Canadian Bacon Yellow Pepper Onion Bacon Artichoke Heart Pizza

Pans and Parchment Paper:

Pizza Dough

Pizza Sauce:

Bacon Toppings:

Vegetable Toppings:

  1. If you prefer a homemade pizza crust, prepare pizza dough 1 to 2 days in advance of making pizza.
  2. Pull the oven racks out of the oven and set on stovetop.
  3. Preheat oven to 400°. If you have a convection oven, use the convection bake setting at 400°.
  4. If you are using a pizza stone, leave the racks in the oven and preheat the stone in the oven at 400°. If you have a convection oven, use the convection bake setting at 400°.
  5. Prepare pizza sauce; set aside.
  6. Prepare caramelized onion and set aside.
  7. Chop yellow or red pepper and set aside.
  8. Chop artichoke hearts and set aside.
  9. Cook bacon, chop and set aside.
  10. Tear off 2 sheets of parchment paper. Each one should be approximately 20 inches long.
  11. Place each piece of parchment paper on a separate work surface.
  12. Lightly dust another work surface with cornmeal.
  13. Punch down the dough.
  14. Turn dough out onto a floured surface.
  15. Knead dough for 30 seconds.
  16. Split the dough into two equal halves and place on the cornmeal dusted work surface.
  17. Let the dough rest for 10 minutes.
  18. Place each piece of dough directly in the center of a piece of parchment paper.
  19. If you are using a baking stone place the dough directly on a floured pizza peel, press out into a 14-inch round, and assemble as directed below.
  20. Beginning in the center of each dough ball use the palm of your hand to gently press each ball into a 14-inch round.
  21. Get out two 16-inch pizza pans.
  22. Slide each pizza pan under each of the two pizza rounds.
  23. Note that the pizza round and the parchment paper will both end up on top of the pizza pan.
  24. Spread each round with ½ cup + 2 tablespoons pizza sauce. If you like a lot of sauce on your pizza add more according to your tastes.
  25. Place ¼ pound of Canadian bacon on each pizza round.
  26. Add caramelized onion to each pizza round.
  27. Sprinkle each round with ½ the chopped yellow or red pepper.
  28. Add chopped artichoke hearts to each round.
  29. Sprinkle ½ of grated cheese mixture over each round. If you prefer your pizza to be light on cheese, use less than the recommended amount.
  30. Slide the parchment paper with the finished pizza off of the pizza pan and directly onto an oven rack.
  31. Bake the pizza for approximately 10 to 15 minutes. The underside of bottom crust should be golden brown.
  32. If you have a convection oven you can bake 2 pizzas at the same time on the convection bake setting. You may need to switch the racks for the last 5 minutes of baking time to ensure both pizzas have a nice, crisp crust.
  33. To remove the pizza from the oven, slide a pizza pan or a pizza peel under the parchment paper then carefully grab the edge of the paper with your fingers and pull the paper and pizza onto the pan or peel.
  34. If you are baking the pizzas on a pizza stone, slide the pizza from the pizza peel onto the preheated baking stone. Baking time should be approximately 10 minutes.
  35. To remove the pizza from the pizza stone, slide the pizza peel under the pizza and remove the pizza from the oven.
  36. Cool for 5 to 10 minutes, cut and serve.

Recipe makes two 14-inch thin crust pizzas. If you want a slightly thicker crust roll the dough out 10 to 12-inches and follow the same baking instructions.

Salad goes great with pizza so why not serve up a Caesar salad with croutons or a bowl of crisp salad greens topped with Italian salad dressing and croutons?

Categorized in


Chicago violence hits historic milestone

On Saturday the city experienced its deadliest night since mid-February as six people were killed.  An ongoing gang struggle was blamed, which is an accusation that has become almost ubiquitous.  Chicago’s epic violence is finally on the verge of achieving a critical mass warranting nationwide attention. Even Chicago’s mainstream media is beginning to focus on our violence as potentially more than disparate or heat-related events and possibly something systemic.  Violence has claimed nearly 350 lives thus far this year. While city officials have invoked the gang-affiliation card for many of the killings, gun control is also moving closer to center stage.  As stray bullets increasingly catch children in the crossfire, Chicago’s youth are scared to go outside to play.

Today’s Tribune ran a feature article showing monthly and annual homicide rates to clearly identify the historic nature of the statistics, but why must record-breaking be the bar set for calling attention to something that threatens the safety and secuity of our lives as Chicago residents. While August is on track to realize 2 violent deaths per day, Emmanuel points to a decrease in the overall crime rate and observes that gang violence is causing gun killings. We are a community that must consider the systemic nature of the violence that plagues us.  Why is gang activity spreading?  How are guns so readily acquired and used?  Why has there been a seemingly widespread diaspora of violence across the city?  What can we do to identify, alleviate and resolve the issues that lead to violence?

These questions need to be asked and answered.  It is disengenuous to cast widespread violence as a gang matter (as if black-on-black is somehow a lesser concern) or as a nightly statistic that simply numbs us to its extreme nature (like the high and low temperatures of the day) or as something that happens to our citizens when they travel to distant cities or countries (so we recognize that violence is everywhere and not just in Chicago, which makes us feel that Chicago is not an extreme case).  Violence in Chicago may be about the dislocation of affordable housing or the diminution of social services or the sense of hopelessness that comes with economic and political malaise or maybe even the failure of our civilization to adapt to large numbers. It may be our disenchantment with political will or the ephemeral notion of a representative democracy or just the realization that police and legal system resources no longer present a credible threat to violent criminal behavior. Maybe it’s just our inclination toward silence and inaction because violence only happens to others.  Do we care, really?  Certainly the families, friends, acquaintances and coworkers of the 350 Chicagoans whose lives were cut short by violence on our streets, among our homes, in our community should rally us all to demand an end to this violence before it consumes us all.  Stop the Violence in Chicago!


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181 Cards in this Set

  • Front
  • Back
Successful performance of mental functions, resulting in the abililty to engage in productive activities, enjoying fulfilling relationships and change or cope with adversity
Mental health
Clinically significant behavioral or psychological syndrome experienced by a person and marked by distress, disability or the risk of suffering disabilitly or loss of freedom
Mental illness
Medical diseases that can be identified along a mental health contimuun
Mental disorders
Quantitative study of the distribution of mental disorders in human populations
Applications of epidemiology:
studies that produce bastic estimates of the rates of disorder in teh general polulation and subgroups
Applications of epidemiology:
studies that explore the rates of variation in illness among different groups to identify risk factors that may contribute to development of a disorder
Applications of epidemiology:
Studies that test the presumed assumption b/w a risk factor and a disorder and seek to reduce the occurrence of the illness by controlling risk factors
Broad field that addresses what happens to people with illnesses who are seen by providers of clinical care
Clinical epidemiology
These are examples of _____:
Studies of natural hisotry of an illness, studies of diagnostic screening, observational and experiemntal studies of interventions
Clinical epidemiology
Propotion of a population with a menal distorder at a given time
Prevalance rate
Mental disorders caused by neurotransmitter dysfunction, abnormal brain structure, inherited genetic factor or other biological causes
Biologically based mental illness
Schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depression and OCD, PTSD, Autism are examples of _____
Biologically based mental illness/ psychobiological disorder
Support systems, family influences, developmental events, cultural beliefs and values, health practices and negative influences
Factors that affect mental health
In the DSM-IV-TR, the disorder must be a manifestations of ______, ______ or ______
behavorial, psychological or biological dysfunction
DSM-IV-TR Multiaxial System:
Refers to teh collection of signs and symptoms that together constitue a particular disorder
Axis 1
DSM-IV-TR Multiaxial System:
Personality disorders and mental retardation; long term disturbance
Axis II
DSM-IV-TR Multiaxial System:
General medical conditions believed to be relevant to the mental disorder in question
Axis III
DSM-IV-TR Multiaxial System:
Psychosocial and environmental problems that may affect the diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of the mental disorder
Axis IV
DSM-IV-TR Multiaxial System:
GLobal assessment of functioning; gives an indicaiton fo the person's best level of psychological, social and occupational functioing during the preceding year; rated from 1-100
Axis V
DSM-IV-TR Multiaxial System:
Major depression disorder
Axis I
DSM-IV-TR Multiaxial System:
Dependent personality disorder
Axis II
DSM-IV-TR Multiaxial System:
Axis III
DSM-IV-TR Multiaxial System:
Divorce 3 months previously
Axis IV
DSM-IV-TR Multiaxial System:
31 years old and unable to work or respond to family and friends
Axis V
DSM-IV-TR Multiaxial System:
Persistent danger
score = 10
DSM-IV-TR Multiaxial System:
Superior functioning
Score = 100
DSM-IV-TR Multiaxial System:
Serious symptoms or impairment
Score = 50
Signs of mental health:
finds life enjoyable
Signs of mental health:
Can recognize and act on cues, responds to rules
Control over Behavior
Signs of mental health:
Accurate picture of what is happening; good sence of consequences, can see difference b/w "as if" and "for real"
Appraisal of reality
Signs of mental health:
Within limits set by abilities; when meeting mild failure, persists
Effectiveness in Work
Signs of mental health:
sees self approaching ind task; self-confidence
Health self-concept
Signs of mental health:
Experiences satisfaction and stability in relationships; socially integrated
Satisfying relationships
Signs of mental health:
uses stress reduction; in healthy way
Effective coping stratagies
The scope of psychiatric mental health nursing is referred to as
Phenomea of concern
The diagnosis and treatment of human responces to actual or potential mental health problems
Psychiatric nursing
These provide comprehensive services to memebers only within a defined provider network for a fixed yearly rate
Health maintaince organziation
These give members a choice of using providers in a defined network for a fixed copayment or using providers outside the network for a higher copayment
Preferred provider organizations
These monitor psychiatric care through preadmission reviews, continuing treatment authorizations, or retroactive chart reviews
Managed behavioral health care organ.
The scope of psychiatric mental health nursing is referred to as the
Phenomena of concern
Psychiatric nursing
Collection, interpretation and integration of valid, important and acclicable client-repored, clinical-observed and research- derived evidence
Evidence based practice
The goal of ______ is to provide coordination of all health services at the appropriate level of care, with emphasis on preventive care to control costs
Managed care
Communication techniques including interviewing, problem solcing, crisis intervention...
Use of the physical and social environment to influence behavior, such as orienting to the facility and setting verbal and physical limits to maintian safety
Milieu therapy
Assistance with ADL as needed
Promotion of self-care activities
Adm of meds with evaluation of effects, care duing recovery from electroconvulsive therapy, use of relaxation techniques
Psychobiological intervention
Psychotherapy, Medication prep and treatment and consultation can only be done by _____
Advanced level nurses
Integral part of psychiatric home care for the elderly, in-home services for children and adolescents and long-term treatment of the chronically mentally ill
Case management
The aging of the population, increasing cultural diversity and ever-expanding technology are...
Three trends that will affect the future
This contains all of the materail tha tthe person is aware of at any one time
This contains material that can be retrieved rather easiliy through conscious effort
This includes all repressed memories, passions and unacceptable urges; usually unable to to retrieve this without intervention
This is the source of all drives, instincts, relexes, needs, genetic inheritance, and capacity to respond as well as all the wishes that motivate us
The pleasure principle in the id works to discharge tension through the ____ and ____
Reflex action and the primary process
This is inherent and automatic part of the Id; like gagging, crying and laughing to alleviate certain formas of tension
Reflex action
This is used by the id to diminish tension by creating an image of the object that would rectify the uncomfortable situation
Primary process
This is the problem solver and reality tester; developed during the fourth or fifth month
Last part of personality to develop; represents the moral component of personality; should and should nots; represents the ideal rather than the real
THe ego develops ____ to ward off anxiety by preventing conscious awareness of threatening feeling
Defense mechanisms
Defense mechanisms operatie on an ____ level and they ___, ____ and ___ reality to make it less treatening
Deny, falsify and distort
Freud's theory is relevant to psy nursing becuase it states that: the formation of the client's personility is rooted in _____; and looks at ____ vs. _____
Conscious vs. unconscious
Studying interpersonal processes that could be ovserved in a social framwork
According to sullivan, the purpose of all bx is to get needs met through _____ interaction and decrease or avoid ______
This describes those measures that the individual employs to reduce anxiety and enhance security
Securtiy operations
What an individual uses to defend himself against anxiety and ensure self-esteem make up the self-system
Security operations
He studied healthy personalities and said that they developed until old age; 8 stages of life
Trust vs. Mistrust
Automony vs. shame/ doubt
Early childhood
Initiative vs. guilt
Late childhood
Industry vs. inferiority
School age
Identity vs. role confusion
Intimacy vs. isolation
Early adulthood
Generativity vs. self-absorption
Middle adulthood
Integrity vs. despair
Later years
Basic needs
D-motives / deficiency needs
Self-esteem and self-actualization
B-motive/ being needs
An emphasis on ____ ____ and the client's _____ is key to success
human potential and strenghts
A nurse must ____ nursing actions
Sequence (must collect all info.)
Pairing a behavior with a condition that reinforces or diminishes the behavior's occurence
Behavior can be changed or shaped by controlling the stimulus
Watson's Behaviorism Theory
Manipulation of selected reinforcers to elicit and strengthen desired behavioral responces
Operant conditioning
Refers to the consequence of behavior and is defined as anything that increased the occurrence of a bx
Nurse-patient relationship; interpersonal relationings; first nurse to identify psychiatric nurisng both as an essential element of general nursing and as a specialty area
Engineered a major paradigm shift from a model focused on medical treatments to an interpersonal relational model of nursing practice
Promoted interventions to lower people's anxiety with teh aim of improving clients' ability to think and to function at more satisfactory levels
When client experiences feelings toward the nurse or therapist that were originally held toward significant others in his life
The health care worker's unconscious and personal responce to the client; if the client reminds you of someone you don't like, you act as if the cleint were the other individual
This is a therapy technique that is priented mroe to the here and now, and less of an attempt is made to reconstruct the developmental origins of conflicts
Psychodynamic psychotherapy
An active, directive, time-limited, structured approach used to treat a variety of psychiatric disorders like depression, anxiety, phobias and pain problems
Cognitive therapy
These type of therapy was designed to identify, reality test, and correct distored conceptulalizations and the dysfunctional schemata
Cognitive therapy
This is a technique that is customized to the client's specific fears
1. the client uses relaxation technique for a certain phoic reasction
2. then client in incrementally exposed to the fear
3. Client intructed in how to design their own hierarchies of fear (most fearful to least)
4. Client practices these techniques every day
Systematic desensitization
Use of the total environment to treat disturbed children
Milieu therapy
The understanding of both normal and abnormal mental process in terms of brain function
Primary goal of psychiatry
THe ______ and the ______ serve as the communication links between the brain and the cardiac muscle, smooth muscle, and glands of which the internal organs are composed
Autonomic nervous system
Endocrine system
Nerve cells that conduct electrical impulses and the various types of cells surrounding the cells
The three functions of neurons:
1. Respond to _____
2. Conduct _______
3. Release _______
Electrical impulses
Neurotransmitters (chemicals)
This is an example of an electrical impulse of a neuron
Inward flow of Na; outward flow of K
Chemical substance that functions as a neuromessenger; one the electrical impulse reaches the end, these are released
Neurotransmitters are released from the axon terminal a the _____ neuron on excitation
The transmitter diffused across a narrow space, or _____
After leaving the synapse, the transmitter goes to a _______ neuron where it then attaches to specialized receptors on teh cell
Once the transmitter is on the postsynaptic neuron, it can either ____ or ____ the neuron
Inhibit or excite
It is the interactions b/w the _____ and the ____ that is the major target of the drugs used to treat psychiatric disease
Transmitter and receptor
After attaching to a receptor and exerting its influence on the postsynaptic cell, the transmitter _____ and is _____
When a transmitter like norepinephrine is taked back into the presynaptic cell from whcih they were originally relased
The destructive enzyme that destroys norephinephrine, dopamine and serotonin once it has been reuptaken
Monoamine oxidase (MAO)
This acts to inhibit the further release of the transmitter
Presynaptic receptors
These may initate long-term changed in teh postsynaptic cells
These are proteins and simple gases (CO and nitrous oxide) that are released by postsynaptic cells and influence the growth, shape and activity of presynaptic cells; thought to be important during development of the brain in utero
Neurotrophic factors
These can bind to neurons, where they can cause short- and long-term changes in neuronal activity
Steroid hormones (estrogen, testosterone and cortisol)
A decrease in this can cause Parkinson's and depression
A decrease in these can cause depression
Norepinephrine; serotonin
A decrease in this can cause
anxiety disorders and schizophrenia
An increase in this can cause Schizophrenia
An increase in this can cause
anxiety states
The system that the brainstem uses to regulate the entire cycle of sleep and wakefulness and the ability of the cerebrum to carry out conscious mental activity
reticular activating system (RAS)
This plays a crucial role in emotional status and psychological function
Limbic system
What neurotransmitters the limbic system uses
Norepinephrine, serotonin and dopamine
This in primarily involved in the regulation of skeletal muscle coordination and contraction and the maintenance of equilibrium
This is responsible for mental activities and a conscious sense of being; what separates humans from animals; responsible for our conscious perception; emotional status, memory, control of the skeletal, muscles, language and communication
Responsible for touch; semsory and motor
Parietal lobe
responsible for tought processes; plan, decision making, social judgment, motivation
Frontal lobe
responsible for auditory; expression of emotion
Temporal lobe
Responsible for vision
occipital lobe
Involved in the regulation of movement; integrating gray matter deep within the the cerebrum
Basal ganglia
Envolved in emotion, learning, memory and basic drives
Hippocampus and amygdala
CT and MRI are examples of
Structural imaging techniques
PET is an example of
Functional imaging techniques
Teaching for a ____:
Not painful; may feel warm/flushed
Hold still/ hold breath
Will hear clicking noise
Are you allergic to iodine?
Teaching for ____:
No metals
There will be noises
Remain still/ may feel anxiety/ claurophobic
Experience tingling/ pressure in ears
Teaching for ____:
takes about 90 mins
no sedatives used b/c pt will get instructions
no coffee, alcohol or ciggys for 24 hrs
Will be measuring glucose levels in brain; empty bladder
Client needs to remain awake and calm
Uses short acting radioactive
In clients with schizophrenia, PET scans may show a ______ use of glucose in frontal lobes
In clients with OCD, PET scans may show a ______ use of glucose in frontal lobes
This neurotransmitter seems to play a role in modulating neuronal excitability and anxiety
This refers to the actions of the drug on the person; the types of changed it produced
This refers to the actions of the person on the drug; how is it absorbed?; transformed in liver? excreted by the kidney?
This causes a greater neuron system toxicity in Afican Americans than it does whites
This causes 50% higher plasma concentrations in Asian clients with schizophrenia than in white clients
This causes agranulocytosis in Ashkenazi Jews than in other ethnic groups
Ethical dilemmas surrounding client care
Principles of bioethics:
duty to act so as to benefit or promote good of others
Principles of bioethics:
Right to make one's own decisions and respect for the rights of others
Principles of bioethics:
Treating others fairly and equally
Principles of bioethics:
Maintaining loyalty and commitment to the client and doing no wrong to the client
Principles of bioethics:
One's duty always to tell the truth
Laws _____ ethical principles
Meaning to "free the person"; procedural mechanism used to challenge unlawful detention by the government
Writ of habeas corpus
Mandates tha tthe least drastic means be taken to achieve a specific purpose
Lease restrictive alternative doctrine
Sought by the client or the client's guardian through a written application to the facility; right to demand and obtain release
Voluntary admission
1-10 days long; used in order to prevent dangerous behavior that is likely to cause harm to self or others
Emergency involuntary hospitalization
The primary purpose of this type of hospitalization is ovservation, diagnosis and treatment; application may be made by family memeber, physician, public health officers; also need medical certification by two or more physicians and judicial review
Observational or temporary involuntary hosp
Primary purpose is extended care and treatment of the mentally ill; adm solely through judicial or administrative action
Long-term/ formal commitment
Competency is related to the _______ to understand the consequences of one's decisions
The nurse's primary source for data collection is the ______
THe nurse's reactions to a client that are based on the nurse's unconscious needs, conflicts, problems or view of the world
Increased _______ about any subject is data in itself
The purpose of the MSE is to evaluate an individual's current _______ process
The MSE aids in collecting _____ data
Info like personal/ social background, strengths/ weaknesses; coping stratagies
Psychosocial assessment
THe psychosocial assesesment is the ____ part of the interview
This elicits info about the systems in which a person operates; i.e. G/D; religious practice, etc.
Psychosocial assessment
How you validate data obtained from the client; i.e. police officers
Second sources
If a second source cannot be obtained, this needs to be _____
Nursing diagnosis:
The unmet need; state of the client at present
Nursing diagnosis:
Probably cause; r/t; tells what needs to be done in order to get change
Nursing diagnosis:
Signs and symptoms; defining characteristics
Supporting data
Combination of clinical skill and the use of clincally relevant research in teh delivery of effective cleint-centered care
Evidence based practice
This is the ultimate goal of all nursing action
Maximizing the cleint's independent level of functioning
WHen the nurse maximizes communication skills, understanding of human behaviors and personal strenghts to enhance the client's growth; focus is on the client
Therapeutic relationships
Understanding the ideas expressed, as well as teh feelings that are present in the other preson; essential ingredient in a threapeutic relationship
Self-awareness of one's feelings as they arise within the relationship and the ability to communicate them when appropriate; key ingredient in building trust
This implies respect; ability to view another pson as being worthy of caring about and who has strenghts
Positive regard
Foundation of interviewing; refers to an intensity of presence, or being with a client
Process whereby a person unconsciously and inappropriately displaces onto ind in life those patterns of behavior and emptional reactions that originated in relation to significant figures in childhood
Tendency of the nurse to displace onto the client feelsing relationed to people in teh therapist's past
On of the most common signs of countertransference
Overidentification with the client
The main focus of the orientation phase with the cleint is to _____ _____
establish trust
Termination begins in the ______ phase; this should be clear here
During this phase, the nurse and the client together identify and explore areas in the cleint's life that are causing problems;
Working phase
Here the cleint and nurse deal with intense feeling regarding the expeience; summarize goals and objectives; review pt plans for future


Journey to Self-love

Journey to Self-love

By Viktoria Seavey

  • Release Date : 2015-08-14
  • Genre : Spirituality
  • FIle Size : 14.17 MB

Journey to Self-love This booklet is designed to guide you through ten steps that will lead you to a richer connection with yourself and others. It is crucial to nurture and care for your whole being first, and loving yourself sets the tone for all of your experiences in life. As you practice these simple steps, you will understand why self-love is the key to everything. Loving and accepting yourself completely is the most important journey you can take. Your patience, trust, and compassion and the time and energy that you invest into yourself will lead to rewarding experiences and a miraculous life.


Paragraph on My Reading Room- by Anand

Reading is one of the best activities to indulge in. It makes us informative, curious, knowledgeable and mature.

Usually, there is no determined place to read as reading is an activity unrelated to time or place.

However, many homes have a reading room designed specifically for reading purposes.

The reading room is the most peaceful and serene place in the whole house. It is usually the room where the books are kept, neatly stacked in a shelf or in a rack. The reading room is situated in the corner, far from the noise emanating from various other parts of the house.

My Reading Room:

My reading room is a small, cosy room with a big teakwood desk, a table lamp, two huge bookshelves and a fireplace. It is the only place in the entire house which is cut off from the voices of the family members. This room once belonged to my grandfather who used to be an avid reader. His huge collection of novels, books, encyclopaedias, plays etc. has been passed down to my father. The table lamp, though old and rusty, still brightens up the whole room.

There are two oil paintings embedded on the two opposite walls of the room and a miniature wooden sculpture of one of the greatest minds of the 21st century, Albert Einstein. The room becomes most comfortable for reading during the chilly winters when I start the fire in the fireplace and read while wrapped up in my blanket.

Incidents in My Reading Room:

I recall many small incidents taking place in the reading room of our house. On one instance, my father had stormed into the reading room in anger, almost knocking off the hourglass placed on the desk. He was angry because my brother had misplaced a book he had bought recently and had stormed in to re-check the same in the book shelf.

On another instance, I remember how a snake had crawled into the reading room from our backyard and had very comfortably placed itself between two books on the lowest shelf. My mother had almost fainted screaming when she noticed the same while cleaning the room.

The reading room where I used to spend most of my time during m childhood remains abandoned these days. The books have turned old and the shelves have become rusty. The only time the room is opened is when the cleaning lady comes. But even after so many days, when I visit that room, a lot of memories flood my mind.

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Revving up for a Move? Salvatore Ferragamo S.p.A. (BIT:SFER) Stock Signal Update

The ROIC Quality of Salvatore Ferragamo S.p.A. (BIT:SFER) is 5.880866.  This is determined by dividing the five year average ROIC by the Standard Deviation of the 5 year ROIC.  The ROIC 5 year average is calculated using the five year average EBIT, five year average. The ROIC is then calculated by dividing the net operating profit (or EBIT) by the employed capital.  The employed capital is calculated by subrating current liabilities from total assets.  The Return on Invested Capital is a ratio that determines whether a company is profitable or losing money.  It tells investors how well a stock is turning their capital into profits.

The Gross Margin Score is calculated by looking at the Gross Margin and the overall stability of the company over the course of 8 years. The score is a number between one and one hundred (1 being best and 100 being the worst). The Gross Margin Score of Salvatore Ferragamo S.p.A. (BIT:SFER) is 11.00000. The more stable the company, the lower the score. If a company is less stable over the course of time, they will have a higher score.

The MF Rank (aka the Magic Formula) is a formula that pinpoints a valuable company trading at a good price. The formula is calculated by looking at companies that have a high earnings yield as well as a high return on invested capital. The MF Rank of Salvatore Ferragamo S.p.A. (BIT:SFER) is 4807. A company with a low rank is considered a good company to invest in. The Magic Formula was introduced in a book written by Joel Greenblatt, entitled, “The Little Book that Beats the Market”.

The Shareholder Yield is a way that investors can see how much money shareholders are receiving from a company through a combination of dividends, share repurchases and debt reduction. The Shareholder Yield of Salvatore Ferragamo S.p.A. (BIT:SFER) is 0.016673. This percentage is calculated by adding the dividend yield plus the percentage of shares repurchased. Dividends are a common way that companies distribute cash to their shareholders. Similarly, cash repurchases and a reduction of debt can increase the shareholder value, too. Another way to determine the effectiveness of a company’s distributions is by looking at the Shareholder yield (Mebane Faber). The Shareholder Yield (Mebane Faber) of Salvatore Ferragamo S.p.A. BIT:SFER is 0.02711. This number is calculated by looking at the sum of the dividend yield plus percentage of sales repurchased and net debt repaid yield.

Some of the best financial predictions are formed by using a variety of financial tools. Salvatore Ferragamo S.p.A. (BIT:SFER) has a Price to Book ratio of 5.384453. This ratio is calculated by dividing the current share price by the book value per share. Investors may use Price to Book to display how the market portrays the value of a stock. Checking in on some other ratios, the company has a Price to Cash Flow ratio of 13.944484, and a current Price to Earnings ratio of 32.778901. The P/E ratio is one of the most common ratios used for figuring out whether a company is overvalued or undervalued.


Spark V3 Parts Prep - PowerSwitchTail II vs. PowerSSR Tail

Cheers to Elco and the BrewPi Community -

Looking to dive in once V3 is released and I’m putting together a parts list based on the latest Spark posts and gleaning what I can from the significant history of the BrewPi ecosystem.

After reviewing the “Fridge Hacking” guide, I’ll be opting for an external “Switched Power Cord” to control the Fridge compressor and heating elements directly. (I realize that this will leave the existing thermostat in line and could result in conflicts at lower temps, but the True GDM-07 Commercial unit I have is able to approach freezing before toggling naturally when at “max cool” setting - I don’t expect controller fights at ferm temps)

I’m also opting for this choice so the result is “portable” between fridges easily, pending fridge upgrades.

Regarding “Switched Power Cord” options -

I’ve seen back and forth on multiple forums regarding Mechanical vs. Solid State relays for this portion - Heat, switching speeds etc. Many on the “plug-and-play” mechanical side opted for the PowerSwitchTail II, but I noticed they also offer an SSR base option, the PowerSSR Tail.

(Given I’m expecting to purchase a V3) It seems like the SSR option is cheaper, meets spec, and is more robust than the mechanical route. Any issue going this way?

EDIT: I suppose Mech vs. SS relays may operate differently to the “control” signal sent - Looks like the Mechanical one fails open…What would the SS version do?

SSR is the better choice.

They switch on an AC zero crossing, which will cause less interference.

For your heater, you should definitely pick an SSR, because it uses PWM with a period of 4 seconds. Switching a mechanical relay every 4 seconds is not recommended.

A downside of SSRs is indeed that they fail closed, but it is unlikely if you have a good SSR.

The powerswitch tail is indeed a good option.

Fantastic - Thank you for your die-hard support of your product!

PS - The talk you gave years ago (On YouTube) about early versions of BrewPi is what got me stoked try this - when a guy really geeks out about something he loves, its infectious and people want to get on board. Cheers!

I suppose if you were concerned enough about the SSR failing closed you could have a safety relay in-line. It would open when the temp got above a certain point that would signify the SSR failed closed. For example, if you’ve got your ale set to 68F, you could set the safety relay to trip at 70F. Then your beer would cycle between 68-70F in the event of an SSR failure.

Having two SSRs would be pretty safe against a dual failure but if you made the safety relay a mechanical then you’d have the added safety of it failing open.

@Gonzo A fantastic idea - Do these units you describe function analog or digitally for setting?

Poking around trying to find one that fits the bill, if you have any advice there -

I use these from Fotek.

I am thinking if I have any issues of switching to these

They cost more but may be worth it. They are made in America instead of overseas. Sometimes the Fotek’s are knock offs and cannot handle their rated amps. If you stay under the 25 amp - most fridges are 15 amps or less you should be fine. If you are going to use something that is close the rated amps, I would get a better SSR.

Hope this helps.

I have not had good experience with fotek and heard several others that would not recommend them.

I think the ones we have in the store are a much better alternative, but shipping costs might be prohibitive if you only need SSR. PQLYT is also a very good brand, I sold those before.

You could just use the same ones you would use for the rest of the BrewPi system and set it up through BrewPi.

Ah, to clarify, I was looking for recommendations for these specifically:

I’m interested in how these are set, or if there are recommendations for these.

(For the “traditional” SSR portion, I’ll be sticking with the PowerSSR Tail - My fridge’s compressor can be accessed directly with a standard plug)


Government and the Giving Tree– Part I: a Big Question is born

The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein

Rewind five years or so…

The setting:  I needed a Big Question in government to teach about liberal and conservative views on the role of government, a topic that often generates intense debate. On one side are students who think government’s role should be limited and people should fix their own problems. On the other side are students insistent that government has a moral obligation to help citizens directly. From health care to welfare, from tax policy to social security, this fundamental disagreement on the role of government lurks beneath so many issues and even fuels much of the party polarization within Congress.

I knew that a Big Question lived somewhere but I just hadn’t taken the time to slow down and think through it enough. Needing an inspiration, I visited one of my favorite websites to motivate Big Questions– the UW Center for Philosophy for Children. (We learned about this website in a previous post and also used it in conjunction with Big Questions to teach about bravery, freedom, free will and determinism, security v liberty in a time of war, and the Constitutional Convention.)

thought-2123970_1920I looked around a bit aimlessly at first and then stumbled upon one of my all-time favorite children stories: The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein, which I remembered covered the theme of help and generosity. Seeing connection possibilities but not being able to articulate anything specific yet, I read it again, this time with a fresh set of eyes and a mission.

Half-way into the story, I saw something.

Here is a spirited attempt to recapture my jumbled thoughts at the time:

I thought about the interactions between the boy and the tree. The tree keeps giving things to the boy. The boy receives these gifts throughout his life. The tree seems to be so generous and the boy seems to like taking things.  Maybe the boy is giving a sense of purpose to the tree and the tree is happy as a result.  I thought about the whole idea of giving and receiving help, which then led me to start thinking about whether or not it is okay to rely on people or instead to rely on ourselves. What is the more honorable way to live? I wondered.

Then, slowly, connections to government surfaced…

…people rely on their government to give them lots of things too. Welfare, education, health care… and sometimes the more government gives, the more dependent people feel and the more they expect to be served.  Is this bad? Good? What about personal responsibility?

After stewing on the story for a while and drafting questions, one revealed itself: Is the proper role of government to help citizens or to encourage citizens to help themselves?

Then, I just let the question sit in my mind for a few days– all the while evaluating whether or not it was compelling enough to use.  I thought about some of the criteria:

Big Questions embrace multiple perspectives:  The question asks for a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ response on its face but actually requires a very nuanced understanding of the issue and demands that students consider many different perspectives in their answers: from a wealthy or poor citizen point of view, for example, or from an urban or rural perspective, or an owner of a small business. Students learn very quickly that ‘yes’ or ‘no’ just won’t suffice and that the answer is way more complex than it appeared.

Big Questions beg for clear definitions: The word “help” needs to be unpacked. What exactly qualifies as help? Can two reasonable people disagree as to what constitutes help? What form must help take to be called ‘help’? In what way is encouraging somebody else to do something ‘help’ and how is that different from direct help?

I knew this was a good one because the more I thought of it, the more confusing it became. That is always a good sign!

This was a success story to be sure but there’s a brutal reality to Big Questions– unless we’re patient and truly slow down our instruction, we’ll struggle mightily to find space for them in our curriculum.

But it can be done.

The next challenge was to figure out how to use the question in creative ways. In the next post I’ll share how to integrate it and brainstorm some other possible applications.

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Government and Guns Part II:  The Simulation is Over and Here’s What Happened

The Senate Judiciary Committee Simulation is over. All in all, students did a really stellar job debating the pros and cons of the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act from the perspective of members of the committee and special interest groups like the NRA, police chief associations and the United States Concealed Carry Association, all of which gave passionate testimony to the committee. I could have done a better job preparing the committee members to integrate knowledge of their states’ demographics into the questions they posed to the special interest groups.

Just for fun, I offered students in one class the option of taking on the role of a founding father who shows up at the hearing unannounced to provide some historical perspective. One student took me up on it and arrived as Thomas Jefferson.  Mr. Jefferson reminded the committee that he and James Madison, when drawing up a code of conduct for the University of Virginia, stipulated that “No student shall, within the precincts of the University… keep or use weapons or arms of any kind..”  So it seems Jefferson himself would have been deeply opposed to the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act. Good stuff!

I asked the students to consider all of what they learned in the simulation and generate one question which captured some aspect of the issue left unresolved. Here is a sampling of what they came up with:

What compromise can be created within the Reciprocity Act in order to resolve the resistance between the push for gun control in big cities, and the push for guns as a means of protection?

Can a measure that advocates for gun control ever really be enacted without infringing on people’s right to privacy and to bear arms?

How should the NRA and people that deal with mental illness work together to try to prevent people with these illnesses from obtaining guns?

What is more important? And individuals rights to bear arms and protect himself or the general safety of the population?  Why?

How can we ensure that backgrounds checks are going to be official considering all the failed ones that haven’t been able to report those who are mentally ill?

What compromise can be developed that would both restrict guns for the general safety of the public but also protect people’s right to the 2nd amendment?

Next step is to have each student craft a letter to his/her senator or President Trump articulating a personal opinion on the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act or any other gun-related public policy issue. In the letter the student will offer research-based arguments- in favor or opposition to the bill- which were shaped during the simulation, and then move the government official to action in some way.  I will let students hand-write the letters if they want. Some of the students, on their own volition, will actually send the letter off to the elected official. ( Whether they send it off or not will have no bearing on their grade for the assignment.)

This final piece, writing a letter to a government official, promotes the idea that taking informed civic action must be a combination of passionate discussion and direct pressure on elected officials.

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This lesson was originally created and has been adapted over time with the help of colleagues Kelly Pecak and Tracy Parciak of Maine West High School’s social studies department.

Teaching with Big Questions is like learning in slow-motion

Here’s something to think about after the Super Bowl.

We know why we like instant replay so much. We get to see reality in slow motion to catch what we missed the first time. With instant replay we have the power to paint a more in-depth, accurate picture of what happened. With a clearer picture in mind, we gain a deeper understanding.

As teachers, we are interested in understanding too, but unlike football, we don’t get the benefit of replay. We must catch our mistakes the first time and make on-the-fly adjustments based on intuition and incomplete information. Thus, we’re always chasing certainty and our picture of reality is always fuzzy.

Think of how fast a typical lesson moves.  We open with a bell-ringer activity, give an announcement of the daily learning target, sprinkle in a few lecture notes and explain the directions for the lesson. Then, we get students into cooperative learning groups and end with some sort of full-class discussion after which we hand out an exit slip.  Lessons often feel like an assembly line of tasks.  It’s stressful to complete all of them, and we’re often left with the sense that we aren’t getting at true student understanding along the way.

Wouldn’t it be great to have instant replay and stop at any moment to slow down and examine our practice, dissect its parts and make corrections before moving on?

We can’t do that.  BUT what we can do is teach in a different way by integrating more Big Questions.

When we ask a really Big Question– like Can War Be Glorious?— our classroom retires into slow motion. Teacher and student transition from frenetic task-oriented activities into methodical, deliberate thinking. Together, we thoughtfully consider definitions, entertain multiple ways of seeing an issue and construct precise, focused answers to challenging intellectual problems. We aren’t racing to complete many tasks; we are more mindful of the task at hand. This is what a human-centered classroom looks like.

Not only that, we can build recursive learning experiences in which the questions themselves reappear in multiple units of study (as we saw in this post). Repeated exposure to the questions acts like classroom instant replay, inspiring teacher AND student to see and seize opportunities for improvement. As students correct their errors of thinking and forge fresh connections between the content and the questions, teachers recognize new ways to nurture students along the journey.

Together, we achieve deeper understanding over time.

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Why that iOS ‘backdoor’ isn’t really a threat unless Big Brother is after you

ios backdoor isnt really a threat iphone 5s fingerprint scanner

Last week, forensic scientist and iOS hacker Jonathan Zdziarski revealed what appears to be a backdoor in iOS at the Hackers On Planet Earth conference in New York. Shortly thereafter, his report flooded the Internet, alerting iOS users to the danger.

Zdziarski stated that the backdoor could be used by hackers, the NSA, or other government agencies to spy on unsuspecting iOS users. Apple stated that no backdoor was intentionally built into iOS and that it works with no government surveillance programs whatsoever. The company also said that the feature is used to diagnose problems with iPhones and iPads only. In response, Zdziarski cautioned iOS users against overreacting to his report, but encouraged Apple to solve the issue.

However, Zdziarski did not address the main question that iPhone and iPad users want answered: Is the backdoor in iOS and immediate and likely threat to my iOS devices?

Based on Zdziarski’s report, the answer is no. But before we get to that, let’s take a closer look at his report.

What info does the backdoor reveal?

When exploited, the backdoor Zdziarski found in iOS would allow hackers access to all the metadata stored on your iPhone, your GPS location data, calendar and contacts, photos, and recent messages. The backdoor could easily be used to surveil a person once the device is compromised. Zziarski stated that the features could be used by high-level hackers, the NSA, or other government agencies.

Zdziarski added that although he doesn’t think it’s a “grand conspiracy” by Apple, “there are some services running in iOS that shouldn’t be there, that were intentionally added by Apple as part of the firmware and that bypass backup encryption while copying more of your personal data than ever should come off the phone for the average consumer.”

In a statement to Financial Times writer Tim Bradshaw, Apple countered that iOS is designed “so that its diagnostic functions do not compromise user privacy and security, but still provides needed information to enterprise IT departments, developers and Apple for troubleshooting technical issues,” adding that “a user must have unlocked their device and agreed to trust another computer before that computer is able to access this limited diagnostic data. The user must agree to share this information, and data is never transferred without their consent.”

Apple (once again) did deny creating the backdoor to give governments easy access to user data.

How would a hacker access the information?

Zdziarski’s report revealed that hackers can access the backdoor  only when the iPhone or iPad is paired via USB with a Mac or PC. During the pairing process, a pairing file is created and stored on both the PC/Mac and the iOS device. If a hacker retrieves this file, he can access all the user information listed above. The hacker could then surveil the user from the device itself, after using a few tools built into iOS itself.

  • Using the lockdownd feature, the com.apple.mobile.installation_proxy service lets any person with an Apple enterprise license to download malware to the iOS device.
  • Hackers could exploit the com.apple.mobile.house_arrest feature to view databases and personal data from third-party apps. The tool also includes a packet sniffer, which can record every action the user takes on the iOS device from then on.
  • Another tool called file relay could let hackers copy all your metadata, GPS location, calendar, contacts, photos, and recent messages typed on the screen.

However, in order to access all these malicious backdoor features in iOS, hackers must go through several key steps with specific information on hand. First, the hacker has to know where your iOS device is located, what Wi-Fi network its on, and the pairing codes used by your PC or Mac and iOS device during USB pairing. The iOS device must also be unlocked, connected to Wi-Fi, and paired to an infected computer.

Is it easy to exploit the features and will it happen to me?

Apple quickly pointed out that it is highly unlikely that the average hacker will have all that highly detailed information about you and your iOS device. Essentially, the hacker would have to know where you live, have access to your personal computer, and be very stealthy to exploit these features.

Based on Zdziarski’s report, it appears that unless your brother is a hacker or Big Brother is watching you, the backdoor is no threat to you or your personal data.

Nonetheless, the fact that the NSA or other government agencies could take advantage of these features is concerning and Apple should fix the issue immediately.


An edible film made from strawberry puree can add flavour to a banana and help keep it fresh as well, according to research presented during the 2000 International Chemical Congress of Pacific Basin Societies being held in Honolulu, HI.

 The report claims that film wraps made from broccoli, oranges, carrots, strawberries and other fruits and vegetables can be good—and tasty—oxygen barriers.

"If you look at the film alone, it looks a lot like a sheet of paper—opaque and orange, if it's made from carrots, for example," said Tara McHugh, Ph.D., a research food technologist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agriculture Research Service (ARS) in Albany, CA. "Strawberry is red and broccoli is green. But in contrast to other edible films, it's very flexible without having to add plasticizers like glycerol."

McHugh attributes this to the naturally occurring sugars in the fruits and vegetables.

McHugh's idea is to make preformed sheets of the films into envelope-like wraps. Other produce, baked goods, confectionery and perhaps even meat would be tucked inside.

"These films are meant not to replace synthetic packaging, but maybe to simplify it," and they could help make the wrap recyclable, explained McHugh. "From a marketing standpoint, it would be a new and fun way to sell fruit and vegetable products while providing the added benefit of improving shelf life and quality."

The USDA s  currently looking to sign cooperative agreements with industry to develop the technology further. Meanwhile, ARS has filed a patent and continues working on ideas for new applications.

"You could even imagine wrapping a cut of meat in a peach film, for example," said McHugh. "It could melt upon cooking and turn into a peach glaze."