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Understanding the ACGME Milestones: Applications and Opportunities for Accredited CME
Timothy P. Brigham, MDiv, PhD, Chief of Staff and Senior Vice-President, Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), explores the newly developed ACGME Milestones as an opportunity to support physicians' continuous professional development, in a discussion with Kate Regnier, MA, MBA, ACCME Executive Vice President.
>>BRIGHAM: They are, that's anchored to be theoretically right now, proficiency where we would expect somebody's ready for the unsupervised practice of medicine. So, there's two steps after that, at least. There's expert and mastery.
>>REGNIER: So what, so what we've had the opportunity to talk about is this, this, I think, very exciting concept of the handoff of the learner.
>>BRIGHAM: Yes.
>>REGNIER: Right, so, the physician in training and then in practice
>>REGNIER: We have a real opportunity to say going from GME to CME
>>REGNIER: You've got as a learner your data. You've got your
>>BRIGHAM: Right.
>>REGNIER: What you're good at, what you still need to work on and you can bring that into the world of practice into the world of CME
>>REGNIER: And the goal would be to make sure the accredited providers, whether it's the specialty societies or the places where these people work really can sort of embrace that portfolio that
>>BRIGHAM: Yes
>>REGNIER: those learning needs, those really truly individualized needs and present the education to be most effective for those individuals. That's the handoff of these learners.
>>BRIGHAM: But there's more than that because there's one more piece. What we hope is, that you and the continuum of practice take those milestones and say, and put together a road map for physicians in a particular specialty or a physician in general
>>REGNIER: Or in practice.
>>BRIGHAM: What is our expectation as a community of physicians, physician educators, physician learners etcetera. What is our, what is our, what is the road map that we are have constructed so that a person in practice no matter where they are knows that this is what's expected of them, and the public, part of, there's at least five constituents for them, the milestones. There's the ACGME where we will take the aggregate milestones in a given program and look at a program and say, OK
>>REGNIER: That's how you'll judge the program OK.
>>BRIGHAM: There's the boards who can take this individual journey with their physicians from the early point that they come into residency or even before. There are the, that's accreditation and certification world. But I think it's the next three where I think the milestones will have its most impact. The first is on the faculty. The faculty in Iowa, in South Dakota, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and New York will know exactly what nationally is expected of an internist or a pediatrician or a surgeon in terms of their journey and where they're expected to be at the end of that journey in residency. So it gives the faculty an anchor in which they can assess and give formative feedback in a way that they may not have been able to do before. It gives the learner a roadmap that they might not have had before.
>>REGNIER: Right. A better understanding.
>>BRIGHAM: One of the things that I did at Jefferson is I use to give a survey every year for about 19 years to residents. And two of the questions were, Do you get enough feedback? And, the feedback that you get, is it any good? And this could be done at nay institution in the country I've sort of played with it in other areas, too. The answer to both of those is, no. We don't get enough feedback and the feedback we get isn't relevant to where we are. So, we have residents out there, in one of two domains, is the resident who is not getting feedback and makes the assumption that everything is OK. And they can be, if you put a grid up that says the Y axis is competence and the X axis is confidence their out here all they way, that's their
>>REGNIER: Right.
>>BRIGHAM: Confident without being competent, they're dangerous people. There not a lot of them but we want to make sure that their number is reduced. The other one is the resident who's up on the Y axis who is very, very competent, but not very competent, because they're not getting feedback on any number of their skills and their growth areas. And they're using their limited energy worried about whether they're doing well, and that's just tragic. So, what we would like to do with the milestones is put that competence, competence grid so they're clearly getting feedback they're on the trajectory and they know where they are and the program knows where they are. The fifth one is the public. For one of the really first times we can assure the public and their representatives, whether they're members of Congress or the IOM or whoever, we can show them and demonstrate them not only are we teaching the aspects that they care about a lot, but we're demonstrating that they have the outcomes in that area. That they really are good at communication, we've assessed them. That they really are good at patient care and we've assessed that. That they're really good at team based, working within the context of an inter-professional team. Those are the kinds of things that I think are really, really exciting that we can do with the milestones.
>>REGNIER: So, this construct this idea of the milestone and these measurements or assessments formative, in my mind from a CME perspective they not only do what you just described in terms of meeting the needs of all these stakeholders, but by virtue of that that construct they are sort of creating, facilitating these physicians in training
>>REGNIER: and the faculty who are working with the physicians, right, to be operating in a space where they're used to learning about their own practice?
>>REGNIER: their own needs looking for the data that will sort of point them in the right direction on this learning and practice journey. And, I think, from a CME perspective it's one of the things that we've heard is not yet sort of the environment of the learner, now.
>>REGNIER: So, I mean I'm sure this doesn't come as a surprise to you the most common issue our providers are trying to make measurements of change
>>REGNIER: in terms of competence meaning strategy
>>REGNIER: performance, what they actually do in practice, or patient outcomes. And sort of the engagement acceptance of the learners isn't quite there yet, because there's nobody asking them necessarily for this data.
>>BRIGHAM: Right
>>REGNIER: It's all going together, in my mind, because you're creating learners who are looking for this data, who are used to having it
>>BRIGHAM Yes..
>>REGNIER: And taking a direction from it.
>>BRIGHAM: yeah
>>REGNIER: which I think hasn't necessarily been the case.
>>BRIGHAM: What, we're hoping, I think, is a lot of the tools that you and the boards will be using in practice, some things related to maintenance of competence, maintenance of licensure, will be driven back into residency so they will start using the same or similar tools that will be expected of them when they get into practice. And the other piece I don't want to lose is that if you all who are involved in the continuum of learning from residency and fellowship on take the challenge and develop milestones which the milestones are organic and fluid I mean they will change over time. It's necessary that they change over time as knowledge and new ways of practicing become the norm rather than some things we haven't even dreamed of. But, if you take the challenge, not only will they have used to be used to being used using some of the tools, or sort of taking a look at themselves in the way that you described, but they'll still have road map out there they can point towards and say, oh, this is where I have to go. And that's the challenge I think that you and your providers have is to help construct that next level. Whether it's at a national level, which I hope occurs, or at the local level of the hospital saying we're using our data and saying here's where our pediatricians have to go, here's where our internists have to go, here's where our surgeons have to go, etcetera.
>>REGNIER: What I like is the idea that the milestones provide this, this framework. It is standard it's national, but the individual who's operating in this space can move around. I mean you can image like we've talked about, the person who comes out of their residency program and goes and practices in a totally different environment
>>REGNIER: Right, now all of sudden their learning environment opportunities around systems based practice
>>BRIGHAM: Sure.
>>REGNIER: is very different
>>REGNIER: and this milestone where maybe they were proficient where they were is now an opportunity a gap a professional practice gap
>>REGNIER: That's a really great construct.
>>BRIGHAM: We have worked really, it's interesting, our last year of our board has taken this up as sort of his legacy. There's always going to be a gap, especially in systems based practice, but in other areas also. So, how do we help the learner transition from undergraduate to graduate? How do we help the learner transition from graduate medical education into practice in an effective way where they don't get lost? I think that's a huge problem right now and we've talked before about the transition to practice as being really important where you take that handoff. You know, the expectation that if we develop proficiency in patient care and medical knowledge that's almost immediately transferable. Systems based practice every time you enter a new system even though system based practices is a huge construct going from the local micro system of care to the larger system of the Affordable Care Act, when they get into that next system that they are in they're almost everybody has a learning curve in any profession takes six months to ramp up or a year to ramp up. We want to make that transition as smoothly as possible and also the milestones, I hope, will help.
© 2013 Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education; all rights reserved. For non-commercial educational use only. For permission to reproduce and/or distribute for other purposes, please contact info@accme.org.


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A Dole Whip A Day
At "A Dole Whip a Day," we love all things Disney and Disneyland. We're here to share that with you! Don't forget to subscribe!
Disneyland Fast Facts #7
We're back with our 7th edition of Disneyland Fast Facts! Are you ready?? Let's do this!
**If you missed our first six sets of Fast Facts, you can still check them out here! Version one, two, three, four, five, and six.
Walt personally designed Tom Sawyer's Island, not the Imagineers
Photo Credit: Walt Disney Family Museum
Imagineer Marvin Davis was having difficulty coming up with a design that worked well and that Walt liked. So Walt ended up taking Marvin Davis' notebook of ideas home with him and sketched the design for the island himself. This is the ONLY part of Disneyland that Walt designed on his own.
Miss those amazing Disneyland churros when you're not home? Buy them at Smart and Final!
The brand is called Tio Pepe's and they're available for $10.99 for a 25 pack or $50.00 for 100 churros.
At the Lost and Found display on Main Street, there's a wooden leg with the name Smith printed on it.
Photo Credit: Disney Know
A wooden leg named Smith! What's the name of his other leg???
The bride in the Haunted Mansion wears a new strand of pearls for each new husband.
You can spot them all in her different wedding portraits.
Photo Credit: Discovering the Magic Kingdom
The weird road direction sign on the Autopia pretty much matches the route of the ride itself!
Its not perfect, but we'd say its pretty darn close.
The numbers on Docking Bay 7 in Star Wars Galaxy's Edge commemorate the year each original Star Wars movie was released (1977, 1980, and 1983).
Photo Credit: Plus News
Photo Credit: WDW News Today
Every room on It's A Small World has a sun and a moon.
Photo Credit Aloha75
Because there is just one moon and one golden sun
Trees in the mountain backdrop of Toontown spell WDI for Walt Disney Imagineering
Tarzan's Treehouse plays the original Swisskapolka music
Back when it was the Swiss Family Robinson's treehouse, this music could be heard all throughout the attraction. Now the gramophone at the camp area at the end of bottom of the treehouse plays the iconic song.
All of the horses on King Arthur's Carousel have names, and you can get a list of them all at City Hall.
There are more names than just Jingles!
There are more names listed on the roster than there are horses on the carousel because there are some that might be currently out of rotation or are "waiting" to be put in when another horse needs a repair.
Be forewarned if you're planning on asking about this at City Hall...the list doesn't actually tell you which horse goes with which name!
Posted by Melanie at 2:58 PM No comments:
Labels: 2019, Disneyland, facts, trivia
Disneyland Quickly Responds to Guest Complaints About New Store
Disneyland tried a new change last week, and let's just say...it didn't go well. Now, change is always hard when its something you love and we've seen it over and over again when a ride is closed or changed. You'll usually hear some complaints and then life moves on. But this wasn't the case when last Thursday Disneyland turned the Main Street Cinema into a souvenir shop overnight.
Photo Credit: Disney
The Main Street Cinema is the perfect spot to escape crowds, heat, and overloaded senses. It's fairly quiet and gives you a chance to watch classic, original Mickey Mouse cartoons. Because its right in the middle of the hustle and bustle of Main Street, it's often overlooked. So, in an attempt to bring in more people (according to Disney) they put signs out front saying "Cartoons and Collectibles" and added stands with park merchandise.
Taking a look at the pic above, its not as if this is exclusive collectibles (like in the Disneyana store) or something with a classic Mickey feel that would go along well with the old cartoons. This is the exact same merch you can get at any other store in the park. Why drag it into this space? Also interesting to note, the Main Street Cinema at the Magic Kingdom in Disney World has been a store, with no films showing, since 1998.
Well, after some very loud outrage, Disney has thought the better of it and pulled out all of the merchandise as of this morning. They've even added in a few benches, which is an easy and nice touch, seeing as this spot didn't have any kind of seating before aside from the floor or the steps to the raised platform in the middle of the room.
Photo Credit: Mice Chat
So this whole four day process brings up a couple interesting questions...
1. What should be done with this space so it's best utilized?
What should be done with the space to draw attention? Adding benches was a good start. I'd also consider changing up the cartoons or having some sort of "special feature" on a rotating basis with the sound playing for that certain film, whether its a Disney movie, old footage like opening day of Disneyland, or really whatever. Disneyland fans seem to really love anything that's only around for a limited time. And perhaps CMs could hand out special buttons to people who come to see whatever is new.
This could also be a fun spot to have a classic character meet and greet. Let's face it, those characters must get HOT out there in the sun on Main Street. What if a character or two were inside and guests could watch the cartoons as they waited to meet whoever it is (Mickey and Minnie, Chip and Dale, maybe lesser seen characters).
2. What can we do to keep other "classic" parts of Disneyland that are maybe overlooked?
VISIT ALL OF THE THINGS YOU LOVE. If you never want to see Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln vanish (the last few times we were there, there were only a handful of people in the theater), visit it every time you go.
Show Disney that there is demand. When you go to the parks, take a look at what doesn't have a wait or a crowd. We've already mentioned Lincoln, but some others that come to mind are the Canoe ride, the Redwood Challenge Trail in DCA, Tarzan's Treehouse, and even the Tiki Room. (People go into the queue area for the Dole Whips but don't necessarily stay for the show! And now that Dole Whips are available at the Tropical Hideaway, this could take even more people away from the show we love so much.) Ride those rides! See those shows! Show Disney BEFORE they think about changing something that this isn't one that should be messed with.
For Disney's part, they did the right thing in this situation. But let's face it, things will change. Paradise Pier becomes Pixar Pier, Tower of Terror becomes Mission Breakout, Bug's Land closes for Marvel Land. We can't always stop change, and we should't always stop it. But we should still let our voices be heard when they do something like this, where there's no real reason or meaningful change. Hope to see you all at the Main Street Cinema soon!
Labels: 2019, changes, Disneyland, Main Street, merchandise, update
Summer 2019 at Disneyland!
Summer is here! If you're lucky enough to be heading to the Disneyland resort, or just wishing you were, we've got all of the latest updates for the summer.
In a Galaxy Far Far Away.....
Reservations/Virtual Queue
Starting June 24th, you'll no longer need a reservation to visit Galaxy's Edge. So far the crowds haven't been insane, but we're guessing that will change once people don't have to wait for their reserved time. Disneyland announced that "as needed" they'll use a virtual queue system through the Disneyland App to allow people into Galaxy's Edge (if crowds become unmanageable). If needed, you'll get a "boarding pass" through the app, and then you'll get a push notification when its your time. (You'll be able to check on wait times and your progress in the queue through the app, so bring those portable chargers! The Disneyland app is a total battery drainer.) If you're not a big fan of the app, there will also be a physical system in place at certain, yet unannounced, locations.
Photo Credit: Insider
Visiting the Cantina
Whether you have a reservation over the next couple of weeks or you're visiting later in the summer, you'll want to head to Oga's Cantina when you first enter the land to get your place in the virtual queue. They'll text you when it's your time to come back and then you'll have about a 15 minute wait in person.
**Keep in mind** no matter how long your wait was, there's still a 45 minute time limit and 2 drink maximum. But the drinks look incredible. Check this out!
If you don't want to spend all day waiting for the Cantina, no worries! There are plenty of other stands and quick service options.
Building a Lightsaber!
Starting at $200, you can build your own lightsaber with metal hilt, choose your kyber crystal, and you get a kind of mini show where they talk about the force and lightsabers. If you are VERY into Star Wars, we hear its an amazing experience. If you're not a big collector or you kid just wants a lightsaber, we recommend building one in the store at the Star Tours exit. $30-$60 for a plastic lightsaber that's still pretty fun to build (My 8 year old did that in April and had a blast!).
Droid Depot
Just as fun as building a lightsaber, slightly less expensive, and without too bad of a wait! You pick your droid parts (including a personality chip!!) from a "lazy river" of parts. Totally customizable and super cute.
Photo Credit: Disney Tourist Blog
Smuggler's Run
People have been so intense about the Cantina and the lightsabers that there's been a minimal wait for the only ride in the land so far. People are riding it multiple times in their four hour window. On the ride, you're really controlling the Millenium Falcon, whether as the pilot, gunner, or engineer and how well you do actually affects the outcome of your ride. So it'll truly be a different experience depending on what position you have and who the other 5 people riding with you are. It sounds intense and I'm LOVING it.
Tale of the Lion King
Lion King lovers, this is for you! To celebrate the new "live action" Lion King this July, head on over to the Paradise Gardens Park area of California Adventure (in front of The Little Mermaid ride). The Storytellers of the Pride Lands will be retelling the Lion King through story and song. This show is only running for the summer, so act fast.
Special Summer Merch!
There's always something new to buy at Disneyland, and this sumer is no exception. Check out these new mini fans designed to look like Disney Snacks! Obviously, we'll be needing the Dole Whip one stat. They're available at Clothier's in Disneyland Park and at Elias & Co in California Adventure.
Photo Credit: Disney Parks Blog
And, since summer is the best time to prep for winter, Disney snack ORNAMENTS are now available as well. Guess which is our favorite? Hint: We're not called A Mickey Waffle A Day.
(Photos from Chip & Co.)
Soarin' Over....CALIFORNIA!
The original Soarin' is BACK for an extremely limited time. Check the views of California through June 30. I miss that orange smell!!!
New(ish) Rides at California Adventure
Jessie's Critter Carousel
Thiswas first to open in April and it's adorable. A giant Jessie welcomes you to the ride and it's a great spot to hang out while you wait for your Toy Story Midway Mania fastpasses or to take little ones while the bigger kids go on Incredicoaster.
Mickey's Philharmagic
Ok, this has been open for a little while as well, but has gotten basically no press and no love. Taking up residence in the old Muppet theater, Mickey's Philharmagic is a super cute 3D show where Donald has taken Mickey's sorcerer hat and leads you on an adventure through all your favorite Disney Music. It's air conditioned, it's fun to listen to, and it needs your visits if you don't want that to be an abandoned building again!
Inside Out Emotional Whirlwind
Technically a new ride, even though it was built on the bones of the old Flik's Fliers (RIP Bug's Land), Inside Out Emotional Whirlwind is the newest "little kid friendly" attraction over at Pixar Pier. And from the looks of it, they're already testing the ride vehicles. Stay tuned for an official opening date.
Disneyland Forever, the 60th anniversary show, is back for the summer with classic Disney music (if the dance mix during Mickey's Mix Magic wasn't your thing, this'll be right up your alley) and projection show
Labels: 2019, attractions, California Adventure, Disneyland, galaxy's edge, merchandise, new, rides, star wars, summer
Disneyland Quickly Responds to Guest Complaints Ab...

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Slovenia is a land of legends and myths. If you visit the places that they are describing, you will get to know quite a different Slovenia. Here are some beautiful folk tales from all around the country, which are also a great reason for an excursion.
The Ljubljana dragon
Sculptures of dragons on the Dragon Bridge in Ljubljana (known locally also as the Mother-in-law Bridge) allegedly wag their tails each time a virgin passes.
The first legend that the tourists hear in Slovenia is definitely the legend about the origin of Ljubljana. Legend has it that the city was founded by the Greek mythological hero Jason, who had stolen the Golden Fleece from King Aetes and fled with his friends on a ship called Argo across the Black Sea and up the Danube, Sava and Ljubljanica rivers. Since there was not enough water, the Argonauts disassembled their ship and carried it on their shoulders to the Adriatic coast, where they continued their journey back to Greece. But on their way through the Ljubljana Marshes, they stumbled upon a dragon, which Jason fought and killed. Today a dragon adorns the City of Ljubljana's coat of arms, as well as the famous Dragon Bridge, which is known locally also as the Mother-in-law Bridge. Allegedly, the sculptures of the dragons wag their tails each time a virgin passes. But no one ever saw it happen, not once in the history of the city. Well, who nowadays still believes in legends anyway?
Naughty Perkmandlc from Idrija
Gnome Perkmandlc from the Anthony's Mine Shaft in Idrija. Author: Jurij Pfeifer.
The beautiful town of Idrija is a real treasure trove of legends, most of them associated with the ore. One of the legends says that in 1490 a local tubmaker found shiny substances in the stream, which turned out to be mercury. Today, the Church of the Holy Trinity stands on the spot where the tubmaker made the discovery, in the centre of today's town Idrija. Soon the ore miners from all around the world began migrating to Idrija. The most beautiful legend is about the Anthony's Mine Shaft – a 700 km labyrinth, which is now opened for the visitors. Word has it that the shaft is the home of a very special resident – a small gnome Perkmandlc, who has been guarding his underground treasures for centuries. Famous Slovenian historian and polymath Janez Vajkard Valvasor was writing about him in the 17th century, in his existence believed miners from all over Slovenia. Perkmandlc loved to play pranks on them – he would blow out their lamps or hide their shoes, but he would also warn them of imminent danger and showed them where to find rich ore, so, out of gratitude, they often left him some of their food. Given the fact that the Idrija mine once extracted as much as 13 percent of the world's mercury output and that it used to be the second largest mercury mine in the world, this cute little gnome obviously did bring them a lot of luck.
Saint Socerb and his cave
Saint Socerb – protector of the people of Trieste – has been living in the Holy cave near the village of Socerb in the 3rd century AD. In 2006, English healer Stephen Turoff showed up, claiming to be the reincarnation of the saint.
Legends from beneath the surface can also be found in Istria. Not far from the village Socerb there is the only underground church in Slovenia, bearing the name Holy Cave. In the 3rd century AD the cave was a shelter of a young Christian saint Socerb. He was only 12 years old, when he heard the call of God. Later in his life, he miraculously healed a lot of people and died as a martyr. People of Trieste always believed that they were under a special protection of the saint; they honored him with naming a part of the city after him and with annual pilgrimages to his cave. After World War II, the cave was banned to the public, the altar destroyed. Altar made of natural stone was something special; behind it there is still a small spring and a shallow karst basin. It never dries up and supposedly has healing powers, but pilgrims can only drink this water, it disappears, if someone washes his hands in it. In 1990 the cave has again begun holding masses, especially on every 24th of May – the day of the saint's death. In 2006, English healer Stephen Turoff showed up, claiming to be the reincarnation of the saint, designated to energetically cleanse the cave and bless again the altar. Allegedly, he is performing miracles during his sessions in the cave and is therefore attracting many followers. But, this is probably just another of the many legends associated with the village of Socerb.
Martin Krpan – myth or truth?
The exact location of Martin Krpan's home is not known for certain, but it was the castle Kalec, where Fran Levstik found the inspiration for his story.
Legendary folk hero Martin Krpan from Vrh near Sveta Trojica in the region of Pivka is a fictional character of the writer Fran Levstik created on the basis of the Inner Carniolan oral tradition. It is a story of the strongest man in Slovenian lands, who defeated a brutal Turkish warrior Brdavs and thus saved the imperial Vienna from the enemy. Levstik wrote his novel in 1858, during the time of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which Slovenia was then a part of. In the story Krpan is talking about his native village called Vrh near Sveta Trojica, but, unfortunately, a village with that name does not exist in reality. The exact location of his home thus remains a mystery – it is almost like searching for the Holy Grail, as every village wants to take him for his own. It is said that Levstik found the inspiration for his story in the castle Kalec, where he once met an unusually strong local blacksmith. But Krpan was not the only hero in this part of the country. There was also a bold cook from a nearby town of Šilentabor, the largest fortress against Turkish invasions in the region, which in times of danger could accommodate up to 150 people. During one of the particularly long-lasting sieges almost all brave men have been killed and the cook decided to intervene. She started with throwing stones and pouring boiling tar over the enemy, but then she came up with an excellent idea – why not use bees to chase away the bloodthirsty Turks. When beehives fell on enemies' heads, angry bees attacked them and did all the fighting.
A voracious dragon from Slovenske Konjice
The horse became a symbol of the city of Slovenske Konjice because of the brave knight George, who rescued the maidens from the dragon on a white horse.
In the Old Town Square of Slovenske Konjice stands a beautiful church of St. George, the saviour and protector of this ancient town. He is the hero of a beautiful legend, which left a strong mark on the region. Legend has it, that Konjiška Mountain used to be hollow with a huge lake inside, where a terrible dragon found his dwelling. People feared his dreadful roar would make the mountain explode and the water would flood their homes. Together with the lord of the nearby castle they decided to make a deal with the dragon. But the price was high – every year they had to sacrifice six virgins. And then the day came, when a beautiful daughter of the lord – Marjetica had to face the dragon. But just moments before the tragedy, St. George has rushed in on a white horse to help the maiden and kill the beast. His blood turned into a river, which today is flowing through the centre of the town, dividing it into two parts. Grateful lord built a church in honour of St. George and the saint's horse became the symbol of the town. People dammed the spring of the lake beneath Konjiška Mountain with a giant rock, named after the unfortunate virgins – "Gospodična" (Miss).
Love quarrels in the Celje castle
According to legends, the Celje castle has been witnessing many love quarrels.
Although the old castle in Celje is only partially preserved, it has once been the largest fortification on Slovenian territory. Particularly impressive is the four-storey Frederick's tower, offering breathtaking views of the city, the river Savinja and the surrounding mountains. The tower is connected with the legend of the unfortunate count Frederick II. Frederick has killed his first wife so he could marry Veronica, a beautiful young girl of poor descent. But that angered his father Herman II so much, that he imprisoned his son into a tower and made him starve. Veronica was accused of witchcraft, but managed to clear her name, however, Herman later got her drowned. Frederick survived thanks to an underground tunnel, through which he was secretly being supplied with food. There are also many other interesting myths related to this castle, one of them about a farmer Dolinar and his daughter Marjanca. One day, count Ulrik laid his eyes on a handsome girl and ordered his soldiers to bring her to the castle. Her father tried to save her, but he was too late – Marjanca died dishonoured and of violent death. Upon learning this, Dolinar cursed the castle and Ulrik by saying these words: "I curse the castle you reside in, let only owls and crocks live in it!" The curse soon came true, though not entirely – today, numerous visitors and cultural events do not give rest to the old walls.
Island of love in Prekmurje
Island of Love in Prekmurje was named after a sad local legend about a forbidden love between a noblewoman and a peasant.
Not far from the village Ižakovci mystical river Mura formed a small "island of love", named after a sad local legend about forbidden love between a noblewoman and a peasant – the boy drowned, and the young lady died of grief. The island has often been a secret meeting place for couples, despite the fact that they had to cross a fast-flowing river to reach it. Many love stories suggest that this is the place for true romantics – today, you can visit an old floating mill and a traditional wooden ferry, sit on a bench for lovers or try a love potion that allegedly makes the most secret desires come true.
Author: Saša Suhadolnik


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Global unemployment rising again but with significant differences across regions ...
Global Employment Trends 2013
Global unemployment rising again but with significant differences across regions
Five years after the outbreak of the global financial crisis, labour markets remain deeply depressed. Unemployment has started to rise again as the economic outlook worsens.
News | 22 January 2013
Uncertainty and Job Creation
Ekkehard Ernst, Chief of the ILO Employment
Trends Unit
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GENEVA (ILO News) – Global unemployment rose in 2012 after falling for two straight years and could further increase in 2013, the International Labour Organization (ILO) has warned in a new report.
A quarter of the increase in global unemployment in 2012 has been in the advanced economies, while three quarters has been through spillovers into other regions, with marked effects in developing economies in East Asia, South Asia and Sub Saharan Africa.
The number of unemployed worldwide rose by 4.2 million in 2012 to over 197 million, a 5.9 per cent unemployment rate, according to Global Employment Trends 2013.
An uncertain economic outlook ... has weakened aggregate demand, holding back investment and hiring."
Guy Ryder
"An uncertain economic outlook, and the inadequacy of policy to counter this, has weakened aggregate demand, holding back investment and hiring," said ILO Director-General Guy Ryder. "This has prolonged the labour market slump in many countries, lowering job creation and increasing unemployment duration even in some countries that previously had low unemployment and dynamic labour markets."
"Also, many of the new jobs require skills that jobseekers do not have," he added. "Governments should step up efforts to support skills and retraining activities in order to address such mismatches which particularly affect young people."
The report shows that global working poverty continues to drop, but at a slower rate than before the crisis.
A middle-income working class is rising in the emerging world, which could provide additional stimulus for the global economy. But for the moment their purchasing power cannot compensate for slow growth in advanced countries.
Mid-term gloom, particularly for youth
Looking at the medium-term, the forecast global economic recovery is not expected to be strong enough to bring down unemployment quickly, and the number of jobseekers is expected to rise to more than 210 million over the next five years.
Mouse over the chart to see the values
The labour market situation remains particularly bleak for the world's youth, with almost 74 million people in the 15 to 24 age group unemployed around the world – a 12.6 per cent youth unemployment rate.
Of particular concern is the fact that more and more young people experience long-term unemployment. Some 35 per cent of unemployed youth in advanced economies have been out of a job for six months or longer. As a consequence, increasing numbers of young people are getting discouraged and leaving the labour market.
The global nature of the crisis means countries cannot resolve its impact individually."
Experiencing such long spells of unemployment or dropping out from the labour market early on in the career hurts long-term prospects. It erodes professional and social skills and prevents young people from gaining on-the-job experience.
Regional differences in youth unemployment are likely to grow. The situation is expected to improve slightly in developed economies over the next five years, but youth unemployment is expected to rise in emerging economies in Eastern Europe, East and South-East Asia and the Middle East.
Ryder stressed that policy makers must find coordinated answers to the crisis.
"The global nature of the crisis means countries cannot resolve its impact individually and with domestic measures only," he said. "The high uncertainty, which is holding off investments and job creation, will not recede if countries come up with conflicting solutions."
The report said policy makers should also address three interrelated issues: coordinating action to support aggregate demand, in particular through public investment while private investment is shy; addressing rising labour market mismatch problems through training and re-skilling programmes; and focussing action on youth joblessness.
Schemes that guarantee employment or training for targeted groups of young people have proven to be successful in some European countries. And they are affordable.
"The costs of inactivity, of allowing long-term unemployment to grow and young people to disconnect further from society, would be far higher," said Ryder.
Tags: employment, labour market, unemployment, youth unemployment, poverty
Global Employment Trends 2013: Report, News, Videos and Charts
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Global Employment Trends 2013: Facts and figures by regions
ILO Director-General's presentation of the Global Employment Trends 2013


I don't usually take deep dives into topics like this on the blog, not because I am embarrassed of it, but because for a long time I didn't think people felt the same way or would understand how I was feeling. I felt this way until my sister posted about anxiety and everyone started asking her how she deals with it and what helps her calm down.
So, I thought I'd take a try and talk about this topic a bit and give my best tips for how I calm myself down. I've always dealt with anxiety, honestly to the point of panic attacks, heart racing, trouble breathing, can't stop my mind... type of thing. Whether that's social anxiety, test anxiety, or even medical anxiety. My mind somehow goes from 0 to 100 really quick when I get anxious. I wish my brain didn't constantly do this, but it does and that's alright... and knowing that it is alright is the first step when dealing with anxiety and stress in my opinion. It's more than okay to worry... but the reality of how I choose to deal with my anxiety is the bigger topic and it helps me look to the positives in my life and to just slow down and breathe.
There are times where I feel as though I could be swallowed by all my worries; that if I just lay down and try to sleep it will somehow all go away, but that's not true. You can't hide from your fears… you have to conquer them. So, what are some tips and tricks that I've learned throughout the years?
It may sound stupid, but for some reason, this works for me. The second I start to feel my heart race or the tears swell, I count slowly to 20 and breathe in and out as I do. After a couple times of doing this, I'm able to resituate my mind.
Watching something lighthearted or something you can laugh at really works for me. Nothing too serious. For me? My go-to is Friends!
A couple years ago I was in Cabo with some friends and went to Flora Farms. There was this cute little shop selling different soaps and oils and I came across one called Dream Oil. I swear this has changed my life. I put a little dot of this on my wrist and neck and I swear I calm down quicker and sleep better! I never really thought things like this work, but I've told other people too and they've seen the same effect. The scent is calming and relaxing! Any Lavender Oil or Eucalyptus Oil can definitely help with relaxation and stress relief!
Although this only worked for me for a little while ... it did work! Lavender Pills helped me calm down when I was dealing with anxiety at first.
This tea helps you catch some extra zzz's. Valerian Root Tea helps me get well rested even on nights that my mind is racing!
Read, dance, listen to music, be active, work out! The list goes on and on. Get that negative energy out!!
My biggest tip is to divert your attention to something else the moment you begin to feel anxious. Don't let it swallow you. Conquer it... in bigger, brighter, and better ways.
Take a deep breath. We're all in this crazy life together.
Disclaimer: in no way am I trying to influence how anyone handles their own anxiety or stress, I am simply just sharing what has worked for me! If you feel like you are dealing with anxiety it is always best to talk to a professional and consult a doctor before deciding on what works best for you!


When I was a boy, I detested school, and because I love learning, I still detest it, especially in its current instantiation, from silly and harmless jingles in kindergarten to sillier and downright toxic jingles sung by doctoral candidates and their professors. Allow me to give one of the several reasons why.
The whole of rational life, as Milton conceives it, is an agon, an adventure, a fight. We must fight. It is for us of the essence of virtue, whether physical or intellectual.
To do so I shall call upon a man whom I would prefer to have as a theological enemy than a thousand tame souls as friends. On June 14, 1643, members of the new Parliament in London, dominated by the Presbyterian enemies of the established Church, shortly before they would abolish the episcopacy, set themselves up as new overseers of the minds of men, passing an ordinance to license the press. John Milton, as yet still friendly to their general aims, soon entered the lists "for the Liberty of UNLICENC'D PRINTING," as reads the frontispiece for his published speech, Areopagitica (1644).
The speech was so named, as Milton's readers well knew, for the Areopagus or Hill of Mars atop the city of Athens, where Saint Paul preached, "for all the Athenians and strangers which were there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing" (Acts 17:21). It was the Athenian arena for disputation, a Madison Square Garden for the mind.
It is not that all ideas are equally true, or that all men are equally wise and honorable. Rather the whole of rational life, as Milton conceives it, is an agon, an adventure, a fight. "When God did enlarge the universal diet of man's body, saving ever the rules of temperance, he then also, as before, left arbitrary the dieting and repasting of our minds; as wherein every mature man might have to exercise his own leading capacity." Milton intends the word exercise in its Latin sense: a military drill. So does he praise the man who will not shirk the danger of falling into error, whether of the body or of the mind, but takes on that danger and fights. "I cannot praise a fugitive and cloistered virtue," says he, "unexercised and unbreathed, that never sallies out and sees her adversary, but slinks out of the race where that immortal garland is to be run for, not without dust and heat." Again he has Saint Paul in mind: "I have fought the good fight," says Paul, seeing his martyrdom at hand (the Greek is ton kalon agona egonismai). "I have run the race to the finish, I have kept the faith." (2 Tim. 4:7).
School as I knew it was dominated by women, and so now, at least in numbers of students, are colleges and universities, or whatever things they are that still go by those names. When I was a boy, I had no idea that school could be otherwise. I did not attribute my detestation to women. I was not yet conscious of the profound differences between the sexes. I felt the burden of those differences nonetheless, and so in my developing masculine nature I was checked at every pass.
I did not rebel against rules, per se. Rules are also of the essence of the fight, the agon. The rule against the personal foul makes football possible. The rule against allowing yourself to be hit by a pitch makes baseball possible. When boys invent games, a thing that boys and men do all the time, they establish clearly demarcated rules, which everyone agrees to hold as inviolate and above all personal desires and feelings. So I did not mind entering the church in the middle of morning Mass when I arrived early at my Catholic school, taking my place in the pew with my classmates, boys on the right of the aisle, girls on the left. The Mass itself commemorated the greatest agon of all, and was a structure of laws, a game of worship. I intend no disparagement by so calling it.
What I hated was something else: rules without the fight, seat-belts for the spirit, a security blanket for the mind. Women take care of small children, and small children need to be kept safe. To do that task in the company of other women, they establish not law but etiquette, not the civil but the domestic. It is requisite for our happiness, perhaps even for the survival of the race before the industrial revolution, that it should be so. Applied beyond the home or the intimate social setting, however, the etiquette grows oppressive, and the domestic loses its character, its homeliness, and bids fair to undo itself and, paradoxically, render the civic more savage and intolerant. "The female of the species," protecting her cubs, is, as Kipling says, "more deadly than the male." Hence, as Lincoln observed, it was going to be harder to reconcile the women of the north and south after the Civil War than to reconcile the very men who had sweated and strained to kill one another.
I am not saying that only boys hated that status quo. But the only children who loved school were girls, and no boy I ever met loved it. Why should they? We were trammeled up in body and mind both, with either niceness or bad temper as far as the eye could see; in a brightly colored holding tank for nine months, with nothing to fight for, no mountains to climb, no seas to master. We were mothered or step-mothered. We were not fathered. We made up a social group, and more often than not it was an anti-social group. We did not make up a brotherhood. For men become brothers in arms for the sake of the fight, and fighting was not allowed.
What that implies for boys possessed by real genius, I will discuss shortly. First I should like to note that the school etiquette, No Fighting, is peculiarly female and renders the exercise of intellectual virtue impossible. Consider the difference between the "safe space" and the boxing ring. Our colleges promote the "safe space" lest people who perceive themselves as weak should be made to defend what they do, what they affirm, or what they deny. The whole idea of such a thing is inimical to the masculine. You must defend yourself: you must fight, by the rules of the fight, and if you do not, you are a coward. If you are beaten in a fair fight, you must graciously acknowledge it, or you are scorned as a sore loser. If you are beaten in a fair fight for truth, you might change your mind. Truth is the object, and in the pursuit of truth, your needs and feelings are of no consequence. It does not matter on the football field which quarterback needs more to win the game, or which coach is a nice man.
When students or professors organize themselves into a slogan-shouting mob, even if it is a polite mob, a mob not intent upon bodily harm, they violate the rules of the quest for truth, because slogans are not rational propositions, and mobs are not persons possessed of a mind. When students or professors claim that to criticize them in certain ways is to commit violence, even lethal violence, against their persons and their right to exist, they shut down the pursuit of truth entirely. To use Milton's words, they kill reason in the eye. When students or professors seek blood—when they attempt to cast out of their midst the person who has so offended them, they are not true fighters but cheats, sneaking a razor under the wrestling suit, or spoil-sports, blowing up the boxing ring with a stink bomb. It is the weakling's way not to fight but to weasel out of the fight.
How far we are from the medieval university, the original intellectual fight club, we may consider, when no conceivable proposition regarding God and man, virtue and vice, escapes the notice of Thomas Aquinas and the essentially agonistic structure of the articles in his great summae. Thomas is celebrated for his capacity to state the opposing position more powerfully than the opponent himself could, and for defeating it anyway. It was not men of straw he leveled to the canvas with his thundering right cross, Sed contra! So also the medieval examination was a fight, in the presence of masters and of spectators who wanted to enjoy the competition, and the stakes were, according to their faith, infinite—nothing less than the salvation or damnation of human souls.
Which brings me to the peculiar feature of the masculine genius I have in mind here. We must fight, or we lose heart. Progressives themselves used to understand the distinction. So the radical British jurist Frederic Harrison, after praising women for their "tact, subtlety of observation, [and] refinement of mental habit," their "rapidity, agility, and sympathetic touch," went on to predicate of man "a greater capacity for prolonged attention, intense abstraction, wide range, extraordinary complication, immense endurance, intensity, variety, and majesty of will." I need not assent to every one of Harrison's predications—I am not sure about the wider "variety" of a man's passions. In the main, though, he is correct, and, allowing for the very occasional outlier, the intellectual habits he notices in men would be either useless or dangerous for the mother of a baby to possess. The mother must be sensitive to any small threat in the vicinity of the child; she must be sensitive and quick to react. She is the generalist, because, as Chesterton suggested, she must bring to the child the whole world; and I will add that she must do so for several of her children at once, children of different ages and inclinations. She makes the home a variegated garden.
The man is not so. He sees a mountain and wants to blast a tunnel through it. Pascal, said his sister, played with conic sections as other children played with toys, in what we might now call an abstraction almost autistic in its intensity. Thomas Edison found school impossible, so his mother took him out of it, and after she taught him to read, he was self-taught, and as a man quite self-absorbed, sleeping only a couple of hours a night, and often upon his laboratory table, not bothering to go home to wife and children. The football coach is absorbed in the movements of twenty two players simultaneously. The epic poet holds ten strands of plot and motif in suspension at once, as does the director of a movie, the composer of a symphony, the chess master, and the computer programmer. Michelangelo cashiers his helpers, obliterates his first attempts to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, and then reconceives the whole, alone, flat on his back on the scaffolding sixty feet from the ground. The basketball player Jerry Lucas sets himself to memorize the Manhattan telephone directory, while keeping in his mind a running tally of every statistic for every player, teammate or opponent, in every game he ever played. Milton himself conceives and executes Paradise Lost in the temple of his mind, because his eyes were dark; and so absorbed was he in this field to conquer, this song to build, he dreamed in composition, and when he awaked in the morning cried out to his daughters, his amanuenses, lest the lines he fashioned in his sleep vanish from his memory.
This intensity, this agony as I might call it, does not imply that the man in its grip is a genius pure and simple. Most are not, simpliciter. But is not only, as psychometricians have shown, that the standard deviation for intelligence in males is greater than it is for females, so that males dominate at the extreme ends of genius and idiocy. They also, I am persuaded by observation and by the lives of engineers, artists, composers, inventors, movie directors, chess masters, and others, manifest a greater degree of variance across the fields to which intelligence may be applied. The brilliant composer may be only fair at calculation. The brilliant mathematician may be slow of speech. Here is the point: they may well fail in school. Such people will find it stifling to have to divert their attention and their energy from the single object of their love to those things that frustrate them, or that they feel are of no consequence, regardless of how worthy the things may be in themselves. Give the boy who loves machines a car to work on and beneath, but do not then one hour later ask him to read The Secret Garden. He needs the liberty of his passionate desire.
Genius, especially in masculine form, is not a comfortable thing to be around. It is not safe. In males it is an arrow, a sword, an ax, a catapult, a thrust into the unknown, a blow against the impossible. It wrecks things. It must, to clear a space to build. We are not now talking only about cognition. We are also talking about aggression, conquest. I was a juggernaut of memory and number and language when I was young. Had any of my teachers noticed it and allowed me my liberty, I might have learned Latin and calculus by age twelve, rather than spending nine months of the year in a stifling room, doing nothing, conquering nothing. However slothful and dispiriting schools then were, they were regular havens of sanity by comparison with what young males must endure now, with little enough liberty for the action-craving of their bodies, and less liberty for the dynamism of the mind.
For when the works of male geniuses are despised, and when the boy is given little more than feminist oatmeal to consume, seasoned with cinnamon sugar and rat poison—a Handmaid's Tale here, and rainbow Angels in America there—what is there in the world for him to conquer? If he is given Milton, Milton stands up to him and against him as a challenge, a command. Milton, like Samson, cries out, "Young fool, come and try your strength with me! I have sounded heaven and hell." But he will not encounter Milton, not now. Melville, that cartographer of the dark latitudes and longitudes of the human soul, is difficult, pointedly difficult, as a harpoon is sharp and not easy of heft. Melville cries, "Come, young fool, you who know nothing of the world and nothing of man. I do not promise to teach you any tidy lesson that you can log and set aside. I come to bring you danger, and the world." But he will not encounter Melville. Thomas Aquinas says, calmly, "You know, in your heart, that you know nothing at all. Let us be honest. I will teach you. But you must think. You must use words with exactness. I will show you when an argument is sound and when it is not. But beware. Thinking is neither easy nor safe. Will you walk with me along the precipices, where an error in fact or in reasoning on either side leads to destruction?" But he will not encounter Thomas.
Yet he must wrestle with these men. He must, or he will die inside, and so will his culture. But he cannot do so in schools and colleges as they are now constituted. For the whole tenor of higher education now is hostile to hostility, and fearful of the agon. Its aim is not truth but etiquette writ large: the enforced propagation of what all the socially presentable people must hold and say. It does not thresh out the matter, and winnow truth from falsehood. It threshes the soul of man, and lets the resistant kernels fall. It gathers the chaff instead, that blows where the wind blows.
If you had asked me, thirty years ago, whether a coeducational college, without religious faith to remind people that truth must be sought above comfort and pleasure and sociability, could still be devoted to the agon, providing the arena for the masculine spirit to rouse itself and enjoy the good fight, I would have knit my brows and asked, "Why not?" I was young then, and the arena had not yet been entirely made over into the drawing room—though it was well on its way. I now believe that it is practically impossible. Women do not want it that way.
Therefore men must clear the space for the arena all over again. We need real universities, not vicious and expensive finishing schools. We need men who are unafraid to fight with their minds, and who, covered with dust and sweat and bleeding from the nose, acknowledge the essential goodness of the fight, and give honor to the worthy opponent, who may end up becoming the dynamic and mind-stretching friend. I believe that if men would but build the all-male intellectual enterprise and do so without apology, it would of itself adopt the character I have described. It would be agonistic and freedom-making, bracing and bold. And to all who would fear such a thing—the norm for all literate cultures until recently—I say this. If we do not hate the truth, we have nothing to fear from men devoted to its pursuit. If we are not skulkers, envying the great work of those who do what we cannot, we have nothing to fear from men inspired to conquest. The proper way to receive Milton or Melville is with gratitude, for they are men who have enriched us all.
Anthony Esolen is a Fellow and Writer in Residence at Thomas More College of the Liberal Arts, in Merrimack, New Hampshire. He is a translator of several epics, including Dante's Divine Comedy (Random House), and the author of more than twenty books. His most recent is Nostalgia: Going Home in a Homeless World (Regnery).


text:
Dems descend on McCarthy: Shut down Benghazi panel
By Julian Hattem - 09/30/15 02:37 PM EDT
© Greg Nash
House Democrats are pouncing on Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy Kevin Owen McCarthyThis week: House Dems voting to hold Barr, Ross in contempt Social media summit highlights partisan approaches on tech House Republicans dismissive of Paul Ryan's take on Trump MORE's (R-Calif.) public acknowledgement of the political value in the Select Committee on Benghazi and calling for GOP leaders to shut the panel down.
The Tuesday evening comments from McCarthy — the No. 2 House Republican and front-runner to be the next Speaker — confirmed long-held accusations that the panel has been little more than a political hit job for Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign, they say.
"Everybody thought Hillary Clinton was unbeatable, right? But we put together a Benghazi special committee, a select committee," he said on Fox News. "What are her numbers today? Her numbers are dropping. Why? Because she's untrustable."
"But no one would have known any of that had happened had we not fought and made that happen."
Now, multiple members of the panel want the committee closed.
"I believe it is time to end this investigation," committee member Rep. Linda Sánchez (D-Calif.) said in a statement.
She also called for McCarthy, committee Chairman Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) and Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) to "apologize" for "abusing the memories" of Ambassador Christopher Stevens and the three other Americans killed during the attack on a U.S. compound in the Libyan city in 2012.
"The decent thing to do is to wrap up the committee's work as soon as possible," said Rep. Tammy Duckworth Ladda (Tammy) Tammy DuckworthAdvocates push for EpiPens on flights after college student's mid-flight allergic reaction Overnight Defense: Woman accusing general of sexual assault willing to testify | Joint Chiefs pick warns against early Afghan withdrawal | Tensions rise after Iran tries to block British tanker Woman accusing Trump military nominee of sexual assault says she's willing to testify MORE (D-Ill.), another member of the committee and a 2016 Senate candidate. "[T]he majority leader's partisan disclosure breaks the promise we made to the victims' families to make sure a tragedy of this magnitude never happens again."
The comments also raise questions about McCarthy's ability to serve as the next leader of the House GOP. The California Republican has only been in Congress for fewer than 10 years, and his apparent off-the-cuff remarks likely inspired concern about whether he has been sufficiently tested to serve as Speaker of the House.
Matt Sparks, McCarthy's spokesman, denied that the Benghazi panel was politically motivated, and linked the congressional committee to the FBI's ongoing search of Clinton's personal server during her time as chief of the Department of State.
"These inquiries have nothing to do with politics and everything to do with the consequences of what the former secretary has done and her confusing, conflicting, and demonstrably false responses," he said.
Democrats have maligned the Benghazi panel since it was created last May, and have long alleged that it is merely a partisan effort to dig up dirt on Clinton as she marches toward the Democratic presidential nomination.
Rep. Adam Schiff Adam Bennett SchiffTrump knocks Mueller after deal struck for him to testify Mueller to give extended testimony after appearance postponed Mueller testimony likely to be delayed for one week MORE (D-Calif.), a member of the panel who also serves as the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, first called for the committee to be dismantled earlier this month.
Senior Democrats who are not on the panel also were quick to throw punches in the wake of McCarthy's Tuesday evening comments.
"Even those who wanted to give this committee the benefit of the doubt should now admit it's time to shut it down," said Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.), who serves as ranking member of the Foreign Affairs Committee.
"The circus needs to pack up and leave town."
The partisan sniping is only likely to increase in coming weeks, in the run-up to Clinton's scheduled open testimony in the Benghazi panel on Oct. 22.
Tags Kevin McCarthy Linda Sanchez Tammy Duckworth Adam Schiff Benghazi


text:
Грютвікен (, «Котельна затока») — найбільша китобійна станція у світі. Розташована на острові Південна Джорджія. Постійне населення відсутнє.

Географія
Грютвікен розташований на східному березі півострова Тетчер, біля невеликої затоки Кінг-Едуард (так і назвали «Грютвікен» спочатку), частина бухти Східний Камберланд на північно-східному узбережжі острову Південна Джорджія.

Клімат
Місто знаходиться у зоні антарктичних пустель. Найтепліший місяць — лютий із середньою температурою 6,7 °C (44 °F). Найхолодніший місяць — червень, із середньою температурою –1,1 °C (30 °F).

Історичні дані
Грютвікен є портом острову, а з 1909 р. тут знаходиться резиденція британського Магістрату і портове, митне, імміграційне, риболовне, поштове керівництво й адміністрація. Адміністративний комплекс Уряду Південної Джорджії розташований разом з науковою станцією Британської антарктичної служби на мисі Кінг-Едуард біля входу в однойменну затоку на відстані всього 800 метрів від китобійного селища (зазвичай також вважається частиною Грютвікена).

Китобійну базу збудували в 1904 р. 60 норвежців під керівництвом Карла Антона Ларсена незадовго після прибуття на острів 16 листопада. 24 грудня того ж року був запущений завод з виробництва китового жиру. Ларсен вибрав місце для китобійної бази під час попередніх відвідин цих місць в 1902 р. як капітан судна «Антарктик» шведської антарктичної експедиції під керівництвом Отто Норденскьольда.

Грютвікен був першою китобійною базою в Антарктиці. Спочатку належав Аргентинській рибній компанії «Pesca», заснованій Ларсеном. Коли фабрика почала приносити прибуток, нею зацікавилися британці, які згадали, що Південна Георгія належить їм. І вони змусили фабрику працювати з дозволу британців і сплачувати податок. Окрім того, вони прислали в Грютвікен свого губернатора, а в 1908 р. офіційно проголосили Фолкленди, Південну Джорджію, Південні Сандвічеві, Оркнейські  острови та Антарктичний півострів британською територією. Вони повторили це і в 1917 р. Ніхто тоді не наважився з цим сперечатися. Адже британці переконали китобоїв Ларсена піти під британську залежність стволами своїх корабельних гармат. З 1 січня 1906 р. Грютвікен працював з китобійною ліцензією, виданою губернатором Фолклендських островів, яку компанія отримала через британське посольство в Буенос-Айресі. Розпочалася бійня антарктичних морських велетнів. З 1907 р. до початку війни китобої добули 10 тис. особин китів різних видів. Намагаючись піти з-під нагляду британців, норвежці організовували плавучі китобійні фабрики, що з 1905 р. базувалися на Південних Шетлендах. Жир добутих китів транспортується до Пунта-Аренаса.

1960 р. Грютвікен був проданий компанії Албіон Стар (Південна Джорджія), причому в 1963—1964 базу орендувала японська китобійна компанія Кокусай Гьогьо кабусікігайся. Діяльність остаточно завершилася 4 грудня 1964 р. Як і інші китобійні станції на острові, з 1979 р. належить британській компанії Крістіан Сальвесен.

Регулярні метеорологічні спостереження в Грютвікені започаткував Карл Антон Ларсен в 1905 р. З 1907 р. проводились Аргентинською рибною компанією в співпраці з Аргентинським метеорологічним бюро, згідно з вимогами британської китобійної ліцензії, до зміни умов останньої в 1949 р.

Під час Фолклендського конфлікту, Грютвікен і Лейт Харбор були зайняті аргентинськими силами 3 квітня 1982 р. протягом двогодинної битви, у якій був пошкоджений аргентинський фрегат «Геріко» і збитий аргентинський вертоліт. Після 22-денної окупації аргентинський гарнізон капітулював без спротиву 25 квітня 1982 р., коли аргентинський підводний човен «Санта Фе» був пошкоджений і взятий в полон британським флотом біля острова.

Після конфлікту Велика Британія утримувала на мисі Кінг Едуард невеликий гарнізон морських піхотинців до березня 2001 р., коли Британська антарктична служба відновила контроль над своєю базою в Грютвікені.

В останні роки китобійна станція простоювала, після десятирічного простою була очищена від сміття і забруднення (нафто- і хімпродуктами і азбестом). Ряд споруд реставровані Урядом південної Джорджії для туристичних та інших цілей. Серед них — відома Норвезька церква, збудована в 1913 р., як і менеджерська вілла, віддана під Музей Південної Джорджії. Відремонтована також портова пристань підняті китобійні судна Албатрос і Діас, які до недавніх пір лежали на дні біля пристані. Є проєкт відновлення виробництва гідроенергетики на розташованій поруч штучній водоймі Гул Лейк.

Грютвікен — один з найпопулярніших туристичних об'єктів в Антарктиці, як через дивовижну картину навколишніх гір, льодовиків і фйордів, так через велику кількість історичних пам'яток, китобійної бази, на цвинтарі якої в 1922 р. похований відомий полярний дослідник сер Ернест Шеклтон. В Грютвікені народилась Сольвейг Гунбьорг Якобсен — перша людина, народжена в Антарктиці.

Див. також
 Історія Південної Джорджії і Південних Сандвічевих Островів
 Карл Антон Ларсен
 Сольвейг Гунбьорг Якобсен

Примітки

Посилання
 Офіційний вебсайт Південної Джорджії
 Антарктична станція Кінг Едуард Пойнт

Література
 Otto Nordenskjöld, Johan G. Andersson, Carl A. Larsen, Antarctica, or Two Years Among the Ice of the South Pole, London, Hurst & Blackett, 1905.
 South Georgia, Topographic map, 1:200000, DOS 610 Series, Directorate of Overseas Surveys, Tolworth, UK, 1958.
 Robert K. Headland, The Island of South Georgia, Cambridge University Press, 1984.

Антарктика
Південна Джорджія та Південні Сандвічеві острови
Південна Джорджія
Населені пункти, засновані 1904

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
require 'vk/api/methods'

module Vk
  module API
    class Ads < Vk::Schema::Namespace
      module Methods
        # Archives clients of an advertising agency.
        class DeleteClients < Schema::Method
          # @!group Properties

          self.open = false
          self.method = 'ads.deleteClients'

          # @method initialize(arguments)
          #   @param [Hash] arguments
          #   @option arguments [Integer] :account_id Advertising account ID.
          #   @option arguments [String] :ids Serialized JSON array with IDs of deleted clients.
          #   @return [Ads::Methods::DeleteClients]

          # @!group Arguments

          # @return [Integer] Advertising account ID.
          attribute :account_id, API::Types::Coercible::Int
          # @return [String] Serialized JSON array with IDs of deleted clients.
          attribute :ids, API::Types::Coercible::String
        end
      end
    end
  end
end

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
TechGeeze > Lenovo IdeaPad Y460p/Y560p notebooks and IdeaCentre K330 desktop released
Lenovo IdeaPad Y460p/Y560p notebooks and IdeaCentre K330 desktop released
TechGeeze.com December 10, 2010 5 min read
Lenovo have just launched its refreshed line-up of IdeaPad and IdeaCentre featuring Intel's latest Sandy Bridge CPUs. We got here a pair of new notebooks –the Lenovo IdeaPad Y460p and Y560p which is "14- and 15.5-inches respectively, with Intel's second-gen Core i7 "Sandy Bridge" processors, up to 750GB HDDs and up to 8GB of RAM; they can also be specified with Lenovo's RapidDrive, which combines a 32GB SSD with a regular hard-drive to boost system performance." As for the Lenovo IdeaCentre K330, it features options of Core i7 CPUs, up to 16GB of DDR3 memory, and twin RAID-0 hard-drives for up to 4TB of storage, optional DVD drive or Blu-ray and add-ons TV tuner.
On early January 11th next year you'll be able to grab (choice of metallic grey or white) Lenovo IdeaPad Y460p and Y560p laptops with starting price of $849, while the IdeaCentre K330 is priced at $699 for unknown early 2011 release date.
Lenovo Takes Multimedia Computing to New Heights with Three New Idea Products: IdeaPad Y460p, Y560p and IdeaCentre K330
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC – December 09, 2010: Lenovo (HKSE: 0992) (ADR: LNVGY) today introduced the IdeaPad Y460p, IdeaPad Y560p and IdeaCentre K330, which all sport high-performance processors and are packed with multimedia features. The new PCs are perfect for young adults who seek the ultimate multimedia experience for watching movies, listening to music and playing games.
"Lenovo is continuously expanding its product line to provide consumers with the latest advancements in multimedia and entertainment capabilities," said Dion Weisler, vice president, business operations, Lenovo. "The Y460p, Y560p and K330 all feature speedy performance and advanced processing in a sleek form factor. Immense storage and high-quality graphics make these ideal for those looking for a superior and easy multimedia experience."
IdeaPad Y460p and Y560p – High Performance Entertainment System in a Sleek Design
The powerful and stylish IdeaPad Y460p and IdeaPad Y560p are high-performance notebooks that come packed with top multimedia features, perfect for entertainment seekers, gamers or those consumers who are always creating content to share with friends. Featuring the Second Generation Intel® Core™ Processor family, these 14-inch and 15.6-inch PCs are available with up to Intel® Core™ i7 processors. With up to 750 GB HDD and up to 8GB DDR3 1333 memory, consumers now can store more movies, music and games while enjoying enhanced-application performance. Lenovo's RapidDrive feature combines 32GB SSD and HDD capacity to speed up system performance. The Y460p and Y560p, which come with 16:9 widescreen, also meet Lenovo's Windows 7 Enhanced Experience certification, providing up to 33 percent faster boot up and 50 percent faster shutdown time as well as rich multimedia capabilities and easy system maintenance tools.
Consumers who are looking for the ultimate entertainment setting will be pleased with the spectacular sound quality of the Y460p and Y560p, which is made possible by JBL speakers and Dolby® Home Theater™. The beautifully engineered notebooks come with OneKey™ Theater, allowing users to experience richer images and enhanced sound while watching movies with just the press of a button.
Available with a metal hairline etching exterior and the choice of two interiors, metallic grey and white, the Y460p and Y560p are designed for easy use with a one-handed hinge open feature and user-friendly ports. Other key features include OneKey Rescue and Lenovo's VeriFace™ face recognition.
IdeaCentre K330 – The Power Performance Desktop
The all new IdeaCentre K330 desktop is the ideal PC for consumers who want the most thorough computing experience and desire the very best in aesthetics and high-performance capabilities. Boasting a sleek and powerful design with a metallic and vibrant color scheme, the K330 features up to Intel® Core™ i7 processors with Intel® Turbo Boost Technology 2.0. This ultimate desktop experience comes with up to 16GB DDR3 memory, increasing user multi-tasking capabilities, twin RAID0-configured hard disk drives1 and up to 4TB HDD storage, providing plenty of space for multimedia.
The K330 desktop is packed with fun-enabling features to maximize time spent gaming, surfing the Web and utilizing all of its multimedia attributes. The Power Control Switch provides easy changing between three convenient power modes for the fan and CPU speed – Turbo Red for high speed and power performance, Auto Blue for regular operation and Cool Green for the silent, energy-saving mode. The entertainment doesn't stop with the K330, thanks to advanced features, including an integrated DVD or Blu-ray Disc™ drive, optional TV Tuner and HD graphics support. With full HD 1920×1080 resolution and DirectX 11 graphics, users can experience vibrant video imaging and high-power gaming effects.
The IdeaCentre K330 also features the Lenovo Dynamic Brightness System2 to adjust screen brightness based on ambient light and the Lenovo Eye Distance System3 to alert users when they are too close to the screen for ultimate eye protection. The OneKey Recovery makes data backup and recovery a simple one-touch task while the tool-free CPU design eliminates the need to use a screwdriver to open the K330 so upgrades and replacements are quick and easy.
Pricing and Availability4
The Lenovo IdeaPad Y460p and Y560p laptops are available beginning January 11, 2011 and will start at $849. The IdeaCentre K330 will be available in early 2011 and will start at $699. All of the devices will be available on Lenovo.com.
For the latest Lenovo news, subscribe to Lenovo RSS feeds or follow Lenovo on Twitter and Facebook.
Lenovo (HKSE: 0992) (ADR: LNVGY) is dedicated to building exceptionally engineered personal computers. Lenovo's business model is built on innovation, operational efficiency and customer satisfaction as well as a focus on investment in emerging markets. Formed by Lenovo Group's acquisition of the former IBM Personal Computing Division, the company develops, manufactures and markets reliable, high-quality, secure and easy-to-use technology products and services worldwide. Lenovo has major research centers in Yamato, Japan; Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, China; and Raleigh, North Carolina. For more information see www.lenovo.com.
1 Optional feature; requires using twin-matching hard drives.
2 Requires Lenovo monitor with webcam.
3 Requires Lenovo webcam. Prices do not include tax or shipping and are subject to change without notice and is tied to specific terms and conditions. Reseller prices may vary. Price does not include all advertised features. All offers subject to availability. Lenovo reserves the right to alter product offerings and specifications at any time without notice.
4 Prices do not include tax or shipping and are subject to change without notice and is tied to specific terms and conditions. Reseller prices may vary. Price does not include all advertised features. All offers subject to availability. Lenovo reserves the right to alter product offerings and specifications at any time without notice.
Tags: Computers Gadgets Hardware Industry News Lenovo Technology


Monday night our local school district – where I live, not where I work – hosted a district wide STEAMFest and I took my family, but I also went to scope things out – as one does. Overall, this was a well crafted event that I would love to host (on a slightly smaller scale) at my local library.
This event was set at the local high school so they had way more space then many public libraries would traditionally have, depending on the size of your library. They had hallways, cafeterias, band rooms and outside quads and they made really good use of this space. All in all they had more than 20 stations set up and sometimes what appeared to be one station was multiple stations in one station. For example, the band room was set up as a MakerSpace so there were several stations within this one room. Similarly in the gym, they had life size chess, cardboard city, and some exhibitors. So scale will definitely depending on the size of your library. But if you have the means, I highly recommend it.
Outside they had a petting zoo, water balloon slingshot, band performances and food trucks. The addition of the food trucks was a really great idea as people stayed longer and were engaged. They also had concession sales inside. My family was there for the entire 5 hours (though they ran out of supplies at some stations before we got to them).
The district obviously spent some time in planning this event as it was well organized. They had great signage and clearly labelled maps telling you where each station was. Every volunteer had a coordinated t-shirt so they could clearly be identified. Volunteers had clearly outlined shifts to help cover throughout the event, which lasted from 4 to 9 PM. Various student groups rotated in and out as greeters.
I had the opportunity to talk with the school superintendent and asked if they had a grant, which I was surprised to learn they did not. They had many local business sponsors, who had tables set up throughout the event. For example, the Slime Time table had signage that said they were sponsored by a local insurance agent and then across from that station the agent had a table set up with information about their business. I'm not sure of the overall cost of the event, though I do know that the Escape the Bus web page says the bus is $3,500 for one day. Many of the other materials they already had in the various schools. There would have been money spent on things like signage, the t-shirts and more, but with the local business sponsors they probably didn't spend as much money as you would guess an event of this magnitude would cost.
As I mentioned, I did have an opportunity to talk with the superintendent and she emphasized that the reason they were hosting this event was to engage the community and raise awareness of and interest in science and the arts. We are a sport heavy community without a lot of local science and arts resources so our community really needed this event. I love the mission and feel that they really succeeded.
I took pictures throughout the day (until my phone died) and immediately went to my assistant director proclaiming that we could – and should – do a scaled down version of this event for our local community. I say scaled down because we are a much smaller facility with a much smaller budget. But with our Teen MakerSpace already in place, we have a lot of the tools we could use already in place. The staffing and space would actually be our biggest stumbling block.


Thanks for your message, and congratulations on your acceptance to Allegheny College. Selection of a college is important, so I understand why you want to get it right. I will be glad to give you some heartfelt observations about Allegheny that may be helpful to you.
Allegheny is an unusually open and friendly place. People here are genuine, there is no "better-than-you" attitude, and faculty, staff, and students are all included in that characterization. There is a culture of modesty and respect that I also see in our alumni, no matter how accomplished they are or how important their positions. For example, we have corporate chief executives, famous physicians (including the one who performed the first totally implantable heart transplant), multi-millionaires, schoolteachers, preachers, social workers, and Peace Corps volunteers. I have met hundreds upon hundreds, and they all share a level of modesty, courtesy, and human caring that I find remarkable. That speaks very well for the values this College espouses and practices.
But Allegheny also has high standards and expectations. The faculty are superbly educated, very accomplished, and hard working—they win awards and research grants, are master teachers, and are active in the life of the College. They expect a lot of their students yet they are also there to inspire and aid students. The development of students at Allegheny over their four years here is amazing. Graduates and their parents often comment about how much they progressed in their years at Allegheny and how they were prepared for a life of challenge, learning, and enjoyment. I keep a file of letters and e-mails I get about this, and the file has become very thick over the years!
Allegheny is highly respected by the outside world as a place where one can get a first-rate education. One of the reasons is our senior project ("comp") for every student. What a great way to learn with a faculty mentor or two! Personalized projects that are student-driven and often turn out to be of graduate school quality—yes, you too can and will be able to perform such a project here. Our students learn to think, write, and speak effectively and persuasively, and they become leaders in their professions and in their communities. The recent National Study of Student Engagement (NSSE) shows Allegheny to be among the very top colleges in academics and faculty-student interaction. We are very gratified that this independently conducted and highly respected study has confirmed the quality of the educational experience we provide.
I hope my spontaneous ramblings might provide some additional insight into what type of place Allegheny College is. I wish you my very best as you make your choice. Whatever your decision, I know you have a bright future, and maybe Allegheny will play a role in it.
This issue was featured in the Winter/Spring 2008 issue of Allegheny Magazine.


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text:
10/21/17-Carmine to Richards, TX
October 22, 2017 October 24, 2017 ~ Eileen Hardy
What is the eastern boundary of Texas hill country? Someone please tell me.
Last night, we slept in a spot that was muggy and mosquito infested. To survive being outside our tents, we had to be coated in 100% Deet, so by the time I get home, I may have a third eye. We've been told that they get worse as we move east from here.
We went to bed expecting rain this morning and were pleasantly surprised that the weather forecast was wrong. The rain never materialized, and I nstead of rain, we had cool temperatures and clouds, but humidity that was off the chart. We were drenched in sweat the entire day, especially when the sun came out of the clouds and it heated up. On a related note, at least 4 of our group have had an increase in leg cramps in the last 24 hours, and we theorize that not drinking enough water in the humidity is the cause.
Today's route was about 60% bucolic country lanes and 40% highways. Hitting the road at 7:55 AMs, Ed and I pulled out of the RV park with Tim C and Erwin, but they immediately ditched us. So we rode on. Within an hour, we caught up to Joe and Tom R, who were enjoying some extended country lanes.
These lop eared cows are Brahma bulls
About half way into the ride, we pulled into the town of Independence, home of Sam Houston and the place where Baylor University got its start.
What's left standing of the entry to the original Baylor, and what it used to look like back in the day
The dog trot house aside San Houston's house
We spent some time roaming around the "ruins" of former buildings and reading their stories, then stopped for treats at the grocery store–the only historic building that is still in use.
The store facade was made to look like the Alamo
A couple of hours later, we arrived Navasota and Miller's, the local ice cream place. We needed a break, and ice cream was calling out to us.
I didn't know how I was going to get Ken and Ed out of that place. They each had a 3-course snack, then Ed started dozing off, then I started sizing off…..that's when we knew we needed to get back on the road again.
Several dozen long, steep, painful hill climbs later, we passed through Anderson to catch their Confederate monument. How much longer do you think it will be allowed to stand across from the courthouse?
Still more crazy hills later, we pulled into Checkpoint Harley @ Mexican Hill Ranch, our destination for the night. The owners, Doris and Ernie, had two huge ice chests of Gatoraide and water waiting for us under a pavilion, and tables and chairs set up for us to cool off on. This was going to be a great stay.
While I was showering, Cathy and Cindy, two gals who rode the Southern Tiet last year, brought us homemade lasagne and spinach salad for dinner. It was fun sharing stories with them. Then we buttoned down tight for a storm expected to arrive during the night.
‹ Previous10/20/17 – Bastrop State Park to Carmine, TX
Next ›10/22/17 – Richards to Shepherd, TX
2 thoughts on "10/21/17-Carmine to Richards, TX"
Hi Eileen. It sounds like the ride is continuing to go well. Yes, there are new obstacles to overcome each day. But you seem to be taking those in stride and are still able to appreciate new discoveries. It's really cool how many people have gone out of their way to welcome your little group of travellers. Doris, Ernie, Cathy and Cindy were prime examples of that hospitality at the Mexican Hill Ranch. Stay safe and enjoy the ride! Charlie.
Eileen Hardy says:
They are the tip of the iceberg!
We keep meeting fabulous people. Last night it was the widow of our ride lrader's brother letting us camp in her yard, shower in her house, do our laundry, and on top of that, she prepared a delicious dinner–for 10 of us!
Tonight, a group of people in Merryville, LA made us dinner and spent the evening with us just because they enjoy cyclists from all over the world. And they aren't even athletic.
I am really enjoying the experience, but when it's over, I'll need to find a way to pay it forward.


Learning how to pull off a manual can make your riding smoother, faster and more effortless. David Webster shows you how.
This skills series is designed to introduce and develop key trail riding skills that many find impossible to grasp or maybe have never even heard of. This is the stuff that good riders do without thinking, and what many of us do intermittently when we have that perfect day on our favourite trail.
The advanced technique, which builds on the basic steps described in previous articles [see related articles], involves holding a manual for longer, using your legs and hips to maintain balance. This will enable you to manual further, and to use your manual to take on more substantial/technical obstacles out on the trail.
1] Set your weight slightly back from centre, straightening out your arms as you do. You're aiming to have the widest part of your saddle in contact with your inner thighs, thereby partially unweighting the front wheel.
2] Then with straight arms, rock your weight dynamically forward, with the aim of loading weight on to the front of the bike.
3] Seamlessly, and still with straight arms, dynamically rock your weight back. Aim to get the wheel a kerb's height clear of the floor.
4] Once the front wheel comes up, use your legs to gently push the bike (and back wheel) from underneath you so you can lift the front wheel up to the balance point. This is the point at which you and the bike reach an equilibrium – it will feel almost effortless to hold the position. Use gentle braking if you go past the balance point (loop out backwards) to lower the front wheel, should you need.
5] Once at the balance point, maintain this balance by either extending your legs if the front wheel begins to drop, or tuck in your hips to keep the bike steady if the balance point tips too far backwards. Getting this right takes time and a lot of patience.


Canadian Hockey League Commissioner David Branch listens during a press conference in Calgary, on Thursday Aug. 29, 2008.
The suit claims players have been paid less than the minimum wage required by law in their regions and asks for $180-million in back wages, overtime and vacation pay, as well as punitive damages.
There are 60 teams in the CHL stretching from Victoria to Halifax as well as eight teams based in the United States. More than 1,300 players ranging from age 16 to 20 play in the CHL's leagues, which comprise both privately owned and community-owned clubs. Teams such as the Calgary Hitmen and Edmonton Oil Kings are owned by the NHL team in their respective cities.
The lawsuit is the latest labour shot across the major junior hockey's bow. An attempt to unionize major junior players stalled in 2012, but Canada's largest private sector union Unifor expressed interest in July in representing the players in the future.
The crux of the lawsuit isn't whether the players are professional or amateur, but whether they are employees of their teams or "independent contractors."
"The big question is whether the players are employees within the meaning of minimum-age legislation across the country versus an independent contractor," said Toronto lawyer Ted Charney, who is representing the players. "If the judge hearing the class action decides they're employees, in my opinion, there is a breach of legislation across the country."
"They're amateur student-athletes," Branch said in an interview Monday. "We'll certainly vigorously defend ourselves because this could not only in our view have a negative effect on hockey in Canada, but through all sports in which amateur student-athletes are involved."
Charney disagrees with the Branch's description of the players.
"It's hardly an amateur league," Charney said. "The league is in the business of making profits, which they do, significant profits off the services provided by the players who get basically zilch in terms of services.
"Normally an amateur athlete plays a sport for a university or a school and they have amateur standing and the school or university doesn't compensate them for their services. Here they're actually getting a fee. The problem with the fee is it's not minimum wage."
Branch says the CHL paid out more than $6-million in post-secondary scholarships to 579 players last season.
"We have an education program unmatched in amateur sport," he said. "We believe it's the best scholarship program in North America. We've invested for the player in extensive health and safety programs, anti-doping and drug education.
"We are into developing and executing a mental health program in partnership with the Canadian Mental Health Association to support our players. In addition to that while playing in our league, all their expenses are covered — equipment, billeting, travel costs and so forth."
Former OHL player Sam Berg is the one named plaintiff in the suit. The son of former Toronto Maple Leaf Bill Berg says the OHL's Niagara IceDogs breached the player agreement he signed in August 2013.
"At the moment, current players have been very hesitant to come forward because they feel it will impact their ability to play on their team and their relationship with the league and their potential to be drafted into the professional hockey leagues," he said. "They've been very reluctant to come forward as the lead plaintiffs in this class action.
"We anticipate now that the case has started, some of the players will register with us and give us their information which we will keep confidential.
"It's very hard to participate in a lawsuit against your employer while you're still working for them. That's an element of this case that will be a challenge, but the way it works in class actions is everybody who is in the class action gets the benefit of the result unless they opt out of the class action."
"I wouldn't even want to comment in that area," he said.


I'm curious what my writing would look like if I continued to write predominantly in cursive. I write differently when I write on a word processor versus when I write by hand. I'm less likely to use run on sentences, and it's easier to rearrange characters in order to clarify a message. In 2009 grade schools had the option to stop teaching cursive. This generation has always felt more comfortable with a computer than with a wide-ruled notebook. Will that have an effect on the content they produce? Could it be positive?
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text:
´Glamarous´ Alize Cornet all class for New Year&acutes Eve
by VISHAL GAJARIA | VIEW 8389
Its five years since Alize Cornet has had the white sand of Cottesloe Beach between her toes but sunning herself seaside is top of the French No.1's to-do list on her return to Perth. There's also the small matter of hitting a few tennis balls for her country in between.
According to the HopmanCup.com, the glamorous 23-year-old is making her second Hopman Cup appearance, this time alongside Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, and spent more than an hour surrounded by leading Perth designers helping her choose an ensemble ahead of the annual New Year's Eve ball.
Quick to laugh at word of Tsonga refusing to get his feet wet on the beach last year, Cornet made it clear that while she had an affinity for Perth's iconic shoreline; it was more for the sand and the sun than the Indian Ocean.
"No… No, I don't put one foot in the water," she laughed. "I am aware of the shark and I know there is some of them here looking for some people to, I don't know, eat so I'm looking to go there to tan, lay there on the sand.
No foot in the water this time. "I'm really looking forward to going back to the beaches because I remember five years ago with Gilles (Simon) I went there and I really loved it. Everything there, it was so relaxed and so beautiful so I think during my day off I will go there again and just enjoy this beautiful part of Perth." Is it possible the French players share a common phobia of the monsters of the deep? "Yes, we have a very good taste.
We ate a lot of very good food but I think the shark will appreciate us so I don't want to try," she laughed. Cornet comes off her second best season to date, where she won her third career title, at Strasbourg, and finished the year ranked 27th.
A run to the fourth round of the 2009 Australian Open would put her well on track to achieving a return to the top 20. "(It) was a great year again for me, I beat some top 20 players, I won a tournament, I went back in the top 30… so I hope to make the top 20 in the next month," she said.
"Of course the big goal is the Australian Open… but then I have as well here and Sydney. We want to win this tournament with Jo." The Hopman Cup marks the first time Cornet has played mixed doubles with the athletic world No.10, Tsonga.
And while she admits the pair doesn't actually know each other overly well, that is not about to stop her dishing out advice when they combine on court. "It's the only French player I don't know so well so yesterday we had dinner together, try to get to know each other better and he's a really nice guy.
I think we're going to have fun together when we play doubles," she said. And her No.1 tip over dinner? "Just that he has to listen to me; no I'm kidding," she laughed. "I know he doesn't dare to hit the girl at the net he tells me that he's scared to hurt the girl and I said 'You know, if you want to win, at one point you have to be aggressive and hit the girl if you have to' and he tell me, 'No, no, I cannot do that, you will have to force me'." The pair will be among the first players to take the court in 2014 when they square off against the United States on New Year's Day.
If Tsonga wants to keep his teammate on side ahead of the clash he would do well to remember to compliment his countrywoman on her Hopman Cup Ball attire. "I tell Jo not to make fun of me when I appear on the red carpet. We'll see how he looks himself," Cornet said. (Hopman Cup)
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