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George Jeffreys has died
We are at Reading for the meetings with the A.o.G. [Assemblies of God] Church, Wokingham Road. We have meetings tomorrow with the Victorious Church of God [West Indian] at St. John's Institute at 11.00am and 6.30pm, and an After-Church Rally at the Town Hall at 8.00pm, with a final meeting on Monday at 6.45pm at Mount Zion, before returning to Chepstow for the fourth and final week of the Crusade there.
Bill Thomas drove us here this morning, Mr & Mrs North accompanying us so that they could go to meetings at the Bungalow. [This is next door to Mount Zion where some disaffected members have set up a rival church.] We went into Reading town centre this afternoon and Freda bought a nightdress.
I preached tonight on The March of Deliverance (2 Kings 6:24–7:20), during which I happened to mention George Jeffreys. [620127a.jpg] After the service, one of the congregation asked if we knew that George Jeffreys had died. It was a great shock, I can hardly believe it. Apparently he died yesterday morning [the day my niece Rebecca Jane Julia Dugan was born at 5.30am] while we were at Chepstow, and the news of his death was in this morning's papers.
George Jeffreys packed the largest halls and auditoriums in the British Isles, including the Royal Albert Hall 49 times from 1926 until 1939. His meetings in Birmingham were phenomenal, starting in a small chapel in Steelhouse Lane (somewhere opposite where the Gaumont now stands), then at the Town Hall; from there to the Skating Rink in Walford Road, and finally to Bingley Hall where 10,000 came every night. 10,000 souls were won for Christ and 1,100 were baptised in water. Almost every Pentecostal Church in the Birmingham area owes its origin to that one Crusade.
Stephen and George Jeffreys were the greatest evangelists of their day, Stephen [620127b.jpg] was born in Maesteg on Saturday 2nd September 1876, and George [620127c.jpg] on Thursday 28th February 1889 and both were converted in the great Welsh Revival of 1904. Stephen lived for a while in Birmingham with Pastor Every, but I don't know exactly where. I heard that when he died on 17th November 1943 he was pitifully emaciated, He used to preach for weeks on end, and prayed for so many people that he lost vital salts from his body through perspiration.
Principal would have been 73 next month, but he had sugar diabetes caused, I am sure, by the sorrow he felt over the split with Elim. I treasure the fellowship we enjoyed with him, receiving from him the laying-on of hands at my ordination, sharing with him in ministry to the sick at the City Temple, and sitting on his platform at the Central Hall, Westminster last Easter.
I asked Pastor Down what it was that Stephen and George Jeffreys had in their ministry that Peter Scothern and I do not have in ours, and he said "Nothing, but they were different days." But I do believe we are come to the kingdom for such a time as this, and I pray that the Lord shall bless us even as he did dear Principal.
The story of George Jeffreys is told in George Jeffreys — a Ministry of the Miraculous [jpg] by Ernest C.W. Boulton (Elim Publishing Office, 1928), George Jeffreys Man of God — the Story of a Phenomenal Ministry by Albert W. Edsor (Ludgate Press Ltd., 1964) and Set Your House in Order — God's Call to George Jeffreys as the Founder of the Elim Pentecostal Movement by Albert W. Edsor (New Wine Press, 1989). The split from Elim is the theme of Fight for THe Faith and Freedom by Noel Brooks (The Pattern Bookroom, 1956), and is dealt with at length in Sects and Society by Bryan R. Wilson (William Heinemann Ltd., 1961). The best eye-witness account of George Jeffreys' ministry and of a personal interview is to be found in God is My Adventure — A Book on Modern Mystics, Masters and Teachers [jpg] by Rom Landau [jpg] (Ivor Nicholson and Watson Limited, 1935) under the chapter "Miracle at the Albert Hall". Other chapters of the book are devoted to (among others) Rudolf Steiner, Krishnamurti, Frank Buchman, P.D. Ouspensky and Gurdjieff. It is unfortunate that the chapter on George Jeffreys has been omitted from a more recent reprint of Rom Landau's book.
Previous chapter || Next chapter || Index || Search webwork by Jim Nagel at Abbey Press, Glastonbury — this edition published 2007-06-30


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Redditch – dystrykt w hrabstwie Worcestershire w Anglii. W 2011 roku dystrykt liczył 84 214 mieszkańców.

Miasta
 Redditch

Civil parishes
 Feckenham.

Przypisy

Dystrykty hrabstwa Worcestershire

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Welcome to Stamp It Group Valentines Day Blog Hop. We are all using current Stampin Up Product. I'm Linda Cullen from Massachusetts, USA and you are visiting my blog Crafty Stampin'. At the bottom of my post, you will find a list of all the participating blog hoppers so you can move along from blog to blog and see all the fantastic projects. Make sure to leave a comment on each blog with the hashtag #stampitcontest to be entered to win the Lots of Happy Card Kit!
For today's Spring Fling Blog Hop, I decided to make a spring sampler page. I've always wanted to make a sampler page and I have several Pinterest boards dedicated to samplers but I've just never made one for myself. I decided to try to create one of all the images that make me think of spring: Bugs, birds, outdoor activities, April showers and May flowers. I use soooo many different stamp sets and thinlits, but I think it was worth it!!
Start with at 12 x 12 Whisper White panel that I cut to 9″x9″ to fit the frame I had. The hardest part of this entire project was figuring out what size to make the 9 square panels and lining them up perfectly. The Crumb Cake squares were cut with the 2nd largest square from the Layering Square Framelits Dies, and the Whisper White were cut with the 3rd largest. I tried to stay mostly in the Subtles color family for the color palette.
For the first square uses the hot balloons from the Lift Me Up stamp set and the matching Up & Away Thinlits. The hot air balloons are Calypso Coral & Pool Party.
I created trees with the trunk from the Tree Builder Punch in Chocolate Chip and the "leaves" are from the Swirly Scribbles Thinlits Dies in Lemon Lime Twist and So Saffron to depict the soft colors of early spring trees.
Nothing like a spring bike ride with the Bide Ride Stamp set and matching Build a Bide Framelits Dies. The bike is Wisteria Wonder and Basic Gray the flower basket is Crumb Cake and Chocolate Chip and the flowers are Memento Tuxedo Black, Flirty Flamingo, and Wild Wasabi.
My spring momma bird and chick are from the Best Birds Stamp Set and matching Birds & Blooms Thinlits Dies. The brand is colored with Stampin Write Markers in Chocolate Chip & Wild Wasabi. Momma & baby bird are cut from Soft Sky card stock with Marina Mist, Whisper White and Chocolate Chip ink added with Sponge Daubers for detail.
The future so bright, I gotta wear shades. The sunglasses are from the Pocketful of Sunshine Stamp Set are stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black Ink on Marina Mist cardstock and cut with the matching Pocket Framelits Dies. The sun is part of the Sale-a-bration Amazing You Stamp Set in So Saffron.
April Showers … The umbrella is from the Umbrella Weather Framelits Dies in Calypso Coral and Soft Suede card stock. The raindrops come from the matching Weather Together Stamp Set.
…bring May Flowers. The flowers are from the Bouquet Bunch Framelits Dies in Calypso Coral and Lemon Lime Twist cardstock.
And with Flowers comes the bug to pollinate. The background is from the Birthday Blossoms Stamp Set in Wisteria Wonder. The dragonfly is stamped in Whisper White and Vellum cardstock in Memento Tuxedo Black ink and embossed with Clear Embossing Powder on the Vellum Cardstock then both images are cut with the matching Detailed Dragonfly Thinlits Dies and attach together with Mini Stampin Dimensionals, and then attach to the panel with Mini Glue Dots.
The final panel is a picnic basket from the Picnic Basket Builder Framelits Dies in Soft Suede with the wine bottle from the matching Picnic With You Stamp Set in So Saffron. The grass is also from the Picnic Basket Builder in Lemon Lime Twist. My "large" strawberries are from the Fruit Basket Stamp Set in Real Red and Lemon Lime Twist and punch out with the matching strawberry punch from the Itty Bitty Fruit Punch Pack.
I love how the sampler page came together and might not my last one.
What a gorgeous spring project!!
That is a lot of work, but it is gorgeous!
Simply amazing Linda. Love all the detail you put into each element.
Linda, love it. I always enjoy your tutorials. Thank you.
#stampitcontest – Wowzers, that is an awesome Spring Sampler, you put so much work in to it. Great Job !!
#stampitcontest Just Love Your Cards and Projects. Thank You and Great Job.
#stampitcontest I love your cards.
Your sampler page is amazing, Linda! Thank you for sharing!
#stampitcontest. You never disappoint! Awesome card!
You have given me some ideas on how to use some of my framelit dies! What a neat project!
Some day I will get brave enough to attempt a sampler.
I Love your window sampler. That bike and basket of strawberries are my favorite, simply beautiful. Thanks for sharing.
What a beautiful ,over the top project!!! You really knocked this one out of the park!!!
Cool project turned out great!
LOVE your project Linda, and awesome blog hop!
Absolutely looks like spring to me! Great project.
This card is amazing. You really put a lot of work into it. But worth every minute.
This is super adorable, but we are talking about you. Thanks for always sharing your talent. And being beautiful inside and out.
Loving the dragonfly. Cute idea.
Love your sampler page! Very fun project!
#stampitcontest Wow! You are SO creative, putting all these different elements to make a spring shadow box. I lone it!!!
#stampitcontest What a truly awesome piece of art!


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Skrillex reveals new album is almost ready
Skrillex has revealed that his next album is almost finished.
Taking to Instagram, he revealed in a story that he's currently working on "final mixes" for the record, which would be his first since 2014's 'Recess'. Fans have waited a number of years for a new full-length project from Sonny Moore, and his social media post has further hinted that we may be getting more than one album from him this year, describing the almost finished project as "this first album".
Referencing the COVID-19 pandemic, he added: "My biggest roadblock due to all this has definitely been postponing some music video shoots. But I'm feeling a bit heavy about all these people without jobs right now."
It's not yet known when the album might be released with the coronavirus crisis potentially placing significant strains on plans. Speaking to Zane Lowe's Beats 1 radio show in January, Skrillex did reveal though that working on this album was the first time he'd been able to take some time out and work on a full-length project while not on the road.
You can see a screenshot of his Instagram post below.
Last month, Skrillex and Noisia revealed that they are working on new music together, while late last year, he reflected on the musical trends of the last decade in an interview.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Cristiano Ronaldo's double against Arsenal on Tuesday saw Manchester United become the first team to reach this year's Champions League final.
It ended 3-1 on the night in the second leg of the semi-final at the Emirates, ensuring United progress to 4-1 overall.
It was Ronaldo who was the key. First, the Portugese helped Ji-Sung Park put the Red Devils ahead just eight minutes into the game. Then he netted himself with a free-kick just a couple of minutes later.
He then secured a brace, making it 3-0 after the break, before Robin Van Persie got one back for Arsenal from the penalty spot.
Afterwards Fergie singled out Ronaldo, but the United boss and the players also stressed their ability to play as a team.
"I thought tonight they could never handle him (Ronaldo). I thought that was… it made a difference to us. Yes, we've got a midfield working their socks off, and we had good shape, good defensive positions covered, but we needed someone to give them real problems, and Ronald on that form, well, he's a fantastic player," Sir Alex Ferguson said.
Poor old Arsene Wenger had said before the game he thought his side had the ability to beat United. But he was generous in defeat.
"It's part of football, what happened tonight. Of course, that you don't plan, but we have to stand up to it, and finish the season well, and respond on Sunday against Chelsea. That's all, you can talk all night, you cannot change the mistakes now, and that's the game. and man, United I must say, over the two games deserved to go through, because the game could have been over in the first game," he said.
United will meet either Chelsea or Barcelona in the final in Rome. Those two sides play in the other semi-final tonight at Stamford Bridge.
Midfielder Deco and defender Ricardo Carvalho are injured, while Alex and Micahel Essien should be back fit.
The first leg finished goalless at the Camp Nou. And despite Barca knocking six goals past Real Madrid last weekend, Chelsea think they can stop their frontline again, as well as score themselves.
"We have to play very intelligent against the top team in Europe now. They are top and very hot in Europe, so we have to play very intelligent. The slightest error will be punished. On the other hand, I think you must not play without any emotions because it might then put on a little bit the break on your own performance. If you can combine both, then you have a very good game," Chelsea's helmsman Guus Hiddink said.


a type of histamine receptor on various kinds of cells through which histamine mediates bronchial constriction in asthma and GI constriction in diarrhea. See also histamine blocking agent.
H2 receptor increases cyclic adenosine monophosphate concentration in smooth muscle and causes their relaxation.
Famotidine, a histamine h2 receptor antagonist, does not reduce levodopa-induced dyskinesia in parkinson's disease: A proof-of-concept study.
Research analysed information from national databases of the US Department of Veterans Affairs, identifying 173,321 new users of PPIs and 20,270 new users of histamine H2 receptor blockers.
Patients with retero-sternal burning or pain epigastrium aggravating on empty stomach or after meals with normal serial ECGs and x-ray chest were given trial of H2 receptor blocker.
Pharmaceutical agents that are used to prevent complications and reduce morbidity in patients with GERD include antacids, H2 receptor antagonists, proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), and prokinetic agents.
H2 receptor antagonists are still the first line of therapy in treating gastro esophageal reflux diseases as well as other ulcers of the upper gastrointestinal tract.
None of the controls included was on antimicrobial agents, H2 receptor antagonist or proton-pump inhibitor for at least last 4 weeks.
Efficacy of histamine H1 and H2 receptor blockers in the anesthetic management during operation for hydatidcyst of liver and lungs.
The newly discovered H2 receptor antagonists worked better.
Acid-suppressing medications, including Proton pump inhibitors (PPI) and H2 receptor antagonists (H2RA), are among the most commonly used medications in developed countries.
in 2012, and countless millions of over-the-counter purchases of the proton-pump inhibitors (PPIs) and H2 receptor antagonists (H2RA), about 60 to 70 percent are consumed needlessly, according to Dr.
Famotidine works by blocking the histamine H2 receptor.


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Concept: Intramembranous ossification
Vitamin C prevents hypogonadal bone loss.
Epidemiologic studies correlate low vitamin C intake with bone loss. The genetic deletion of enzymes involved in de novo vitamin C synthesis in mice, likewise, causes severe osteoporosis. However, very few studies have evaluated a protective role of this dietary supplement on the skeleton. Here, we show that the ingestion of vitamin C prevents the low-turnover bone loss following ovariectomy in mice. We show that this prevention in areal bone mineral density and micro-CT parameters results from the stimulation of bone formation, demonstrable in vivo by histomorphometry, bone marker measurements, and quantitative PCR. Notably, the reductions in the bone formation rate, plasma osteocalcin levels, and ex vivo osteoblast gene expression 8 weeks post-ovariectomy are all returned to levels of sham-operated controls. The study establishes vitamin C as a skeletal anabolic agent.
Concepts: DNA, Osteoporosis, Bone, Gene, Genetics, Molecular biology, Skeletal system, Intramembranous ossification
Estrogen receptor-α signaling in osteoblast progenitors stimulates cortical bone accrual
The detection of estrogen receptor-α (ERα) in osteoblasts and osteoclasts over 20 years ago suggested that direct effects of estrogens on both of these cell types are responsible for their beneficial effects on the skeleton, but the role of ERα in osteoblast lineage cells has remained elusive. In addition, estrogen activation of ERα in osteoclasts can only account for the protective effect of estrogens on the cancellous, but not the cortical, bone compartment that represents 80% of the entire skeleton. Here, we deleted ERα at different stages of differentiation in murine osteoblast lineage cells. We found that ERα in osteoblast progenitors expressing Osterix1 (Osx1) potentiates Wnt/β-catenin signaling, thereby increasing proliferation and differentiation of periosteal cells. Further, this signaling pathway was required for optimal cortical bone accrual at the periosteum in mice. Notably, this function did not require estrogens. The osteoblast progenitor ERα mediated a protective effect of estrogens against endocortical, but not cancellous, bone resorption. ERα in mature osteoblasts or osteocytes did not influence cancellous or cortical bone mass. Hence, the ERα in both osteoblast progenitors and osteoclasts functions to optimize bone mass but at distinct bone compartments and in response to different cues.
Concepts: Osteoporosis, Bone, Bone marrow, Skeletal system, Osteoclast, Osseous tissue, Intramembranous ossification, Osteoblast
Implantation of silicon dioxide-based nanocrystalline hydroxyapatite and pure phase beta-tricalciumphosphate bone substitute granules in caprine muscle tissue does not induce new bone formation
BACKGROUND: Osteoinductive bone substitutes are defined by their ability to induce new bone formation even at heterotopic implantation sites. The present study was designed to analyze the potential osteoinductivity of two different bone substitute materials in caprine muscle tissue.Materials and methods: One gram each of either a porous beta-tricalcium phosphate (beta-TCP) or an hydroxyapatite/silicon dioxide (HA/SiO2)-based nanocrystalline bone substitute material was implanted in several muscle pouches of goats. The biomaterials were explanted at 29, 91 and 181 days after implantation. Conventional histology and special histochemical stains were performed to detect osteoblast precursor cells as well as mineralized and unmineralized bone matrix. RESULTS: Both materials underwent cellular degradation in which tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP)-positive osteoclast-like cells and TRAP-negative multinucleated giant cells were involved. The Ss-TCP was completely resorbed within the observation period, whereas some granules of the HA-groups were still detectable after 180 days. Neither osteoblasts, osteoblast precursor cells nor extracellular bone matrix were found within the implantation bed of any of the analyzed biomaterials at any of the observed time points. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that Ss-TCP underwent a faster degradation than the HA-based material. The lack of osteoinductivity for both materials might be due to their granular shape, as osteoinductivity in goat muscle has been mainly attributed to cylindrical or disc-shaped bone substitute materials. This hypothesis however requires further investigation to systematically analyze various materials with comparable characteristics in the same experimental setting.
Concepts: Extracellular matrix, Skeletal system, Alkaline phosphatase, Observation, Hypothesis, Materials science, Intramembranous ossification, Osteoblast
Physical activity completed when young has residual bone benefits at 94 years of age: a within-subject controlled case study
Journal of musculoskeletal & neuronal interactions
Physical activity is recommended for skeletal health because bones adapt to mechanical loading. The young skeleton shows greatest plasticity to physical activity-related mechanical loads, but bones are most at risk of failure later in life. The discrepancy raises the question of whether the skeletal benefits of physical activity completed when young persist with aging. Here we present a unique case wherein the cortical bone benefit of physical activity completed over five decades earlier could be established within an individual aged in their tenth decade of life. Specifically, we compared bone properties at the midshaft humerus between the throwing and nonthrowing arms of a 94-year-old former Major League Baseball player who ceased throwing 55 years earlier. By performing analyses within-subject, the long-term skeletal benefit of physical activity completed when young could be assessed independent of inherited and systemic traits. Also, as the subject threw left-handed during his throwing career, but was right-hand dominant in all other activities throughout life, any lasting skeletal benefits in favor of the throwing arm could not be attributable to simple arm dominance. Analyses indicated that any cortical bone mass, area and thickness benefits of throwing-related physical activity completed when young were lost with aging, possibly due to accelerated intracortical remodeling. In contrast, the subject's throwing (nondominant) arm had greater total cross-sectional area and estimated strength (polar moment of inertia) than in his dominant arm, despite muscle indices favoring the latter. These data indicate that physical activity completed when young can have lasting benefits on bone size and strength, independent of the maintenance of bone mass benefits.
Concepts: Bone, Skeletal system, Ageing, Intramembranous ossification, Area, Moment of inertia, Skeleton, Major League Baseball
A diminutive perinate European Enantiornithes reveals an asynchronous ossification pattern in early birds
Fossils of juvenile Mesozoic birds provide insight into the early evolution of avian development, however such fossils are rare. The analysis of the ossification sequence in these early-branching birds has the potential to address important questions about their comparative developmental biology and to help understand their morphological evolution and ecological differentiation. Here we report on an early juvenile enantiornithine specimen from the Early Cretaceous of Europe, which sheds new light on the osteogenesis in this most species-rich clade of Mesozoic birds. Consisting of a nearly complete skeleton, it is amongst the smallest known Mesozoic avian fossils representing post-hatching stages of development. Comparisons between this new specimen and other known early juvenile enantiornithines support a clade-wide asynchronous pattern of osteogenesis in the sternum and the vertebral column, and strongly indicate that the hatchlings of these phylogenetically basal birds varied greatly in size and tempo of skeletal maturation.
Concepts: Evolution, Biology, Developmental biology, Skeletal system, Bird, Cretaceous, Intramembranous ossification, Enantiornithes
Romosozumab in Postmenopausal Women with Low Bone Mineral Density
Background Sclerostin is an osteocyte-derived inhibitor of osteoblast activity. The monoclonal antibody romosozumab binds to sclerostin and increases bone formation. Methods In a phase 2, multicenter, international, randomized, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, eight-group study, we evaluated the efficacy and safety of romosozumab over a 12-month period in 419 postmenopausal women, 55 to 85 years of age, who had low bone mineral density (a T score of -2.0 or less at the lumbar spine, total hip, or femoral neck and -3.5 or more at each of the three sites). Participants were randomly assigned to receive subcutaneous romosozumab monthly (at a dose of 70 mg, 140 mg, or 210 mg) or every 3 months (140 mg or 210 mg), subcutaneous placebo, or an open-label active comparator - oral alendronate (70 mg weekly) or subcutaneous teriparatide (20 μg daily). The primary end point was the percentage change from baseline in bone mineral density at the lumbar spine at 12 months. Secondary end points included percentage changes in bone mineral density at other sites and in markers of bone turnover. Results All dose levels of romosozumab were associated with significant increases in bone mineral density at the lumbar spine, including an increase of 11.3% with the 210-mg monthly dose, as compared with a decrease of 0.1% with placebo and increases of 4.1% with alendronate and 7.1% with teriparatide. Romosozumab was also associated with large increases in bone mineral density at the total hip and femoral neck, as well as transitory increases in bone-formation markers and sustained decreases in a bone-resorption marker. Except for mild, generally nonrecurring injection-site reactions with romosozumab, adverse events were similar among groups. Conclusions In postmenopausal women with low bone mass, romosozumab was associated with increased bone mineral density and bone formation and with decreased bone resorption. (Funded by Amgen and UCB Pharma; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00896532 .).
Concepts: Osteoporosis, Bone, Clinical trial, Bone density, Density, Skeletal system, Lumbar vertebrae, Intramembranous ossification
Somatic activating mutations in MAP2K1 cause melorheostosis
Melorheostosis is a sporadic disease of uncertain etiology characterized by asymmetric bone overgrowth and functional impairment. Using whole exome sequencing, we identify somatic mosaic MAP2K1 mutations in affected, but not unaffected, bone of eight unrelated patients with melorheostosis. The activating mutations (Q56P, K57E and K57N) cluster tightly in the MEK1 negative regulatory domain. Affected bone displays a mosaic pattern of increased p-ERK1/2 in osteoblast immunohistochemistry. Osteoblasts cultured from affected bone comprise two populations with distinct p-ERK1/2 levels by flow cytometry, enhanced ERK1/2 activation, and increased cell proliferation. However, these MAP2K1 mutations inhibit BMP2-mediated osteoblast mineralization and differentiation in vitro, underlying the markedly increased osteoid detected in affected bone histology. Mosaicism is also detected in the skin overlying bone lesions in four of five patients tested. Our data show that the MAP2K1 oncogene is important in human bone formation and implicate MEK1 inhibition as a potential treatment avenue for melorheostosis.
Concepts: Bone, Medicine, Cancer, Skeletal system, Anatomical pathology, Flow cytometry, Intramembranous ossification, Osteoblast
Counteracting bone fragility with human amniotic mesenchymal stem cells
The impaired maturation of bone-forming osteoblasts results in reduced bone formation and subsequent bone weakening, which leads to a number of conditions such as osteogenesis imperfecta (OI). Transplantation of human fetal mesenchymal stem cells has been proposed as skeletal anabolic therapy to enhance bone formation, but the mechanisms underlying the contribution of the donor cells to bone health are poorly understood and require further elucidation. Here, we show that intraperitoneal injection of human amniotic mesenchymal stem cells (AFSCs) into a mouse model of OI (oim mice) reduced fracture susceptibility, increased bone strength, improved bone quality and micro-architecture, normalised bone remodelling and reduced TNFα and TGFβ sigalling. Donor cells engrafted into bones and differentiated into osteoblasts but importantly, also promoted endogenous osteogenesis and the maturation of resident osteoblasts. Together, these findings identify AFSC transplantation as a countermeasure to bone fragility. These data have wider implications for bone health and fracture reduction.
Concepts: Bone, Stem cell, Mesenchymal stem cell, Bone marrow, Skeletal system, Cartilage, Endochondral ossification, Intramembranous ossification
Palovarotene Inhibits Heterotopic Ossification and Maintains Limb Mobility and Growth in Mice with the Human ACVR1(R206H) Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva (FOP) Mutation
Journal of bone and mineral research : the official journal of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research
Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva (FOP) is a rare and as yet untreatable, genetic disorder of progressive extraskeletal ossification, is the most disabling form of heterotopic ossification (HO) in humans and causes skeletal deformities, movement impairment and premature death. Most FOP patients carry an activating mutation in a BMP type I receptor gene, ACVR1(R206H) , that promotes ectopic chondrogenesis and osteogenesis and in turn HO. We showed previously that the retinoic acid receptor γ (RARγ) agonist Palovarotene effectively inhibited HO in injury-induced and genetic mouse models of the disease. Here we report that the drug additionally prevents spontaneous HO, using a novel conditional-on knock-in mouse line carrying the human ACVR1(R206H) mutation for classic FOP. In addition, Palovarotene restored long bone growth, maintained growth plate function, and protected growing mutant neonates when given to lactating mothers. Importantly, Palovarotene maintained joint, limb and body motion, providing clear evidence for its encompassing therapeutic potential as a treatment for FOP. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Concepts: Gene, Genetics, Skeletal system, Cartilage, Endochondral ossification, Intramembranous ossification, Fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva, Retinoic acid receptor
Pkcδ Is Required for Jagged-1 Induction of hMSC Osteogenic Differentiation
Stem cells (Dayton, Ohio)
JAG1, the gene for the Jagged-1 ligand (Jag1) in the Notch signaling pathway, is variably mutated in Alagille Syndrome (ALGS). ALGS patients have skeletal defects, and additionally JAG1 has been shown to be associated with low bone mass through genome wide association studies. Plating human osteoblast precursors (mesenchymal stem cells – hMSC) on Jag1 is sufficient to induce osteoblast differentiation; however, exposure of mouse MSC (mMSC) to Jag1 actually inhibits osteoblastogenesis. Overexpression of the notch-2 intracellular domain (NICD) is sufficient to mimic the effect of Jag1 on hMSC osteoblastogenesis, while blocking Notch signaling with a gamma-secretase inhibitor or with dominant negative mastermind inhibits Jag1 induced hMSC osteoblastogenesis. In pursuit of interacting signaling pathways, we discovered that treatment with a PKCδ inhibitor abrogates Jag1 induced hMSC osteoblastogenesis. Jag1 results in rapid PKCδ nuclear translocation and kinase activation. Furthermore, Jag1 stimulates the physical interaction of PKCδ with NICD. Collectively, these results suggest that Jag1 induces hMSC osteoblast differentiation through canonical Notch signaling and requires concomitant PKCδ signaling. This research also demonstrates potential deficiencies in using mouse models to study ALGS bone abnormalities.
Concepts: Bone, Stem cell, Mesenchymal stem cell, Bone marrow, Skeletal system, Interaction, Intramembranous ossification, Alagille syndrome


VACANT! A great choice for investors and move-in buyers alike, this thoughtfully designed, 2 bedroom plus den (plus flex room), 2 full bathroom CORNER suite offers a large efficient living area, a balcony, and sweeping False Creek views. Stylish and contemporary wide-plank flooring has been updated throughout the main living area, hallways, and bedrooms. Stone countertops and a gas range are well-suited for the modern chef, while a variety of cafes and high-rated eateries are only steps away. Overlooking the Cambie Street Bridge, this highly regarded Yaletown complex made up of 2 iconic buildings has a range of premiere amenities for its residents. "Club Max" offers spa-like facilities including a fitness centre, yoga studio, large 65 foot lap pool, hot tub, and sauna/steam room. Bonus features include a 24 hour concierge service, common rooftop decks, a private theatre room, and 3 high speed elevators. With 2 buildings contributing to the maintenance of these amenities, residents enjoy the benefits of this prime location at a reasonably low cost. Walk to BC Place Stadium, Rogers Arena, Parq Vancouver Hotel and Casino (and their amazing restaurants and lounges), the False Creek Seawall, Cooper's Dog Park, the Aqua Bus to Granville Island, and so much more. Quick access to the shops and restaurants along Robson Street and in Historic Yaletown. A short 7 minute stroll to the Canada Line (to YVR Airport) and 8 minutes to the Expo Line. Pets and rentals allowed. 1 parking included.


Perhaps you've heard that I wrote a book.
Yay! But I will be honest – it's daunting to share, because of its genre. It's mostly a memoir – and aren't I a bit young to be writing a memoir?
Thinking back to when I started experimenting with minimalism, I could have used a young lady's memoir for inspiration. That's why I faced my doubts and wrote it, and I hope that you find it helpful.
At the end of each chapter, I include some prompts for you to ponder. Optional homework.
As for what's inside, take a peek at the table of contents!
You can pre-order the book for $0+ here (it's super easy), and get more info here.
Also, I hope that you will join me on Sunday for my pre-launch Google Hangout party!
FabulosiTEA Friday – Episode 1!
Caroline and I have been teasing you for months, and the day is finally here! We present to you, FabulosiTEA, a podcast about what you bring to the tea party – essentials for the modern heroine. [We are so. Excited.].
Because the two of us are bubbling bibliophiles, here's twenty minutes about reading books, browsing bookstores, and discovering magical worlds.
Show notes, pretty pictures, and a download option here!
As promised on the podcast, here's my top ten. Man what a task.
But most of all, I read recommendations from friends. So…what are your favorites?
P.S. For more FabulosiTEA, and to join in on the conversation, visit our tumblr!


I know a music major who is going to med school next year. She'll either be at UTSW or Baylor.
I'm a music major! It's great! Med schools really like to see musicians apply to med school because it is widely known that musicans tend to be more well-rounded, more common sensical, etc. etc. They tend to be the type of people who can work well in groups but also can work alone. Med schools know this. It will only help you if you apply! Trust me, it doesn't hurt! The only tough thing, is that music mjaors have to donate a lot of time to rehearsal, etc. etc. We tend to have more classes worth fewer credit than fewer classes worth more credit, and there's homework for all of those. It's a tough balance. But it's great! When I want to "take a break" from studyin orgo, I can go play my instrument and "work."
PM me if you wanna know more.
The way i see it- even if i cant make it in medicine, i have a backup plan teaching or performing music which is awesome.
Don't ever let your major deter you from applying to med school! All adcoms care about is whether or not you fulfilled their prereqs...have a decent enough GPA, and your "non-bio" major may actually be a point of interest!
I started off as a music major, then graduated with a BFA in dance Took all the prereqs after graduating, and have gotten into 4 schools already It can ABSOLUTELY be done!
Gee, I wonder who you're talking about!
I was actually a music and biochem double major, but ended up switching to an interdisciplinary major in ethnomusicology (courses in music, anthropology, and sociology). My major and research (music and healing/health promotion) has always been a huge topic of conversation at interviews. I think a lot of schools have been interested in me in large part because of my background.
Bottom line: Do what you enjoy, do it damn well, and have a lot of fun; college is too short to be a simple hoop to jump through for medical school, make the most of it!
Not to sound like an assbag, but is ethnomusicology like an actual major, or is that some word you just made up?
It's an interdisciplinary academic discipline, there are many undergraduate and doctoral programs in ethnomusicology, it's basically the study of music and culture. It's not a word I made up. With that said, I am withdrawing from this thread.
If I knew I'd end up in medical school, I probably would have kept music as my major. The science was nice, but not all of it was applicable to what I'll need to know in my career.
Med schools look at WHERE you went to school, your numbers, and anything special and unique about you. Music is just as good a major for you as anything else.
I'm pretty sure i want to be a musicain/music teacher was just wondering about other possiblities.


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Lookers Ford Harrogate to showcase classic models as part of 'Made in Dagenham' sponsorship
Lookers Ford Harrogate is helping to celebrate the role women have played in the success of the British Motor Industry by sponsoring the upcoming production of Made in Dagenham at Harrogate Theatre between 31 January and 3 February 2018.
And to give theatre fans a taste of what they can expect, the dealership is hosting a classic car event, which will showcase some of the fantastic models from that period.
These include a 2.8 Capri Special and a mk1 Capri 3.0 GXL, both of which were used on the Top Gear DVD Perfect Road Trip 2. Also on show will be a mk1 Escort RS 2000, mk2 Cortina 1600E, a convertible Lotus Cortina and many more.
The event will also welcome a host of actors from the Made in Dagenham production as they prepare to get into character before the big curtain raiser.
We would love your help to promote this fantastic event and look forward to seeing you there.


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Category Archives: Country Walks Without a Car
City Unseen, Country Walks Without a Car, Walking
Rochdale to Healey Dell and the Cotton Famine Road
July 6, 2020 Andrea Gibbons	Leave a comment
We started in Rochdale — I like Rochdale a great deal though austerity feels like a knife here. It has cut so deep, you can see the pain of it. But this was the best walk we've done in a long time, up from the tram station to Healey Dell which is an extraordinarily beautiful place.
Of course to get to it, you have to pass a ruined asbestos factory left to sit here empty, enormous, poisonous.
You are warned by signs that this land is still not entirely safe, even where it seems to have returned to the wild.
But then you come to the nature reserve proper, walk along the old railway line and to the beautiful viaduct over the Spodden.
At its base sits Th'Owd Mill I'Thrutch, a fulling mill built in 1676 by the Chadwick family to process woolen cloth until the late 19th Century. Signs tell you:
Originally the cloth was soaked in a concoction of water. stale urine, soapwort, and Fullers Earth. Workers pounded it by foot; just like treading grapes. In 1863 the process became mechanised using steam power, when a boiler house and chimney were built.
There is very little left of it.
You remember once again that this period of industrialisation was not urban. It scattered along rivers like these, a network now of evocative and beautiful ruins along the river banks of the north in places like Lumsdale Valley, Cromford and New Mills. The waterfalls here are splendid things, and the boundaries in this nature preserve are confused between the natural flow of water and that channeled to service the early industrial revolution before the advent of steam. Steam changed everything, lies beneath the short and desperate lives of workers, the terrifying urbanisation of cities like Manchester.
You continue up the Spodden, then walk down a narrow stairway, ears full of water's crashing to stand looking out upon this and the stones witness to water's own force for moulding and shaping the world as it passes.
Even here we could not escape Covid-19, the conspiracy theories that swirl around it. COVID-19 PLANNED BY GOVERNMENT written across all the bins…as if we had a government that could plan anything at all.
From here we climbed up to Rooley Moor to meet the Cotton Famine Road. A cobbled road built across the moors by unemployed cotton workers, who sided with the abolitionist cause during the American Civil War. In solidarity with slaves, while also creating employment for themselves, they successfully campaigned for the passage of the 1863 Public Works Act.
I wanted more moors, more space, more air to breathe before going home, but it was getting late and the miles piling up. So instead of following this yellow brick road we headed back down to Healey Dell, back down into Rochdale. Home.
asbestosCotton Famine RoadCOVID-19Healey Dellindustrial archaeologyindustrial landscapesindustrial revolutionindustrialisationManchesterRochdalewalkingwilds
Country Walks Without a Car, Smallholding, The Wilds, Walking
Formby Beach
March 7, 2020 Andrea Gibbons	Leave a comment
I am backdating this to the day we saw we came to this beautiful place but writing this late (maybe late, who knows how late) in lockdown (25 May). I long for a beach, air, space, emptiness, woods, trains, travels, pubs, new things.
A cold, windy day of great dark clouds and blue sky, we hoped to find the beach empty. The older I get, the emptier I like my beaches. Formby was surprisingly full of people along much of the beach itself, but for the most part spread across the long horizon's sweeps like Lowry figures. But in the glorious dunes there were few people, and the bright sun and deep shadow showed the beauty of low wind carved hills.
Across wet hard-packed beach the wind swept wide rivers of dry sand, swiftly racing undulations of changing currents and rivulets that stung against my shins.
We saw many dogs with joy quivering in every bound and wet shake.
People did fill the woods, one of the last places that red squirrels can still be seen. We did not see red squirrels, only a notice that we might encounter them dead or dying among the pines of squirrel pox. Devastating on many levels.
Nor did we comb the waters edge as the tide ebbed out for the prehistoric footsteps, not knowing that was the only place they could be seen. I'm still a little heartbroken about that. Walking to Formby from the train we missed the informational boards positioned for the passengers of cars, but even for them it wasn't all that clear.
I loved that this was also a productive landscape, a world of small holding (or so it was once) and asparagus beds — ah, asparagus! How I love asparagus. There is a plaque for the Aindow family, a rare local name. The plaque tells us:
William Aindow… with his brothers Ellis and Douglas and sister Joan, he leveled new fields next to Victoria Wood. The Aindows also grew asparagus on part of Pine Tree farm and a long pointed strip of land next to Jubilee Wood called tongue sharp piece! It was here they had their sheds ad a couple of caravans where they stayed during the main asparagus season.
Horses were used on the Aindows' farm into the 1990s. The narrow drills suited horse cultivation and the horse would move between the ridges without damage to the roots of the asparagus plant. When the ridges were formed by tractor cultivation, they tended to be wider. It wasn't always easy to plough or harrow with a tractor o the sand because of the risk of getting stuck, especially when the sand was dry.
The ridges of their fields can be seen here:
A splendid walk, if cold and the wind, well the wind was really something.
agricultureasparagusdunesFormby Beachred squirrelssandsmallholding
Country Walks Without a Car, Travel, Walking
June 7, 2019 Andrea Gibbons	Leave a comment
So lovely and that place where Yeats once lived in a lovely white cottage overlooking the water and where once upon a time Molly said yes I do yes I will yes or something rather close to that, but no one knows just where…thank god, or they'd commodify that too. It was full of birds and wildflowers and stick men blithely walking off of cliffs and long moments of silence and being alone in the wind and the rain. But also much of the time tourists and Dublin youth dressed like it was 1984.
DublinHowthwalkingwildflowers
Archaeology, Country Walks Without a Car, Walking
Neolithic Avebury
April 26, 2019 Andrea Gibbons	2 Comments
This part of Wiltshire is best know for expansive chalkland, a scatter of sarsens across the landscape. Also called 'greywethers', they are 'the only remainders of the Eocene here; pockets of hard sand originally set within a softer and easily-weathered matrix' (Pollard & Reynolds 14). We sought them out in their natural habitat.
Watts (1993) writes that before the sarsen cutters depleted them for local building, they could be used as stepping stones from Delling to Clatford. They were being squared off and sold up through 1938, the last cartloads going by barge along the Avon-Kennet canal to Windsor castle. It was a dangerous occupation, and cutters died young of silicosis and exposed on the hillsides. Curiously they don't all split easily, and many were attempted and then left.
Of course, it was those placed here in Neolithic times that I cared most about.
This place was being used long before then, a stop over for the people of the Mesolithic — Cherwell hill was used as an ongoing camp at least, a place people stayed off and on. Earlier archeologists spouted theories left and right but seems that we are more and more reluctant to commit ourselves to any one defined belief of how people moved across the landscape in these prehistoric days. The record tells us little.
There are more signs of occupation from the Early Neolithic (4000-3000 BC), we walked near to the Roughridge pits, which mark the beginnings of creating monuments in this landscape that still remain. They were followed by two long mounds, one at least covered several burials and was constructed within sight of the Roughridge settlement.
The creation of monuments has been seen as symptomatic of new attitudes to place, landscape and the natural world (Bradley 1993,1998). Their construction served to 'alter the earth' in a way rarely seen during the Mesolithic, creating permanent landscape features that marked socially and mythically important places… (29)
At this time it was a 'treescape' rather than open downs, and trees are described as sources of food fuel and timber, but also ways to hold memory within their clearings. In some ways we can know so little, but science has brought improved ability to trace people's passage through the underlying geology of their food (crikey), and they traveled fairly large distances. One such study shows that a woman buried with three children at Monkton-up-Wimbourne had originally most likely lived in the Mendips 80 km away, traveled to Cranborne Chase and gave birth to two children. She returned to the Mendips to give birth to the third, then returned to Cranborne Chase.
But mostly we look still to what has been buried, preserved. Evidence of settlements like Hemp Hill in carefully dug pits where objects have been buried though the structures people lived in were fleeting and have left no trace. Archaeologists believe such pits, some colour coded through soil and pottery in dark and light, marked a link, an attachment with places. They describe a certain 'persistence of place' (cf Barton et al 1995), a regular returning to familiar spaces (40). I like too archaeological descriptions of their lack of imprint on the earth beyond their monuments, which 'seem so permanent and enduring compared with the ephemeral settings of routine existence that Barrett has spoken of Neolithic life as 'a process of becoming, a movement towards a future state which was described by reference to ancestors or to gods and where life might be spoken of as ephemeral' (1994, 136 p 45).
I'm not certain what I think of that, but both the sentence and the life thus lived have a certain poetry.
This is a map of Neolithic presence in Avebury's landscape.
Map of Avebury – http://www.avebury-web.co.uk/avebury_map.html
Windmill Hill is perhaps the most significant monument over time in this landscape. We did not get here somehow, the timings and circuits were not right, but we did see it from over the path of West Kennet Avenue.
On Windmill Hill lies the greatest early Neolithic monument — a great oval enclosure enclosing nearly 8.5 ha. Bronze Age burial mounds cut into it. This hill, along with Knap Hill and Rybury also offer beautiful vistas across a country, which when wooded would have offered few such. There are various theories about the enclosures' connection with the Linearbandkeramik (LBK) culture and that it represents a lost communal longhouse. There is greater consensus that such a structure is an act of enclosing space, setting it apart, surely of symbolic significance. What I love most though, is that this enclosure is not complete.
The permeability of the enclosure created by the broken sections of ditch implies a lack of concern with exclusion, of people, animals or things, allowing access and egress from many directions. This and other evidence, such as the occurrence of many different pottery styles, some in non-local clays, indicates the participation of large numbers and a range of people in activities at the site (Whittle et al 1999) (50)
It was also filled with animal burials.
We did get to Knap Hill it is splendid, the views above all as there is very little to be seen.
It stands across from a hill with a great long barrow on it — Adam's Grave. This belongs to the period that follows those of the great enclosures. A number of these were built, more than have survived. They were
'deliberately sited on locations that had witnessed earlier activity; as such they 'elaborated upon a landscape which was already composed of significant locations, whether natural landmarks or places associated with particular events or practices' (Thomas, 1999, 203 quoted on 59).
Many of them are located on vegetational or soil boundaries. Adam's Grave is the one with the greatest view, here from below:
And here looking over to Knap Hill. This whole escarpment was wondrous looking out over the Pewsey Valley. The Saxons would fight long and hard over this, but more on that later.
West Kennet was the largest long barrow, used like the others for burials of fragments of bone over time. Both West Kennet and Adam's Grave also contained oolitic limestone, which contrasts white with the grey stone, and had to be brought here from Frome-Bath-Atworth region.
The Later Neolithic period (3000-2400 BC) saw continued use of these areas — a continuity of memory. West Kennet barrow for instance, remained a focus of continued mortuary deposits and then became a repository for an infill of chalk, bone and other materials — but a purposeful one, with contrasting materials in different areas. They don't make too much of these contrasts but I find them quite significant. They are not all on hills, we found this one in the West Woods covered in bluebells, obscured by saplings.
This is a period when the land was opening up, not so wooded but no evidence of cultivation until the end of the third millenium BC.
This is when Avebury stone circle was built. Deposits of worked flint, pottery, fragments of bone and skull at the bases of the greywethers. Pollard & Reynolds argue it should be seen as a continuation of whatever belief system underlay the enclosures of Windmill Hill, Rybury and Knapp Hill. Built on is it is, it is almost impossible to get a sense of the whole. It is experienced now in quarters, in bits and pieces created by the road.
A map of Avebury and its remaining stones without the village and the road driven through it.
The people here built additional structures at Beckhampton, West Kennet Palisades, the Sanctuary. Avenues connected Beckhampton and the Sanctuary (2.4 k) with Avebury, though almost nothing remains of them. That from the Sanctuary contains a sudden jog as it comes to it's final third before Avebury — possibly to ensure a turn and then the monument opening up before you. This avenue was also laid out to cross an older occupation site, and a gap was left in its western wedge where it crossed the densest part of the old settlement. Pollard and Reynolds write:
The Avebury avenues brought together disparate places of significance in the landscape, creating connections not only between different parts of the landscape, but, because those places often had long histories of activity, between the past and the present. (105)
Nothing remains now of the Sanctuary but markers showing its complex arrangement of circles of wood and stone. It's marvelous, and rediscovered by Maud Cunnington, 'lady' archaeologist of the 1930s who is never named in the signboards so you never know it was a woman running these early digs, yet who excavated a number of these places. This is directly alongside the ridgeway, but sadly also the A4.
The final monument is Silbury Hill — the largest prehistoric man-made mound in western Europe. MAN-MADE MOUND. Or human-made mound we should say. They built this, rising 37 m above the valley floor, base diameter of 160 m. Like the middens and infills of different colours, this hill was also made of contrasts. The primary mound at the base of turves brought from elsewhere.
The reasons are all opaque to us, but its presence demands a reason. There is some thought that the wooden constructions like the West Kennet palisades are perhaps versions of the Avebury circles for the living. Silbury hill a transition point. Reading about this landscape I found Silbury Hill perhaps the least interesting but seeing it…
It is extraordinary, and perhaps more so knowing that people are still not sedentary in this landscape. But they soon will be.
A last more detailed map of where we know they might sometimes be found while living, where their dead remained.
Pollard, Joshua, and Andrew Reynolds (2006) Avebury the biography of a landscape. Stroud: Tempus.
Watts, Kenneth (1993) The Marlnorough Downs. Bradford-on-Avon: Ex Libris Press.
Adam's GravearchaeologyAveburyCherwell HillKnap Hilllandscapelong barrowsneolithicSanctuarysarsensSilbury Hillstanding stonesstone circlesWest Kennet AvenueWest Kennet Long Barrow
Country Walks Without a Car
Avebury Walk: Adam's Grave and Knap Hill, Gopher Woods, West Woods, Fyfield Downs
April 19, 2019 Andrea Gibbons	Leave a comment
This was a wopping 17.94 miles before my phone died, and the pub in Lockeridge closed down for refurbishment — so many pubs are gone. We felt the tragedy in a most visceral manner. But Knap Hill, the escarpment over Pewsey Valley was incredible. And the bluebells in Gopher Wood? Some of the loveliest I have ever seen, not to mention the hollow way leading down to Alton Priors. Road not taken…
More about these wondrous things from Neolithic times here, and for all things Roman, Saxon and Medieval here.
Adam's GraveAveburyFyfield DownsGopher WoodsKnap HillWest Woods
Avebury Walk: East Kennet to Wansdyke to the roman Road, Oldbury Castle, Avebury
I've finally started mapping these. This was an astonishing 16.6 miles, no wonder we didn't make it to Windmill Hill. But it was a most splendid birthday, follow by prosecco and chocolate cake back at the Old Forge.
AveburyEast KennetOldbury CastlewalkingWansdyke
Avebury Walk: West Kennet Long Barrow to Silbury Hill to avebury
archaeologyAveburySilbury HillwalkingWest Kennet AvenueWest Kennet Long Barrow
Country Walks Without a Car, The Wilds
Space and splendour and Weston Super Mare
February 8, 2019 Andrea Gibbons	Leave a comment
I know those adjectives don't usually go together, but I stand by it. The first Saturday of February, there were no holiday hordes. There was almost no one there but for a couple of the beaches where absolutely everyone was out walking their dogs. That was quite glorious. But we walked past great mud flats and rickety ruined piers stretched out above the mud and the waves through woods and out past sand bay full of windswept grass with black feathered heads beyond which stand mysterious islands shrouded in the distant mist and a great city shining white on the far banks of the Severn (Cardiff). Out to Sand Point, the tail end of the Mendips forming sweeping coves and secluded rocky beaches. A defense installation, pill boxes, old boats beached high. Neolithic mounds. Walls built by prisoners of the Napoleonic war. The sky was blue above us scattered with clouds — except when it was all cloud, but this is England after all.
Above all there was room to expand, to breathe even as the wind did its best to take your breath away.
I have a new coat that actually keeps me warm. It has changed my life.
beachesSand BaySand PointspacewalkingWeston Super Mare
Country Walks Without a Car, History, Violence, Walking
Not quite peaceful countryside: Ilford Manor and Farleigh Hungerford Castle
August 27, 2018 Andrea Gibbons	2 Comments
You can get the train to Freshford, I don't know why we had never done this, for it looks like there are several lovely walks to be done from here. There is also a lovely pub with the best lemon crumble I have ever had in my life. It is, you know, redolent of rich people, but for a day that's quite all right. And really, this walk was all about the violence hidden in the tranquility of the countryside, made possible by wealth inequality really.
You follow narrow lanes from the station to Ilford Manor — I didn't think the gardens would be open but they were. A description from the website:
The Grade-1 listed gardens were designed by Harold Peto during his tenure at Iford from 1899-1933, and represent one of the finest examples of steeply terraced hillside gardening in the UK. They are characterised by colonnades, pools and steps, and offer magnificent rural views over the valley.
They are beautiful gardens though a bit small perhaps. I particularly loved the millstones set into the paving stones, the stairs up hillsides with their cascades of daisies, lovely borders, the smell of rosemary, wisteria everywhere. Quite a wonderful sculpture of a dog scratching itself.
But behind it you can see the sarcophagus — whose? There is a pond full of waterlilies, wisteria growing in bush form in a great circle around it which is quite beautiful — I haven't seen it like that. And then suddenly you realise the statue of the old sage is actually holding what looks like a dog and the water pours from the wound in its breast.
There is a cloister, and likewise it is full of carvings of hawks and kestrels hunting hares and partridges, that moment of capture and cruel claws seen also in a lion holding a pig, and suddenly this beautiful garden felt quite a cruel place. Not least from the worry over the provenance of these old scraps of carving, columns and statuary collected from around the world…
From there we followed footpaths down the side of the River Frome to reach Farleigh Hungerford Castle. There is not much of it left, it is true, but more than would appear upon first glance. A quite incredible chapel, I am still not entirely sure how it fits within these ruins, approached as you might the center of a snail shell through a walled garden behind which rise the ruins.
There are burials here too, but at least you are quite sure that they belong here. The old, unexpected colours restored, but this families disappointing obsession with their own ancestry also on view.
Underneath a crypt, rather terrifying lead coffins. The kid who came down behind us legged it.
This family has only violence to make it stand out, really. It was built in the 1370s but Sir Thomas Hungerford, steward of John of Gaunt — I do appreciate that he was the first recorded speaker of the House of Commons. Yet he destroyed the local village to make way for the park alongside the castle. The family did well in the 100 years war, made a fortune through kidnapping Frenchmen and demanding ransom. The beautiful chapel had been a parish church, but became a private one when the walls were expanded around it. In 1523, Lady Agnes Hungerford was hanged with two of her servants for murdering her first husband, John Cottell. They waited to bring her to trial until her second husband Sir Edward Hungerford died (a natural death it seems, but his desire to marry Agnes was, of course, her motive). Given her first husband was strangled and burned within the walls of the castle itself — well.
The 'Lady Tower' here is so called because it was used to imprison Elizabeth Hungerford, wife of Sir Edward's son, over a period of months. She also accused him of attempting to poison her. Sadly, this is not the reason he was executed. He was executed on charges of treason and 'unnatural vice' (almost makes you like him) after his patron Thomas Cromwell fell from grace with Henry VIII.
His grandson would go on to accuse his wife of adultery and an attempt to poison him. He lost the court case, refused to pay her costs and went to jail. The castle was lost to the family by Sir Edward 'The Spendthrift', who gambled and frivolised away the fortune under Charles II and was forced to sell it.
I don't really know why anyone thought aristocracy a good idea. But someone here did own this lovely little thing created to tamp down tobacco in the bowl of a pipe:
I do also love ruins, probably because they are ruins and reminders that all tyranny must pass.
Though it felt good and fresh and clean to escape into the countryside, down along the other side of the river.
We also passed the site of an old priory where the lay brothers once lived attached to the Carthusian Priory of Hinton. Little remains but the practice of farming (pigs, bees, lovely vegetable gardens) and some of the old cottages (now with solar panels) and this sign showing what it once resembled:
And then back to Freshford. The countryside is so beautiful here, but sprinkled about with absurd mansions being too close to Bath for comfort.
But the Inn at Freshford, as I say… incredible cakes, ales, full of dogs and beautiful in itself.
castlesFarleigh Hungerford CastleFreshfordIlford Manorwalking
Country Walks Without a Car, Walking
Walk from Buxton — Axe Edge Moor
August 24, 2018 Andrea Gibbons	Leave a comment
We started in Buxton — old spa town, regency architecture, mummers and dancers in fancy dress in a square (Mark murmured about the horror but I rather like them), lovely park suitably filled with follies and screaming children and people with money. It does have an old sacred well spilling out geothermal waters — St Anne's.
I was thinking about going to Poole's Caverns, following in the tracks of Romantic poets and such, but you have to walk through a chintzy gift shop to get there — you don't even get a cliff face and a gaping dark mouth to enter. It was full of people. We fled. We are getting old crabbit maybe, but that is hardly a good way to spend an afternoon. The woods just, however, are beautiful, despite being sandwiched between Go Ape and a caravan park.
I wanted moors and wide open spaces and we found them, but really it was a bit grim. I don't quite know why it feels so different on this edge of the Peak District. The day was grey, to be fair, but this was as good as it got really…
The sheep, as always were amusing
There were remnants of mining up here in the form of pitted ground, the earth peaty and carved away oddly by water
There was a lovely little area with three bridges and a confluence of streams, that also came with about 40 french kids and a number of other walkers so we fled that too. This tower might have, thus, been the highlight.
And this beautiful glowing in the sky, which I have never seen before
Or this moment when we thought we were close to the promised land of the pub.
Like so many of our walks, we had such high hopes but the Cat and Fiddle had been closed for years and we had to make our sad, cold, hungry way back to Buxton.
BuxtonmoorsPeak Districtwalking


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Matt Farrell, a video producer, needed an attorney after he had been charged with growing marijuana. He hired Allison Margolin, "L.A.'s dopest attorney," on a friend's recommendation.
Farrell's first impression was "she was hot." His second was doubt. She looked too young to be a lawyer.
Then he saw the Ivy League degrees on her wall.
Like actress Reese Witherspoon's character in the movie "Legally Blonde" -- a rich, ditsy Beverly Hills blond who goes to Harvard Law School -- Margolin, 28, is the kind of lawyer who might be easy to dismiss. The graduate of Beverly Hills High talks like a Valley girl, preceding adjectives with "like" and using "whatever" as a period.
Her years at Columbia University and Harvard Law School failed to dim her fascination with movie stars. She is devoted to the tabloids and knows intimate details about the rich and famous.
Her husband said she used to believe whatever her clients told her, accepting preposterous explanations for crimes. There was the woman who didn't mean to stab her boyfriend. She just threw a basket that happened to contain a knife.
And there was the time Margolin burst into tears after a prosecutor told her she had only minutes to decide whether to take a deal that would put a client in prison for 17 years. The prosecutor relented and extended the deadline.
A lawyer for 3 1/2 years, Margolin has gained notoriety for unorthodox ads that proclaim her "L.A.'s dopest attorney." She even has a video publicizing her practice on the Internet site www.youtube.com.
Her self-promotions have raised eyebrows in a profession in which many lawyers still frown upon advertising as ambulance chasing. Until not quite 30 years ago, lawyer advertising was banned altogether.
"Need warrant recalled?" her radio, movie and newspaper ads ask. "Want to smoke pot on probation? All criminal defense, from drugs to murder. Harvard Law, affordable."
She is the daughter of Bruce Margolin, the widely known defense lawyer who has championed efforts to decriminalize marijuana and once ran for governor on that platform.
Farrell's case was big for her because it involved more than 100 marijuana plants. Farrell faced up to three years in prison.
Delayed by a flat tire, she had scurried into the courthouse 30 minutes after court started, clutching a pink leather briefcase and trailed by two 19-year-olds she introduced as her assistants, Daniel Samadi and Raymond Hay.
The pair of college students are Boy Fridays, answering her cellphone, fetching her food, walking her dog and soothing her when she gets tense.
Slender and small with olive coloring, her auburn hair pulled into a ponytail, Margolin was in constant motion, biting her lips, rubbing her chin, pulling at strands of hair.
She wore a black Armani pants suit and a sleeveless red top with a plunging neckline, revealing a silver-blue lacy camisole and generous cleavage. Frameless glasses perched on her nose.
At one end of the court hallway, she huddled with Farrell. Her defense was that Farrell grew marijuana for medical reasons and had a doctor's recommendation for it, as did three others who were part of his marijuana "collective."
She had five witnesses prepared to testify that the amount Farrell grew would produce an appropriate yield for his medical needs and those of the three other patients.
At the other end of the hallway, the prosecutor was meeting with the police officers who had arrested Farrell.
The prosecutor had just learned that Farrell had a current doctor's recommendation, which is similar to a prescription, for marijuana and wanted to postpone the hearing.
But Margolin, who had prepared all weekend, opposed a delay.
"It's just not cool," Margolin said.
Hours passed as Margolin shuttled back and forth between her witnesses and the prosecutor. Farrell was tense. Margolin told him she would speak to the judge.
"I am going to tell the judge they are still jerking us around," she said, flipping her ponytail.
She paused and grinned. "But I won't say it that way."
Margolin does not let hard work go to waste.
She studied relentlessly to achieve at Beverly Hills High, and the payoff was Columbia University in New York, where she said she "just felt the vibes" and fit in.
At Columbia she pulled seven-hour study stretches on Saturdays and Sundays, was an editor on the college newspaper and taught a political science class.
That helped when she applied to Harvard Law School, although her application essay was risky. She argued that drugs should be legalized, a position her father warned would doom her chance of admission.
Once there, "I was like the most eccentric person," she said. She remembered feeling like a neon sign in a bright yellow vest and tinted glasses in the classrooms.
"I studied a lot, and I didn't lie about it, and people would make fun of me for it," she said. "People at Harvard pretended they didn't have to work because they were geniuses. "
She pursed her lips sideways and fiddled with a strand of hair. "They called me the Dirty Librarian because I swore and wore glasses."
She said she was not intimidated by some of the bullying law professors because her mother's boyfriends over the years had made her used to nasty lawyers.
The title of her law school thesis was "The Right to Get High."
She passed the bar on the first try: "It was like a miracle," she said.
Munching on scrambled eggs and sausages her assistants bought from the courthouse cafeteria, Margolin tapped her patent leather toe steadily and sipped V8 juice.
Samadi asked if she was nervous.
"No, I am OK," she replied. But the waiting was wearing.
Although Samadi and Hay are nearly a decade younger than Margolin, they hover over her paternally. They drive her to court appearances, a valued task given Margolin's tendency to get lost. Her mother remembers the time she called from Encino and complained she couldn't find Pacific Coast Highway.
A woman in the jury pool in one of Margolin's cases once mistook the pair for gang members.
"They are Persian Jews from Beverly Hills," Margolin said. "She thought they were Hispanic."
After several hallway conferences in Farrell's case, the prosecutor agreed to drop the charges. Margolin, ecstatic, clapped her hands as she told Farrell the news.
Her father arrived as she headed into the courtroom. A lawyer whose name is almost synonymous with marijuana law, Bruce Margolin sat in a middle row to watch his daughter.
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Dennis J. Landin dismissed the charges, but that was not enough for Margolin. She asked that police return the marijuana plants and the growing equipment. With no objection from the prosecutor, the judge agreed to the order.
"Your daughter is a beauty," a lawyer in the courtroom whispered to her father.
"Thank you," the elder Margolin replied.
"And a damn good lawyer."
Outside, Allison Margolin was jubilant. "This was like amazing. They don't usually say no objection" to returning the plants.
Then she noticed her father's Cole Haan shoes, which she had bought him. "Dad, you're wearing your Father's Day shoes!"
Margolin said he feels "validated" that his daughter embraces his battle for marijuana rights and chose to follow his career path, "although it is hard job, fraught with all kinds of frustrations I don't want for her."
Being the daughter of a prominent marijuana activist, Margolin was well versed in drug lore from her early years. She wrote a school paper about the Colombian drug trade when she was 12.
In high school, "people would always ask me if I could get them pot," but "I didn't allow marijuana smoking in my environment. I was very straight."
Margolin said her father was a "marijuana and psychedelic purist" who lectured her about the evils of alcohol.
Her parents divorced when she was 2, and both are on their third marriages. Margolin has three stepsisters, two half sisters and one half brother, ranging in age from 6 months to 15 years.
Having multiple parents "sucked," she said, "but now it is good."
"The new husband is the best," she said, referring to her mother's third husband, Jeffrey Sklan, a criminal defense lawyer.
Margolin worked six months for her father's firm after passing the bar, then quit and refused to speak to him for a while.
"My dad is an anti-nepotism kind of person," she said, explaining her unhappy tenure at his firm. She characterized their relationship as "kind of competitive."
But on the day of Margolin's triumph in court, Bruce Margolin seemed merely proud. He wanted to buy her and her witnesses lunch to celebrate. They agreed to meet at a restaurant near Chinatown.
When Margolin approached her black BMW with a reporter, Samadi and Hay went to work on the seats, clearing out the workout clothes, empty water bottles and wrappers.
Margolin confided that she has a physician's recommendation for medical marijuana for a mild ailment she preferred not to disclose, "but I wouldn't want people to make an issue of it."
Santa Monica Deputy City Atty. Patrick Brooks, who has been her opposing counsel, said he teases her about her ads, which he described as "clever" and effective.
"She is young and very smart and very hardworking and very committed," Brooks said. "A lot of younger attorneys are afraid to go to court, but she is confident in court and not afraid to go to trial."
Geoffrey Lewin, a Los Angeles County deputy district attorney, said Margolin was the winner in one of only four cases he has lost in his career, a medical marijuana case.
Some prosecutors "see me, and they like underestimate me and they don't prepare," said Margolin, who works out of her mother's law firm in Beverly Hills. Her mother, Elyse Margolin, is a family law attorney.
Allison Margolin has won acquittals in two of her four trials, and the other two produced compromises she counted as victories. In one, she got the equivalent of a traffic citation with no restitution for a drunk driving defendant who had hit three parked cars. Like most criminal defense lawyers, she resolves the bulk of her cases with plea bargains or, as in Farrell's case, by getting the charges dismissed.
After celebrating Farrell's victory with her father, Margolin headed home to the Fairfax district to change for an afternoon workout.
She and her assistants pulled up in front of the Spanish-style bungalow she shares with her husband, physician Steven Kilmann. Margolin asked Samadi to help find her orange-striped workout bra in the chaos of the car. He plucked the bra from the floor of the front seat.
Her workout was a steep climb in a Beverly Hills park on the edge of a neighborhood of mansions. She believes buying one of the mansions is achievable now that her client base and notoriety are growing.
For a client caught with more than 100 plants, she usually charges a $10,000 fee. She also has done cases for free, but confesses to aspiring to wear "only Chanel" suits.
"I plan to make a lot of money," she said matter-of-factly.


Growing up, I loved eating paalak paneer at parties. We did not eat it often at home because paneer--a type of non-melting fresh cheese--is not particularly healthy. Yet, that is exactly why I loved eating it as a child! In fact I would often pick out the paneer and eat it by itself, leaving the paalak (spinach) untouched.
As I got older, my mother began making paalak paneer at home more often because we discovered that baked tofu is an easy replacement for paneer! It has a similar consistency, and can be cut into cubes just like paneer. My mother's recipe is simple, easy, and well balanced: you get protein from the tofu, iron and other vitamins from the spinach and tomatoes, and spices have been shown to have many health benefits.


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Group Sues FAA for Withholding Georgia Spaceport Safety Assessments
October 17, 2018 October 17, 2018 Doug Messier News 2 Comments
Spaceport Camden launch complex (Credit: Camden County)
ATLANTA (SELC PR) — The Southern Environmental Law Center is challenging the Federal Aviation Administration for refusing to disclose important information about the risks of harm to human life and property around a proposed spaceport in Camden County.
After submitting several requests to FAA that have gone unanswered, SELC filed a federal lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia late yesterday citing the federal agency's failure to provide documents for the proposed project as required under the Freedom of Information Act.
"Ensuring the public has all of the information about any major project is critically important, especially when we're talking about the potential for loss of life and significant damage to personal property," said Brian Gist, senior attorney for the Southern Environmental Law Center. "It would be incredibly rash for Camden County and FAA to move ahead without fully disclosing the risks of this project to the public."
Among the information requested is a risk analysis that estimates the number of human deaths that could potentially occur in the event that a rocket explodes on the launch pad or in the air.
According to FAA's Draft Environmental Impact Statement, launch failures at Spaceport Camden could be "in the 2.5 to 6 percent range." This means that if Spaceport Camden estimates 12 launches per year, at least one rocket launch is expected to fail every two years—the impacts and the extent of which are still unknown.
Read the complaint here.
Camden County is seeking a license from the FAA to construct and operate a private spaceport on the southern end of the Georgia coast. If built and used as planned, the spaceport would launch private spacecraft from an 11,000-acre site along the Satilla River. Rockets would launch directly over populated areas, including private residences on Little Cumberland Island, the Intracoastal Waterway, and Cumberland Island National Seashore.
SELC initially submitted comments on the project in January 2016 on behalf of One Hundred Miles and Satilla Riverkeeper, outlining concerns about an increase in air and noise pollution, the destruction of wetlands and compromised water quality, and safety concerns in the case of an accident.
More recently, SELC submitted comments in June to the FAA on behalf of the National Parks Conservation Association, One Hundred Miles, Center for a Sustainable Coast, Glynn Environmental Coalition, Satilla Riverkeeper, and Atlanta Audubon Society, criticizing the agency's draft environmental impact statement for the facility in failing to properly evaluate the project's numerous risks and to address some impacts at all, contrary to the requirements of federal law.
About Southern Environmental Law Center: For more than 30 years, the Southern Environmental Law Center has used the power of the law to champion the environment of the Southeast. With over 70 attorneys and nine offices across the region, SELC is widely recognized as the Southeast's foremost environmental organization and regional leader. SELC works on a full range of environmental issues to protect our natural resources and the health and well-being of all the people in our region. www.SouthernEnvironment.org
Camden County, Camden County Spaceport, FAA, Southern Environmental Law Center, spaceports
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Following a heavy 0-5 defeat to Kosovo and a 1-1 draw with the Faroe Islands in the final two matches from the UEFA Nations League D3 qualifiers, Malta climbed one place in the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking and is now ranked 182nd.
Malta is still third from bottom in Europe, lying just ahead of Gibraltar (194, down 4) and San Marino (211, down 2). Just ahead of Malta are Moldova (170, up 1) and Liechtenstein (181, up 1).
Malta will not be in action until March when the national team plays the first matches from the European Qualifiers leading to EURO 2020. The draws will be held on Sunday in Dublin.
Meanwhile Belgium remain top of the latest FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking, although the gap between the Red Devils, France (2nd, unchanged) and Brazil (3rd, unchanged) has narrowed over the past month.


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Goodwall is an app that aims to provide young people with opportunities to develop their skills and gain access to educational and work-related opportunities. The platform is designed primarily for the Gen Z demographic and allows members to create a digital profile to showcase their skills and achievements using photos and videos. Users are encouraged to engage in skills-based challenges and online programs that focus on transferable skills such as problem-solving, creativity, and communication. The Goodwall app is available on both iOS and Android.

History

Goodwall's social networking platform was founded by Omar and Taha Bawa, two brothers from Geneva, Switzerland. The Bawa brothers were raised in a family that had a strong commitment to humanitarian work, with their parents serving the UNHCR and The Global Fund. Growing up, they were exposed to global challenges and were inspired to make a meaningful impact.

The idea for Goodwall stemmed from End Ignorance, a blog created by Omar Bawa in 2012 to bring attention to various global crises. The Bawa brothers expanded the blog into a social network, which was launched as a website in January 2014 and later developed into a mobile-first platform in 2015.

Initially aimed at students from high school to university, Goodwall has since broadened its focus to include entrepreneurs and young professionals. The platform attracts members from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds and countries, with an average age range of 16-26. Currently, Goodwall has more than 2 million members across 150 countries and is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.

Services

The Goodwall App

The Goodwall app provides an alternative to traditional CVs where users can showcase their skills and achievements through photos and videos on a digital profile. Additionally, the app offers online programs and challenges to enhance skills and connect with like-minded individuals globally. Users can communicate through the chat feature and interact with each other's posts via commenting and upvoting. The platform aims to connect users with opportunities related to education and work such as jobs, internships, courses, scholarships, and volunteer work.

The Goodwall Blog

Goodwall's blog was relaunched in late 2019 with an updated design and visuals. The blog focuses on topics of interest to students and young professionals including entrepreneurship, academia, job searching, careers, social impact, climate change, scholarships, motivation, and more.

Partnerships

Goodwall collaborates with a range of companies, organizations, and governments to develop programs intended to enhance the skills and mobilization of young people. Some of the company's partners include UNICEF, Generation Unlimited, GIZ, Yoma, Randstad NV, and SAP.

In 2022, Goodwall, with the support of Stratline, Converge, and UNESCO's Goodwill Ambassador and First Lady of Cameroon, Mrs. Chantal Biya, delivered an 8-week program with a focus on skill development, entrepreneurial thinking, and environmental awareness. The program aimed to empower the youth of Cameroon by exposing them to various challenges related to entrepreneurship, motivation, sustainability, and gender equality.

In 2023, Goodwall partnered with Nation Media Group (NMG) in East Africa to conduct programs that engage young people on issues such as sustainability, education, health, and the environment.

Emurgo, the official commercial arm and a founding member of the Cardano blockchain, announced its collaboration with Goodwall in February 2023. Emurgo intends to facilitate Goodwall's growth into a Web3 service that utilizes Cardano's environmentally-friendly blockchain to connect young people with the global economy.

Goodwall announced its expansion into Nigeria in 2023, thanks to its partnership with TecBlu, a Nigerian one-stop technology services company.

Milestones

Goodwall is a company that has expanded its team to more than 60 employees across four continents. It has secured over $16 million in funding and received support from Randstad, a prominent global HR and recruitment company, as well as Manixer, a private equity firm with a focus on education.

In December 2019, the Android version of the Goodwall app achieved 1,000,000 downloads, while in early June 2020, the Goodwall community surpassed 1.5 million members.

Awards and recognition

Goodwall has received coverage in various media outlets including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Inc Magazine, The Next Web, and the University Herald due to its growth and positive mission.

In September 2019, Venturelab recognized Goodwall as one of Switzerland's best scale-ups. Taha and Omar Bawa, the founders of Goodwall, have been recognized by numerous organizations including the World Economic Forum, the United Nations, Forbes 30 under 30, CNN, TEDx, and Google.

References

Social networks for social change
Internet properties established in 2014
Swiss websites
Employment social networks
2014 establishments in Switzerland


text:
Delphyre parcipuncta is een beervlinder uit de familie van de spinneruilen (Erebidae). De wetenschappelijke naam van de soort is voor het eerst geldig gepubliceerd in 1914 door Hampson.

Delphyre


In a field that is characterized by fast-moving cycles of innovation, competence and quality are important factors for success. Place your trust in the experts at TÜV Rheinland. We are a notified body authorized to inspect your medical products and in vitro diagnostics and can assist you with the right conformity evaluation procedures for CE marks - meaning you can get your "driving license" for EU countries that little bit quicker. Upon request, we can also certify your quality management system in compliance with the EN ISO 13485, EN ISO 9001, or EN ISO 15378 norms.
TÜV Rheinland - "Notified Body"
Depending on the risk category of the product, you are required to commission a notified body to carry out an EG prototype audit, evaluation of a design dossier, or for auditing the quality management system. Together with you, we carry out the necessary conformity evaluation procedure for your products and company, meaning that you will receive your "driving license" for EU countries that bit quicker. On top of that, we can offer an audit of your medical products for specific or voluntary market requirements.
An object that is not a product in its own right, but has been specially developed by the manufacturer for specific use in combination with another product.
Technical safety requirements are proven fulfilled with the help of the conformity evaluation procedure, 93/42/EWG directive. It should be demonstrated that technical performance is up to scratch, while medical performance must be proven in terms of clinical evaluation. A product does not necessarily have to fulfill all basic requirements, rather only those appropriate for the product in question and directly related to the purpose of the product. Essentially, the manufacturer is nonetheless obliged to fulfill basic requirements, but the method in which they do this is left up to them.


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Texas needs to join the national grid
By Cindy Rivas Alfaro July 20, 2022
Dylan Burkett/The Cougar
Millions of people in Texas are experiencing extreme heat as temperatures reach record-breaking numbers.
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas asked consumers to preserve energy and water as the heat waves limit resources across the state.
ERCOT went as far as to say that they have everything under control but after the freeze in February that killed many, many Texans have lost faith in the company.
There are multiple reasons that Texas is struggling to handle the heat but the main two are global warming and the state's refusal to join the national grid.
The average temperature in 2036 is expected to be 3 degrees warmer than the current average. With Texas temperatures hitting triple digits daily, the future heat might become unbearable for many if it isn't already.
Global warming is caused by several things like transportation, energy consumption and industries. Many of these causes are the epitome of modern civilization.
There is also a double-edged sword when it comes to Texas heat as using air conditioning in itself is contributing to global warming. Greenhouse gas emissions from air conditioning rise as people attempt to cool down from the heat.
ERCOT's suggestion to find sustainable ways to cool down is not wrong but there is hypocrisy in their suggestion when they do not find their own ways to provide reliable energy to its consumers.
Texas's energy grid is overworked.
Denying this fact only puts consumers in danger of overheating and when the winter comes again, possibly freezing to death yet again.
Texas refuses to join the national grid in fear of the federal government restricting Texas' economic gain from having its own power grid. The national grid has its own federal rules and regulations that Texas finds limiting since those regulations favor consumers over companies.
Texas is only able to sell and use energy within its borders and it is clear that with the looming temperatures increasing, the power grid is not able to provide the necessary energy for said temperatures.
If Texas joins the national grid, it will be able to buy and sell energy from other states. If an emergency happens like the freeze in February, neighboring countries will be available to provide support.
The extreme heat does not come as a surprise with scientists calling for a change in government regarding ethical energy consumption.
People need to put their part in making sure they are making ethical and sustainable decisions when it comes to energy consumption but the issue lies in corporations who fail to meet consumers in the middle.
When ERCOT asked its consumers to conserve energy, they listened. Consumers managed to conserve 500 megawatts of power which is enough to power 100,000 homes.
In order to combat the heat and prevent temperatures from rising, corporations must look at long-term solutions rather than focusing on profit.
On the individual level, change is happening.
It's up to the people in power to finally do something about it.
Cindy Rivas Alfaro is a journalism sophomore who can be reached at [email protected]
Tags: energy, global warming, national grid


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Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt starrer Gully Boy wins big in South Korea
Filmmaker Zoya Akhtar's directorial "Gully Boy" has won the Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema (NETPAC) Award at the 23rd Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFAN) in South Korea.
Written By I.A.N.S 92962 reads Mumbai Published: July 6, 2019 04:18 pm
NETPAC Jury Committee, comprised of NETPAC members and film professionals, select the best Asian Film from World Fantastic Blue section, which features newer genres and varied stories of comedy, fantasy and drama, read a statement.
"Gully Boy", which features actors Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt, is based on the lives of street rappers. The film has performed well in the Indian and overseas market.
It will also be screened at the 2019 Indian Film Festival of Melbourne.
Apart from bagging the award at BIFAN, Akhtar has recently made the Indian film industry proud by joining the list of new members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences that organises the annual Oscar awards.
Credits :IANS
its ranveer's movie and not short below average ugly man alia's movie
Karan Johar shares a graceful picture of Ranveer Singh and Zoya Akhtar; captions it 'Gullyness'
Alia Bhatt on being a part of ensemble films like Kalank and Gully Boy: Films are larger than any actor
Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt and Zoya Akhtar reuniting for THIS selfie is making us ask for Gully Boy sequel
Gully Boy Box Office Collection Day 7: Ranveer Singh's film inches towards the Rs 100 crore mark
Alia Bhatt calls Katrina Kaif the 'best person' as she is all praises for Gully Boy