Silver RavenWolf on Cardinal Grand Cross, Sirius with Jupiter, and Making Magick!
Work magick Sunday night or early Monday to catch the wave.
Early Wednesday, April 23rd sets up the fourth point of this year's Cardinal Grand Cross. This celestial event, considered a major crossroads by many astrologers, has quite a few astrology blogs buzzing, many lending toward gloom and doom.
I thought about the predictions, and logically, many times the need for change can be perceived as major upheavel…if…the situation is totally out of sync. Spirit seems to step in with that "board up the side of the head" scenario and all sorts of things crash and tumble as the dam breaks and life rolls merrily along, squashing that which stands in its way. Standing in the line of fire with your middle finger held high will not help you.
As all the planets involved are in "starter" signs, you can use this energy not as reactive to stress or stand defiantly in its way; but, as a push forward into success. The Grand Cross is a symbol involving transformation — letting some things go, experiencing rewards of past work, and stepping forward with fresh energy into the future. A pattern made of four points creates six alignments — four squares and two oppositions.
How will you use these energies to better your life as well as the lives of those around you?
This Cardinal Cross puts power in your hands.
This Cardinal Cross puts power in your breath.
This Cardinal Cross provides a unique generator.
How will you use this power?
I'm going to set up a five candle altar — one candle for each element and one for Spirit — or, I could set up five stones (and not use candles), or five glasses of water (now that would be interesting). Or, perhaps, an altar with a representation of each element. The choice is up to you. Use your intuition to choose your tools. Another idea might be to choose five living, potted plants, choosing the plants by their corresponcences — this will give you a "living" altar to work with.
The 4th quarter moon in Capricorn will lend itself well to releasing old structure that no longer serves you well. If nothing else, consider doing a personal, spiritual cleansing, or a spiritual cleansing of your living environment.
visualizing the elements blending as you chant.
Don't be afraid of it — Use it!
On Friday: Jupiter conjuncts with the Sirius Star on Friday, the 25th, which can bring great benefit to women, children, (Jupiter currently in Cancer), healing, protection, understanding, growth, family financial security, and empathic energies. As Jupiter (benefits and expansion) is combining his light with Sirius this week you will have a wonderful opportunity to "shine the light" on that which you most desire. Sirius is known as the "dog star" and means "glowing" because it is not only considered the brightest star, it also appears to flicker in many colors. Located to the left of Orion's belt, its energies are heavily used in magickal system of Braucherei, particularly in the spring months in North America, when agricultural magicks for growth hit high gear. Among the many harmonics available on Friday include "The Seer", "The Skullcap" and the "Mystic Rectangle" — The Seer lends itself to solutions, understanding, and divination pursuits. The Skullcap opens the door to the beloved dead. The Mystic Rectangle is a harmonic of "ease" — meaning you can turn mud pies into rich, sweet chocolate cake if the right energy is applied.
Sirius sits at 13 degrees 24 minutes in Cancer (Brady's Book of Fixed Stars, Samuel Weiser, Inc, 1998). The star culminates at 14 degrees Cancer, which straddles the 24th (Thursday) and 25th (Friday) of April. The Egyptians called this star Sirius Isis, and it was revered for its total, brilliant power, which could lend exceptional abilities or fry you in a heartbeat. It is actually the placement of Sirius this week along with the Grand Cross that astrologers claim heralds "The End of the Age". Isis(Sirius) ushers in a new way of thinking. Sirius is the "Leader of the Pack". Old gods die. New ones rise. The mundane becomes sacred. Clear and honest intent results in tremendous gain.
Work, then, to capture the power of Sirius and Jupiter would begin on Thursday and carry into early Friday (should you so desire). I think I'll be working with Isis on Thursday night!
How will you use these wonderful benefits this week?
Note: If you do not agree with anything written in this post, please feel free to correct any mistakes I've made, or give us additional information that can help folks be the best that they can be.
Join with us at 8:00 PM EDT this Thursday 17 April 2014 in Spirit as we work for those in need.
Here are the General Rules for our Healing Circle: Rules Are Simple: Post the initials, city, state (or country) of the individual in need of help along with a brief line of what is needed under the comments section of this blog entry. Issues can be healing, financial needs, the desire for a new job — all requests are welcome as long as they are positive in nature. Our circle will work here, and we hope that all our internet friends will work too!
To Work For Someone: Let us know you are praying (working) by simply hitting the LIKE button here on the blog or on Facebook. That's all there is to it!


According to a new report published by ET, online classifieds site Quikr is in talks to acquire online real estate company Housing.com. The report mentions that the deal can be valued at around $172 Mn (INR 1100 Cr.). However, dismissing the report, Rahul Yadav replied back by calling this as the "Joke of the year".
Housing was valued at $250 Mn when it raised its last funding round led by SoftBank and others. The report also states that the deal currently is 70% in stock; if the stock amount is over 80% then the valuation can increase to $175 Mn.
Source further added that the investors are looking for exit as the startup has been making news for all the reason except the market it addresses.
In April this year, Quikr announced that they are launching real estate website QuikrHomes and it also announced to hire over 500 employees to manage this vertical. The company is now looking to strengthen this newly launched vertical. Housing's acquisition will provide Quikr a well established platform to start with and thus will cut down its expenditures.
Quikr had raised a $150 Mn round in April this year led by Steadview capital, Tiger Global and existing investors. The company is now valued at over $1 Bn.
On the other side, Housing has raised over $120 Mn in funding so far and have been making news since past few months. The company has also made a few acquisitions to maintain a foothold. According to our sources, the company is also in final stages of closing two more acquisitions.


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Hounds who hire on the job weigh in on the new way our students are marketing themselves to employers: ePortfolios
No matter what your professional field, we have all felt the pressure in the days leading up to a job interview — especially when it comes to updating our respective forms of a portfolio. We fill them with our resumes, our accolades and the best examples of our work. But the newest group of graduating Hounds will enter the workforce with a different kind of show-and-tell product: the ePortfolio. Like the name suggests, students are now creating electronic spaces that house all the pertinent information an employer could want or need in one personalized digital space.
Katie P. Desiderio, assistant professor of management, is one of several faculty members leading the ePortfolio charge at Moravian College. She started tasking students with creating their own ePortfolios in her Organizational Behavior Leadership class three years ago and has already seen a difference in their futures. "My students come back from their interviews and tell me they blew their potential bosses away," Desiderio says during an ePortfolio workshop put on by FYS, CAT and the College's Mellon Foundation grant. "They tell me it helped differentiate them from other candidates, and one of my students is now demonstrating the art of ePortfolios to her colleagues at her job."
This year's crop of Desiderio's students recently got an extra endorsement for their ePortfolios — in April, students presented their ePortfolios to distinguished alumni and local professionals in a series of four ePortfolio Professional Panels. Students networked with their panel members during lunch before presenting their portfolios to the panel and their classmates.
The panelists responded with constructive criticism and a lot of praise—they called the entire experience inspiring. "You need to be able to present yourself well. The moment you come into a room and sit down, you are being judged," says Karen Yeakel '82, vice president of investor relations for CrossAmerica Partners LP. "I think it is important for us to let these students know what someone at a professional level sees—what works, and what bothers us."
These panels also serve as another way for alumni to connect to the College. "The students are always warm and welcoming," says Laura Haffner '86, Area President and Senior Vice President of the Lehigh Valley division of Wells Fargo. This was her second year evaluating ePortfolios. "I realize it's because of the outstanding educational experience I enjoyed at Moravian that I have had opportunities for success in my career and I am very appreciative. I am always interested in finding ways to help other Moravian students in the same way I have been helped and guided as a student."
In Desiderio's class, students design their own ePortfolio websites to include whatever sections they want — from relevant course work and papers to video and multimedia elements and a personal note about their journey, Desiderio is committed to letting her students communicate their unique message. "This is an opportunity for reflection," says Desiderio. "There is a real interdisciplinary connection here, they can see how their major is embedded in the liberal arts and in the greater journey."

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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FC Halifax Town stay in fourth place after coming away with a point from the Racecourse Ground in the 0-0 draw against Wrexham. The Red Dragons have now dropped down to third place in the National League.
National League newcomers Harrogate Town have gained their place on top spot after beating Gateshead 3-2 away from home. Harrogate Town grabbed an 85th minute winner to gain top spot.
Leyton Orient have risen the table up to 2nd place after hammering Solihull Moors 3-0 at home. Solihull Moors have dropped down to 8th in the league, sitting only three points off top.
AFC Fylde lost their first home game of the season, losing to Salford City 2-0. Adam Rooney continued his goalscoring form, sending Salford City to 9th in the table where they seem to be hitting the form that was expected from then.
Hartlepool and Barrow ended in stalemate with the game ending 0-0. Sutton United got back to winning ways with Ross Lafayette scoring the goal to beat Maidenhead.
Boreham Wood continued their unbeaten home run by beating Chesterfield 1-0, Jamal Fyfield with the goal. Ebbsfleet and Dover shared the points with the game ending 1-1, Dover now sit second from bottom.
Barnet continued their good form on the road beating Bromley 1-0, Sweeney scored the goal. Dagenham & Redbridge beat Braintree Town 1-0 to come off bottom of the league, Braintree Town took their place at the Bottom.
Maidenhead made it four games in a row unbeaten, beating Eastleigh 2-0.


You will love this charming 2-bedroom apartment in Berlin. The apartment is fully furnished and includes a garage for 1 vehicle and a basement.
The apartment is located on the 2nd floor of 4-story building.
The apartment is located in Rainikendorf borough that is the northern part of Berlin. There are a public transport stop and a metro station. All the necessary infrastructure such as grocery stores, a post office, and shopping mall with many boutiques, shops and cafes are within walking distance.
The Reinikendorf borough is a quiet and very green area with many parks, lakes and canals. In this area you can find both ancient buildings and new residential complexes.


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Mehmet Taş (born 20 March 1991) is a Turkish footballer who plays for Kocaelispor.

References

1991 births
Sportspeople from Mersin
Living people
Turkish footballers
Association football midfielders
MKE Ankaragücü footballers
Ankara Demirspor footballers
Hatayspor footballers
Nazilli Belediyespor footballers
Mersin İdman Yurdu footballers
Adana Demirspor footballers
Gençlerbirliği S.K. footballers
Denizlispor footballers
Giresunspor footballers
Kocaelispor footballers
Süper Lig players
TFF First League players
TFF Second League players

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Hecklers of Campus Speakers: Easy Answers and Hard Questions
Last week, I blogged about how a planned Federalist Society talk at CUNY School of Law by Professor Josh Blackman was continuously interrupted for about eight minutes by protesters who believed that his views on constitutional law were equivalent to white supremacy. (I recommend you watch the video.) I wanted to draw sensible, constitutional lines between Blackman's right to the forum and the protesters' free speech rights. Given the need to avoid fuzzy, subjective balancing tests in First Amendment jurisprudence and to ensure clear, robust, free speech liberties that protect us all equally, I argued (as many have) that coordinated efforts to disrupt a designated speaker are not protected speech.
Because disruptions executed with intent to seriously undermine a speaker's use of a designated forum are unprotected, these types of protests-via-disruption can be punished by their public university. Questions remain, such as whether the CUNY students must be punished. Below, I will flesh out some easy answers to the campus heckling issue, and some difficult, open, constitutional and policy questions. I also want to address some of the excellent critical feedback I received from the original blog post.
First, I want to defend the view that coordinated efforts to disrupt speech are not, themselves, protected speech. This view was manifest in the prosecution, several years ago, of the "Irvine 11" for the continuous disruption of a speech of Israeli ambassador Michael Oren at UC Irvine. (I also recommend you watch that video.) I do not believe those students should have been prosecuted, as a matter of prosecutorial discretion and policy, because criminal penalties seemed too strong and perhaps selectively biased. However, in order to truly preserve free speech for all in a reciprocal way, those who coordinate to effectively disrupt a designated forum cannot be considered to be engaging in speech, but instead disruptive conduct. The alternative is that groups of people can coordinate to suppress unpopular or objectionable views, a result anathema to the First Amendment.
Protecting these sorts of sustained disruptions would mean that speakers could lose the entirety of their forum, or, as Josh Blackman did, would have to entirely remake their planned remarks to cater to and appease a crowd, intent on undermining the substance of the talk. Further, audience members who came to hear a particular speaker would lose their rights as well. Instead, the loudest and angriest would control who gets to speak and what the topic is. As I have noted, that sort of regime, if applied equally to everyone, would mean no one can ever be secure in his or her right to speak.
[A reminder on the doctrine. If public universities open up student groups as a limited public forum, they must allow groups to invite speakers and reserve rooms for events regardless of viewpoint.]
Howard Wasserman wrote a thoughtful response to my earlier post doubting the constitutional line between coordinated efforts to silence a speaker and individual efforts to do so. According to Wasserman, speech (in this case, the protests) "should not lose its protection because a lot of people cooperate to engage in it, rather than it being the isolated act of one person." This is a fair point. I do not mean to say that isolated acts of disruption can never convert protest-type speech into conduct. However, because coordinated efforts demonstrate an intent to silence a speaker, and coordinated efforts are more effective at doing so, the coordination should be recognized as contributing to the conduct-like aspects of the disruption.
More challengingly, I want to say that eight minutes of disruption is more than enough to render these coordinated efforts unprotected. Blackman's talk was only 70 minutes total; the disruptions were greater than 10% of the designated time, taken up by people whom audience members did not come to hear, and whom the student group who reserved the forum did not invite to speak. The disruptions ended only when the protesters felt they were not allowed to continue disrupting. Instead of listen and engage properly, the protesters then left.
Many commenters believe eight minutes to be an acceptable amount of time, especially because the protesters were participating in a dialog with Blackman. I think it clear that their intent was not to have a dialog. They disapproved of his presence, and (wrongly) compared him to non-serious provocateurs like Milo Yiannopoulous. As law students, they should surely recognize that the question of the legality of executive action, on principle, cannot be equivalent to the inquiry of whether the law is good. The students did not believe in the concept of open dialog between different viewpoints or our First Amendment standards; they expressly articulated that not all views are welcome at their public university. That is why they attempted to shut down a speech about campus free speech issues.
Plus, this eight minutes would have been prolonged had an administrator not come to admonish the students, telling them they must stop the disruptions. If the coordinated efforts constituted protected speech at the, say, 3 minute mark, or 4 minute mark, the administrator would have to allow these protesters to continue talking over Blackman until their disruptions became unprotected conduct.
In my view, fairly soon after coordinated efforts to silence a speaker are observed, they can and should be halted by a public university. I also believe, for the sake of ensuring that the university protects the speaker's First Amendment rights and in order to model the appropriate way to engage in civil, legal discourse, the university should punish these disruptions with some sort of (fairly light, for first infractions) disciplinary action.
However, the question of whether a public university must punish the disrupters, to safeguard the speaker's constitutional rights, is a harder question. Much of the problem is that universities may selectively punish. A state actor's policies that allow for too much discretion to punish viewpoints it dislikes are generally deemed unconstitutional. (See Forsyth, on parade permit fees.) Without reasonable standards to guide administrators in deciding when to punish disrupters, the university has too much discretion to allow a heckler's veto for Blackman but punish the suppression of speech by students for a speaker invited by, for example, the American Constitution Society. This selective enforcement works further, and even more obvious, First Amendment harm.
Selective enforcement is perhaps manifest in CUNY Law's non-application of its policy on disruptions – which prohibits disruptions of educational programming. I can also believe that CUNY Law would not punish any disrupters, and hopefully time will not tell either way. Part of the problem, of course, is that these policies are written so vaguely that the university has what may amount to an unconstitutional amount of discretion to enforce the policy only to benefit favored viewpoints. Disruptions might be permitted only for speakers with whom a public institution disagrees. Even this possibility raises constitutional concerns under Forsyth.
Assuming a university does not selectively enforce its policy on disruption, I have some sympathy for the argument that some amount of "performative" engagement between protesters and speakers should be allowed. Jeremy Waldron has an interesting article with some nice background on how heckling was a historically "common and accepted feature of political meetings." Hecklers force speakers to address issues they would rather not address. Of note, Waldron does not address his paper to the American First Amendment regime, and he avowedly does not believe in American's strong, viewpoint-neutral free speech protections, which insulate "hate speech" — not truly a category of speech in America — from censorship.
Waldron also does not believe that those heckling campus speakers are "intolerant" of the speakers' ideas. To that, I simply say, watch the videos.
If you do buy into the system we have, heckling of the sort that is happening on academic campuses is very different than Waldron's vision for political meetings. Academic discourse is also very different than political discourse. A small amount of heckling to push a speaker to contend with challenging issues is, I agree with Waldron, good for debate. Eight minutes of coordinated temper tantrums when a student group hosts a speaker with a particular view of constitutional jurisprudence is not.
Supreme Court caselaw is fairly scant on what must be done about corrosive heckling. In Feiner v. New York, the Supreme Court held that, "[w]e are well aware that the ordinary murmurings and objections of a hostile audience cannot be allowed to silence a speaker, and are also mindful of the possible danger of giving overzealous police officials complete discretion to break up otherwise lawful public meetings." Feiner does not establish an affirmative obligation to silence the crowd, though, just a position that the police may not arrest a speaker to stifle his protected speech, which may be provoking a crowd.
A series of cases after Feiner provides structure for the argument that the government has an affirmative obligation to safeguard speakers so that they can deliver their messages. (I have written an article about the heckler's veto and university security fees for invited speakers.) If that is the case, the university must (not just can) prevent disruptions that work to silence a speaker. How much disruption is necessary before a university must intervene is, again, a hard question, but eight full minutes of coordinated shouting back at a speaker does not seem like any sort of true dialog to me.
Not all speech must be polished and dispassionate (although that is the best way to engage, persuade, and learn, in my view). Students are free to provoke, heckle, and yell in many fora for which their speech has been designated – such as their own Twitter feeds, for example. The First Amendment protects "Fuck the draft" as much as "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet." What it does not protect is someone overtaking a forum designated for a particular speaker in order to corrode the speech happening in that forum. Any other rule leads down a pretty direct path to viewpoint discrimination and orchestrated shouting, which is the louder equivalent of silence.
Using Speech to Disrupt Speech – Drawing Sensible, Constitutional Lines
Criminal Procedure Final Essay
9 thoughts on "Hecklers of Campus Speakers: Easy Answers and Hard Questions"
Peter Gerdes says:
While I certainly agree that students should (after fair warning we now mean it) be punished for such disruptions and even that the universities have a moral/social obligation to do so suggesting there might be a legal requirement to punish them seems to read in *far* too much into what it means for a particular forum to be reserved for a given speaker.
I mean surely the law doesn't (and shouldn't) bar universities from deciding to try out a talk format that allows a limited period of heckling from the audience and expects the speaker to engage with it or to try limiting punishment to only social pressure (it might be more effective than allowing people to be martyrs) or reprimands to best balance ending disruption with chilling desired speech. Surely we don't want to hang the legal obligation on the way the event is described and leave it to the courts to determine the expectations conveyed by the description. Indeed, one could even argue that it's becoming part of the expected understanding of a lecture on a controversial social justice related topic that students will be allowed to protest with only verbal/minimal punishment.
Maybe in a traditional public fora there might be a legal obligation to punish a heckler's veto but the university can choose which type of speech it wants to host in it's classrooms and that rule can reflect audience reaction, e.g., if it turns out the physics conference accidentally invited a crackpot they can ask him to leave.
To be clear I believe this would be stupid and awful ways for universities to run talks but just don't think the constitution or existing law could possibly bar (even public) universities from trying them.
Within limits, you may be right, but it depends on how the university sets up its student activities forum. Thanks Peter!
Craig Mac says:
I find the argument that heckling is not free speech rather absurd. Free speech means the government cannot stop you from speaking, and that certain bodies linked to the government must give you an equal platform. It does not compel others to listen to you, or to refrain from disagreeing with you. Indeed, the very attempt to make that argument implies that some speech is *so special* that it cannot be allowed to be interrupted. That's frankly bullshit.
Whether you consider this particular speech to be distasteful or not, would you hold the same objections to an openly anti-Semitic speech being interrupted? What about anti-White? Freedom of speech includes freedom to heckle, or you end up in the untenable position that everyone is governmentally forced to listen to everybody else, and a man calling for genocide is given the same enforced respect as a man calling for free meals for schoolchildren.
Thanks for your comment. The issue is relevant to the forum analysis. When a public university opens forums up to student groups, it must allow those student groups to reserve rooms, regardless of viewpoint. Thus, the Federalist Society must be permitted to have a speaker who isn't constantly interrupted by those who wish to shut his viewpoint down. I maintain this same principle for everyone, regardless of viewpoint — as the First Amendment requires. I'm not sure where you have gotten the view from the doctrine (or which case says unlimited heckling is protected speech). No one is forced to listen to anyone. But, you cannot disrupt others who do wish to listen.
Free Speech and the 1st amendment certainly overlap, but are not the same thing.
The point on the hecklers veto is that if we allow for it, only the loudest and most organized voices will be heard. That may, now, be people with whom you agree (or not, I don't know your politics), but it will not always be this.
That was meant to be a reply to Craig Mac.
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Our hopes for tomorrow's budget vote
Tomorrow, the DC Council will vote on the city budget. Even though it's only a day away, it's unclear how the Council will vote on the parts of the budget that impact affordable housing. Throughout the past week there has been a lot of media coverage about the state of housing in DC: the city is losing low-cost rental housing, numbers of homeless families have increased dramatically, and housing and gentrification are a major concern in the Ward 5 election.
The affordability of housing to lower income and long-term District residents is clearly an area of major concern around the city. The Fiscal Year 2013 budget presents some opportunities to turn the tide and invest in affordable housing programs, which we hope the Council will adopt. You can send them an email saying you hope they'll vote for housing tomorrow: click here.
Let's take a look at what we hope for tomorrow:
The Local Rent Supplement Program is in need of additional funds to meet the housing needs of DC's lowest income residents. Councilmember Michael Brown has supported our recommendation that $6 million be added to the Local Rent Supplement Program to meet the immediate housing needs in the family shelter system, and to develop housing that will meet that need in the long term. Chairman Kwame Brown has indicated his support for the program, but has not committed to any amount. We are hopeful that the Council will use $6 million in the Fiscal Year 2013 budget to increase the capacity of LRSP to meet the housing needs of very low income residents.
The Housing Production Trust Fund, which is the key tool for developing and preserving affordable housing, still faces a $20 million loss. The Trust Fund is being used to pay for the ongoing cost of the Local Rent Supplement Program, a tactic started last year, which moves money dedicated to one housing program to pay for another. This is an unsustainable situation which jeopardizes the future of the Trust Fund.
In addition, $18 million that was cut from the Housing Production Trust Fund last year was promised funding if the city had additional funds throughout the year. Although the city has had a surplus every quarter of 2012, the city has not allocated any of it to the Trust Fund.
We are hopeful that in the Fiscal Year 2013 budget, the Council will commit to fully funding the Housing Production Trust Fund so it can fulfill its mission. In addition, we will continue to call on the Council to restore funds cut in 2012.
The Home Purchase Assistance Program faced a loss of $5 million in this budget. Councilmember Michael Brown, chair of the Committee on Housing and Workforce Development, with the support of Councilmember Mendelson, has identified $2.5 million which has been committed to HPAP in his committee. In addition, the remaining funds are listed on the Mayor's recommended programs to receive funding in the future if the city sees additional revenue. We are hopeful that the Council will support the $2.5 million recommendation for HPAP in the Fiscal Year 2013 budget, and commit to restoring the program to last year's level in future revenue.
You can let the City Council you're hopeful as well. Email the DC Council today!
Housing for All Blog is a project of the Housing For All Campaign. We believe all District residents deserve decent, quality housing at a price they can afford, and call on District officials to create a full Continuum of Housing that will meet that need.
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W&M remembers the engaging, entertaining John Lavach
A man of many interests Pictures of John Lavach on display outside of the memorial show his varied life experiences and interests. Photo by Erin Zagursky
by Erin Zagursky | September 26, 2012
Laughter filled the Matoaka Woods room of the William & Mary School of Education as family, friends, students and colleagues of John Lavach remembered him not just as a professor and a researcher, but as someone who embraced life and encouraged others to do the same.
Lavach died unexpectedly on Aug. 30, at the beginning of his 45th year at William & Mary. Hundreds of people who were touched by his life gathered on Tuesday for a memorial in his honor.
"John went out on top of his game – a full professor, more excited than ever to begin a new academic year," Ginnie McLaughlin told the standing-room only crowd.
Lavach started his academic career after serving as a paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne. He went on to earn his undergraduate degree from Montclair State College, his master's degree from Fairleigh Dickinson University and his doctorate in education from Duke University. He began teaching at William & Mary in 1967, eventually becoming a full professor. He started his career focused on child and adolescent development. However, in recent years, his focus shifted to cognitive development and dementia in the elderly.
McLaughlin, dean of the School of Education, joined retired United Methodist Campus Minister H. Braxton Allport, Jr., Lavach's nephew Mark, son Chris and daughter Kim in speaking about the longtime William & Mary professor at the memorial service.
McLaughlin recalled having Lavach as a professor when she was an undergraduate at William & Mary. His child development course was so popular that The Flat Hat published an editorial, asking the College to change its 150-student limit on class size just so that more people could take Lavach's class.
"John's classes were fast-paced and entertaining," said McLaughlin. "He was always on the move, back and forth at the front of the classroom. … Students were so engaged that they didn't realize until later how much they had learned and retained from his courses."
McLaughlin was a psychology major when she took Lavach's class, "absolutely determined that I would not go into education," she said. But Lavach and other professors like him changed her mind and, in turn, her life's work.
After the notice about his death went out to alumni, hundreds of them responded with stories of how Lavach had changed their lives, too. The response wasn't a surprise for McLaughlin.
"In my visits with hundreds of alumni over the years, more people have asked about John Lavach than any other faculty member and told me of the impact that he had on them as teachers and as parents," she said.
Lavach's nephew, son and daughter also recalled the professor's love for teaching as well as his love of learning. Throughout his life, he learned how to fly a plane, how to weld, how to climb mountains, how to restore cars and how to play various musical instruments among other hobbies.
Mark, Lavach's nephew, described his uncle as someone who was interesting, insightful, impulsive and intellectual. He said that Lavach taught him that it's not how you start in life, but how you finish.
Lavach's son, Chris, said that he always admired the way that his father could seamlessly move between various circles of people and how he always did things "all the way," fully investing in each new interest, whether it was playing a new instrument or learning to sail a boat.
Kim, Lavach's daughter, recalled her dad blasting songs like Queen's "We will rock you" and her playing near the Sunken Garden while Lavach swept the area with a metal detector for coins and other trinkets. She said that he always put his family – including Pat, his wife of 50 years – first while never ceasing to seize the day in his own unique way.
"John always did things his way," said McLaughlin, recounting Lavach's ingenuity when the mace for the School of Education's faculty marshal disappeared.
"In typical Lavach form, he just found an old wooden table leg that looked a little like the mace, tied ribbons on top, and no one was the wiser," she said. "For all we know, the faculty marshal for the School of Education is still carrying a table leg instead of the actual mace."
Lavach struggled with the idea of retiring, said McLaughlin.
"John loved being a faculty member and couldn't imagine retiring when it was still fun and he was still productive," she said.
The two of them had joked that they would coordinate his decision to retire with her decision to leave the deanship and return to teaching so that McLaughlin could get his office.
"Things certainly worked out differently than we had planned, and now I'd do anything, take any old office just to have John around a little longer," said McLaughlin.
However, she still plans on honoring their agreement. When McLaughlin, who announced her plans to return to step down as dean last year, returns to teaching, she will do so in Lavach's office.
Though some might find that odd, McLaughlin said, she expects "to get lots of warm vibes in that space."
"I just hope that as a faculty member, I can be half the teacher that John Lavach was," she said.
Message on the passing of John F. Lavach


Affordable housing. Marriage. Kids. Electrical bills. An old car. Rain leaking through your ceiling. Your phone won't stop buzzing. Trump. Healthcare. When do you start getting mammograms again? Profit margins. Employee manual. Following your own journey. During this rollercoaster called life, gratitude, saying thank you, is what helps me.
There is no doubt that we live in uncertain times, whether you are a business owner or not. Our lives seem more hectic and stressful than that of our parents AND we are supposed to follow our bliss. Even if you take a yoga class every once in a while, or grab drinks with your best buddies on a Friday evening, it always seems like there are so many more stressful moments than there are joyous ones.
Let's be real, in every life, in every dream, in every situation brought to you by your own doing or someone else's or just dumb luck, there are problems to be faced and that's just the way it is. It has always been this way. It's how you let those problems make you feel that's going to determine not only how you survive, but how you thrive in uncertain times.
At a college commencement speech this year Oprah said, "I practice being grateful…" And a lot of people said, "Oh Oprah, that's easy for you because you've got everything!" She responded with, "I have everything because I practice being grateful." In the weeks after my mom passed away in 2012, I read all her journals and they were filled with daily gratitude lists. Dozens and dozens of journals filled with all the things for which she was grateful. I popped up a few times, mostly because we had an incredibly difficult and challenging relationship and she wanted to see the good in our shared experiences. In my own self-care practice, I simply say, "Thank you" each morning before I get out of bed. Sometimes, those two words are the only ones I mutter to myself. Other times, I thank the sun for coming out or the difficult employee for teaching me to write out better instructions. My husband often comes up in that list because he is so kind, even when I am unable to return the favor.
It may sound goofy, but you know it works. Simply saying, "Thank you" in the face of stress or anger allows the little Renee who lives in my head to change her perspective. Difficult moments are actually an opportunity to grow. They are opportunities to be kinder, to be gentler to myself and others, and to do good work for my community in little interactions or situations.
Whether it's before you get out of bed, in the shower, or before you put your car in drive, find a moment to simply say, "Thank you." I repeat the same thing, every day. Some days I add more, some days I only say those two words. I know that before I put my feet on the floor for the first time each day, I have to say, "Thank you" first for simply waking up that morning. Saying it at the same time each day helps make sure I do it. It reminds me that before anything else comes up, I get to be grateful first.
Don't forget that there really is so much good happening in your life right now. Getting into the habit of saying "thank you" each morning when nothing has happened at all makes it so much easier to say, "Thank you" when something good actually does happen. Take a moment to say it when you finish reconciling your QuickBooks for the month or that employee totally put away all the dishes before you even mentioned it, or someone lets you make the right turn before they go.
The more you say, "Thank you", the more reasons you find to really mean it. Running a business, creating a happy family, and living the life you want to live is stressful, but taking a few moments every day to be grateful makes a powerful difference in whether you let those things overwhelm you with grief or with happiness.
Renee Blanchard was born in Lafayette, LA but grew up mostly just north of Fort Lauderdale, FL. Renee spent years working for various non-profits in the DC area, including Greenpeace U.S. and the Center for Health, Environment and Justice. She returned to Louisiana during the 2010 BP oil disaster to work for the Waterkeeper Alliance alongside many other Gulf Coast residents. In 2013, Renee opened Church Alley Coffee Bar with the belief that the joy of coffee brings about a more connected and peaceful Louisiana. She says businesses, regardless of size, should make the communities that support them better, and that the hospitality industry provides a unique opportunity to do just that.


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Though other identities have long existed, adjustments in communications have made make it much simpler to claim, develop, and preserve political and cultural identities and communities primarily based on affiliations with groups with distinctive traits that are smaller or involve extra targeted establishments. I'm Catalonian," I'm Gay," I am a Social Democrat," or I am vegan" are reflections of these kind of political and cultural identities. Skilled identities similar to I'm a scholar", I am a police officer", or I am a doctor," and shared exercise identities comparable to I'm a sailor", I am a gamer", or I am a guitar participant" all have identification and neighborhood parts which can be significant within the lives of people. Web sites, social media, and specialized communications now concentrate on solidifying these identities and communities.


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Presence and Absence of the Lord
Presence and Absence of the Lord by Martien A. Halvorson-Taylor
Much of the Hebrew Bible struggles with the question: where is God to be found? For some, YHWH is found in the sanctuary (Ps 27). For others, praising YHWH in communal worship was the way to find YHWH (Ps 42). The Deuteronomists suggest that the Temple contains YHWH's name though the deity resides in a heavenly realm. The Priestly School, as well as the book of Ezekiel, suggests that YHWH is to be found within, though not confined to, the Temple, wrapped in divine kabod ("honor," "glory," or "weightiness"). The prophet Amos makes the claim that YHWH came to him in a most unlikely place, in the pastures among the shepherds of Tekoa, while he was tending the flock. In all these, various figures raise the issue of how to experience and interpret God's presence.
God's presence was felt to be protective, healing, even awe-inspiring, as we hear in Num 6:24-26: "The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace." Even when YHWH was perceived as invisible, divine presence was manifest in manifold ways (see, for example, Exod 19:18, Hab 3:4-15, and 1Kgs 19:11-12).
For some, YHWH'S enormity and exclusivity meant that the deity could be present anywhere but, also, strangely, that it was simultaneously elusive, since it was not constrained by graven images or limited to the Temple. Isaiah of Jerusalem's call narrative grapples with these complexities. Standing within the Temple, Isaiah sees YHWH "high and lifted up"; he can see only the bottom edge of the deity's robe, suggesting the high holiness of YHWH's regal being, above and out of reach (Isaiah 6). YHWH was both of this world, and also not of this world—both in the Temple, and also beyond the Temple.
While God's presence was often terrifying to witness, it was more terrible to grapple with the possibility of God's absence—that God had turned away in anger, or that God had forgotten the plight of the people. The Bible preserves a painful record of this experience, as when the Psalmist cries out, "O Lord, why do you cast me off? Why do you hide your face from me?" (Ps 88:14). Or, as we hear in the anguished lament of Ps 22, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (v.1).
The book of Job wrestles with these anxieties about God's absence, even as it reckons with the terrifying implications of God's presence. In the opening chapters, YHWH meets with the divine council in the heavenly abode, and unbeknownst to humankind, resolves to deliver a devastating blow against righteous Job. Job and his friends, not knowing this, debate God's presence, absence, thoughts, actions with no input from the divine realm. Job feels both bereft when God does not intervene on his behalf and also plagued—pursued with a vengeance, even—by God. Finally, God shows up to deliver powerful but enigmatic words from a whirlwind (Job 38-41), which perhaps show most of all that God's presence and absence do not conform to the human imagination.
As we might expect from a collection of literature that comprises a broad time period and a diversity of thinkers, the Hebrew Bible encompasses rich and varied perspectives on divine presence and absence. It would be a mistake, in other words, to think that the Bible has one position on God's presence—or that the Bible alone tells the whole story of ancient Israel's experience. The enduring richness of the Bible's reflections on YHWH'S presence may indeed come from the broad array of voices that comprise the Hebrew Bible and engage this question in their own time and place, on their own particular terms.
Martien A. Halvorson-Taylor, "Presence and Absence of the Lord (HB)", n.p. [cited 18 Jan 2020]. Online: http://www.bibleodyssey.net/en/passages/related-articles/presence-and-absence-of-the-lord
Martien A. Halvorson-Taylor
Associate Professor, University of Virginia
Martien A. Halvorson-Taylor is an associate professor and an award-winning teacher at the University of Virginia. She is the author of Enduring Exile: The Metaphorization of Exile in the Hebrew Bible (Brill, 2011) and is currently working on a book on the Song of Songs.
The Hebrew Bible encompasses rich and varied perspectives on the question of where God is to be found and the meaning of God's presence and absence.
Isaiah was a prophet in ancient Judah between 740 and 700 B.C.E. who prophesied about the expansion of the Assyrian Empire and its threat to Judah.
What Did Yahweh Look Like?
The Hebrew Bible tends towards less tangible representations of YHWH, but the archaeological record provides evidence of anthropomorphisms as well as other representations.
The book of Job explores the nature of true piety and the problem of innocent suffering.
HarperCollins Dictionary
Isaiah, The Book of
Temple, The
The Early History of God: Yahweh and the Other Deities in Ancient Israel
Religious Diversity in Ancient Israel and Judah
Ancient Israelite Religion
any of the writers or editors of a Deuteronomic body of source material often distinguished in the earlier books of the Old Testament
Characteristic of a deity (a god or goddess).
a group of deities led by a high deity
A West Semitic language, in which most of the Hebrew Bible is written except for parts of Daniel and Ezra. Hebrew is regarded as the spoken language of ancient Israel but is largely replaced by Aramaic in the Persian period.
The set of Biblical books shared by Jews and Christians. A more neutral alternative to "Old Testament."
separate from the ordinary or profane.
a Major Prophet of the 8th century b.c.
A formal poetic category (see Psalms, Lamentations, prophets).
A written, spoken, or recorded story.
Relating to the priests, the people responsible for overseeing the system of religious observance, especially temple sacrifice, depicted in the Hebrew Bible.
the ancient community thought to have written many sections of the Torah/Pentateuch concerned with religious practices, genealogies, and universal origins
a site with religious significance
The name of Israel's god, but with only the consonants of the name, as spelled in the Hebrew Bible. In antiquity, Jews stopped saying the name as a sign of reverence. Some scholars today use only the consonants to recognize the lost original pronunciation or to respect religious tradition.
Triumphant Song of Confidence
1The Lord is my light and my salvation;
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life;
of whom shall I be afr ... View more
(Psalms 42-72)
Longing for God and His Help in Distress
To the leader. A Maskil of the Korahites.
1As a deer longs for flowing streams,
so my soul longs ... View more
Num 6:24-26
24The Lord bless you and keep you;25the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you;26the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you p ... View more
Exod 19:18
18Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke, because the Lord had descended upon it in fire; the smoke went up like the smoke of a kiln, while the whole mountain sho ... View more
Hab 3:4-15
4The brightness was like the sun;
rays came forth from his hand,
where his power lay hidden.5Before him went pestilence,
and plague followed close behind.6He st ... View more
1Kgs 19:11-12
Elijah Meets God at Horeb
11He said, "Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by." Now there was a great wind, so strong ... View more
A Vision of God in the Temple
1In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty; and the hem of his robe filled the temple. ... View more
Ps 88:14
14O Lord, why do you cast me off?
Why do you hide your face from me?
Plea for Deliverance from Suffering and Hostility
To the leader: according to The Deer of the Dawn. A Psalm of David.
1My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? ... View more
Job 38-41
The Lord Answers Job
1Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind:2"Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?3Gird up your loins like a m ... View more
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This article offers industry insights about automation systems with a primary focus on arms and actuators. Read further to learn more about:
An overview of an automation system
Advantages and disadvantages of automation
End of Arm Tools
Chapter 1: What is an Automation System?
An automation system is an integration of sensors, controls, and actuators designed to perform a function with minimal or no human intervention. The field concerned in this subject is called Mechatronics which is an interdisciplinary branch of engineering that combines mechanical, electrical, and electronic systems.
Most automation systems are derived from manual processes such as drilling, cutting, welding, and so on. These systems use robotic arms to manipulate the movement of the tool that performs the original function. Other applications, particularly in the field of process control, use automation to monitor and control process parameters. This is done by manipulating the operation of equipment such as heaters, motors, pumps, and compressors or by opening or isolating process lines using control valves. Automation systems are available in different configurations even for one specific function. The most common applications of automation systems are:
Coating and Painting
Chapter 2: Advantages and Disadvantages of Automation
The main objective of an automation system is to reduce human intervention. A human operator is prone to errors and fatigue which can lead to a variety of problems. Adapting an automation system will produce substantial benefits on profit, production rate, safety, and quality. Enumerated below are the advantages and disadvantages of using automation systems.
More Consistent Production: Robotic systems, when designed correctly, can reduce the production time required by doing complicated movements efficiently. A higher production rate means a larger production volume and better profit. To achieve faster actions, there must be sufficient force supplied by the driver and the flow of movement of the links and joints must be smooth without any unnecessary transitions. Moreover, the processing speed of a computer is faster and more efficient than humans. Humans can indeed process more complex information than computers, but when human error, breaks, and sick days are taken into account, computers perform better.
Increased Repeatability: A production line is efficient because of the repeated sequence of movements that are somehow "programmed" to the operator performing the work. This requires minimal decision making where the actions are governed mostly by a predetermined, specific set of instructions. These repeated movements can be broken down into simple translations and rotations that can be programmed into a robot. Since the actuators are designed with a near-constant range of motion, repeatability is increased.
Precision and Accuracy: As mentioned earlier, the actuators are designed to perform movements with a constant range. The characteristics of an actuator's movement will not change unless there is a feedback signal or change in the control variables. The automation system can be calibrated to deliver the same output with minimal or no deviation.
Increased Product Quality: With automated systems, products are created with consistency. Lapses from human error and subjective judgment are avoided. Automated systems operate according to logic and evaluate whether a certain condition meets the desired output. Constant verification can be done through feedback systems that perform more efficiently than humans.
Better Working Conditions: Processes that involve extreme temperatures, excessive pressures, high forces, fast movements, and toxic materials pose safety hazards to personnel. Automation allows robots to perform unsafe tasks eliminating injury or even fatality.
Lower Operating Costs: Aside from the additional profit due to better quality and consistently higher production rate, other economic benefits can be derived from less wasted raw material and smaller manpower costs. Less material wastage is achieved by having automatic feeding systems where raw materials are used with consistency. The amount of feed can be optimized easily and readily through programming. In terms of manpower savings, one robot can perform the work of multiple personnel. In the long term, these benefits will offset the high investment cost of installing an automated system.
High Investment Cost: The high investment cost is the main factor that discourages process owners to put up an automated system. Aside from the sensors, controllers, and actuators, an automation system is composed of different auxiliary systems such as the power supply, compressed air system, hydraulic system, and lubrication system. Robotic systems can cost around hundreds or even millions of dollars depending on the complexity of the required automation.
Additional Maintenance Required: Automated systems may not feel fatigued like human operators, but the continuous operation can lead to inevitable wear and tear of components. To keep its optimum performance and service life, regular maintenance is done to check or prevent any issues that can cause an unplanned shutdown.
Less Versatility: Most automation systems cannot be reconfigured easily. Modularity and programmability are additional features that increase the cost of the equipment. Moreover, since robots only operate according to specific instructions, any condition beyond their programming can cause unpredictable output or sudden system failure. Human operators can analyze such conditions and act accordingly.
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Chapter 3: Basic Components of an Automation System
An automation system consists of a device capable of receiving input (sensor, human-machine interface, etc.), a computing system (processor), and the manipulators that perform the actual work (actuator). The most important part of the three is the computing or control system. It can be divided into two types: open loop and closed loop (feedback) control. Open-loop control is a system where the controller sends signals to the actuator to obtain the desired response. The signals sent are only governed by the program initially fed to the controller. In a closed-loop system, a feedback signal is involved. The feedback signal is generated by the sensor which measures directly or indirectly the response made by the actuator. This feedback signal is processed by the controller to compare the actual output with the desired output. The controller then makes the necessary adjustments to the signals being sent to the actuator. The loop is repeated until the correct response is attained.
The input component can be a human-machine interface or a sensor. The human-machine interface is where the human operator communicates with the controller. This is where variables or commands are entered to modify the expected output. A sensor is used to measure the output by utilizing different physical or electromagnetic characteristics such as pressure, temperature, magnetism, radiation, and so on. The measured physical property is converted into an electronic signal that can be read and used by the controller.
The actuator is the part that produces the actions. The actuator is composed of a driver and an assembly of joints and links. The driver provides the required force or torque used to move the links connected by joints. Drivers can be considered as electric, hydraulic, or pneumatic. Electric actuators are motors or solenoids that convert electrical energy into a mechanical output. Hydraulic and pneumatic systems operate using fluid pressure compressed on pistons, cylinders, vanes, or lobes. These systems, in their most basic concept, can be considered electric as well since the fluid is controlled by the opening and closing of solenoid valves.
The links can move relative to each other depending on the degree of freedom allowed by the joint. Degrees of freedom is defined as the allowed motion of the links on a three-dimensional axis. There are six degrees of freedom, three for translation (up and down, left and right, forward and backward) and three for rotation (pitch, yaw, and roll). Most joints allow only one or two degrees of freedom for simplicity since creating a highly movable arm is difficult, expensive, and impractical.
Arm Configurations
The arm is where the end-of-arm-tools are mounted. An arm is an assembly of links and joints that have a fixed range of motion. A link is typically a rigid component capable of transferring force. Links are connected by joints which are categorized as revolute or prismatic joints. Revolute joints allow rotational movement while prismatic joints allow translational movement. Combinations of these links and joints yield varying degrees of freedom or range of motion. Arm configurations can be classified as follows.
Cartesian Robot: A Cartesian robot is composed of three prismatic joints. The name Cartesian is derived from the three-dimensional Cartesian coordinate system which consists of X, Y, and Z axes. This is the simplest system since it is easy to calculate the movements needed to manipulate the end effector from one place to another. This is suitable for applications that only require movement at right angles without the need for end effector rotation. An example of a Cartesian robot is a gantry machine.
Polar Robotic Arm: This type is also known as spherical robots. Its range of movement can be visualized as a sphere with the radius having the length of the link connecting the second revolute joint and the end effector. This link is allowed to be extended using a prismatic joint. Thus, this robotic arm is composed of two revolute joints and one prismatic joint.
Cylindrical Robotic Arm: This type of robotic arm consists of one revolute joint and two prismatic joints. The revolute joint is located at the base of the arm. This joint allows rotation of the links about its axis. This forms a cylindrical range of motion. The prismatic joints can extend which can be visualized as changing the height and radius of the cylinder.
Selective Compliant Articulated Robot Arm (SCARA): A SCARA is a robot that consists of an arm that is compliant or flexible horizontally in the X-Y plane but rigid vertically or in the Z-axis. This describes its "Selective Compliant" characteristic. Its "Articulated Robot Arm" is similar to a human arm composed of two links attached by a joint at their ends. This allows the robotic arm to extend or fold.
Articulated or Anthropomorphic Robot: This robot adds two more degrees of freedom to the end effector, in contrast with SCARA robots. Articulated robots have arms that are connected by a revolute joint at one end, similar to SCARA. However, they do not have a vertical linear guide. Rather, one arm is mounted into a swivel joint with a fixed base which allows more flexible movement.
Chapter 4: End-Of-Arm-Tools (EOAT)
End-of-arm-tools (EOATs), also known as end effectors, is the tool or operator designed to interact with the product or process. Most EOATs are grippers that lift and drop objects used for transferring or reorienting objects. Grippers have different methods of handling objects and are classified as impactive (mechanical jaws), ingressive (needles), astrictive (vacuum and magnetism), and contigutive (adhesion). Tools can also be fitted for more specific applications such as milling and welding.
Mechanical Grippers: These are used for basic pick-and-place robotic systems. Grippers have one to three sets of mechanical jaws that are driven typically by servo motors or pneumatic actuators. These jaws are composed of one line which is connected to the wrist by a revolute or prismatic joint. To control the gripping force when using servo motors, feedback is generated by strain gauges or the motor current. For grippers using pneumatic actuators, the gripping force can be increased without damaging the item due to the inherent compressibility of air. The jaws can be constructed as forks, fingers, parallel plates, or surfaces following the shape of the payload. A better grip is achieved by lining the surfaces with resilient, high friction materials.
Vacuum or Suction Cups: These are used for picking objects with smooth surfaces such as films, glass, and plates. A common way of producing a vacuum is through the use of a venturi supplied with compressed air. To create a larger suction force, an array of suction cups is used. Vacuum EOATs are cleaner than mechanical grippers and can allow some positional deviation. This type of EOAT is not suitable for rough, porous, or irregular surfaces. Moreover, the object can slip out of the suction cup when accelerated too quickly.
Magnetic Grippers: These types of EOATs use electromagnets for lifting ferromagnetic objects. Permanent magnets are also used since it does not continuously consume power. However, it needs a mechanical device for removing the collected object. Electromagnets are preferred due to their simple operation since the object can be lifted or dropped simply by supplying or cutting power to the electromagnet. However, aside from the limitation of its use on ferromagnetic materials, it also causes the parts to be magnetic. Also, it cannot be accelerated too quickly since the attached object can slip.
Inflatable Collars and Cylinders: An inflatable collar can be visualized as a looped elastomer tube supported by a rigid structure on its outer periphery. It grips the object by expanding the tube while releasing, which is done by deflating. These are commonly used in the two-dimensional gripping of tubular or cylindrical products.
Needle Grippers: These types perform gripping action by penetrating the object or bulk with needles or hackles. These EOATs are usually static without any moving links of joints. Needle grippers are used in handling porous or fibrous objects such as textiles, carbon and glass fibers where small penetrations are not an issue.
Adhesive Grippers: As the name suggests, these types of grippers grasp the product through surface adhesion. A special type of adhesive is coated onto the surface of a pad or plate which contacts the product to be lifted. The main advantage of adhesive grippers is their ability to operate without any air or power supply. However, they are limited to handling light objects and they tend to lose gripping effectiveness over time.
Tools (Permanent and Changeable): Tools can be fitted at the outermost link of the wrist instead of a gripper. The tool can be permanently attached or changeable. Common tools for end effectors are screwdrivers, wrenches, drills, rotating cutters, lasers, waterjet nozzles, paint spray nozzles, welding electrodes, and solders. Other specialized end effectors include inspection systems with mounted sensors. An example of this is a camera or other type of optical device which is used for non-contact testing and 3D measurements. The resulting measurements are exact in the order of tenths of a millimeter due to the intrinsic repeatability, precision, and accuracy of robotic systems.
Existing tools installed to the robotic arm can also be changed over time due to modifications brought about by new product requirements, system improvements, or part obsolescence. In deciding whether the new tool is applicable, several factors must be verified:
Weight of the new tool;
Positional and angular accuracy when aligned with the workpiece;
Force and torque exerted by the tool;
Rigidity requirements;
Adapter, coupling, and quick-release mechanisms;
Feedback control and mounted sensors;
Auxiliary system requirements.
Anthropomorphic and Adaptive Grippers: In comparison with mechanical grippers, anthropomorphic grippers have more complicated links and joints. Mechanical grippers typically have one link connected to the wrist by a revolute or prismatic joint. Anthropomorphic grippers, on the other hand, have two or more links chained together by revolute joints. They can be configured to provide two- or three-dimensional gripping by having two or three sets of fingers. To be adaptive, each finger is actuated independently with mounted sensors for checking proximity and grip strength. Anthropomorphic and adaptive grippers are useful in applications where the objects are frequently varying such as in sorting and multiple product line packaging systems.
Chapter 5: Actuators
Actuators are the components that provide force or torque to create movement. These are attached to the links and joints through tendons, gears, chains, cams, or shafts to form the main actuation system. They are classified as electric, hydraulic, and pneumatic.
Electric Actuators: Electric actuators are the most widely used actuators for industrial robots. The most common type of electric actuator is a servo motor energized by a DC power supply. The rotational movement of the motor can be converted into linear action by various mechanical transmission systems such as belts, cables, and chains. Electric actuators that create direct linear motion also exist in the form of linear motors and solenoids. The main types of electric actuators are summarized below:
Servo motors: This type of electric actuator operates through a closed-loop or feedback system which processes an output signal to control its position, velocity, and acceleration. The motors used in the servomechanism can be a brushed DC motor, brushless DC motor, AC motors, and even linear motors. The servomechanism has a sensor, transducer, or potentiometer called an encoder that measures the position and speed of the motor and converts it into an electronic signal. The signal, either digital or analog, is fed to an amplifier and controller which then alters the voltage or frequency of the electric power supplied to the motor.
Stepper Motors: Unlike the servomotor, stepper motors do not need a feedback loop. They operate through the continuous energization and de-energization of stator poles that pull the poles of the rotor. The stator has poles energized separately to pull the rotor poles and create a stepping or indexing rotation. The rotor is made of laminated ferromagnetic material with a different number of poles than the stator. The difference in the number of poles of the rotor and the stator allows only one set or pair of poles to be attracted at a time. A controller and amplifier power the poles according to the programmed speed of the motor. Stepper motors are simpler than servo motors but are less powerful. If the load is exceeded, the motor can slip. Since there is no built-in feedback loop, there is no way to correct the deviation.
Pneumatic Actuators: Pneumatic actuators operate using compressed air typically at pressures around 6 to 10 bars. The flow of compressed air is controlled by solenoid valves. The most common types of pneumatic actuators are cylinders or rams. A pneumatic cylinder has a piston that extends or retracts upon the application of pressure inside the cylinder. One side of the piston is connected to a rod which couples to the robot arm. Other methods of coupling are also possible such as cables and magnets. The amount of force generated depends on the pressure and the effective area of the piston.
Pneumatic cylinders can be single-acting or double-acting. A single-acting cylinder has only one inlet port in which the compressed air pushes the piston in one direction only. The return stroke is achieved by an external force such as spring force or gravity. On the other hand, a double-acting cylinder has two ports on both ends of the cylinder that acts as both inlet and exhaust ports. Compressed air is supplied on one end and is released on the other. This allows the piston to move and exert force in both directions. A less common type of pneumatic cylinder is a telescoping cylinder which is composed of nested shells that extend when compressed air is introduced. Telescoping cylinders can be single or double-acting.
For creating rotary motion using compressed air, pneumatic motors are used. Common pneumatic motors are rotary vanes and turbines. Rotary vanes operate through the positive displacement of air as it passes the rotor. Turbines create rotation using the kinetic energy of the passing air. Aside from pneumatic cylinders and motors, other types of pneumatic actuators exist such as tubes, bellows, and diaphragms. Though different in construction, they function the same way as cylinders and motors.
Hydraulic Actuators: Hydraulic actuators operate the same way as pneumatic actuators. The only differences are the magnitude of force created, the robustness of construction, its fluid circuit, and the ability to be servo-controlled. Hydraulic actuators can exert very large forces suited for carrying heavy payloads. This can be attributed to the incompressibility of hydraulic fluids or oil. Pressures can go as high as 130 bars. Because of the high pressures involved, hydraulic actuators are constructed with very thick and rigid metals. The rams and pistons are surface treated and sealed to prevent any fluid leakage.
Pneumatic circuits are typically open where the air is not recirculated within the system. In hydraulic circuits, the fluid is returned to the pumping unit where oil is filtered and cooled before recirculation. When compressed at very high pressures, the fluid tends to heat up which can accelerate its degradation.
Another desirable characteristic of hydraulic actuators is their ability to be servo-controlled. Pneumatic cylinders are only capable of fully extending or retracting. Hydraulic cylinders, on the other hand, are capable of being servo-controlled in which their extension length and speed can be precisely controlled.
An automation system is an integration of sensors, controls, and actuators designed to perform a function with minimal or no human intervention.
Adapting an automation system will produce substantial benefits on profit, production rate, safety, and quality. The higher initial cost of adapting automation systems is usually offset by these benefits.
An automation system consists of a device capable of receiving input (sensor, human-machine interface, etc.), a computing system (processor), and the manipulators that perform the actual work (actuator).
An arm is an assembly of links and joints that have a fixed range of motion. They can be Cartesian, polar, cylindrical, SCARA, and articulated.
End-of-arm-tools (EOATs), also known as end effectors, is the tool or operator designed to interact with the product or process.
Actuators are the components that provide force or torque to create movement. They are classified as electric, hydraulic, and pneumatic.
What is an Automation System?
Basic Components of an Automation System
End-Of-Arm-Tools (EOAT)
IQS Homepage
An industrial robot is an autonomous system of sensors, controllers, and actuators that executes specific functions and operations in a manufacturing or processing line. They operate continuously through repetitive movement cycles as instructed by a set of commands called a program...
Automated Guided Vehicles
Automated guided vehicles (AGV) or mobile robots are types of guided robotic systems that are not bounded by a fixed range of motion. Rather, it is self-contained and can move along a line, surface, or space...
Robotic Palletizers
A robotic palletizer is a type of palletizer that employs a robotic arm to pick, orient, and place individual products and arrange them into a single stack of load. They are the next generation of palletizers, and they will supersede conventional palletizers...
Types of AGVs (Automatic Guided Vehicles)
In 1954, when Arthur "Mac" Barrett, of Barrett Electronics Corporation, unveiled the first AGV, he named it Guide-o-Matic and described it as a driverless vehicle...
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WSO2 App Manager Documentation - App Manager 1.0.0 - WSO2 Documentation for your Wiki!
App Manager 1.0.0
WSO2 App Manager Documentation
Created by Nirdesha Munasinghe, last modified by Tania Mahanama on May 29, 2016
Welcome to WSO2 App Manager Documentation! WSO2 App Manager (AppM) is a fully open source, complete solution for creating, publishing and managing all aspects of an application and its life cycle, and is ready for massively scalable deployments.
Use the descriptions below to find the section you need, and then browse the topics in the left navigation panel. You can also use the Search box on the left to find a term in this documentation, or use the search box in the top right-hand corner to search in all WSO2 product documentation.
To download a PDF of this document or a selected part of it, click here. (You can generate only one PDF at a time). To export to a different format, click the Browse menu at the top of this screen, click Space Operations, and then select an Export option.
About App Manager
Introduces WSO2 App Manager, including the business cases it solves, its features, architecture and how to get help.
Instructions to download, install, run and get started quickly with WSO2 App Manager.
Introduces the features and functionality of the App Manager, solution development, testing, debugging and deployment.
Introduces product deployment and other system administration tasks.
Real-life business use cases of the product.
{"serverDuration": 117, "requestCorrelationId": "756e6e0e6aa3ece6"}


Abstract: This paper describes an approach to acquire locally consistent range data scans from a moving sensor platform. Data from a vertically mounted rotating laser scanner and odometry position estimates are fused and used to estimate maximum likelihood point clouds. An estimation algorithm is applied to reduce the accumulated error after a full rotation of the range finder. A configuration consisting of a SICK laser scanner mounted on a rotational actuator is described and used to evaluate the proposed approach. The data sets analyzed suggest a significant improvement in point cloud consistency, even over a short travel distance.


Our church supports missionaries that we have sent to the field. Can they get free registration?
Unfortunately ACCI doesn't have the resources to extend free registration to all field workers. Only those sent through ACCI are entitled to this.


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Posted on April 29, 2020 April 29, 2020 by Daniel Patinkin
The Latest On Potential Coronavirus Treatments and Vaccines
Medical professionals and researchers around the world have been working overtime to develop effective treatments and vaccines for the novel coronavirus. ELEVATION has previously reported on several of these initiatives. Unfortunately, some of the drugs that showed early potential – notably hydroxychloroquine, which was enthusiastically promoted by President Trump – have not panned out. However, scores of other pharmaceutical options are currently in the development and trial phases.
Japan distributes Avigan
The Japanese anti-influenza drug Avigan has already shown promise in reducing the severity of COVID-19 outcomes in China. Based on the results, Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced on March 28 that his government would designate Avigan as Japan's standard treatment for Covid-19.
The Japan Times now reports that authorities in Japan will begin distributing Avigan for free to 38 countries for testing on hospitalized patients. Health officials in the recipient countries will share the results of clinical testing in order to further assess the efficacy of the drug. The Japanese government is allocating approximately $130 million to produce enough Avigan to treat 2 million COVID-19 patients.
Japan to offer anti-flu drug Avigan to 38 countries as early as this week https://t.co/ncJ55NyEvE
— The Japan Times (@japantimes) April 29, 2020
The Coronavirus Manhattan Project
A group of prominent scientists, industry leaders, and billionaires have formed a powerful coalition to fight back against the pandemic – this according to the Wall Street Journal. Spearheaded by Boston-based physician and venture capitalist, Tom Cahill, the effort has been dubbed a "Manhattan Project" for the coronavirus. The original Manhattan Project was a four-year research and development collaboration that led to the creation of the world's first atomic bomb during World War II.
Participants in this coronavirus initiative include a variety of biologists, epidemiologists and even a nuclear scientist. They go by the name "Scientists to Stop Covid-19." Dr. Cahill has been able to leverage his connections with powerful financiers such as Peter Thiel and Michael Milken to recruit additional participants and to establish a direct line with the White House and top federal health officials. Members of the group review scores of coronavirus-related scientific papers each day and debate strategies via Zoom conference calls. They recently issued a 17-page paper consisting of proposals in the following four areas:
How to rapidly repurpose an antiviral drug to treat COVID-19 patients;
How to expedite the development of human antibody drugs to treat patients and provide short-term protection for healthy individuals;
How to develop COVID-19 vaccines on an expedited time scale; and
How to reopen our businesses and schools in a manner that reduces the risk of future outbreaks and death.
According to the WSJ, "The Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Veterans Affairs have already implemented specific recommendations, such as slashing manufacturing regulations and requirements for specific coronavirus drugs."
Early Remdesivir results look good
Today, Foster City, California-based Gilead Sciences, Inc. announced positive initial results from an international trial of its drug Remdesivir. First developed as an Ebola treatment, Remdesivir later showed promise as a treatment for dangerous viruses MERS and SARS. This prompted Gilead to explore its use in COVID-19 patients.
The placebo-controlled study of COVID-19 patients has shown that a 5-day Remdesivir treatment may reduce the duration of illness and the mortality rate. Generally, the earlier patients received treatment, the better the outcome. The study is awaiting peer review.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, expressed cautious optimism about the trial results. He said that the early data indicates "a clear-cut, significant positive effect in diminishing the time to recovery."
Gilead announces results from Phase 3 trial of investigational antiviral in patients with severe COVID-19: https://t.co/lZFC5Yee8T. pic.twitter.com/oDyYCI7JDX
— Gilead Sciences (@GileadSciences) April 29, 2020
An expedited vaccine at Oxford University
The New York Times reports that scientists at Oxford University have developed a potential COVID-19 vaccine based on a previously developed vaccine that was both safe and effective when used to treat a related coronavirus. They plan to test the vaccine on 6,000 people in May. If the drug proves effective, a few million doses could be readied by September – sooner than all other leading vaccine development efforts in the world.
Recent animal trials of the drug are encouraging. Scientists with the US National Institutes of Health injected six rhesus monkeys with the Oxford vaccine last month. They then exposed the monkeys to quantities of SARS-COV-2 "that had consistently sickened other monkeys in the lab." Four weeks later, all of the test monkeys remained uninfected.
This entry was posted in:Current Events, Health & Wellness, Science and Technology
Tagged with:avigan, coronavirus, COVID-19, gilead, manhattan project, oxford univerisity, pandemic, remdesivir, research, scientists, treatments, vaccines
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I recently caught up with Natalie Y. Moore, the author of "The South Side," the latest treatise on Chicago's infamous brand of segregation.
Moore, an award-winning journalist, is the South Side bureau reporter for WBEZ.
Her life has been a whirlwind since the release of her book exploring institutionalized racism and how it has affected neighborhoods now stigmatized as high-crime.
While there are countless books about Chicago's segregation, Moore, who grew up in a solidly middle-class family, weaves her life story through a well-researched account of the policies that have shaped Chicago into a city often described as separate and unequal.
She recently drew an overflow crowd to a book-signing at Columbia College Chicago — so many people that she ran out of books. And the room was still buzzing with conversation long after the event ended.
Not yet 40, Moore represents the generation of black people who are the offspring of the beneficiaries of the Civil Rights Movement.
She told me that, "Even though I am writing about the ills of segregation, I didn't want to paint the black community as these horrible places that white people needed to fix.
There are some stark differences between middle-class and low-income African-Americans, but there are also commonalities when it comes to race, according to Moore.
"This is why I frame [the book] in racial terms and not class terms," she says. "Poor people are affected. Middle-class people are affected. The example I give is that you can earn $100,000 and still live in a food desert if you are black.
"You can live in a black neighborhood, and you are trying to build the American dream and do all the right things, and you are still at a disadvantage. It is not because black is inherently bad. It is because the system views black as inherently bad.
"Change is possible," she says.


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New bravery series by Lord Ashcroft in Britain at War
By Lord Ashcroft. Published Tuesday, 12 March, 2013 in News, Medals.
Lord Ashcroft KCMG PC has begun a new monthly bravery series in Britain at War, the country's best-selling military history monthly magazine.
The theme of the series will be Lord Ashcroft's "hero of the month" and it starts in the latest March edition of the magazine with a five-page write-up on James Magennis VC.
The Magennis VC, awarded at the end of the Second World War, was the first gallantry medal purchased by the Conservative peer when he started his collection in 1986. Today his unrivalled VC collection, which is on display at the Imperial War Museum, totals 179 decorations.
Lord Ashcroft is a military historian who had written four books on bravery over the past eight years. He has also lectured extensively on courage and his various medal collections.
Lord Ashcroft said: "I feel extremely proud to have been asked to write a monthly article for such a prestigious magazine. As someone with a lifelong interest in gallantry, I have long enjoyed reading Britain at War and now I am thrilled to be able to contribute towards the magazine."
Martin Mace, the Editor of Britain at War, said he was delighted to have the new series in his magazine. "Over the coming months, Lord Ashcroft will examine many other individual acts of gallantry,' he said.
All the write-ups for the magazine will be based on expanded excerpts from Lord Ashcroft's four books on gallantry: Victoria Cross Heroes, Special Forces Heroes, George Cross Heroes and Heroes of the Skies.
Furthermore, the vast majority of the write-ups will be based on gallantry medals owned by Lord Ashcroft. As well as his VC collection, the Conservative peer has a major Special Forces' medals' collection and a substantial collection of decorations awarded for gallantry in the air. In 2010, Lord Ashcroft also started collecting George Crosses (GCs) for the first time and currently owns 11 awards.
Download the first article in Britain at War
Visit the Lord Ashcroft Gallery website


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Essential Business Directory
Election Coverage Explained
Pakistanis check damages at an election campaign office of Pakistan People's Party, PPP, destroyed by a bomb blast in Quetta, Pakistan, Friday, May 10, 2013. Pakistan is scheduled to hold parliamentary elections on May 11, the first transition between democratically elected governments in a country that has experienced three military coups and constant political instability since its creation in 1947. The parliament's ability to complete its five-year term has been hailed as a significant achievement. (AP Photo/Arshad Butt)
Bombs target Pakistan election offices, killing 3
By RASOOL DAWAR The Associated Press
MIRAN SHAH, Pakistan (AP) - A pair of bombs targeting the offices of candidates running in this weekend's election killed three people on Friday in northwest Pakistan, the latest attacks in what has been a bloody campaign.
At least 130 people have been killed in attacks on candidates and party workers since the beginning of April. The Pakistani Taliban have claimed responsibility for most of the attacks, saying the country's democracy runs counter to Islam.
The Taliban are suspected in the abduction of former Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani's son on Thursday, although there has been no claim of responsibility. Gilani said he has asked Pakistan's powerful intelligence agency to help find his 25-year-old son, Ali Haider Gilani, who was taken as he was leaving an election event in the central Pakistani city of Multan.
The elder Gilani said the abduction should not interrupt Saturday's election, which will mark the first time a civilian government has completed its full five-year term and transferred power in democratic elections.
'The election process should continue,' the former prime minister told reporters.
The bombings of the election offices Friday occurred in Miran Shah, the main town in the North Waziristan tribal area and a key sanctuary for the Pakistani Taliban. In addition to the three people who were killed, 15 were wounded in the attacks, said intelligence officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.
No one has claimed responsibility, and it was unclear exactly which candidates were targeted since several have offices in the block where the explosions occurred.
The Taliban have mainly targeted candidates and workers from secular parties, raising concern the violence could benefit hard-line Islamists and others who take a soft line toward the militants because they are able to campaign more freely.
Also on Friday, unknown assailants threw a grenade at the main office of the secular Pakistan People's Party in Quetta, the capital of southwest Baluchistan province, wounding five people, said police spokesman Fayyaz Sumbal. No one claimed responsibility for the attack.
Baluchistan is home to both Islamic militants and separatist insurgents who want to break away from Pakistan. The separatists have been staging attacks against candidates and party workers in an attempt to hamper Saturday's election.
Given the recent attacks, soldiers and police stood guard Friday as election materials were distributed to polling stations throughout the country.
--- Associated Press writers Abdul Sattar in Quetta, Pakistan, and Munir Ahmed in Islamabad contributed to this report.
Commentary: Trust the vaccine for its life-saving merits
Two brothers face charges after standoff with police in Plymouth
Morning Briefing: Local Congressional members all vote to impeach Trump for second time; Officials look to ramp up COVID vaccinations; Flyers roll to season-opening win
Morning Briefing: Former local firefighter arrested in connection to Capitol riot; County officials keep an eye on security; Villanova gets back to practice after COVID shutdown
Following vehicle thefts, Norristown Police urge residents to keep car doors locked
FBI arrests retired Chester firefighter for throwing fire extinguisher at police during Capitol riot (With Video)
Montgomery County shares 'hometown pride' of Willow Grove native Jill Biden
Spring-Ford School District may eliminate hybrid classes
Suspect wanted for Philadelphia homicide taken into custody in Plymouth Meeting
Montgomery County sheriff unveils program to assist court participants who need mental health services
Kennett Paper


This striking vintage silvertone & olivine green Whiting & Davis necklace and earrings demi parure set will stand out on any outfit you wear!
It features a large elongated pendant of silvertone metal with an olive green colored faceted glass stone cabochon at the center. The pendant hangs on a nice, heavy silvertone chain. The pendant is fairly heavy and is held in a fixed location, which is nice since the pendant of this size would tend to move around a lot.
The vintage dangle earrings are of matching silvertone metal and green stone.
Measurements: The chain measures 24" long . The pendant is 3" long including the bail and 1 3/8" wide. The large green faceted stone is 1 ¼ long and ¾" wide. The clip earrings are 1 7/8" long and 5/8" wide.
Signed: Necklace is signed Whiting Davis on hangtag. Earrings are unsigned.
Condition: Excellent condition. Spring ring clasp on necklace and the earring clips are in fine working order.