at Kia Motors' Multimedia Library (www.kiamotors.com), powered by Synaptic Digital's distribution portal (www.thenewsmarket.com/kiamotors). Delivery options include digital FTP transfer and streaming download in a variety of file types including Flash, MPEG-2, QuickTime and Windows Media. Registration and content is free to the media.
Kia Motors Corporation (www.kia.com) -- a maker of quality vehicles for the young-at-heart -- was founded in 1944 and is Korea's oldest manufacturer of motor vehicles. As part of the Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group, Kia aims to become one of the world's premier automotive brands. More than 2 million vehicles a year are produced in 13 manufacturing and assembly operations in eight countries which are then sold and serviced through a network of distributors and dealers covering 172 countries. Kia today has over 42,000 employees worldwide and annual revenues of over US$14.6 billion. It is the major sponsor of the Australian Open and an official automotive partner of FIFA -- the governing body of the FIFA World Cup™. Kia Motors Corporation's brand slogan -- "The Power to Surprise" -- represents the company's global commitment to surpassing customer expectations through continuous automotive innovation.
Previ45 Awards And Accolades
NextHyundai Sonata Named 2011 International Car Of The Year


Ruby on Rails or PHP? Which one to Use?
Website applications have gained tons of momentum over the past few years and more and more people are wanting to expand the functionality of their websites. Server-side languages and frameworks are a great way to allow your website to become more than just images and text. PHP has solidified itself as one of the most popular web languages. However, Ruby on Rails has continued to be a part of the ever-growing web.
PHP and Ruby on Rails have become two very popular solutions to these new requirements that the web now requires. These server-side languages and frameworks allow websites to receive information from their users and supply them with the information they desire.
PHP is one of the most commonly used server-side languages used on the web today. According to a great study published on the usage of top programming languages in websites, 82.5% of websites whose server-side language are known are using PHP. Many of the most common websites, including Facebook and WordPress, are using PHP inside their websites.
Ruby on Rails, commonly known only as Rails, is a popular web framework written on top of the Ruby programming language. Reports by W3tech.com shows that 0.6% of websites whose server language is known uses Ruby on Rails.
PHP also allows for HTML to be used alongside the PHP code in a file. However, this is considered bad practice by many and should be avoided if possible. PHP does have features built in to allow for including HTML with your PHP by using the "include" element.
PHP itself is a programming language, which means that many web frameworks have been written on top of it in order to help with the common issues server side languages face. PHP also has a very large community of developers. A strong community is not only great because there are thousands of people that can help you out, but also thousands that have experienced the same issues as you.
Model-View-Controller, commonly known as MVC, is a popular programming design pattern used by people in all practices of programming. Because PHP is loosely mandated, source code files can be designed multiple ways that can produce the same correct result. This creates an unoptimized workflow due to the sometimes drastic differences programmer's styles can be.
MVC helps to reduce these normally different coding styles and attempts to, at least to some extent, reduce the vast gaps of styling. PHP does not natively support the MVC pattern, but can be implemented with some effort or by using a PHP based framework.
This line of code generates all three aspects of the MVC; the model responsible for connecting to the database, the views to distribute what the user will see as well the controllers to connect the two pieces mentioned before together.
While this not only creates all the parts needed, Rails also provides what is commonly known as separation of concerns. This is done by keeping all aspects related to the database in the model and all aspects of the views kept inside the template files. The controller is in charge of communication between the two. With the separation, bugs can be more easily identified and can result in quicker fixes.
Another benefit many developers enjoy is the built-in database support Rails provides. While PHP, as all others do, gives the ability to access data stored inside a database, Rails provides an experience where querying language knowledge can be used but can be done without. Using a method like the one below, a user can get all of the data stored inside a table called "users".
Because of the quickness of getting a product up and running many developers have begun to use Rails in small projects, with a number beginning to use it now for larger ones as well.
While Rails does have many of the great features developers desire, it does have issues that come along with it. One of the common issues expressed by critics of Rails is the need to know the MVC pattern. While there may be a learning curve to understand how Rails works, this is no different than needing to learn SQL in order to use PHP.
Another common point brought out is that Rails performs at a much slower speed, sometimes performing 1/100t h of the request per second PHP can. While this may be true, PHP is also its own language so speed measurements will tend to favor it.
PHP or Ruby on Rails?
If speed alone is your highest priority, PHP is the way to go. PHP can execute long-running commands at a high rate and will have a little hiccup to it. This programming language is also good for developers who are looking for a large number of community users that can help provide solutions to their issues.
Compared to Ruby on Rails, PHP is better in terms of performance and you can build a super fast website using it.
If you are looking for something that can allow you to get up and running quickly and provides its own structure so that coding conventions are better followed go with Rails. It's a great framework that with a little time, you can learn it quickly and can lead to a quicker turn around in projects.
Websites are becoming more and more involved with users each and every day. These same websites have the responsibility to provide the best possible experience for anyone that uses them. That is why dedicated languages and frameworks are created to help aid in the development of such sites. Whether you are building a quick and simple website that you use Rails on, or create a highly sophisticated web app using PHP, your site can be amazing.