Aims. This is the second paper of a series in which we present measurements of the supernova (SN) rates from the SUDARE survey. The aim of this survey is to constrain the core collapse (CC) and Type Ia SN progenitors by analysing the dependence of their explosion rate on the properties of the parent stellar population averaging over a population of galaxies with different ages in a cosmic volume and in a galaxy sample. In this paper, we study the trend of the SN rates with the intrinsic colours, the star formation activity and the masses of the parent galaxies. To constrain the SN progenitors we compare the observed rates with model predictions assuming four progenitor models for SNe Ia with different distribution functions of the time intervals between the formation of the progenitor and the explosion, and a mass range of 8-40 M for CC SN progenitors. Methods. We considered a galaxy sample of approximately 130 000 galaxies and a SN sample of approximately 50 events. The wealth of photometric information for our galaxy sample allows us to apply the spectral energy distribution (SED) fitting technique to estimate the intrinsic rest frame colours, the stellar mass and star formation rate (SFR) for each galaxy in the sample. The galaxies have been separated into star-forming and quiescent galaxies, exploiting both the rest frame U-V vs. V-J colour-colour diagram and the best fit values of the specific star formation rate (sSFR) from the SED fitting. Results. We found that the SN Ia rate per unit mass is higher by a factor of six in the star-forming galaxies with respect to the passive galaxies, identified as such both on the U-V vs. V-J colour-colour diagram and for their sSFR. The SN Ia rate per unit mass is also higher in the less massive galaxies that are also younger. These results suggest a distribution of the delay times (DTD) less populated at long delay times than at short delays. The CC SN rate per unit mass is proportional to both the sSFR and the galaxy mass, confirming that the CC SN progenitors explode soon after the end of the star formation activity. The trends of the Type Ia and CC SN rates as a function of the sSFR and the galaxy mass that we observed from SUDARE data are in agreement with literature results at different redshifts suggesting that the ability of the stellar populations to produce SN events does not vary with cosmic time. The expected number of SNe Ia is in agreement with that observed for all four DTD models considered both in passive and star-forming galaxies so we can not discriminate between different progenitor scenarios. The expected number of CC SNe is higher than that observed, suggesting a higher limit for the minimum progenitor mass. However, at least part of this discrepancy between expected and observed number of CC SNe may reflect a fluctuation due to the relatively poor statistics. We also compare the expected and observed trends of the SN Ia rate with the intrinsic U-J colour of the parent galaxy, assumed to be a tracer of the age distribution. While the slope of the relation between the SN Ia rate and the U-J colour in star-forming galaxies can be well-reproduced by all four DTD models considered, only the steepest of them is able to account for the rates and colour in star-forming and passive galaxies with the same value of the SN Ia production efficiency. The agreement between model predictions and data could be found for the other DTD models, but with a productivity of SN Ia higher in passive galaxies compared to star-forming galaxies.
NGC6217 is a nearby spiral galaxy with a starburst region near its centre. Evidence for a low-luminosity Active Galactic Nucleus (AGN) in its core has also been found in optical spectra. Intriguingly, X-ray observations by ROSAT revealed three knots aligned with the galaxy centre, resembling a jet structure. This paper presents a study of XMM-Newton observations made to assess the hypothesis of a jet emitted from the centre of NGC6217. The XMM data confirm the knots found with ROSAT and our spectral analysis shows that they have similar spectral properties with a hard photon index Gamma similar to 1.7. The core of NGC6217 is well fitted by a model with an AGN and a starburst component, where the AGN contributes at most 46 per cent of the total flux. The candidate jet has an apparent length similar to 15 kpc and a luminosity of similar to 5 x 10(38) erg s(-1). It stands out by being hosted by a spiral galaxy, since jets are more widely associated with ellipticals. To explain the jet launching mechanism we consider the hypothesis of an advection dominated accretion flow with a low accretion rate. The candidate jet emitted from NGC6217 is intriguing since it represents a challenge to the current knowledge of the connection between AGN, jets and host galaxies.
Aims. We aim to study the variability properties of bright hard X-ray selected active galactic nuclei (AGN) in the redshift range between 0.3 and 1.6 detected in the Chandra Deep Field South (XMM-CDFS) by a long (similar to 3 Ms) XMM observation.& para;& para;Methods. Taking advantage of the good count statistics in the XMM CDFS, we search for flux and spectral variability using the hardness ratio (HR) techniques. We also investigate the spectral variability of different spectral components (photon index of the power law, column density of the local absorber, and reflection intensity). The spectra were merged in six epochs (defined as adjacent observations) and in high and low flux states to understand whether the flux transitions are accompanied by spectral changes.& para;& para;Results. The flux variability is significant in all the sources investigated. The HRs in general are not as variable as the fluxes, in line with previous results on deep fields. Only one source displays a variable HR, anti-correlated with the flux (source 337). The spectral analysis in the available epochs confirms the steeper when brighter trend consistent with Comptonisation models only in this source at 99% confidence level. Finding this trend in one out of seven unabsorbed sources is consistent, within the statistical limits, with the 15% of unabsorbed AGN in previous deep surveys. No significant variability in the column densities, nor in the Compton reflection component, has been detected across the epochs considered. The high and low states display in general different normalisations but consistent spectral properties.& para;& para;Conclusions. X-ray flux fluctuations are ubiquitous in AGN, though in some cases the data quality does not allow for their detection. In general, the significant flux variations are not associated with spectral variability: photon index and column densities are not significantly variable in nine out of the ten AGN over long timescales (from three to six and a half years). Photon index variability is found only in one source (which is steeper when brighter) out of seven unabsorbed AGN. The percentage of spectrally variable objects is consistent, within the limited statistics of sources studied here, with previous deep samples.
KTH, School of Engineering Sciences (SCI), Physics. Oskar Klein Ctr, Sweden.
In this paper, the dependence of the broad Fe K alpha line on the physical parameters of AGN, such as the black hole mass M-BH, accretion rate (equivalently represented by Eddington ratio lambda(Edd)) and optical classification is investigated by applying the X-ray spectra stacking method to a large sample of AGN which have well measured optical parameters. A broad-line feature is detected (> 3 sigma) in the stacked spectra of the high lambda(Edd) sub-sample (log lambda(Edd) > -0.9). The profile of the broad line can be well fitted with relativistic broad-line model, with the line energy consistent with highly ionized Fe K alpha line (i.e. Fe xxvi). A model consisting of multiple narrow lines cannot be ruled out, however. We found hints that the Fe K line becomes broader as the lambda(Edd) increases. No broad-line feature is shown in the sub-sample of broad-line Seyfert 1 (BLS1) galaxies and in the full sample, while a broad line might be present, though at low significance, in the sub-sample of narrow-line Seyfert 1 (NLS1) galaxies. We find no strong dependence of the broad line on black hole masses. Our results indicate that the detection/properties of the broad Fe K alpha line may strongly depend on lambda(Edd), which can be explained if the ionization state and/or truncation radius of the accretion disc changes with lambda(Edd). The non-detection of the broad line in the BLS1 sub-sample can be explained if the average equivalent width of the relativistic Fe K alpha line is weak or/and the fraction of sources with relativistic Fe K alpha line is small in BLS1 galaxies.


At Westlake Dermatology & Cosmetic Surgery, we offer a full range of reconstructive facial plastic surgery options to correct congenital, malignant, traumatic or post-surgical defects and deformities. Our team of experienced plastic and facial plastic surgeons balances aesthetics with technical knowledge to correct tissue and structural problems; recreating a natural appearance and improving functionality.
Common facial reconstruction surgery procedures include orbital reconstruction, midface or zygoma fracture, facial nerve paralysis surgery, ptosis correction, Mohs surgery closure, and laceration repair.
The orbit (commonly referred to as the eye socket) is a bony enclosure that houses the eye along with all corresponding tissue and nerves. If the orbit becomes severely fractured (most commonly from blunt force trauma from a car accident, fall or altercation) individuals can experience a variety of issues including severe pain, swelling, vision issues, and infection. Additionally the area can suffer negative aesthetic results such as eye drooping.
Orbital fracture surgery can be performed to repair the orbit, restoring functionality of the eye and providing a natural appearance. During the procedure, a surgeon extracts entrapped soft tissue and repositions fractured bone fragments to provide enhanced structural integrity of the socket. Sometimes a titanium or porous implant is used to reconstruct the orbital floor blow out fracture.
A Lefort fracture (midface fracture) is an underlying structural fracture of the midface stemming from a major trauma. The underlying structure of the midface is extremely complex, with a "tent-like" bone structure covered by overlying soft tissue. However various surgical techniques utilizing titanium plates enable the area to be restored.
A zygoma fracture causes the cheek bone to be displaced into the face, causing flattening of the cheek. It can compress the nerve that provides sensation to the cheek, causing numbness to the cheek, nose and upper lip. The fracture often also involves the orbit (see Orbital Fracture above) and cheek (maxillary) sinus. Repair of this fracture involves using titanium plates to recreate stability after the bones are repositioned into their correct locations.
Facial nerve paralysis limits basic functionality to specific areas of the face, most notably the mouth, forehead, and eyes. Paralysis stems from damage to the facial nerve. Facial nerve paralysis can be caused by infection, trauma, tumors, stroke, autoimmune disorders, and Bells Paly disease. It can range from mild to severe.
Facelift surgery is not just for cosmetic improvement for the aging face. After facial nerve paralysis, the paralyzed side lacks the muscular support to hold the face up. As a result it sags, creating a distortion between the strong and the weak sides of the face. Facelift surgery can re-support the sagging side to create better symmetry. Jowls and the midface can be elevated and strengthened, resulting in correction of the asymmetry.
Just as the face sags on the paralyzed side, so does the eyebrow and upper eyelid. In addition, the muscles that close the eye are weak, so the eyelid does not close well while the weight of the eyebrow creates a heavy look. This condition is called lagophthalmos.
Blepharoplasty surgery can correct all these issues. Combinations of different forehead lift techniques (direct brow lift, hairline brow lift or endoscopic forehead lift) can be used to elevate the affected eyebrow while also improving the unaffected side if needed. Upper eyelid closure can be enhanced and lagophthalmos corrected by placing a small gold weight into the upper eyelid to help it close. This protects the eye during sleep and improves the blink so the eye is less dry and the cornea is better protected against corneal abrasions or ulcerations.
The lower eyelid will often sag after facial paralysis. The lower eyelid is vital in pumping tears across the cornea to keep it moist. When it sags, tears cannot be pumped and the cornea can become dry or ulcerated. Lower eyelid lateral canthal tightening surgery (canthoplasty or canthopexy) will tighten the lower eyelid, improving its pumping action and tear lubrication of the cornea.
When weakness is severe, a midface lift is performed at the same time as lower eyelid tightening. The midface lift elevates the tissues that support the lower eyelid, lifting and tightening it further.
After facial paralysis, when the face sags it can also appear as if it loses volume. Fat transfer, where fat is harvested elsewhere in the body and then transferred to areas of poor facial volume, is a great way to restore proper facial proportion. Ptosis (droopy eyelid).
Ptosis is the drooping of the upper eyelid. In addition to affecting an individual's aesthetic appearance, ptosis that is severe or remains untreated can lead to other conditions, such as amblyopia ("lazy eye") or astigmatism. This is why it is especially important for this disorder to be treated in children at a young age, before it can interfere with vision development.
Reconstructive surgery is typically the most effective treatment for ptosis. During surgery, a physician tightens the levator muscles in order to lift the eyelids, enhancing both the vision and appearance of the eyes.
Depending on the size of the malignant lesion that is removed during a Mohs surgery procedure, some patients may be left with a depression or hole in the skin. Mohs surgery closure can be performed immediately after Mohs surgery to repair the damaged site and limit scarring.
Mohs surgery closure typically utilizes healthy skin flaps or grafts taken from an area adjacent to the wound in order to reconstruct facial tissue. In severe cases, tissue, cartilage or bone from other parts of the body may be used. Nasolabial flaps, cheek advancement flaps, and forehead flaps are some of the flaps that can be used to restore a natural face appearance by matching the best texture, color and contour for the missing tissue.
The facial skin is very delicate and extremely susceptible to developing unsightly, permanent scars from moderate to severe cuts and lacerations. While many ER providers can close a laceration with stitches, quickly treating facial lacerations can result in unwanted permanent scarring.
An experienced reconstructive surgeon utilizes advanced facial skin laceration repair techniques to minimize the potential for scarring. Careful re-approximation of the injured layers of tissue can help to minimize the visible scar.
As the scar heals, sometimes color, texture and contour make it more apparent than ideal. Our reconstructive plastic surgeons will monitor the scar during the critical healing periods and can intervene to make the scar heal more ideally. Some interventions can include injecting the scar with steroids or fluorouracil, using lasers to improve color and texture, and utilizing dermabrasion for severe contour step-offs.
Even once a scar has fully healed, it can be improved further. Scar revision plastic surgery using W-plasty, Z-plasty or geometric broken line closure (GBLC) can improve fully healed scars by changing the way the eye detects the scar. Depressed scars can be improved by performing fat transfer or other filler procedures to elevate the base of the scar and improve its contour.


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Breitling Collaborates With Pro Surfer Kelly Slater on a Special Edition Superocean Chronograph
Kelly Slater is an American sporting icon, having been crowned World Surf League Champion a record 11 times, among other accomplishments. But lately, the Florida-born athlete has been on an altruistic mission to improve the planet via a visionary clothing company called Outerknown, whose motto is "where style meets sustainability." Under the auspices of Outerknown, Slater has now collaborated with Breitling on a limited edition version of their retro-cool Superocean chronograph, marking Breitling's first foray into the world of recycled materials.
Breitling and Kelly Slater and working together in an effort to make the world a better place. Alongside the help of another company called Outerknown, Breitling and Kelly Slater made a special something to help out their efforts. Hint, it isn't a large Breitling watch.
Kelly Slater and Breitling have come together to help clean the environment with an emphasis on the ocean and recycled materials. (Image credit: Surfertoday.com)
Breitling and Kelly Slater
Not in the watch itself, but the Superocean Heritage II Chronograph 44 Outerknown comes on an ECONYL yarn NATO strap made from salvaged, recycled nylon waste such as old fishing nets, highlighting Slater and Outerknown's commitment to cleaning up the world's oceans. Not perhaps something that will cause a revolution in the watchmaking world but an important step nonetheless; recycled NATOs could well become a hot ticket item should some enterprising entrepreneur figure out how to make and market them properly, especially if Slater endorses the project.
Breitling and Kelly Slater are committed to cleaning up the ocean. (Credit: Breitling.com)
The Superocean Heritage II Chronograph 44 Outerknown features a DLC-coated stainless-steel 44mm case, a dark ocean blue dial, an ultra-hard scratch-and shock-resistant unidirectional ceramic bezel with a luminescent central dot at the 12 o'clock position, and a caseback engraved with the Outerknown logo. The Super-LumiNova coating on the dot and the hour and minute hands also emit a blue light instead of the standard green. Water resistant to 660 ft., the limited edition pieces are priced at $7,100 apiece. More of a dive than a surf watch but pretty cool nonetheless.
Here is a quick video from Breitling and Slater.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Friction stir Welding (FSW) is a new solid state processing technique that can locally eliminate casting defects and refine microstructures, thereby improving strength and ductility, increasing resistance to corrosion and fatigue, enhancing formability. FSW can also produce fine grained microstructures through the thickness to impart super plasticity. Essentially, FSW is a local thermo mechanical metal working process that changes the local properties without influencing the properties of the bulk material. The aim of the present work is to study the influence of tool geometry on material flow during friction stir welding in Aluminum & Copper Alloys. Various types of tool geometries are modeled and the resulting flow patterns are analyzed. A FSW process with varying tool geometries and advancing speeds is numerically modeled, and a thermo-mechanically coupled, rigid-viscoplastic, fully 3D FEM analysis is done to predict the process variables as well as the material flow pattern and the grain size in the welded joints. Conclusions are drawn to identify the effect of operating process parameters.


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Ranunculaceae (buttercup or crowfoot family; Latin rānunculus "little frog", from rāna "frog") is a family of over 2,000 known species of flowering plants in 43 genera, distributed worldwide.
The largest genera are Ranunculus (600 species), Delphinium (365), Thalictrum (330), Clematis (325), and Aconitum (300).
Ranunculaceae are mostly herbaceous annuals or perennials, but some woody climbers (such as Clematis) or shrubs (e.g. Xanthorhiza).
Most members of the family have bisexual flowers which can be showy or inconspicuous. Flowers are solitary, but are also found aggregated in cymes, panicles, or spikes. The flowers are usually radially symmetrical but are also found to be bilaterally symmetrical in the genera Aconitum and Delphinium. The sepals, petals, stamens and carpels are all generally free (not fused), the outer flower segments typically number four or five. The outer stamens may be modified to produce only nectar, as in Helleborus and Delphinium. In some genera, such as Thalictrum the sepals are colorful and appear petal-like and the petals can be inconspicuous or absent. The stems are unarmed. The leaves are variable. Most species have both basal and cauline (stem) leaves, which are usually compound or lobed but can be simple. They are typically alternate, or occasionally opposite or even whorled. Flowers of the entomophilous genus Papaver, also of the Ranunculales order, produce only pollen. Until recently, it was believed that the species of the genus Anemone also lack nectar.
The fruits are most commonly free, unfused achenes (e.g. Ranunculus, Clematis) or follicles (e.g. Helleborus, Eranthis, Nigella), but a berry in Actaea.
California Buttercup (Ranunculus californicus)
Cuyamaca Larkspur (Delphinium hesperium ssp. cuyamacae)
Meadow Rue (Thalictrum fendleri)
Parry's Larkspur (Delphinium parryi ssp. parryi)
Pipestem Clematis (Clematis lasiantha)
Ropevine Clematis (Clematis pauciflora)
Scarlet Larkspur (Delphinium cardinale)
Virgin's Bower (Clematis ligusticifolia)
Western Columbine (Aquilegia formosa)
Information on RANUNCULACEAE was provided by Wikipedia, licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License


All that will ever be told about Prince Charles's correspondence with ministers is now known. This afternoon the second and final batch of letters between the heir to the throne and senior politicians was released. Presumably that correspondence continues, but the Freedom of Information Act has now been amended expressly to exclude royal communication. It is no longer possible to find out what cause he is so politely advancing or what pressure he is so courteously exerting on the upper reaches of government.
It is appealing to suppose that, because no shocking revelations have emerged, it does not matter that the future king cares deeply about, say, affordable rural housing or the integration of complementary with conventional medicine in the NHS. Ministers do not complain about the way the prince invades their space and takes up their time to promote his own occasionally eccentric beliefs, or presses the case for influence in official business for his charities, although there have been occasional leaks. But he would be dangerously mistaken to suppose that because the publication of his letters has in general provoked nothing more than an indulgently raised eyebrow, he can be an activist king without imperilling the monarchy itself.
Like the first batch released three weeks ago, this second tranche of 17 letters and replies between Clarence House or Highgrove and four departments – health, culture, communities and international development – between 2007 and 2009, displays a deeply conservative interest in matters such as historic buildings, drawing and organic food. They are not overtly self-interested, although they are sometimes a little peevish. He may not be the only motorist to be irritated to see a toxic weed flourishing beside the M25, but he will surely be the only one to have had an exchange of letters about it with a cabinet minister. The Guardian's long fight for the letters culminated in a ruling from the supreme court in March backing the original decision in favour of publication. By its ruling that the attorney general, as the executive, did not have the power to review the findings of the courts, freedom of information and the principle of separation of powers is strengthened. That alone would justify the fight.
But that was not why the government spent £400,000 trying to keep the letters secret. It wanted to protect the monarchy from publication of material that – as the then attorney general, Dominic Grieve, argued – would be seriously damaging to Prince Charles's future role. Clarence House tried too, carefully identifying the people who had first raised the concerns the prince advanced. Recognising the fragility of the political neutrality that is the cornerstone of the modern monarchy, they wanted to argue that he was not simply acting on personal whim. It may never be greatly significant that the future king holds traditionalist views of the kind that the amiable Wodehousian character Lord Emsworth might have shared. It certainly is no surprise. But Prince Charles has denied himself the status necessary to any constitutional monarch – that of a truly blank slate on which the country can project its idea of itself.


LtColonelRoyMustang wrote: Going through the 1st mass effect game for the 5th time, got my female shepard, solider class to level 60 and I am going to import her into Mass effect 2 when I complete the 1st game again!
Very nice. I still need to invest more time in that series. Didn't get much past an hour into the first game. Loved the gameplay though.
Going through the 1st mass effect game for the 5th time, got my female shepard, solider class to level 60 and I am going to import her into Mass effect 2 when I complete the 1st game again!
Captain Pkmn wrote: I got tired of playing my Xbox One by myself, and Kevin keep on telling me excuses. Sometimes I know he telling the truth but it mixed in with all the stupid excuses... It annoying. Any way, I'm preparing my XP computer-- so that I can play with Dad on several LAN party games: MechWarrior, arcade games, and bunch of XP multiplayer games. I just need a long Ethernet cable, which I'll get it on Tuesday maybe. I'm excited but there several games I wanted to play with Dad but it too advanced. I keep thinking that Windows Vista games can be run on Windows XP but that not the case. Lately I'm feeling like people are ignoring me and don't want to do anything with me... So I went back to playing Computer games on Steam. I've been playing mostly Garry's Mod stranded game mode. It pretty fun.
Any way, I bought speakers and couple of stuff for the Windows XP. I'm thinking of getting joysticks for it as well. In spoiler below is the picture of me testing MechWarrior on the Windows Xp.
When did dad get on board with playing video games with you? He didn't play one time with me while I lived there!!!
I got tired of playing my Xbox One by myself, and Kevin keep on telling me excuses. Sometimes I know he telling the truth but it mixed in with all the stupid excuses... It annoying. Any way, I'm preparing my XP computer-- so that I can play with Dad on several LAN party games: MechWarrior, arcade games, and bunch of XP multiplayer games. I just need a long Ethernet cable, which I'll get it on Tuesday maybe. I'm excited but there several games I wanted to play with Dad but it too advanced. I keep thinking that Windows Vista games can be run on Windows XP but that not the case. Lately I'm feeling like people are ignoring me and don't want to do anything with me... So I went back to playing Computer games on Steam. I've been playing mostly Garry's Mod stranded game mode. It pretty fun.
Captain Pkmn wrote: I'm continuing Rocket League, trying to master the boosting in the air-- Though I keep winning 10 games in a row, I still want to be better.
Also I played Doom Multiplayer but not the story yet. I love the game mode called: Frozen. It reminds me of Search and Destroy on Call of Duty but if you die... you have a chance to get back into the game if your teammates are awesome.
and it was an excellent game, I will NOT spoil it or give anything away, but, I found it to be a lot of fun and is my favorite uncharted in the series!!!
Just got to chapter 19 of Uncharted 4 tonight, and picked up the DOOM CE for my xbox one!
EDIT: I also bought the old puzzle game snood for my PC, so I have been playing that. It is incredibly addictive!!!
I'm continuing Rocket League, trying to master the boosting in the air-- Though I keep winning 10 games in a row, I still want to be better.
I just finished Diablo 3 on my PS3 for the 1st time ever, and I gotta say, I had a lot of fun with this game. Played as a barbarian and got to level 42 i think, it was great! Final boss in Act 5 was the hardest boss I faced.
I finished Mirror's Edge on PS3 once again, now going through Diablo 3 on PS3.
Now that you have 2 Nintendo 3DS systems we can play all the levels together. Ltcolonelroymustang, Do you still have a 3ds?
Yes, I have a 3DS XL system actually. It is the Nintendo NES edition which is really cool.
but that's cool that you got the NES edition. That was the first thing I looked at when I was about to buy a 3DS in the first place.
I saw the NES edition at gamestop and got it with a few games for around $175 I think. I have some of the Legend of Zelda games on my 3ds, and a handful of DS games.
LtColonelRoyMustang wrote: My current game will be Mirror's Edge really soon. I was playing Dragonball Xenoverse but, idk if I want to continue with it or not.
I thought you said you were going to finish DBZ Xenoverse the other day. Changed your mind, have you?
Heh, something like that. I don't have the motivation to finish the game. I am at the final boss, but it's soooooooooooooooooooo hard!
My current game will be Mirror's Edge really soon. I was playing Dragonball Xenoverse but, idk if I want to continue with it or not.


Instructor: 00:00 Here we have a website pre-installed with Google Analytics, a light blue background color, and an image of a kitten. Because we want to improve the performance of this site, let's instrument it and monitor the First Contentful Paint time of the page.
00:14 In order to do this, we'll use PerformanceObserver to capture the First Contentful Paint metric and the paint timings. To do this, we instantiate a PerformanceObserver. PerformanceObserver takes in one parameter, a call-back function. That call-back function takes in as its parameter a list of performance timings.
00:33 We can iterate through this list with a for of and calling the list docket entries on that. With that, we can console log the name of the entry and the start time of the entry. Once we've done that, we tell the observer that we want to observe types of paint.
00:53 18 milliseconds is when the browser was first able to render the blue background. 66 milliseconds was when the browser was able to first render the first bits of that kitten. Let's log these values now to Google Analytics.
01:05 We do this by calling the built-in GA function. First parameter is send. Second parameter is timing, which tells Google Analytics to send a timing event with a name of our performance entry followed by timing variable, which we'll here use arbitrary user ID and an integer value for how long the entry took.
01:32 If we save this, we can verify that the network is actually sending requests by loading up image tab of the console, reloading our page, and seeing that a request went out with a timing type, the First Contentful Paint timing variable with a value of 121.
01:50 Going back to our script, you'll notice one peculiar thing. We wrote our code in the head of the document rather than in the body of the document. This is because if you put the code in the bottom of the body, you may be listing to the PerformanceObserver too late to catch the First Contentful Paint.
02:05 We've also in-lined this script so there's no additional load-time burden from having to load the instrumentation code. Lastly, if you need IE support, you'll need to check to see if PerformanceObserver exists on the window first and wrapping your instrumentation code within an if block.
02:25 If we run this code again, we see that it still works. If we now visit Google Analytics and choose user timers in the site speed section of behavior, we see that it logs First Contentful Paint and first paint timings.


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Heritage North Consulting Limited provides comprehensive cultural resource management (CRM) services in western Canada.
Much of our work includes archaeological assessments related to oil and gas exploration and development, but we also work with forestry companies, private developers, First Nations, and federal and provincial agencies. We offer uncompromising service to clients year round under any weather conditions, responding quickly to development deadlines and changing government policy. We utilize a team of professional archaeologists who share in the passion to protect and understand the cultural resources found within northeastern British Columbia.
Heritage North Consulting Limited is committed to the protection of valuable cultural resources while providing exceptional service to our clients.
We strive to be professional, innovative and guarantee the highest standards of quality in all of our work.
Heritage North provides a wide range of archaeological services for our clients while continuing to meet all ethical standards in cultural resource management. We strive to continuously develop our methods and technology to meet deadlines and changing policy with confidence and efficiency.
At HNCL we employee loyal, long-term employees who have an understanding of the demands of providing a service for the oil & gas industry and are extremely knowledgeable and familiar with the areas they work in.
Heritage North is committed to the health and safety of all staff members, clients and those located around us to ensure a productive and supportive work environment.
All field staff have been trained in First Aid Level 1 and Transportation Endorsement, WCB ATV Driver Certification, Bear Aware, Chainsaw Operation and Safety, Skid Avoidance Training, H2S Alive and WHIMIS certifications. Personal protective equipment is required, and daily safety check-ins are performed along with monthly safety meetings conducted. Heritage North is registered with HSE and INS safety and standards.
HNCL is comprised of a team of dedicated senior archaeologists, field and office staff who are committed to the goal of protecting and understanding cultural heritage. Please use the email links available or call our office to speak to individual team members.
Keary Walde
kwalde@heritagenorth.com
Keary Walde is the owner and permit holder for Heritage North Consulting. With a B.A. and M.A. from the University of Alberta specializing in palaeoenvironmental / anthropology. He has completed and supervised over 20,000 archaeological related studies for oil and gas clients in Northeastern B.C. between 1999 and 2018. Along with providing military service in Germany, Ottawa and Edmonton he attended the Vancouver School of Art for 2 years. He has sat on the board for the Emily Carr University in Vancouver as well as the board for the North Peace Fort St. John museum. Keary recorded the ~30 m long Triassic Icthyosaur fossil excavated by Dr. Elizabeth Nicholls (1946-2004) of the Royal Tyrell Museum in Drumheller, AB. He has also provided archaeological reconstruction of the Peace River – Northern Rockies in the Human History section, Living Landscapes Peace River Northern Rockies. He was also responsible for the creation and execution of the winter archaeology methods in Northeastern B.C. that remain in use today as the suitable standard set by the Archaeological Branch. Along with strong ties to the local First Nations communities, Keary continues to be a supportive presence in the area in which he lives and works.
Tara Dixon
tdixon@heritagenorth.com
Tara Dixon joined Heritage North in 1999 with a background in business administration. Seeing an opportunity to learn and having an interest in cultural history, Tara worked alongside Keary to acquire the skill set and knowledge required for successful cultural resource management. Tara is currently the Operations Manager and clients go-to for all project needs including planning and scheduling of field work, cost estimates and timelines, archaeological overview assessments (AOAs) and government documents such as AIFs. With many years of experience in the industry, she can answer or has the resources to find the answer to any questions the client has while also providing sound advice in regards to any cultural resource management concerns.
Peter Klisowski
Peter Klisowski has served as a senior archaeologist and a project director for over 16 years. He attended the University of Toronto where he majored in Physical Anthropology and Archaeology. He then completed field school at Ashbridges Estate in Toronto and Royal Botanical Gardens in Hamilton. Peter has recorded numerous archaeological sites in British Columbia and has extensive knowledge of the local area and strong ties with the communities with which he works. A leader of the Heritage North team since 2003, he has vast experience managing field crews and setting up and overseeing field evaluations.
Angela Goertzen
agoertzen@heritagenorth.com
Part of the HNCL family since 2003, Angela has almost 15 years of experience working in the Archaeological consulting field. She is involved in every step of the interim reporting process as well as site report composition and mapping.
Mike Casemore
Mike Casemore is a seasoned field director at HNCL and has been with the company for over 13 years. With a B.A. from the University of Alberta in Anthropology (Specialization in Archaeology) he attended Archaeology Field School, Fish Creek Park in 2001. Mr. Casemore has participated in field seasons between 2002-2009 as an archaeologist, archaeological field tech and lithic analyst through the INAH, Oregon State University, UCLA and the University of Alberta at Erendira, Baja, Mexico; Encenada, Baja, Mexico; Isla Espiratu Santo, Baja Mexico; Isla Cedros, Baja, Mexico. He has recorded numerous archaeological sites in both British Columbia and Alberta and has extensive experience in managing and conducting field work, recording archaeological sites, setting up and overseeing site evaluations and cataloging and curating cultural remains and artifacts.
Trisha Waterman
trisha@heritagenorth.com
Trisha Waterman has been a valued addition to the Heritage North team for the past 7 years. She has participated in a variety of roles from administrative duties, report writing and creating maps and graphics. Trisha also assists the field crews with RAAD searches, gathering of site information, NTS mapping and artifact imaging. She is responsible for overseeing the execution of daily operations at the HNCL office and ensuring everything runs smoothly and efficiently.
Will Hebert
Will Hebert has been with Heritage North for 7 years as an archaeological field assistant. He has previous experience in forestry, farm and bush work and is an asset to HNCL in the completion of jobs in areas of difficult and challenging terrain. Will provides assistance in the field with assessments, subsurface testing, setting up and participating in site evaluations and winter screening. Will also manages and maintains the field equipment and shop at Heritage North.
Cory Earle
cory@heritagenorth.com
With a B.A. in Anthropology from Memorial University of Newfoundland, Cory Earle has over 15 years of archaeological field experience in both Eastern and Western Canada. Cory has been with Heritage North for over 4 years. As a field director he manages all aspects of leading a crew in assessments, setting up and overseeing site evaluations, providing suitable mitigation options and also within the office composing both interim and site reports, providing map creation with shape files and GPS usage, cataloging artifacts and compiling charts and tables for branch submission.
James J. Walde
jwalde@heritagenorth.com
James Walde has been a part of the Heritage North office for 4 years. He has over 20 years of experience in legal regulatory administration, First Nations consultation and research development. James is a member of the Law Society of New Brunswick, Law Society of British Columbia and the Canadian Bar Association as well as being an executive board member of the New Brunswick Scottish Cultural Association.
Heritage North provides professional and experienced service for all your archaeological needs.
Fort St. John (Head Office)
T250.785.0314
A8912 - 109th St, Fort St. John, BC, Canada
Email@heritagenorth.com
© 2020 Heritage North Consulting. All rights reserved.


Prof. Houle's research looks at the way the Zulu naturalized Christianity, which speaks to his wider research and teaching interests--the way Africans and other colonized peoples interact with their colonizers.
African Studies Association Annual Meeting, NY. "Speaking in Tongues, Building in Bricks: Transforming Church Architecture and Faith in early 20th Century South Africa"


text:
Professor and Chair - Family Medicine, Chattanooga
Professor and Chair - Family Medicine, Chattanooga - 19000000D2
The University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) invites applications and nominations for the position of Professor and Chair of the Department of Family Medicine, College of Medicine Chattanooga at Erlanger, in Chattanooga, TN.
The UT College of Medicine is a four campus system with campus locations in Memphis, Knoxville, Chattanooga and Nashville. As the Chair of the Department of Family Medicine at the College of Medicine Chattanooga (COMC), the successful candidate will be responsible for maintaining a fully accredited residency program in Family Medicine, supporting patient care programs and activities in conjunction with department faculty, developing the skills of department faculty, and providing appropriate resources to support and advance the department?s education and research programs.
The Chair will be responsible for the research program of the department, and will adhere to all research policies Erlanger Health System, and the University of Tennessee. This position is responsible for achieving institutional objectives related to staff development, financial performance, regulatory compliance, marketing, and public relations.
Candidates are required to hold an M.D. degree or equivalent. The ideal candidate will have a minimum of five years of experience in a substantial academic leadership role, knowledge of and experience with LCME, ACGME, and ACCME requirements, and demonstrated experience and skills in fiscal management, developing clinical practice plans, engagement in scholarly activities, communications, fund raising and development, and fostering collaborative working relationships with colleagues and community partners.
Job Faculty
Primary Location US-Tennessee-Chattanooga
Organization Chat Family Medicine
Campus/Institute Chattanooga
Job Posting Feb 28, 2019, 7:34:44 PM
Internal Number: 19000000D2
About UT Health Science Center
The mission of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center is to bring the benefits of the health sciences to the achievement and maintenance of human health, with a focus on the citizens of Tennessee and the region, by pursuing an integrated program of education, research, clinical care, and public service.
Assistant/ Associate Professor of Marketing; Chair Business & Economics Department Houghton, New York
Houghton College 2 Days Ago
Assistant Professor Connecticut
University of Connecticut 4 Days Ago
News and Record-Janice Bryant Howroyd Endowed Professor Greensboro, North Carolina
North Carolina A&T State University 6 Days Ago


Set in a Moonlight Cinema atmosphere to mesmerise the Prancing Horse's guests, the affair was captivated at The Sukhothai Hotel's chic Garden Villa and featured videos of the Ferrari GTC4Lusso, a car ill-fitted to all lifestyles.
The aboriginal video, "Lusso for the Family", was told through the eyes of Jarin Tumwattana and revolved about his ancestors as they biking calm in their favourite supercar.
The second, "Lusso and Art", portrayed Doytibet Duchanee, son of adept artisan Thawan Duchanee, who compared the GTC4Lusso to a masterpiece.
"This is a anniversary for the division of beatitude and a appropriate acknowledge you to barter of Cavallino Motors," said Nandhamalee Bhirombhakdi, the company's managing director.
Cavallino Motors' GTC4Lusso is priced at Bt23.9 actor and comes with a three-year absolute breadth branch assurance and a seven-year chargeless aliment programme by awful accomplished technicians application Ferrari-certified genitalia and equipment.


Pumpkins of all shapes and sizes essentially belong to autumn. They serve both as a decoration and also as a delicacy on the plate. We have taken inspiration from both. You can now make a necklace and earrings in the colors of pumpkin soup using our tutorial. Harmonise your look with nature in autumn and light up the cold and damp days with your accessories. Try out how excellently they go together with the beads and seed beads from the PRECIOSA Traditional Czech Beads brand. PRECIOSA Twin Roller, PRECIOSA Pip™ and PRECIOSA Pellet™ offer a wide range of combination options thanks to their shapes and the wide color pallet.
PRECIOSA ORNELA wishes you infinite inspiration during your beadworking.
The necklace is approximately 41 cm long.
String 1x TR and 5x R on the needle and line and thread the line back through the second hole in the TR (fig. nos. 4, 5).
Thread 1x R, 1x TR and 5x R (fig. no. 6) onto the line extending from the lower section of the TR and thread it upwards through the second hole in the TR (fig. no. 7).
String 1x R, 1x TR and 5x R (fig. no. 6) and thread the line downwards through the second hole in the TR (fig. no. 8).
Now string 1x R, 1x TR, 1x P2, 1x TR, 1x P2, 1x TR and 3x P1 (fig. no. 9) and return through the second holes in the TR and P2. Try to hold the P2 in the middle of the TR (fig. no. 10).
String 1x R, 1x P1 and 1x R and pull the line through the hole in the TR (fig. no. 12). Repeat this step and thread the line not only through the TR, but also through the 3x P1 which are at the bottom and then return upwards through the second hole in the lower TR (fig. no. 13).
String 1x R, 1x TR and 5x R (fig. no. 6) and thread the line downwards through the second hole in the TR (fig. no. 15).
1x R, 1x TR and 5x R (fig. no. 6) onto the line extending from the lower section of the TR and thread it downwards through the second hole in the TR (fig. no. 16).
String 1x R, 1x TR and 5x R (fig. no. 6) and thread the line downwards through the second hole in the TR (fig. no. 17).


Everyone lives with questions every week. "When are you going to take out the trash? What time are we going? What are you wearing tomorrow?" These questions really make us dig deep, right? No, and they are quickly forgotten and are almost irrelevant to many of us.
Then, there are the questions we would just as soon avoid. Questions like "What does it look like to practice love with these people? What benefit will it be for me to get into that small group studying the Bible?" These questions remove some shallowness seen in the first set of questions.
Oh, and one more-"What is enough?" This question is one that really changes everything. Philippians 4:11-13 are verses that raise this question for us. How do we get to a place where we can say and mean it that we have enough? When we can say "I have enough", we are finally free. We are free from the culture's insistence that just having this thing and we'll be happy, satisfied or whatever.
WHAT THIS MEANS: Can you say with Paul that you have learned the secret of being content? What holds you back from wanting to get to this place? Give more away this week to someone in need.


text:
Comparative study between medial canthus episcleral block versus peribulbar block in intracapsular cataract surgery
Ahmed Fayez Abd el raof Elsayed ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-7378-59431,
Mohammed Ali Ahmed Zaghlol1,
Sherif Samir Wahba Rizk Allah1 &
Ahmed Moustafa Mohamed Mohamed1
Ophthalmic regional anesthesia is now the most common anesthetic technique used for eye surgeries. There are various modes of needle-based ophthalmic anesthesia which are retrobulbar, peribulbar, and episcleral. The sub-Tenon episcleral anesthesia technique became a potential alternative to the retrobulbar and peribulbar anesthesia in most of the anterior and posterior segment eye surgeries; this is due to its better safety profile and tolerability than the other blocks. The aim of this study was to compare between medial episcleral block and peribulbar block in intracapsular cataract surgery as regards anesthesia and akinesia of the eye, the need of supplementation of local anesthetic, and finally the safety profile of each block. This was a prospective, comparative, randomized, double-blinded clinical study. It was carried out on 60 patients that were scheduled for intracapsular cataract surgery in ophthalmic surgery unit. The patients were randomly allocated into two equal groups; group A received medial canthus episcleral block technique and group B received peribulbar block technique.
Results of this prospective, comparative, randomized, double-blinded study showed no statistical difference between the two groups as regards demographic and vital data. As regards Akinesia score, the ESA group had better akinesia score at 1, 5, and 10 min and at the end of surgery than PBA group (P value, 0.001). No patient in the ESA group received supplemental injection via inferotemporal peribulbar block technique, while 66.7% of PBA group was in need of supplementation. Regarding time to onset of acceptable akinesia score; ESA group had a faster onset with high statistical significance (P value, 0.001). Numeric pain scale was better in ESA group than PBA group with high statistical significance. There were chemosis after injection in two of the ESA group (6.6%). On the other hand, slight pricking pain at the end pf surgery developed in two cases in the PBA group.
Medial canthal episcleral technique proved to be superior in motor akinesia score, time to onset of acceptable akinesia score, and numeric pain scale in comparison to peribulbar anesthesia with high statistical significance between the two groups. Both techniques proved to be safe with no incidence of major complications.
Most of the eye surgeries are performed under ophthalmic regional anesthesia either alone or as adjunct to general anesthesia for its postoperative analgesic effect as in pediatric eye surgeries (Nouvellon et al. 2010).
Local anesthetic techniques of ophthalmic regional anesthesia vary from an akinetic injection techniques to a non-akinetic topical technique. Regarding akinetic techniques, each technique has its own risk/benefit profile and proven to be highly successful if performed correctly. These techniques are mainly peribulbar, retrobulbar, and episcleral (Jaichandran et al. 2013).
In 1884, Knapp explained a technique of injecting cocaine for local anesthesia of the eye. In the same year, Turnbull explained a technique of injection of local anesthetic in the episcleral plane. In 1936, Atkinson developed the retrobulbar technique (Kumar 2011).
Intraconal retrobulbar block anesthesia (RBA), which consists of a 3–5-mL injection of local anesthetic solution into the musculo-membranous cone of the orbit, remained the technique of choice for ophthalmic blocks for decades because of its high efficacy (Carneiro et al. 2016).
Peribulbar anesthesia technique is performed by injecting the local anesthetic extraconal outside the muscle cone, and the needle tip is directed away lateral to the apex of the muscle cone (containing the optic nerve and the other vascular structures). This makes the technique theoretically safer than the retrobulbar one (Kumar and Gayer 2008).
Akinetic block using a needle, such as intraconal (retrobulbar), extraconal (peribulbar), and combined intraconal/ extraconal were the commonest techniques practiced around the world. Because of potential specific serious complications including brain stem anesthesia, retrobulbar hemorrhage, ocular perforation, and optic nerve injury, retrobulbar anesthesia has been replaced by less dangerous but much less efficient peribulbar anesthesia (Guerrier et al. 2017).
The medial canthus episcleral technique was originally thought to be a peribulbar technique until subsequent computed tomography (CT) study showed that the local anesthetic solution actually entered the sub-Tenon's space. The block can be performed in any quadrant, but the single-injection inferonasal approach has the advantage of being away from the usual site of surgery and away from the insertion of the superior and inferior oblique muscles (Guise 2012).
In the computed tomography study, volume of less than 3 ml injected dye was confined to the episcleral space, while volumes of 4 ml or more showed spread to rectus muscle sheaths, optic nerve sheath, eyelid, and subconjunctival space which was noticed in the CT study. This proved the continuity between the episcleral space and these structures and explained also chemosis that occurs with relatively small volumes with episcleral technique. Also, there was explanation for the occurrence of orbicularis muscle block with this technique (Ripart et al. 1998).
The sub-Tenon episcleral anesthesia technique became a potential alternative for the retrobulbar and peribulbar anesthesia in most of the anterior and posterior segment eye surgeries; this is due to its relative safety and efficacy (Jeganathan and Jeganathan 2009).
The aim of this work was to compare between medial episcleral block and peribulbar block in intracapsular cataract surgery as regards anesthesia and akinesia of the eye, the need of supplementation of local anesthetic, and finally the safety profile of each block (Fig. 1).
Flowchart of the study
This prospective, comparative, randomized, double-blinded clinical study was carried out in ophthalmic surgery unit from February 2019 to March 2020. After institutional Ethical Board approval and obtaining informed written patients' consent, 60 patients from both sexes, ASA physical status I and II and having an Axial globe length ranging from 22 to 30 mm scheduled for intracapsular cataract surgery under medial canthus episcleral and peribulbar blocks were included in the study.
Refusal of procedure or participation in the study
Patient under age of 21 years
Infection at site of injection
Psychiatric illness or uncooperative patient
Coagulopathy, use of anticoagulants, or antiplatelet therapy
Known allergies to local anesthetics drugs
Uncontrolled glaucoma
Recent surgical procedure on the same eye within one month
Patients were randomly divided in to two groups by computer generated randomization, group A and group B:
Group A (30 patients). Medial episcleral anesthesia (ESA) technique
Group B (30 patients). Peribulbar anesthesia (PBA) technique
Pre-operative settings
History, clinical examination and routine investigations including complete blood count (CBC), fasting blood sugar (FBS), liver function test (LFT), kidney function test (KFT), electrocardiogram (ECG), prothrombin time (PT), and activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) were performed to all patients beside routine ophthalmic investigations as biometry. An intravenous (IV) 20-gauge cannula was inserted.
The patients were monitored during the procedure using pulse oximetry, non-invasive blood pressure (NIBP), and electrocardiogram (ECG).
Anesthetic technique
The patients were fasting for at least 6 h preoperatively. The procedure was done in the operating rooms (OR) under complete aseptic technique. Supplemental oxygen was given through nasal prong at a flow rate of 3 L/min.
The preparations used for each patient were the following:
Sterile towels, sponges, 4-inch gauze packs and povidone iodine 5% for sterilization, sterile gloves, 25 G × 5/8-in. needle and 25 G × 1-in. needle
The patients were premedicated with intravenous 4 mg ondansetron
No sedation was given to the patients; only local anesthetic eye drops were applied before the performance of the block.
The local anesthetic drugs that were used are the following:
A 20–ml vial of 0.5% bupivacaine hydrochloride equivalent to 5 mg/ml
A 50-ml vial of 2% lidocaine hydrochloride equivalent to 20 mg/ml with 1500 IU hyaluronidase dissolved in the vial (30 IU/ml)
A mixture of 2.5 ml of lidocaine-hyaluronidase and 2.5 ml bupivacaine were prepared in the syringes (5 ml total volume).
Under complete aseptic condition, three drops of topical anesthetic (0.4% benoxinate hydrochloride) were applied to the cornea and conjunctiva for three times at 60-s intervals. The patient was placed in supine position. The eyelids and the surrounding areas were cleaned with povidone iodine 5% solution.
Group A: medial episcleral anesthesia (ESA) group
The 25 G × 5/8-in. needle is inserted to contact the conjunctiva between the eyeball and the semilunaris fold, at a depth of less than 1 mm, with the bevel directed toward the globe. The needle then will be shifted slightly medially displacing the semilunaris fold and caruncle away from the eyeball. The needle will be advanced in anteroposterior direction, with the globe is directed slightly medially by the needle, until a "click" will be perceived, at a depth of approximately 15 mm. At this moment, the globe will return to the primary gaze position. This point represents a reliable depth marker that confirms the episcleral location of the tip of the needle at which the 5-ml local anesthetic mixture is injected.
Group B: peribulbar anesthesia (PBA) group
The 25 G × 1-in. needle is inserted transcutaneously through the inferotemporal approach at the junction between the medial two third and the lateral third of the lower orbital margin in such a way the bevel is facing the globe and the tip toward the floor of the orbit until the needle passes through the orbital septum it is directed then posteriorly tangential to the floor of the orbit for 25-mm length at which the 5-ml local anesthetic mixture is injected.
Ocular compression was applied for 5 min by Honan intraocular pressure IOP reducer adjusted at 20 mmHg.
Motor blockade (akinesia score) was used as the main index of anesthesia effectiveness for both groups. It assessed the block using a 12-point score (12-point akinesia score) as 0 (no movement), 1 (flicker), 2 (full movement) for the four recti muscles, levator palpebrae, and orbicularis oculi (total score 12). Successful block was defined as an ocular motility score between 0 and 6. This score compared between the two groups at 1, 5, and 10 min after injection and at the end of the surgical procedure. The incidence of incomplete blockade (score > 6 after 10 min from local anesthetic injection) with a need for supplemental injection in the two groups was recorded. Recording of the akinesia score was done in a blinded manner by an investigator unaware of the technique of injection.
Akinesia of the eye was judged to be insufficient after 10 min; supplemental injection was given using the same mixture of 5 ml volume (2.5 ml lidocaine-hyaluronidase + 2.5 ml bupivacaine 0.5%) by the inferotemporal peribulbar technique for both groups as it is considered the classic well-tested technique which is used as a supplement.
Numeric pain scale for each block was recorded on a 10-poins-scale during surgery being 0 indicating no pain while 10 representing the worst possible pain. Double blind data collection was done in which the investigator of the numeric pain score was unaware by the technique and also the patient was unaware by the technique.
Hemodynamic data as mean arterial blood pressure (MAP), heart rate (HR), respiratory rate (RR), and peripheral oxygen saturation (SPO2) were recorded before anesthesia and every 5 min, immediately after both blocks till the end of surgery.
Duration of surgery in minutes for every patient in each group was recorded.
Akinesia score was the main parameter of the quality of anesthesia; time to onset of accepted akinesia score, the need of supplemental injection in each group, and the numeric pain scale were the primary outcomes of this study.
Comparison between the two groups as regards safety profile and the incidence of complications
Data management and analysis
Using STATA program, setting alpha error at 5% and power at 90% results from previous study (Ripart et al. 2000) showed that supplemental injection rate of episcleral block group as 1% compared to 39% in peribulbar block group (Ripart et al. 2000) based on this the needed sample size is 27 case per group rounded to 30 per group (total number is 60).
Thirty patients in each group (total 60 patients):
The collected data was revised, coded, tabulated, and introduced to a PC using Statistical Package for Social Science (IBM Corp. released 2011, IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 20.0. Armonk, NY: IBM Corp). Data was presented and suitable analysis was done according to the type of data obtained for each parameter.
Data were tested for normality with Shapiro-Wilk test and expressed as mean (standard deviation) for parametric numerical data or median (interquartile range) for non-parametric numerical data.
The P value was considered significant as the following:
P value > 0.05, non-significant (NS)
P value < 0.05, significant (S)
P value < 0.01, highly significant (HS)
The two groups were compared regarding patients' age, sex, ASA physical status, and duration of surgery with no significant statistical difference (Table 1).
Table 1 Patients' characteristics and duration of surgery
Mean arterial blood pressure
There was no statistical difference between group A and B as regards MAP (Table 2).
Table 2 Comparison between group A and B as regards MAP
Both groups are compared with no statistical difference (Table 3).
Table 3 Comparison between group A and B as regards heart rate
Oxygen saturation
No statistical difference was found between the two groups (Table 4).
Table 4 Comparison between ESA and PBA as regards oxygen saturation
The two groups showed no statistical significance as regards respiratory rate (Table 5).
Table 5 Comparison between group A and B as regards respiratory rate
Akinesia score
Comparison between group A and group B showed high statistical significance in the motor akinesia score at 1, 5, and 10 min and at the end of surgery as the motor score was better in the group A (Table 6).
Table 6 Comparison between group A and B as regards Akinesia score
Onset time to acceptable akinesia score
There was a high statistical significance between the two groups in which group achieved the onset of acceptable akinesia score earlier than group B (Table 7).
Table 7 Comparison between group A and B as regards onset time to acceptable akinesia score
Numerical pain scale (NPS)
On comparing both groups, there was a statistical significance in which group A showed a better NPS than group B (Table 8).
Table 8 Comparison between group A and B as regards NPS
There were no major complications in both groups. In group A (the medial episcleral technique), two cases (6.6%) developed slight chemosis which resolved on gentle massage. In group B, two cases of those who did not receive supplementation and there akinesia score was 6 developed slight pricking sensation at the end of surgery. Furthermore, their akinesia score worsened at the end of surgery to 7 and there pain score was higher in relation to those cases who did not receive supplementation.
In our study, ESA group had a better akinesia score than PBA group at the serial intervals of time (1, 5, and 10 min) after local anesthetic injection and at the end of surgery with significant statistical difference (P value = 0.001). This result was similar to the result in a study that was performed by Ripart et al. They compared between medial canthal episcleral technique and peribulabar technique and concluded that ESA had better akinesia score at different intervals of time and lower need for supplementation than the PBA group (Ripart et al. 2000).
Although the injected volume of local anesthetic was lower in our study than that of Ripart et al. study (5 ml vs 6–11 ml), there was no need for supplementation regarding the ESA group as we used a predetermined volume of 5 ml of a mixture of local anesthetics for both groups. While in Ripart et al. study, they did not use a fixed volume of injected local anesthetic and depended on clinical signs of orbital fullness which was adjusted to each patient in both groups.
In contrast to our study, Ashok et al. found no statistical significance between the two groups as regards the akinesia score. However, there was a discrepancy between the volume injected in the two groups opposite to our study, as they predetermined a volume of 10 ml for PBA which was divided into 7 ml injected in the inferotemporal site and 3 ml injected in the superonasal site, while in the sub-Tenon anesthesia they injected a volume of 3 ml of local anesthetic mixture (Ashok et al. 2018).
In the PBA group in our study, 33.3% of patients did not need supplementation, with a total volume of 5 ml of local anesthetic was injected. On the other hand, 66.7% of patients received additional 5 ml as a supplementation with total volume of 10 ml, which was less than the total volume needed in Ripart et al.'s study. In Ripart et al.'s study, the PBA needed supplementation in 39% of cases; however, the injected volume was not predetermined, while in our study 66.7% of patients needed supplementation after injection of 5 ml of local anesthetic mixture.
In our study, there were two cases in the PBA group which had a worsened akinesia score at the end of surgery in which the duration of surgeries were 30 and 35 min. This phenomenon of regressed motor block did not happen in the ESA group in which the akinesia score was maintained at the end of surgery. This phenomenon was recorded also in Ripart et al. study, as they also recorded three cases with regressed motor score before the end of surgery.
As regards onset of accepted blockade, there was a faster onset in the ESA group than the PBA group with high statistical significance (P value = 0.001). This result was similar to both studies of Ripart et al. and Ashok et al.
Regarding pain scale, the ESA group in our study achieved better numeric pain scale than the PBA group with highly significant statistical data (P value = 0.001). This result was supported with Ashok et al. study which found similar result.
In our study, there were no major complications (optic nerve injury, retrobulbar hemorrhage, globe perforation, strabismus, or brainstem anesthesia) for both groups. As regards the ESA group, there were two cases that developed ocular chemosis (6.6% of patients) which was reported also in Ashok et al. study as a minor complication. Furthermore, there were only two cases in the PBA group that developed slight pricking pain at the end of surgery.
As regards safety of ESA technique, there was also a study which was performed on 2031 patients by Nouvellon et al. In this study, there were 65 patients (3.2%) that developed minor complications such as subconjunctival hemorrhage, chemosis, and others, while only 1 patient (0.05%) developed retrobulbar hemorrhage. This result was near to that of our study in which there was a low incidence of minor complications and a very minute incidence of major complications related to Nouvellon et al. study (Nouvellon et al. 2004).
Nouvellon et al. stated that ESA theoretically has many benefits regarding safety. As the episcleral space is avascular, the needle was inserted for a short distance and there was a very low incidence of occurrence of scleral staphyloma in the inferonasal area (Nouvellon et al. 2004).
In their study, Nouvellon et al. reported that there was a great correlation between the incidence of complication and performance of the block by inexperienced operator. So they concluded that safety of the block depends also on practice and experience of ESA (Nouvellon et al. 2004).
In this study, medial canthal episcleral technique proved to be superior in motor akinesia score, time to onset of acceptable akinesia score, and numeric pain scale in comparison to peribulbar anesthesia with high statistical significance between the two groups. Both techniques proved to be safe with no incidence of major complications.
ESA:
Episcleral anesthesia
PBA:
Peribulbar anesthesia
RBA:
Retrobulbar anesthesia
ASA:
American Society of Anesthesiology
NS:
Non-significant
HS:
Highly significant
RR:
SPO2 :
Ashok A, Krishnagopal S, Jha KN (2018) Comparison of peribulbar anesthesia with sub-Tenon's in manual small incision cataract surgery. TNOA J Ophthalmic Sci Res 56:67–70
Carneiro HM, Teixeira KI, De Ávila KM et al (2016) Comparison of needle path, anesthetic dispersion, and quality of anesthesia in retrobulbar and peribulbar blocks. Regional Anesthesia Pain Med 41:37–42
Guerrier G, Rothschild PR, Lehmann M et al (2017) Impact of video technology for improving success of medial canthus episcleral anesthesia in ophthalmology. Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine 42:757-759
Guise P (2012) Sub-Tenon's anesthesia: an update. Local and Regional Anesthesia 5:35–46
Jaichandran V, Nair AG, Gandhi RA, Prateeba N (2013) Brainstem anesthesia presenting as contralateral third nerve palsy following peribulbar anesthesia for cataract surgery. Acta Anaesthesiologica Taiwanica 51:135–136
Jeganathan VSE, Jeganathan VP (2009) Sub-Tenon's anaesthesia: a well-tolerated and effective procedure for ophthalmic surgery. Current Opinion in Ophthalmology 20:205–209
Kumar C, Gayer S (2008) Ophthalmic regional anesthesia techniques. Minerva Anestesiologica 74:23–33
Kumar CM (2011) Needle-based blocks for the 21st century ophthalmology. Acta Ophthalmol 89:5–9
Nouvellon E, Cuvillon P, Ripart J (2010) Regional anesthesia and eye surgery. Anesthesiology 113:1236–1242
Nouvellon E, Hermite JL, Chaumeron A et al (2004) Medial canthus episcleral single injection block. Anesthesiology 100:370–374
Ripart J, Lefrant JY, Vivien B et al (2000) Ophthalmic regional anesthesia: medial canthus episcleral (sub-Tenon) anesthesia is more efficient than peribulbar anesthesia. Anesthesiology 92:1278–1285
Ripart J, Metge L, Prat-Pradal D et al (1998) Medial canthus episcleral (sub-Tenon) anesthesia imaging. Anesth Analg 87:42–45
Ahmed Fayez Abd el raof Elsayed, Mohammed Ali Ahmed Zaghlol, Sherif Samir Wahba Rizk Allah & Ahmed Moustafa Mohamed Mohamed
Ahmed Fayez Abd el raof Elsayed
Mohammed Ali Ahmed Zaghlol
Sherif Samir Wahba Rizk Allah
Ahmed Moustafa Mohamed Mohamed
AF designed the study; revised literature; performed the analysis; followed the patients; measured vital data, motor akinesia score, onset of accepted akinesia score, and numeric pain scale; and wrote the manuscript. MZ designed the study, performed the analysis, and wrote and critically revised the manuscript. SS revised literature, performed the analysis, and critically reviewed the manuscript. AM revised literature, followed the patients, collected the data, performed the analysis, and critically reviewed the manuscript. All authors approved the final version of the manuscript.
Correspondence to Ahmed Fayez Abd el raof Elsayed.
Approval of research ethical committee of Faculty of Medicine, Ain-Shams University, was obtained (code number FMASU 323/2018) and informed written consents were obtained from the patients after description of the procedure and its potential complications.
Abd el raof Elsayed, A.F., Zaghlol, M.A.A., Allah, S.S.W.R. et al. Comparative study between medial canthus episcleral block versus peribulbar block in intracapsular cataract surgery. Ain-Shams J Anesthesiol 13, 19 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1186/s42077-021-00138-6
Intracapsular cataract surgery


Learn the basics in this beginner knitting workshop and learn to knit a scarf and a kitchen scrubby. You'll leave with a skein of yarn, a pair of needles and the knowledge of slip knot, knit stitch, purl stitch, how to read a pattern, and cast off. No experience necessary.
Pre-registration is required and the cost is $25 per person. Members receive your 10% discount by calling 704-875-2312 to register or stop by the museum. We are unable to offer refunds for workshops and classes unless the session is cancelled or rescheduled.


The Green Tea Mineral Sunblock SPF 30 is formulated with antioxidants and helps protect the skin and face from UVA and UVB rays.
To help soothe and nourish the skin, the sunblock is formulated with green tea and aloe vera. The sunblock has 100% natural mineral protection for the face and body and can be used post-laser treatment. Additionally, men, teens and women can use the product.


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Hotel Rialto
The first luxury, boutique hotel in Warsaw when it opened in 2003. This Art Nouveau bolthole offers 44 rooms and apartments in an early 20th-century tenement house in the city centre. Its highly polished wooden and brass interiors, straight from the roaring 1920s, successfully re-create a past era.
Mary Lussiana, Destination expert
The hotel is set in a residential area which has recently seen an explosion of buzzy restaurants and food halls and is within easy walking distance of the elegant Nowy Świat shopping street. The historic old town is a 25-minute walk and Warsaw Chopin Airport is approximately 25 minutes away by taxi.
From the polished marble floors to the brass Art Deco lighting, stained glass windows and glossy, wooden furniture sourced from auction houses all over Europe, the style here is Art Nouveau through and through, taking guests straight back to the roaring twenties. Immensely elegant, the décor is also detail-driven, creating a real sense of period. The whole is an unusually glamorous offering in a city where hotels which reflect the pre-war sophistication of Warsaw are few and far between.
Service is friendly and professional with local staff keen to suggest how to get the best out of Warsaw including the option of a private city tour by limousine. On the top floor of the hotel there is a fitness centre with sauna, steamroom, plunge bath and cardiovascular equipment.
Steam room/hammam
Each of the 44 rooms and apartments explore a different facet of the early 20th-century applied arts. Bespoke upholstery draws on original patterns from the Art Nouveau era, floors are in intricate parquet, headboards are wooden and lighting fixtures are in nickel-plated brass. Bathrooms with glass mosaic walls and marble feature both tubs and walk-in rainshowers with Orla Kiely amenities. There are Nespresso machines and a range of teas in every room.
Salto restaurant, whose décor was inspired by The Great Gatsby, brims with Art Deco style from its black and white photographs on the walls to its leather banquettes. Chef Martin Gimenez Castro, who won the first Polish edition of 'Top Chef' a television culinary contest, delivers a menu which reflects his Argentinian roots such as the empanadas of squid, coriander with a fish reduction or Picanha with yuka and leek. There is a set business lunch menu which changes weekly.
Breakfast is à la carte rather than buffet with choices ranging from eggs Benedict and waffles to an energy menu featuring quinoa porridge with raisins, nuts and honey.
Double rooms from €109 (£92) in low season; and from €149 (£125) in high. Breakfast not included but available at €18 (£15). Free Wi-Fi.
Yes, one room is adapted.
Children are accepted and baby cots are free of charge, as are rollaway beds for children up to 12, but it is much more suited to antique-appreciating adults.
Rialto Hotel ul. Wilcza 73, 00-670 Warsaw, Poland.
00 48 22 584 87 00 rialto.pl
Rooms from £ 92
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This girl likes her nails painted pretty and pink and wears her hats to match.
She's a 9 year old fashionista and a gourmet cook who, thanks to Make-A-Wish Foundation, has traveled to Paris to work on her pastries!
Yet since age 7, Caroline Turns has been surviving a childhood cancer so rare that the doctors at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital had only seen it once in the hospital's 46-year history. That cancer is pancretoblastom. It appears in children age 9 and younger and is believed to be caused by left-over fetal cells.
From the time of her diagnosis, through difficult treatments and today, Caroline remains positive and upbeat. She has shared her story with others locally and throughout the nation through newspaper articles in Memphis and Dallas and through widely-read blogs and Internet sites.
In late spring 2007, Caroline developed a stomach ache that just wouldn't go away. At first her parents and pediatrician thought she just had some kind of stomach virus. When the discomfort and nausea persisted, she was put on antacids. By late July, she was in excruciating pain and was admitted to LeBonheur Children's Medical Center. On July 27, a CT scan showed a tumor. Time to move on to St. Jude for further testing.
At the meeting in which her parents received the cancer diagnosis, Dr. Stephen Skapek told them "We think your daughter is curable." No percentages, but that word alone was reason for hope.
While her doctors discussed treatment plans, her parents discussed how to best help her through this enormous challenge. Her mother Marcjana immediately decided on a "no tears in front of Caroline" rule. Her father Patrick left his job and became Caroline's full-time caregiver.
Her doctors came up with chemotherapy and surgery.
First , Caroline underwent nine rounds of chemotherapy at St. Jude. Side effects were excruciating but she persevered.
Removing the tumor, which was the size of a baked potato, was considered essential to her cure. Due to the shape of the tumor, Caroline's doctor felt that the best way to successfully remove it would be with a multi-organ, single donor transplant.
Doctors at St. Jude searched for a hospital willing and able to perform such a complex procedure and found the Jackson Memorial Hospital's Miami Transplant Institute.
The dangers of the surgery and problems following such a surgery are huge, but after much research, soul-searching and a trip to Miami to meet the doctors, Patrick and Marcjana agreed.
Caroline and Patrick moved to an apartment in Miami to await a donor. In June, 2008, one was found. Marcjana rushed to Miami to be there for the surgery. After an operation that lasted almost ten hours, Caroline came out with a new stomach, liver, pancreas, small and large intestine.
Three months later she was back home in Memphis and able to visit her third grade class at Dogwood Elementary!
But Caroline still has a long road ahead. She has returned to the hospital several times to fight off infections that are so very dangerous to a transplant survivor the first year following surgery. And in October two glitter-sized spots of cancer were found on her lungs . This resulted in more surgery, several more rounds of chemotherapy and radiation.
Despite all, she forges ahead.
Her mother's no crying rule and her father's daily presence have provided a good base for Caroline and fit well with her sunny disposition and natural optimism. She continues her fight against this powerful disease, maintaining friendships with staff at both St. Jude's and Holz Children's when she's in the hospital.
When she's home – life is not about her health. It's about normal kid stuff and family stuff — baking cookies, attending parties, checking in with school friends and just enjoying family time.
Her heroic spirit is a model for us all.


Roxana is thirty, but he looks much younger.
I don't think Think really has enough time to finish writing the report.
Knute is going to survive.
Hsuan thinks those shoes will be too big.
Using the names "Ahmet" and "Srikanth" in many English sentences to facilitate translating into Japanese is very strange.
I don't know whether I should believe Neil or not.
Jinny sat on the doorstep.
I had no idea that you didn't like Julia.
I told Dannie to wait over there.
Piotr and Lewis have stopped talking to each other.
Blaine had the nerve to yell at the judge.
Suzanne had an accident when he tried to ride a hoverboard for the first time.
We should probably ask Ralph.
Hang in there, Manolis, you're doing fine.
Ofer is having a very bad day.
Ask Magnus to come and see me, will you, please?
Tammy doesn't obey his parents.
Tyler is not as shy as he used to be.
Syd got permission to go home early.
Bertrand is back in Boston visiting his family.
Malloy is an international jewel thief.
Earl's the dead spitting image of his father.
I promised Rajarshi I'd pick up lunch.


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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (3rd R) meets with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis (3rd L) within the NATO Leaders' Summit at the Grove Hotel in London on December 04, 2019. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu (2nd R), Turkish Treasury and Finance Minister Berat Albayrak (5th R), Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar (R) and AK Party's Izmir Deputy, Binali Yildirim (4th R) also attended the meeting.
The new dynamics of Turkey-West relations
The traditional notion of the 'Western alliance' is no longer relevant for Ankara, which has instead adopted a more effective approach dominated by its own diplomatic agenda
By	Burhanettin Duran 10 December 2019
Burhanettin Duran
The recent NATO leaders' summit in London generated renewed interest in Turkey's relations with the West. With the allies stressing that the organization needs Turkey, it became clear that the chatter about the Turks' removal or departure from the alliance was entirely unrealistic.
Critics, who see the Turkish agreement to back the Baltic defense plan as a concession, question what Ankara received in return. Speaking in Rome last week, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu rejected this approach and reiterated that the Baltic plan cannot be implemented until NATO allies designate PKK-affiliated People's Protection Units (YPG) as a terrorist entity. In other words, the Turks merely greenlit the proceedings – not the plan's implementation. Turkey won't backtrack on the YPG question and insists on a 2016 plan, which sees the group as a terrorist organization.
The debate on NATO's future, like Turkey's efforts to convince the organization to protect Turkish security interests, is set to continue – at least until NATO moves to update its strategic assessment for the first time since 2010. In the meantime, we must accept that Turkey's relations with leading Western countries will be full of ups and downs. During this period, Ankara's cooperation with Moscow, coupled with Turkey's policy on Syria and the Eastern Mediterranean, will be the subject of heated debate.
The question is why President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan looked so comfortable in London. Against the backdrop of the French president's comments about NATO's "brain death," the Turkish veto on the Baltic plan, mounting criticism against Operation Peace Spring, Turkey's latest deal with Libya and discord over the YPG militants, Erdoğan did not experience tensions with Western leaders, as some observers expected.
The Turkish leader is known to have a strong connection with Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. His war of words with French President Emmanuel Macron could have escalated but keeping the French president under control is no serious problem for Erdoğan, who has negotiated with a vast array of past foreign leaders, including French President Jacques Chirac, German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, U.S. President George W. Bush and U.S. President Barack Obama, as well as current leaders like Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Turkish president has been around long enough to know that his counterparts make certain statements merely to appease domestic audiences.
In his meeting with journalists covering his trip, too, Erdoğan was in a particularly good mood – mainly thanks to the comfort of having conveyed Turkey's messages to his counterparts. It's not just that Erdoğan knows the ins and outs of leader-to-leader diplomacy. He also understands that the world has entered a period of great power competition. With the liberal world order in decline, bilateral relations, together with alliances, have undergone certain changes. This "update" entails tensions and new cooperations alike.
The Turkish president understands that the traditional notion of "the Western alliance" is no longer valid. In addition to the balance of power between NATO and Russia, Turkey continues to closely monitors disagreements between the U.S. and France as well as France and Germany. Erdoğan knows that the uncertainty that Brexit entails and Russia's growing influence will strengthen Turkey's hand in diplomatic negotiations with European leaders. He sees that national leaders, who consolidate their domestic base, are best equipped to seize the opportunities that arise in an increasingly chaotic world. Hence, Erdoğan's refusal to avoid tensions or wars of words.
In recent years, the Turkish leader has involved himself in international developments to the advantage of Turkey's national interests. He does not refrain from criticizing Western leaders publicly. When Macron recently said that he shared Greece's concerns about the Turkey-Libya deal, urging Turkey to respect the sovereignty of fellow NATO allies, Erdoğan thus had no problem responding as follows: "Why are you fixated on this issue? Do you have a right to defend here? Turkey, Greece and the U.K. are the guarantors [of Cyprus]. Why are you involving yourself in this matter?"
To be clear, Erdoğan's criticism of the EU and the U.S. is not incompatible with his efforts to align Turkish and Western interests. If anything, he uses that criticism to promote cooperation. Those who criticize Erdoğan's foreign policy, citing the state of Turkey's relations with the West, must realize that the rules of the old liberal order no longer apply – there are new dynamics at play.
People who think Turkey's international standing can be improved by going back to 2011 or 2012 and reviving the romantic notion of "the Turkish model," fail to grasp the full extent of the challenges Turkey has encountered since 2013.
[Daily Sabah, 10 December 2019]
Turkey-Libya Relations
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC)
Did Turkey get what it wanted at the London summit?
Turkey emerges as a real naval power


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Archive for the 'Grampa' Category
Posted: July 17, 2012 in Family, Grampa, Sports
While Jake made his debut with the High School spring track team AND played with the North Reading's own Black Hornets soccer team, Josh completed his first season in the New England Premiership league with the MPS Knights. Between them, we saw a lot of fun sports…
Seemed like the High School's winter track team just picked up a few more people and all of a sudden became the spring track team. Jake was right back in there running the 100 and 200 meter sprints, the 4×100 relay, and even giving the long and high jump events a try! Throughout the season, Jake lowered his PRs and had a lot of fun. Except maybe on the jumping events – those may not be his gig.
Joshua and the MPS Knights had a great season. They had to compete in the play-in rounds to get to the State Cup tournament and finished just one win short. At 7-0-1, they won their division of the NEP but were knocked out in the first round of playoffs by a lesser team that outplayed them on that day. With a couple college showcase tournaments to round out the year, there was plenty of soccer played!
Jake and the North Reading Black Hornets finished 5-0-1 to win their division of the ECYSA but also didn't fair well in the playoffs, being knocked off in the first round. They played in the DIT again this year, but were knocked off in the semi-finals there by the eventual champions.
Maybe the best part of the spring season was having so many family members watch the play! Though this was Grampa's last season to watch, Gramsie and even Poppa made it out for a game or two! Thanks for all the cheers!
Riposa in Pace Nonno
Posted: June 29, 2012 in Family, Grampa, Health
On Friday, June 29, 2012, Grampa Ralph Intorcio finished his rage against the dying of the light at Lahey Clinic in Burlington, MA. In the end, after 30+ years fighting his heart disease, two bypass surgeries, multiple catheterizations, and countless pokes, prods, and medications, he went gentle into the good night. We love you Grampa! Rest well.
Out of Florida
Posted: March 23, 2012 in Family, Grampa, Home, Travel
Though he'd relocated to Massachusetts, at least seasonally, last year, John's dad this spring sold off his house in Sarasota and was ready to make things permanent. So, in mid-March, John flew down on a Friday night to help Ralph get things squared away.
Saturday was spent on visits to the bank, calls to the utilities, identifying some of the overstocked items, and even a little time at the pool.
Sunday was Ralph's farewell visit to St. Boniface where many of his friends wished him luck in his travels. On Sunday evening, Ralph's little red Hyundai was picked up by the car carrier for its trip north.
On Monday morning, packers from the local moving office arrived and the fun really began. John had three standard questions he asked repeatedly:
When did you last use that?
What are you going to use that for?
Why do you need 6 or 8 or 12 of those?
John's favorite exchange… "Pop, why do you need two kitchen timers?" Ralph's reply: "Well, one doesn't work!" Many compromises were made and in the end, the (three) machetes were packed along with the busted antique tape dispenser, and the power saws were left behind for the safety of all. There was a bit of damage along the way – it was a tough day for the ceiling fan…
Ralph treated John to a nice dinner that night at the outdoor sidewalk tables of Sam Snead's. They enjoyed the gorgeous Florida weather even though Ralph felt a few pangs for the city he'd soon leave behind.
Tuesday began with breakfast at the Hob Nob Drive In – a place John had been driving by since Ralph moved to Sarasota and always said he was going to go to!
A little after 9:00 AM, the big rig arrived and the loading began. The movers were good sports as we kept adding things to the load and, about three hours later, the truck was loaded and headed north.
As the furniture rolled away, Ralph and John did a little final clean-up, took naps, and then headed to see Ralph's niece, Virginia, and her husband Jack, who live just south of the city. They were treated to first class accommodations and a lovely dinner at Ophelia's where they sat by the side of the Intracoastal Waterway and again enjoyed the gorgeous weather – despite a few sprinkles.
We even had a little celebration of Ralph's upcoming birthday as he blew out the candle on his birthday salad!
Bright and early Wednesday morning, they were off to Sarasota Airport for the flight home. By the time they arrived at the Parker House, Ralph's car had already been delivered and he quickly began to settle in!
We're so glad to have Grampa close to us so we can keep him out of trouble! Well, maybe.
Holidays 2011/12
Posted: January 7, 2012 in Family, Grampa, Holiday
We celebrated the holidays with food and family this year!
Shawn's Uncle Cleon and his wife Aunt Ellie arrived at our place the Thursday night before Christmas and that kicked of a spree of holiday celebration what would last all the way to January 4 (even though some of us had to be back at work on January 2).
On Friday, we picked up the Grampa to join the fun and we all got to watch Joshua's first varsity wrestling match. He's behind a couple of seniors in his weight class so he gets infrequent shots at the varsity lineup but he's always eager! His varsity career began with a decisive first period pin that impressed the relatives and even earned him a photo in the local newspaper!
On Christmas eve, we added Gramsie to the mix to fill out our flock. After the afternoon service at our church, we settled in for some serious celebration with our traditional Feast of Seven Fishes which this year went to eight: shrimp cocktail, fried calamari, bacallà, and a ciopinno with mussels, clams, crab, salmon, and polpo.
After dinner, our friends Heather and Thor joined us for desert and Limoncello. There's was much fun and laughter and Marie even got a brand new Sponge Bob Flashlight!
Christmas day began with the traditional pajama-clad opening of presents. Our plan to "dial it back a bit" this year seemed to have gone off track someplace as the piles of presents seemed as big as always! Jake and Josh performed notably well this year in choosing gifts that were extremely well targeted to their recipients – Santa hats off to them!
Grampa loved his new shoehorns…
Jake loved his new Beats…
And Josh rocked Shawn Thornton!
After the presents and a brunch or two, we settled down to a John Madden-inspired Christmas Turducken feast! We'd never tried one before but thought it was time. Now we've done it – next year, maybe a goose!
We kept the holidays rolling with a house blessing at Grampa's Place on Monday. Rev. Scottie from the Church of the Good Shepherd hosted and did a bang-up job. She led, the relatives, along with a few neighbors and friends, throughout the house, blessing each room as we went. A blessing of the gardens and a final blessing for the house as a whole took us to refreshments and socializing. (Too bad the camera stayed out in the car!) Good stuff!
Later that evening we were off to Riccardo's in the North End for a a birthday celebration for Cleon and Grampa (whose birthday isn't really until the end of March). We enjoyed a nice dinner out and strolling through the historic North End!
On Wednesday, we took Grampa to watch Jake run in one more indoor track meet. This is Jake's first year running any sort of formal track but he's getting the hang of it. He competes mostly in the 300m dash and it's quite fun to cheer him on! Go Jake!
Thursday we were off to another wrestling match where we'd get to see Josh score another pin!
Thursday night we were off to The Shoe with a bunch of local friends: Lori, Ed, Maureen, Bob, Heather and Thor. We enjoyed more food and laughter.
On the morning of New year's Eve we shipped Grampa back to Florida. He'll enjoy the warm winter down there and then make a more complete move to North Reading in the spring when he'll bring his furniture and his own car up. We can't wait 'til he gets back!
It was then off to yet another Wrestling meet. This time, we got to see Josh execute two decisive wins – one against a Peabody opponent ad the other against a wrestler from Wakefield. Josh sure looks strong out there!
John and Shawn would later head out for a nice seafood dinner at Finz in Salem. with their friends Heather and Thor. We had a great time celebrating the New Year a little early and were home and well settled in our respective couches long before the ball came down!
We'd spend the rest of the break taking down decorations and resting up for re-immersion. It was back to work on Monday for Shawn and John while the boys had until Wednesday before they'd return to school. All and all, it was a relaxing and fun-filled break and we'd due it again in a second! Happy New Year!
Young@Heart Again!
Posted: May 19, 2011 in Grampa
In 1984, Grampa joined a fledgling group of elder singers from the Northampton area that was known as the Young@Heart Chorus.
Over the next 20 years or so that he performed with them, they appeared many times at the Academy of Music in Northampton and traveled all over the world including Belgium, Norway, Australia, and the Netherlands. He often appeared as Carmen Miranda joined by his friend Warren Clark who imitated Sophie Tucker! Later, Grampa's staple would be Carol Channing and the chorus would go on to have their own feature film!
For the Young@Heart's 2011 banquet at Look Park's Garden House, Grampa was invited to make a surprise appearance as Carol. So, John took a half day off from work to be his escort and they drove out for the evening. Carol made a grand entrance, and sang his/her signature song, Diamond's Are a Girl's Best Friend to a standing ovation!
It was great fun. He really is forever Young@ Heart!
Arrivo del Nonno
Posted: May 17, 2011 in Family, Grampa
Tuesday, the 10th of May, marked the "Arrivo del Nonno" – the arrival of the grandfather at his new home on Parker Drive. John had a customer visiting from California so Shawn picked Grampa up at the airport and brought him home for dinner. When John got home later that evening, he presented his Pop with a set of keys for his new home and car and drove him down the street to start the assimilation. With its remodeling nearing completion, a bunch of bargain furniture in place, and us just up the street to offer support, Grampa quickly began to settle in.
By the first weekend, he'd begun to make some friends at the senior center, only gotten lost a few times, and had started to rebuild a stone wall in the back yard! We made a few trips to Home Depot and Walmart for various necessities and started to make the little house look like a home!
On the following Tuesday, we helped Grampa host a housewarming and potluck supper to celebrate his arrival and allow him to meet a few of the neighbors! It was a grand success! We had a great crowd of neighbors and friends!
There was more than enough food and fun. We had chowder, chicken wings, pasta entrees, desserts, beer, wine, and a lot of laughs!
And a lot of people got to know each other! Some of the previously acquainted got to know each other even better!
Even Grampa's niece Virgina sent flowers to help warm the house!
All in all, it seemed pretty successful and Grampa seemed quite pleased! It's great to have him nearby! We love you Grampa!
The Blue Beauty
Posted: March 31, 2011 in Cars, Family, Grampa
We've got some additional car needs coming up. Ralph will be here for the summer while his car stays in Florida. And this fall, if he progresses on schedule, Josh will get his driver's license. And just maybe, he could then help with some of the endless schlepping that he and his brother seem to require!
So.. John did some reading on up on cheap cars that might be good for a teen learning to drive. He narrowed things down to a handful of models and went looking on Craig's List. Before long, he found the Blue Beauty!
She's a 2001 Nissan Sentra with only of 50,000 miles on her. Yah, she's got a dent in the hood and a scratch or two. But she's also got good tires, a cassette player, and rides like a dream!
She's home now. Inspection imminent. And then we'll put her to use!