Chelsea couldn't have asked for a much better set of fixtures over the Christmas period.

Premier League teams are scheduled to play three games in the eight days following Christmas - December 26, December 28 and January 2.

The fixture congestion over the festive period has been the subject of much debate in recent years.

Champions League winner Luis Enrique has even suggested that the pile-up can even give European teams who have a winter break an advantage over their English counterparts.

Chelsea's opponents over the crucial period - Watford, Manchester United and Crystal Palace - had an average finishing league position last year of 11.0, one of the lowest in the league.

Manchester United could feel the strain of the Christmas period more than any of their compatriots in the Champions League, with Louis van Gaal's side having the second toughest set of Christmas fixtures of any Premier League side.

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Will Chelsea win the league next season?

Their three post-Christmas opponents - Stoke, Chelsea and Swansea - had an average finishing league position of 6.0 last season.

That's higher than the average of any other club's opponents other than Watford, whose opponents finished in an average position of 2.7.

It's also higher than the two other Champions League teams.

Manchester City's opponents - Sunderland, Leicester and Watford - had an average of 16.3, while Arsenal's - Southampton, Bournemouth and Newcastle - had an average of 13.3.

The lowest average belongs to Tottenham's opponents - Norwich, Watford and Everton - on 16.7.

With Bournemouth, Watford and Norwich having just been promoted, they were assigned the bottom three Premier League positions, with Bournemouth getting 18th as Championship winners and Norwich 20th as play-off winners.

Club: Average finishing position last season of three Christmas opponents

Watford: 2.7

Manchester United: 6.0

Sunderland: 8.3

Leicester City: 8.7

A.F.C. Bournemouth: 9.0

Crystal Palace: 9.0

Newcastle United: 9.0

Swansea City: 9.0

Stoke City: 9.3

Everton: 9.7

Norwich City: 9.7

West Ham United: 10.0

West Bromwich Albion: 10.7

Chelsea: 11.0

Southampton: 11.7

Arsenal: 13.3

Liverpool: 14.0

Aston Villa: 16.0

Manchester City: 16.3

Tottenham Hotspur: 16.7


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What is the 'Top Line'

The top line is a reference to gross figures reported by a company, such as sales or revenue. It is called the top line because it the first line item on a company's financial statement, such as the first entry at the top of a company's income statement, and is most often reserved for the reporting of gross sales or revenue. A company that increases its revenue is said to be growing its top line or generating top-line growth.

The top line is a record of a company’s income or revenue that reflects the full value of goods or services sold to consumers within the statement period. It is placed at the top of the income statement, as each subsequent line item references an expense or loss that must be deducted from the gross figure featured on the top line. Expenses can include any payments made in order to support the production of goods or rendering of a service. Capital losses incurred through depreciation can also be deducted. Common expenses include, but are not limited to, the cost of materials required to manufacture the goods that were sold as well as any operating expenses. Applicable taxes are also deducted from this running total.

The Top Line vs. the Bottom Line

The top line is a comparison point to the amount referred to as the bottom line. The bottom line reflects the net income, which is often listed as the last, or bottom, line on a company's income statement. The bottom line reflects what remains once all of the necessary expenses have been deducted from the top line, and reflects the amount of profit that was generated during the statement period.

Top Line Growth

Top line growth refers to an increase in the gross revenue brought into a company, and does not guarantee an increase in profit. Growth in this area may lead to growth in the bottom line only if it is not offset by increased expenses. When top line growth is solely related to increased sales due to increased production, the increased costs of production must be deducted from the top line in order to determine the new bottom line.

Identifying Financial Statements

The income statement may also be referred to as a statement of revenue and expense, or a profit and loss statement. It is separate from other financial statements generated by a company, such as balance sheets or cash flow statements. Balance sheets are financial documents that track a company’s assets and liabilities, including information regarding stockholder equity, while cash flow statements track operating, investing and financing activities.

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Chapter 17. Properties of Solutions. Chapter 17: Properties of Solutions. 17.1 Solution Composition 17.2 The Thermodynamics of Solution Formation 17.3 Factors Affecting Solubility 17.4 The Vapor Pressure of Solutions 17.5 Boiling-Point Elevation and Freezing-Point Depression

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chapter 17

Chapter 17

Properties of Solutions

Chapter 17: Properties of Solutions

17.1 Solution Composition

17.2 The Thermodynamics of Solution Formation

17.3 Factors Affecting Solubility

17.4 The Vapor Pressure of Solutions

17.5 Boiling-Point Elevation and Freezing-Point Depression

17.6 Osmotic Pressure

17.7 Colligative Properties of Electrolytic Solutions

17.8 Colloids

The left beaker contains copper sulfate solution. In the right beaker, ammonia is being added to create a precipitate of copper(II) hydroxide.

Definitions for Solutions

Solute- The smaller (in mass) of the components in a solution, the

material dispersed into the solvent.

Solvent - The major component of the solution, the material that the

solute is dissolved into.

Solubility - The maximum amount that can be dissolved into a

particular solvent to form a stable solution at a specified

Miscible - Substances that can dissolve in any proportion, so that it is

difficult to tell which is the solvent or solute!

shells around

an aqueous

Solution Composition

Mass percent:

weight percent Mass percent = x 100%

Mole fraction: symbolized by the Greek letter, chi = X

mole fraction of component A = XA =

Molarity: M ; (chapter 4)

M =

Molality: m

m =

grams of solute

grams of solution

nA + nB

moles of solute

liter of solution

moles of Solute

Kg of solvent

like dissolves like
Like Dissolves Like
  • Polar molecules - dissolve best in Polar solvents.
  • Polar molecules can hydrogen bond with polar solvents, such as water, hence increasing their solubility.
  • Non-polar molecules - dissolve best in non - polar solvents.
  • Hydrocarbons, non - polar molecules, do not dissolve, or mix with water!

Predicting Relative Solubility's of Substances -I

Problem: Predict which solvent will dissolve more of the given solute.

(a) Sodium Chloride in methanol (CH3OH) or in propanol

(b) Ethylene glycol (HOCH2CH2OH) in water or in hexane

(c) Diethyl ether (CH3CH2OCH2CH3) in ethanol (CH3CH2OH) or in

Plan: Examine the formulas of each solute and solvent to determine

which forces will occur. A solute tends to be more soluble in a solvent

which has the same type of forces binding its molecules.

Predicting Relative Solubility's of Substances - II

(a)Methanol - NaCl is an ionic compound that dissolves through ion-

dipole forces. Both methanol and propanol contain a polar hydroxyl

group, and propanol’s longer hydrocarbon chain would form only weak

forces with the ions, so it would be less effective at replacing the ionic

attractions of the solvent.

(b) Water Ethylene glycol molecules have two -OH groups, and the

molecules interact with each other through H bonding. They would be

more soluble in water, whose H bonds can replace solute H bonds better

than can the dispersion forces in hexane.

(c) Ethanol Diethyl ether molecules interact with each other through

dipole and dispersion forces and could form H bonds to both water and

ethanol. the ether would be more soluble in ethanol because the solvent

can form H bonds and replace the dispersion forces in the solute,

whereas the H bonds in water must be partly replaced with much weaker

dispersion forces.

An Energy Solution? – Solar Ponds

Solar ponds are shallow bodies of salt water ( a very high salt content)

designed to collect solar energy as it water the water in the ponds, and

then it can be used for heating, or converted into other forms of energy.

Sufficient salt must be added to establish a salt gradient in a pool

2-3 meters deep, with a dark bottom. A salt gradient will be established

in which the upper layer, called the conductive layer, has a salt content

of about 2% by mass. The bottom layer, called the heat storage layer has

a salt content of about 27%. The middle layer called the nonconvective

layer has an intermediate salt content, and acts as an insulator between

the two layers. The water in the deepest layer can reach temperatures of

between 90 and 100oC, temperatures as high as 107oC have been

reported. A 52 acre pond near the Dead sea in Israel can produce up to

5 mega watts of power.

Three Steps in making a Solution

Step #1 :

Breaking up the solute into individual components:

(expanding the Solute)

Step #2 :

Overcoming intermolecular forces in the solvent to make room

for the solute: (expanding the solvent)

Step #3 :

Allowing the solvent and solute to interact and form the solution.

Figure 17.2: (a) Enthalpy of solution Hsoln has a negative sign (the process is exothermic) if Step 3 releases more energy than is required by Steps 1 and 2. (b) Hsoln has a positive sign (the process is endothermic) if Steps 1 and 2 require more energy than is released in Step 3.

H of solution for Sodium Chloride

NaCl(s) Na+(g) + Cl –(g) Ho1 = 786 kJ/mol

H2O(l) + Na+(g) + Cl –(g) Na+(aq) + Cl –(aq)

Hohyd = Ho2 + Ho3 = _____________ kJ/mol

Hhyd = enthalpy (heat) of hydration

Hosoln = 786 kJ/mol – _______ kJ/mol = _______ kJ/mol

The dissolving process is positive, requiring energy. Then why is

NaCl so soluble? The answer is in the Gibbs free energy equation

from chapter 10, G = H – T S The entropy term – T S is

Negative, and the result is that G becomes negative, and as a

Result, NaCl dissolves very well in the polar solvent water.

french navy ship l ailette equipped with vacuum pumps approaches an oil slick
French Navy ship L'Ailette equipped with vacuum pumps approaches an oil slick.

Source: AP/Wide World Photos

Solution Cycle

Step 1: Solute separates into Particles - overcoming attractions

Therefore --Endothermic

Step 2: Solvent separates into Particles - overcoming intermolecular

attractions Therefore -- Endothermic

solvent (aggregated) + heat solvent (separated)

Hsolvent> 0

Step 3: Solute and Solvent Particles mix - Particles attract each other

Therefore -- Exothermic

solute (separated) + solvent (separated) solution + heat

Hmix< 0

The Thermochemical Cycle

Hsolution = Hsolute + Hsolvent + Hmix

If HEndothermic Rxn< HExothermic Rxn solution becomes warmer

If HEndothermic Rxn> HExothermic Rxn solution becomes colder

figure 17 3 vitamin a c
Figure 17.3: Vitamin A, C

A Fat – Soluble Vitamin A Water – Soluble Vitamin

A Hydrophobic Vitamin A Hydrophilic Vitamin

Figure 17.4: (a) a gaseous solute in equilibrium with a solution. (b) the piston is pushed in, which increases the pressure of the gas and the number of gas molecules per unit volume. (c) greater gas

Henry’s Law of Gas solubilities in Liquids

P = kHX

P = Partial pressure

of dissolved gas

X = mole fraction

of dissolved gas

kH = Henry’s Law

Henry’s Law of Gas Solubility

Problem: The lowest level of oxygen gas dissolved in water that will

support life is ~ 1.3 x 10 - 4 mol/L. At the normal atmospheric pressure of

oxygen is there adaquate oxygen to support life?

Plan: We will use Henry’s law and the Henry’s law constant for oxygen

in water with the partial pressure of O2 in the air to calculate the amount.

The Henry’s law constant for oxygen in water is 1.3 x 10 -3 mol

liter atm

and the partial pressure of oxygen gas in the atmosphere is 21%,

or 0.21 atm.

Soxygen = kH x PO2 = 1.3 x 10 -3 mol x ( 0.21 atm)

liter atm

SOxygen = mol O2 / liter

This is adaquate to sustain life in water!

Predicting the Effect of Temperature

on Solubility - I

Problem: From the following information, predict whether the

solubility of each compound increases or decreases with an increase in

(a) CsOH Hsoln = -72 kJ/mol

(b) When CsI dissolves in water the water becomes cold

(c) KF(s) K+(aq) + F -(aq) + 17.7 kJ

Plan: We use the information to write a chemical reaction that includes

heat being absorbed (left) or released (right). If heat is on the left, a

temperature shifts to the right, so more solute dissolves. If heat is on

the right, a temperature increase shifts the system to the left, so less

solute dissolves.

(a) The negative H indicates that the reaction is exothermic, so when

one mole of Cesium Hydroxide dissolves 72 kJ of heat is released.

Predicting the Effect of Temperature

on Solubility - II

(a) continued

CsOH(s) Cs+(aq) + OH -(aq) + Heat

A higher temperature (more heat) decreases the solubility of CsOH.

(b) When CsI dissolves, the solution becomes cold, so heat is absorbed.

CsI(s) + Heat Cs+(aq) + I -(aq)

A higher temperature increases the solubility of CsI.

(c) When KF dissolves, heat is on the product side, and is given off

so the reaction is exothermic.

A higher temperature decreases the solubility of KF

Figure 17.6: The solubilities of several gases in water as a function of temperature at a constant pressure of 1 atm of gas above the solution.

figure 17 7 pipe with accumulated mineral deposits left lengthwise section right
Figure 17.7: Pipe with accumulated mineral deposits (left) lengthwise section (right)

Source: Visuals Unlimited

lake nyos in cameroon
Lake Nyos in Cameroon

Source: Corbis

Figure 17.9: The presence of a nonvolatile solute inhibits the escape of solvent molecules from the liquid
Figure 17.10: For a solution that obeys Raoult’s law, a plot of Psoln versus xsolvent yields a straight line.

Vapor Pressure Lowering -I

Problem: Calculate the vapor pressure lowering when 175g of sucrose

is dissolved into 350.00 ml of water at 750C. The vapor

pressure of pure water at 750C is 289.1 mm Hg, and it’s

density is 0.97489 g/ml.

Plan: Calculate the change in pressure from Raoult’s law using the

vapor pressure of pure water at 750C. We calculate the mole

fraction of sugar in solution using the molecular formula of

sucrose and density of water at 750C.

molar mass of sucrose ( C12H22O11) = 342.30 g/mol

175g sucrose

342.30g sucrose/mol

= 0.51125 mol sucrose

350.00 ml H2O x 0.97489g H2O = 341.21g H2O

ml H2O

341.21 g H2O

18.02g H2O/mol

= ______ molH2O

Vapor Pressure Lowering - II

mole sucrose

moles of water + moles of sucrose

Xsucrose =

0.51125 mole sucrose

18.935 mol H2O + 0.51125 mol sucrose

Xsurose = = 0.2629

P = Xsucrose x P 0H2O = 0.2629 x 289.1 mm Hg = ________ mm Hg

Like Example 17.1 (P 841-2)

A solution was prepared by adding 40.0g of glycerol to 125.0g of water

at 25.0oC, a temperature at which pure water has a vapor pressure of

23.76 torr. The observed vapor pressure of the solution was found to be

22.36 torr. Calculate the molar mass of glycerol!

Roults Law can be rearranged to give:

XH2O = = = 0.9411 =

mol H2O = = 6.94 mol H2O

0.9411 =

mol gly = = 0.4357 mol

22.36 torr

23.76 torr

mol H2O

mol gly + mol H2O

125.0 g

18.0 g/mol

6.94 mol

mol gly + 6.96 mol

6.94 mol – (6.94 mol)(0.9411)

40.0 g

0.4357 mol

= g/mol

(MMglycerol = 92.09 g/mol)

H H H H H H Hexane

H H +

H-C-C-O-H Ethanol

Acetone + Water

Figure 17.12: Phase diagrams for pure water (red lines) and for an aqueous solution containing a nonvolatile solution (blue lines).

Like Example 17.2 (P 845-6)

A solution is prepared by dissolving 62g of sucrose in 150.0g of water

the resulting solution was found to have a boiling point of 100.61oC.

Calculate the molecular mass of sucrose.

T = kbmsolute kb = 0.51

T = 100.61oC – 100.00 oC = 0.61oC

msolute = = = 1.20 mol/Kg

Msolute = mol solute = (0.150 kg)(1.2 mol/kg)

mol solute = 0.18 mol MM = = _________g/mol

oC Kg

oC Kg

mol solute

kg solvent

0.18 mol

(MMsucrose = 342.18 g/mol)

Like Example 17.3 (P847)

What mass of ethanol (C2H6O) must be added to 20.0 liters of water to

keep it from freezing at a temperature of -15.0oF?

oC = (oF – 32)5/9 = (-15 – 32)5/9 = -26.1oC

T = kf msolute msolute = = = 14.0 mol/kg

14.0 mol/kg(20 kg H2O) = 280 mol ethanol

Ethanol = 2x12.01 + 6x 1.008 + 1x16.0 = 46.07

280 mol ethanol (46.07 g ethanol/mol) = ___________ kg ethanol

oC kg

Determining the Boiling Point Elevation and Freezing

Point Depression of an Aqueous Solution

Problem: We add 475g of sucrose (sugar) to 600g of water. What will

be the Freezing Point and Boiling Points of the resultant solution?

Plan: We find the molality of the sucrose solution by calculating the

moles of sucrose and dividing by the mass of water in kg. We then apply

the equations for FP depression and BP elevation using the constants

from table 12.4.

Solution: Sucrose C12H22O11 has a molar mass = 342.30 g/mol

475g sucrose

= 1.388 mole sucrose

1.388 mole sucrose

0.600 kg H2O

molality = = 2.313 m

Tb = Kb x m = (2.313 m)= 1.180C BP = 100.000C + 1.180C

BP = 101.180C

Tf = Kf x m = (2.313 m) = 4.300C FP = 0.000C - 4.300C = -4.300C

Determining the Boiling Point Elevation and Freezing

Point Depression of a Non-Aqueous Solution

Problem: Calculate the effect on the Boiling Point and Freezing Point of

a chloroform solution if to 500.00g of chloroform (CHCl3) 257g of

napthalene (C10H8, mothballs) is dissolved.

Plan: We must first calculate the molality of the cholorform solution by

calculating moles of each material, then we can apply the FP and BP

change equations and the contants for chloroform.

Solution: napthalene = 128.16g/mol chloroform = 119.37g/mol

257g nap

molesnap = =2.0053 mol nap

moles nap

2.0053 mol

0.500 kg

molarity = = = 4.01 m

Tb = Kb m = (4.01m) = 14.560C normal BP = 61.70C

new BP = ______0C

Tf = Kfm = (4.01m) =18.850C normal FP = - 63.50C

new FP = _______0C

Figure 17.15: The normal flow of solvent into the solution (osmosis) can be prevented by applying an external pressure to the solution.

Figure 17.16: A pure solvent and its solution (containing a nonvolatile solute) are separated by a semipermeable membrane through which solvent molecules (blue) can pass but solute molecules (green) cannot.

Osmotic pressure calculation

Calculate the osmotic pressure generated by a sugar solution made up of

5.00 lbs of sucrose per 5.00 pints of water.

5.00 lbs ( ) = 2.27 kg

Molar mass of sucrose = 342.3 g/mol 2,270g

5.00 pints H2O ( )( ) = 2.36 liters

P = MRT = ( )(0.08206 )(298 K) = __________ atm

1 kg

2.205 lbs

= 6.63 mol sucrose

1.00 gallon

8 pints

3.7854 L

1.00 gallon

L atm

mol K

6.63 mol

2.36 L

Like example 17.4 (P 848-9)

To determine the molar mass of a certain protein, 1.7 x 10-3g of the

protein was dissolved in enough water to make 1.00 ml of solution. The

osmotic pressure of this solution was determined to be 1.28 torr at 25oC.

Calculate the molar mass of the protein.

P = 1.28 torr( ) = 1.68 x 10-3 atm

T = 25 + 273 = 298 K

M = = 6.87 x 10-5 mol/L

1.70 g xg

6.87 x 10-5mol mol x = _______________g/mol

1 atm

760 torr

1.68 x 10-3 atm

0.08206 L atm(298 K)

mol K

Determining Molar Mass from

Osmotic Pressure - I

Problem: A physician studying a type of hemoglobin formed during a

fatal disease dissolves 21.5 mg of the protein in water at 5.00C to make

1.5 ml of solution in order to measure its osmotic pressure. At

equilibrium, the solution has an osmotic pressure of 3.61 torr. What is

the molar mass(M) of the hemoglobin?

Plan: We know the osmotic pressure (),R, and T. We convert  from

torr to atm and T from 0C to K and use the osmotic pressure equation to

solve for molarity (M). Then we calculate the moles of hemoglobin from

the known volume and use the known mass to find M.

1 atm

760 torr

P = 3.61 torr x = 0.00475 atm

Temp = 5.00C + 273.15 = 278.15 K

Molar Mass from Osmotic Pressure - II

0.00475 atm

0.082 L atm (278.2 K)

mol K

M = = = 2.08 x 10 - 4 M

Finding moles of solute:

2.08 x 10 - 4 mol

L soln

n = M x V = x 0.00150 L soln = 3.12 x 10 - 7 mol

Calculating molar mass of Hemoglobin (after changing mg to g):

0.0215 g

3.12 x 10-7 mol

M = = ________________ g/mol

Example 17.5 (P 850)

What concentration of sodium chloride in water is needed to produce

an aqueous solution isotonic with blood (p = 7.70 atm at 25oC).

P = MRT M =

M = = 0.315 mol/L

Since sodium chloride gives two ions per molecule, the concentration

would be ½ that value, or 0.158 M

NaCl Na+ + Cl-

7.70 atm

(0.08206 L atm) (298 K)

mol K

Family uses a commercially available desalinator, similar to those developed by the Navy for life rafts.

Source: Recovery Engineering, Inc.

Figure 17.20: Residents of Catalina Island off the coast of southern California are benefiting from a desalination plant that can supply 132,000 gallons of drinkable water per day, one-third of the island's daily needs.

Colligative Properties of Volatile Nonelectrolyte Solutions

From Raoult’s law, we know that:

Psolvent = Xsolvent x P0solvent and Psolute = Xsolute x P0solute

Let us look at a solution made up of equal molar quantities of acetone

and chloroform. Xacetone = XCHCl3 = 0.500, at 350C the vapor pressure of

pure acetone = 345 torr, and pure chloroform = 293 torr. What is vapor

pressure of the solution, and the vapor pressure of each component. What

are the mole fractions of each component?

Pacetone = Xacetone x P0acetone = 0.500 x 345 torr = 172.5 torr

PCHCl3 = XCHCl3 x P0CHCl3 = 0.500 x 293 torr = 146.5 torr

From Dalton’s law of partial pressures we know that XA =

172.5 torr

172.5 + 146.5 torr

Xacetone = = = 0.541

Total Pressure = 319.0 torr

146.5 torr

172.5 + 146.5 torr

XCHCl3 = = = 0.459

Colligative Properties

I ) Vapor Pressure Lowering - Raoult’s Law

II ) Boiling Point Elvation

III ) Freezing Point Depression

IV ) Osmotic Pressure

Colligative Properties of Ionic Solutions

For ionic solutions we must take into account the number of ions present!

i = van’t Hoff factor = “ionic strength”, or the number of ions present

For vapor pressure lowering: P = i XsoluteP 0solvent

For boiling point elevation: Tb = i Kb m

For freezing point depression: Tf = i Kf m

For osmotic pressure:  = i MRT

figure 17 21 in a aqueous solution a few ions aggregate forming ion pairs that behave as a unit
Figure 17.21: In a aqueous solution a few ions aggregate, forming ion pairs that behave as a unit.

Like Example 17.6 (P 853)

  • The observed osmotic pressure for a 0.10M solution of Na3PO4 at 25oC
  • is 8.45 atm. Compare the expected and experimental values of i!
  • Solution:
  • Tri sodium phosphate will produce 4 ions in solution.
  • Na3PO4 3 Na+ + PO4-3
  • Thus i is expected to be 4, now to calculate the experimental value of i
  • from the osmotic pressure equation.
  • = iMRT or i = =

i = ______ This is less than the value expected of 4 so there must be

some ion paring occurring in the solution.

8.45 atm

(0.10 )(0.08206 )(298 K)

L atm

mol K


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How do you feel when you’re busy?

You have trouble staying in the moment and enjoying the work at hand, right? Your mind races ahead to the things you should be doing and the opportunities you’re missing because you don’t have time. So you rush through everything you do.

You don’t feel busy because there’s a lot of work to do. You feel busy because your brain says that there’s something else to do RIGHT NOW!!! and you’re not doing it.

Why would your brain say such a thing?

Because your brain believes that it’s true! Your brain thinks that you’re not doing enough of the important things. It’s trying to help you, because if you’re busy, you’ve lost your focus.

Your brain is being nice to you. You ought to listen to it.

Now, let’s imagine you had that the focus. You wouldn’t feel busy, because you’d know that the important things are getting done. Even when you’re spending time with your family, you are enjoying the moment because you know that you’re moving towards your goals. When you bypass an opportunity, it’s because something else is matters more to you, not because you didn’t have time. When you have a lot of things to do, you do the best work you can without hurrying or feeling busy.

The lies we tell ourselves

Why don’t we all just focus on the important things? There are two lies that keep busy people stuck where they are.

The first lie you can tell yourself is: “I don’t have time”. The second lie is: “I have to do X”.

Let’s start our busyness rehabilitation program by stopping that self-sabotage.

Busyness Rehabilitation Rule 1: Ditch the word “busy”

“Busy” itself just means you have a lot to do. However, when you use the word “busy” in a sentence, it often appears with: “must do”, “should do”, “can’t do” and “have to do”. Those words are toxic waste in your vocabulary.

Those words implicate that you cannot choose. Yet, you can! So choose not to use those words!

When you surprise yourself from saying or thinking any of those, try replacing the sentence with:

“I choose to do X, because…”

Instead of saying “I have to wash the toilet” you’ll find yourself saying “I choose to wash the toilet, because I love a clean house”. Eventually you might say “I choose to wash the toilet, because I still haven’t hired that maid”.

Both of those new sentences are superior to your old one.

The first one reveals a priority - a clean house. Why is that important? Is it really?

The second one reveals an action to change the situation - hiring a maid.

Back in 2012, there were several days when I walked along the river to my workplace saying “Today I choose to go to work, because I don’t have the courage to tell my boss that I quit”. The courage did appear soon.

If you want a phrase to describe your life, you can say that you’re living a full life, like Adii does. From today, “busy” means “out of focus”.

Busyness Rehabilitation Rule 2: See time as a precious asset

Time is different from all your other assets. You can’t get more of it - everyone has the same amount each day. When it’s gone, you can never have it back.

When you say “I don’t have time” you’re breaking the rule we just set and worse - you are using it to one of your most precious assets!

You’re telling yourself an outrageous lie instead of admitting the truth:

“I choose to use my time to things x,y and z, because…”.

There’s a story about Warren Buffett teaching the importance of focused time to his personal pilot. Warren asked him to list 25 goals that he wanted to achieve. Then he asked the pilot to circle the five most crucial ones. Next, Warren asked the pilot what he was going to do.

“Well, the top five are my primary focus, but the other 20 come in at a close second,” he said. “They are still important, so I’ll work on those intermittently as I see fit as I’m getting through my top five. They are not as urgent, but I still plan to give them dedicated effort.”

“No. You’ve got it all wrong.”, said Warren. “Everything you didn’t circle just became your ‘avoid at all cost list.’ No matter what, these things get no attention from you until you’ve succeeded with your top five.”

You can do anything, but not everything. Just admit it.

Busyness Rehabilitation Rule 3: Unload your brain

Part of the noise in busy person’s head is just the weight of all the things he needs to remember. It’s easy to get that stuff out of your head and into your “avoid at all cost list”. I promise you, you’ll feel so much lighter.

“Your mind is for having ideas, not for holding them.” – David Allen

I use Getting Things Done (GTD) method by David Allen, but any system that lets you store away the noise will help. Some people just use a Spark File.

My everyday tool for implementing GTD is Nozbe. It’s simple enough to prevent me from making things too complex, yet it allows me to assign tasks to others too.

GTD is known as a productivity method, but we’re not talking about squeezing those juices today. What I primarily use GTD for is to help store things away and to restore my focus.

Busyness Rehabilitation Rule 4: Decide what’s important - set goals

So how does one create the focus to store in that GTD system? Well… still remember the Warren Buffett story?

Tom Corley, the author of Rich Habits, spent 5 years following up 361 people to find out what separates the financially successful people from their less fortunate peers.

80% of successful people are focused on accomplishing some single goal. Only 12% of the poor do this.

Without goals, you can’t have focus. There’s nothing to focus into.

I’ve always had some kind of goals, but I didn’t take goal-setting seriously until things fell apart. Remember how I had hard time last Christmas? After my wake-up call I spent the rest of the month visiting startup incubator happenings, asking for advice and searching for solutions.

It was then when I found The Best Year Ever by Michael Hyatt. It’s a 5-day course that only runs once a year around New Year. It teaches you how to set good actionable goals.

One of the biggest insights of the program was that you can keep all your goals together. Both business and personal. Otherwise there’ll never be any real work-life balance.

Final thoughts

If you’ve been busy for a while, it will take time to unlearn being busy.

When I changed my habits it took about 3 months before I stopped feeling busy. I still relapse every now and then, especially on days when I need to dig into my “avoid at all costs”-list.

On the other hand, it took only 5 months until I was already living my best year ever!

No, I didn’t reach all my goals by then, but the ones I did reach had such a great impact to my life.

It was a wonderful surprise. Maybe some of the goals that you’ve put far into the future are actually accessible right now, too. It’s a nice bonus of fixing the busyness problem. Everything affects everything.

Do you have a dream that you’ve been putting off? Could you put it to your goal list today?


Browse Dictionary by Letter

Dictionary Suite
Roundhead an adherent of the Parliamentary or Puritan party during the English civil war in the seventeenth century.
roundhouse a circular building containing a turntable, used for servicing and repairing locomotives. [3 definitions]
roundly in a round manner, or in the shape of a round object. [2 definitions]
round out to bring to completion or perfection.
round-the-clock continuous throughout the day and night.
round trip a trip to a given destination and back to the starting point.
roundup the herding of cattle for branding or shipping to market. [3 definitions]
round up to bring together; collect.
roundworm a worm with a long, cylindrical, unsegmented body that is a parasite in mammal intestines.
rouse to waken from sleep, apathy, depression, or the like; arouse. [5 definitions]
roustabout a manual laborer on a wharf or ship's deck; longshoreman or deckhand. [3 definitions]
rout1 a disorderly and confused retreat of defeated troops. [5 definitions]
rout2 to root about with the snout, as swine. [5 definitions]
route a way, such as a road, by which persons travel or by which goods are shipped or delivered. [4 definitions]
router in computing, a device located where two or more networks meet that transmits and routes data from one network to another.


Talking Stick

You have probably come across the idea of ‘talking sticks‘ or the equivalent before (an item that is held by the speaker, identifying them as the person to be speaking at that time, and calling on everyone else to really listen; which is then passed to the next person who wishes to speak and be heard).
talking stick.jpg
I was at a families fun-day drumming workshop last week and we made talking sticks, based on a native american tradition, in a way that I think would work brilliantly for a small youth group (and especially on a residential)
There was a pile of wool of various colours and textures. Each family had a stick and members of the family were encouraged to pick out bits of wool that they (for whatever reason) linked to something important about their family … or an important memory or event. They then told the story whilst wrapping the wool around the stick. Eventually there was a vibrantly coloured stick to be used in future as the family ‘talking stick’ whereby everyone could be assured of being listened to.
For a small youth group this could be a great activity; making the stick and telling stories about the group and its key memories and values. It could then serve really well in discussions and debates, creating greater listening and participation.


Hwa Wei-An

Hwa Wei-An

“Falling Into Flow”

“I Don’t Have Any”

Paradigm Shift Trailer

Morganne Mazeika and Zach Khoo

Morganne Mazeika and Zach Khoo

apparatus dance collective, consisting of dancer-choreographers Morganne Mazeika and Zach Khoo are currently at Rimbun Dahan developing a new work called “discussions with”. The intention with the residency is to explore human interaction through a physical means of communication. Their method of movement invention is extrapolated into a thematic focus of the work: how does one communicate.

As the founders of apparatus they attended The University of Texas at Austin. During their time there they danced in the projects and residencies of established international choreographers. Their research that led to the creation of the company began in the studio that gave way to their current process; incorporating multidisciplinary approaches into dance and the method of dialoguing movement.

At their recent open studio, they spoke about collaborating long distance by sending each other videos of themselves dancing, and how to now translate that exchange through verbal and nonverbal communication when in the same physical space.

Citra Pratiwi

Citra Pratiwi

Citra Pratiwi (b. 1981 in Pati, Indonesia) works intensely between body, story, movement and  expression — presented in her works in dance and theater. She’s a founder of Migrating Troop Performing Art Network, a hub for artists who want to work in multi and interdisciplinary art to refresh their work and expression. Citra is a graduate of Ethnomusicology from Indonesia Institute of Art Yogyakarta, and was one of the awarded artists for Empowering Women Artists by Kelola Foundation. She is an art-activist, engaging her work to speak about women’s issues, especially women’s issues in Indonesia and she’s also worked as a curator at Padepokan Seni Bagong Kussudiardja, a private cultural centre in Yogyakarta.

During her one month residency at Rimbun Dahan, Citra will be developing her new project named Finding Stillness. It will be a research project exploring body memory, conscious and unconscious body, using Jathilan or Kuda Kepang folk dance as entry material.

I want to research what is stillness in the unconscious and bring this concept into contemporary dance work.

Natalie Kim Kyungmi

Natalie Kim Kyungmi

Korean artist Natalie Kim Kyungmi began to explore her interests in contemporary dance during a stay in Malaysia in 2010. She performed in Dancing in Place in August 2010, followed by a brief mentorship at Rimbun Dahan with Japanese-Australian butoh dancer Yumi Umiumare and an appearance at the Melaka Art & Performance (MAP) Festival in November 2010. Natalie moved back to Korea in 2011.

Here Natalie discusses her experience of the mentorship and the festival, accompanied by photos by Anthony Pelchen.

n4“Just before the festival, I was privileged to have a personal mentoring workshop with Yumi, supported by Rimbun Dahan. We started the workshop by previewing my work and it was a truly valuable and thought-provoking process with lots of mutual brainstorming and discussion. Her methodology was inspiring as she never imposed any answers or theory but just threw questions at me to look into and explore. Her tremendous mentoring helped me focus on natural strength and emotion while understanding the virtues of dance performance.

Personally we’ve became very close friends with extra gin and tonic sessions every night during festival and her enthusiastic mentoring has never had a break since the festival till now!”

n2“Here I am performing ‘Mapping’ with Agung Gunawan (Indonesia) in one of the site-specific performances around Melaka town.

Each performer performed twice a day in different sites, either solo or in collaboration. I was lucky to get to perform with performers from diverse backgrounds such as Malaysia, Vietnam, Australia and Indonesia. It was a valuable learning collaboration process, seeing how my emotion and body could react and tune into all the different energies and movements, and, finally, with the audience.”

n3“Before the festival, I had come across news about a women executed in public in Iran by stoning to death. This piece was dedicated to her and all women who are still oppressed in many ways. It also reflects my personal experiences encountering different cultures which have different values and perceptions of gender.”

prophecy“Here I am performing my solo ‘Prophecy’, as part of the Cerita Pendek (Short Works) program. In this performance dance work I explore the hope of transformation across the passage of time.”

“This picture, and the one at the top left of this page, shows Eulogy for the Living, the group performance at the finale of the festival. I am with with Ikko (Japan), Agung (Indonesia) and Tho (Laos-France).

n1The process of creating this work was very inspiring as each performer had his or her own solo, yet needed to tune into others’ independent parts in an improvisational way until the final group encounter. During every rehearsal there was lots of discussion and experimentation to make this finale a ‘community-like’ performance.”


Water Regulation Compliance

What is water regulation compliance?

Who needs to comply with water regulations?

All businesses and organisations need to comply with water regulations for the safety of their staff, customers and members of the public.

Your responsibilities for water regulation compliance

How we can help


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ComTech Forum: AI in the Network

12/12/2017 23:00 - 13/12/2017 01:00
200 South Mathilda Avenue, Sunnyvale, CA, United S...
RegionNorth America

AI is very, very hot these days; but how does Artificial Intelligence apply to communications networks?

Come find out at The ComTech Forum on AI.  50+ members, telcos, vendors and startups will meet to discuss exciting uses of AI in communications networks.

If you are interested in annual membership, sponsoring this topic, speaking on this agenda or demoing your startup, please use the links to the right or email comtech@telecomcouncil.com.

FEES: $100

Address: 200 South Mathilda Avenue, Sunnyvale, CA, United States, 0 Get Direction


Author Archives: Calwen

Start from a Blank Page

identity-795260_960_720Spiritual awakening is not about gaining more knowledge, it is on the contrary about unlearning everything the mind has defined for you and to start from a blank page.

Conditioning is a powerful thing. You suddenly appeared in a world. You were given a name and you started developing a sense of self associated with that sound. They taught you moral principles, maybe you were given a religious education to take you even further away from what you are, you learned the right from the wrong and you developed a value system. You now have more or less defined boundaries, you are an individual clearly separated from the rest of the world but you forgot what you essentially are.

After all, the story could end here, “…and the non-self-lived happily ever after”, but direct experience shows that this is never the case. What is impermanent is subject to the cycles of birth and death, of pain and pleasure. What is impermanent comes and goes in space and time, it is relative and limited and it is the nature of duality. The non-self-quest for peace and happiness is doomed from the start as the non-self is an impermanent state of consciousness, it has no reality. The non-self, the ego is not an entity, it is just a thought in consciousness, nothing else.

pen with hand. color from tungsten lamp

If you are looking to re-discover your essence you must start from a blank page and erase everything that has been written on it since you appeared into this world. When all words, ideas and concepts have dissolved all that is left is a blank page and you, object-less presence, is the nature of the page.

What you decide to write on it is up to you, but once you know you are the page, you are in a safe place, you are established in Presence, your own pure presence.

Starting from a blank page is to stop taking your current reality for granted and to stop letting the mind define it for you. The deconstruction of the reality elaborated by the mind is an important step towards spiritual awakening. It is what the Christ indicated in his parable “…and no one puts new wine into old wineskins…”

From Seeking to Awakening

ptg01497158When I started my spiritual quest, I would have never thought that awakening was a simple process. My mind was full of colourful “clichés” but I would not see that what I was seeking was already “with me”, that I was already there.

My mind was just excited and way too busy with its excitement to pay attention to my presence, my permanent nature, it was probably too simple and did not fit to the little story of awakening that my mind had created.

I am not sure that my mind, at that time, would have really wanted to awaken anyway. Especially if it knew it would never “happen to him” but that he would just dissolve in the process.

Before awakening you will think that you are an individual that is going to awaken, but it is an illusion. What awakens is the presence in which the mind activity occurs, this is an important key to awakening.

Before awakening, most of the seeking activity is operated by the mind at the “horizontal” and dualistic level of the world of objects, forms and labels, the realm of the mind. “Which spiritual strategy and techniques am I going to adopt?”, “Should I concentrate on my chakras?”, “How many times a day should I meditate?”, “Will mantras help me to awaken?”, “Should I wear amethyst to attract positive energies?”, those questions reflect an activity essentially polarised at the level of the mind.

566b5b5681716There is no permanent individual “in there” but there is a real tangible triangle of substance-energy-consciousness that we call the personality and that personality is the instrument through which Presence operates, consciously or unconsciously. Transfiguration simply is the process through which that personality is finely tuned and optimized after awakening.

It wouldn’t be wise nor correct to say that the activity of mind has no part to play in awakening, it is a useful tool, but only when it serves the partially awakened presence not when it completely runs the show for its own gain.

In a mysterious way the mind is also a manifestation of Presence but as it manifests as the mind, Presence appears to “disappear to itself”. Hence the necessity to be able to, initially, witness and control the activity of your mind, it is the first step to awakening and, in that regard, meditation can be useful.

It is not easy to say what triggers awakening, it would seem that all experiences are different, intimate and often very abstract. What I can surely say is that an intense desire to stand in the fire of the truth motivated by an open heart and a pure impersonal intent can only accelerate the process.

“Cogito ergo sum”? Not really!

What Spiritual Awakening is

people_woman_in_tunnelA lot has been, is and will be said on spiritual awakening but what is rarely said is that it is the most simple thing that will ever happen to “you”.

Spiritual awakening is often imagined as a sudden sort of magical projection in a world of light, peace and happiness, detached from the reality of the daily life, it is not the case at all. This is just a fantasy elaborated by the mind.

Spiritual awakening simply is the realisation that you are not just that limited, and changeable person defined by a name, traditions, a culture, a past and a specific personality but that you essentially are that permanent field of awareness in which that impermanent person seems to exist along with the rest of the world. It is that permanent field of awareness where all experiences rise and subside that I call Presence, it is your permanent self, your essential nature, it is the main subject of that little book.

Spiritual awakening is often considered as something gained from accumulating more and more layers of spiritual knowledge and spiritual practise but it is actually the opposite. Spiritual awakening is about dropping and letting go, it is about calling off the “horizontal” search in the world of thoughts and realising that what you are searching for, YOU, is HERE and NOW. Not just as a person, a body, a mind, an emotion but essentially as pure presence.

8341958004_bebb3734e9_bAwakening is just the revelation of a new point of view, a shift of the gravity centre of consciousness, it does not suddenly change the substance of the personality but it does remove a lot of the fears and anxiety attached to the sole identification to the impermanent non-self. The establishment of peace and happiness is a gradual process that will naturally unfold as the new found vision is embodied and integrated into the personality.

Spiritual awakening is not an achievement like building a house. When it happens there is nothing left to look at, there is only presence. Awakening happens when all layers slowly accumulated by the mind have collapsed, this is what spiritual awakening is all about, you walk out of the river of impermanence to embrace your real permanent naked nature as pure presence. It is also at that point that the real post-awakening work begins. It is a subject that I will largely cover in this little book.

Spiritual awakening is just a temporary milestone. The embodiment of the new found vision after awakening is a gradual process that will unfold over time. Hence, awakening does not define, in any ways, a man or woman of good character. Embodiment is an unpredictable process as it greatly depends on the nature of the personality, its specific lines of least resistance, the opening of the heart and the history attached to its mental, emotional and physical substance.

The Nature of the Ego

Identity and Spiritual Awakening

unknown-userThe question of identity/identification is central to spiritual awakening. We often hear that unless we kill the ego and the impermanent sense of identity, the true self will never awaken, there is a lot of misunderstanding on that aspect of awakening.

Most spiritual teachers will tell you that “you are not your ego but you are that objectless consciousness”. It is a key thought aimed at facilitating the dissolution of the ego but it does not ultimately reflect the reality that unfolds after awakening. After awakening, things are seen in a new light and the above sentence could be changed to “I know myself as objectless consciousness but I am also that temporary ego”. It was first necessary to detach yourself from the impermanent and limited identity in order to awaken to the inclusive nature of the true self.

After awakening, it will naturally appear that everything can be embraced, included and integrated, that nothing is excluded and that it is the nature of love in action. So, if the path to awakening appears initially as a new form of duality it is essentially temporary and it will ultimately lead to what is sometimes called in technical jargon “the collapse of the witness”, oneness back to itself with the integration of all pairs of opposites.

Individuation (the development of a sense of a separate defined self) is a necessary step in the development of consciousness. Infinite consciousness is experimenting a limited aspect of itself by developing self-consciousness and the focusing of consciousness through a mind and an identity is part of that process.

While consciousness is trying to awaken from the ego in some human cells it is important to remember that in other cells it is still developing and reinforcing that sense of ego. In a way being able to stand on your own two feet as a self-conscious individual is also a form of awakening. Gaining and losing identity are both necessary steps in the evolution of consciousness.

One of the big misconceptions is that after awakening identity is not necessary, that the ego is just a hindrance, an unnecessary fictional character. It is the type of statements you will hear in the pseudo-Advaita circles coming from individuals who have partially awakened but don’t understand the principles of embodiment.

6ec63c5b9ac20fc2de075c838abae821If identification to an impermanent identity might be a hindrance on the “way up” to awakening, it becomes again a blessing on the way down to embodiment. Now that you know that “you are not just that ego”, you can embrace it again ” and use the lines of least resistance of the personality as channels of manifestation. The big difference is that you now know that you are the infinite manifesting thought a limited form and your light can penetrate any thought, emotions and ultimately the physical cells of your body, this is what true embodiment is.

This slow process of the infinite, conscious of itself, manifesting through a limited form is what is called “transfiguration” in The Christian imagery, it is “the verb made flesh”.

Practising Presence

Group Consciousness & Presence

Every time a fragment of Presence awakens, group consciousness expands.

  • Cooperation will become second nature between individuals and countries.

No Mountains, No Rivers

Most of you must have heard about the old Zen saying about the rivers and the mountains, for those of you who haven’t here is a condensed version of it:

That Zen metaphor describes the three important stages experienced by consciousness as it passes through the gate of VISION, COMPASSION and REBIRTH.

The first stage describes the state of mind-consciousness. Objects are labeled, they have a story attached to them and seem clearly separated and independent from each others. This is the current state of consciousness of the majority of human beings.

As the world and our ego start to appear for what they really are, mind constructs, the “contour” of all inner and outer objects starts to blur and the unity of all starts to become our experience. That stage is often considered as awakening. Many individuals are currently going through that process.

At that stage, I would like to add a little note of caution based on my conscious experience of stage 2.

Consciousness can easily be fooled into thinking that stage 2 is the destination. The first contact of the “substance” with Presence can be fascinating. All objects and forms seem to “float” within a pure Presence, Awareness.

The mold of Neo-Advaita, in particular, seems to freeze many seekers into stage 2 through a dynamic of neverending compulsive self-enquiry. They deconstructed their reality and through a form of  new spiritualized ego they tend to compulsively reject all forms and objects that present themselves to their new found awareness. It is just another form of inverted duality and an exclusive expression of consciousness. Exclusive because the all inclusive heart is still not included.

The world of forms and objects has dissolved, the self has acknowledged its essential nature as pure Presence, the time of rebirth has come.

Strong from its “self-awareness” in the substance, Presence embraces the world of forms once again and it is now an embrace of love with the substance. Mountains are mountains again. Body, emotions, and thoughts are “impregnated” by Presence, the “little things of life” re-emerge in a newborn awareness. The VISION is now connected to THE HEART, humanity is embraced in its beauty, limitations, imperfections and fragility. Presence knows itself as the source of all, pure knowing, pure experiencing and the known, the experienced is not separated from it, it is essentially Love meeting Love.

Standing in the Now


This case is not covered by Casetext's citator
Case No. 1:12CV00034 (W.D. Va. Jun. 14, 2013)

Case No. 1:12CV00034

TREY ADKINS, Plaintiff, v. MARCUS McCLANAHAN, Defendant.

Michael A. Bragg, Bragg Law, Abingdon, Virginia, for Plaintiff; Katherine DeCoster, Assistant Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General of Virginia, Abingdon, Virginia, for Defendant.

By: James P. Jones

United States District Judge

In this action arising under 42 U.S.C.A. § 1983 (West 2012), the plaintiff seeks money damages against the defendant, a state police officer, who seized the plaintiff's bulldozer without a warrant or other court order. The defendant officer has moved for summary judgment, asserting he is entitled to qualified immunity and the undisputed facts show he did not violate the plaintiff's Fourth Amendment rights. Because I find that there are disputes of material fact that must be resolved by a jury, I will deny the defendant's motion.

In support of his Motion for Summary Judgment, McClanahan has submitted a copy of his own deposition and his affidavit; a handwritten report he allegedly made after interviewing Shelia Dellinger; a police Calls for Service ("CFS") report dated September 13, 2011; a printed copy of a Facebook message exchange between Dellinger and Tamara Neo; Dellinger's deposition; a copy of a cashier's check made payable to Dellinger; a bill of sale for a 1996 John Deere Series IV Crawler Dozer; and the plaintiff's deposition.
The plaintiff has not filed a response to the defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment. However, even in the absence of a response, "the moving party must still show that the uncontroverted facts entitle the party to a judgment as matter of law." Custer v. Pan Am. Life Ins. Co.,12 F.3d 410, 416 (4th Cir. 1993) (internal quotation marks omitted).

At the time of the incidents at issue, the plaintiff, Trey Adkins, was in the business of excavation and construction. He was also at the time the Democratic Party candidate for the Buchanan County, Virginia, Board of Supervisors. Terry Hall was the Republican incumbent in that position and was seeking reelection. Tamara Neo, the Buchanan County Commonwealth's Attorney, was running for reelection as the Republican candidate. The defendant, Marcus McClanahan, was an investigator with the Virginia State Police.

In July 2011, Neo asked McClanahan to contact Shelia Dellinger about the possible unauthorized use of a bulldozer. Neo told McClanahan that the bulldozer belonged to Dellinger and that Adkins, who was storing the bulldozer, had been using it without Dellinger's authorization. McClanahan had already been investigating Adkins for alleged improper voter solicitation, though he ultimately concluded those allegations were unfounded. McClanahan called Dellinger, who explained that Adkins was storing the bulldozer as a favor to her and was considering buying the bulldozer. Dellinger informed McClanahan that Terry Hall had told her that Adkins was using the bulldozer and profiting from his use of it. McClanahan asked Dellinger how many hours had been logged on the bulldozer before McClanahan began storing it, but she did not know the answer.

Dellinger told McClanahan that Adkins had offered to purchase the bulldozer for $20,000, but she did not accept that offer because she still owed $30,000 on the bulldozer. Adkins had recently told her that he was waiting to hear about a loan from the bank. Dellinger commented to McClanahan that she did not think Adkins was going to buy the bulldozer.

McClanahan asked Dellinger if Adkins had her permission to use the bulldozer while he was storing it. According to Dellinger, she replied that Adkins could use the bulldozer to ensure that it worked well, but he did not have permission to take it to distant job sites. At her deposition, in response to questioning about Hall's statements regarding Adkins's alleged use of the bulldozer, Dellinger testified, "Well, see, we were still in the process of making the agreement, him getting his money together. So, I mean, it was okay with me." (Dellinger Dep. 17). According to McClanahan, however, Dellinger told him that Adkins did not have her permission to use the bulldozer at all. McClanahan contends that Dellinger wanted to file a criminal complaint for unauthorized use and instructed him to take the bulldozer away from Adkins if he found Adkins using it. Dellinger denies this. McClanahan claims that he told Dellinger to call him if she sold the bulldozer.

A few days after her conversation with McClanahan, Dellinger spoke to her son, who told her that there had been 3,700 hours logged on the bulldozer prior to the time that McClanahan took possession of it. Dellinger called McClanahan to give him this information. She had no further contact with McClanahan regarding the bulldozer. McClanahan later determined that contrary to Hall's claims, Adkins had not used the bulldozer at Poplar Gap. Nonetheless, McClanahan asserts that he had evidence that Adkins had used the bulldozer elsewhere.

The record at times indicates that the number of hours was 37 and at other times indicates that the number was 3,700. This distinction is unimportant to resolution of the summary judgment motion.

Approximately one month later, unbeknownst to McClanahan, Adkins purchased the bulldozer from Dellinger. The following month, McClanahan received a call informing him that Adkins was using Dellinger's bulldozer at a church in Pawpaw, Virginia. According to McClanahan, he attempted to call Dellinger to confirm that she wanted the bulldozer seized, but she did not answer the telephone. He also sent a local police officer to her home, but she did not come to the door.

McClanahan then went to the church, where he observed a partially bulldozed road and a bulldozer present on the property. He spoke with someone at the church, who informed him that Adkins had delivered the bulldozer and that the person who had been operating the bulldozer was working for Adkins. McClanahan compared identification numbers to verify that the bulldozer was, in fact, the same one that Dellinger had indicated she owned. McClanahan then seized the bulldozer and had it towed away. According to Adkins, his political campaign signs were posted on the bulldozer and his political opponents spread word of the police seizure of the bulldozer, causing him embarrassment.

After the seizure, Adkins received a call from someone at the church telling him that his bulldozer had been removed from the premises. Adkins found McClanahan and presented the bill of sale and a copy of the cashier's check he had given to Dellinger to show that he had purchased the bulldozer. McClanahan indicated that it would be some time before he could have the bulldozer towed back to the church, so Adkins stated that he would retrieve the bulldozer himself. Adkins was never arrested or charged with unauthorized use of the bulldozer.

Adkins commenced this §1983 action, alleging that McClanahan violated his Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable seizures. Following the completion of discovery, McClanahan has moved for summary judgment. McClanahan asserts that the undisputed facts show that his warrantless seizure of the bulldozer was permitted by the "plain view" doctrine because, given the circumstances, the incriminating nature of the bulldozer was immediately apparent when he saw it in use at the church. McClanahan also argues that he is entitled to absolute governmental immunity or, in the alternative, to qualified immunity, because he did not violate any clearly established constitutional right. For the reasons set forth below, I disagree.

Summary judgment is appropriate when there is "no genuine issue of material fact," given the parties' burdens of proof at trial. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248 (1986); see Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a). In determining whether the moving party has shown that there is no genuine issue of material fact, a court must assess the factual evidence and all inferences to be drawn therefrom in the light most favorable to the non-moving party. See Ross v. Commc'ns Satellite Corp., 759 F.2d 355, 364 (4th Cir. 1985), overruled on other grounds, Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins, 490 U.S. 228 (1989). Applying these standards, the defendant's motion for summary judgment must be denied.

A § 1983 claim requires proof of the following three elements: "(1) the deprivation of a right secured by the Constitution or a federal statute; (2) by a person; (3) acting under color of state law." Jenkins v. Medford, 119 F.3d 1156, 1159-60 (4th Cir. 1997). While state officials sued in their official capacities are not "persons" under § 1983, Will v. Mich. Dep't of State Police, 491 U.S. 58, 71 (1989), state officials sued in their individual capacities are "persons" within the meaning of the statute and are not absolutely immune from suit, Hafer v. Melo, 502 U.S. 21, 31 (1991). A government official sued in his individual capacity under § 1983 may, however, be entitled to qualified immunity. Id. at 25 ("[O]fficials sued in their personal capacities . . . may assert personal immunity defenses such as objectively reasonable reliance on existing law.").

Qualified immunity "shields government officials from liability for civil damages, provided that their conduct does not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional rights within the knowledge of a reasonable person." Meyers v. Balt. Cnty., Md., No. 11-2192, 2013 WL 388125, at *4 (4th Cir. Feb. 1, 2013). Qualified immunity is immunity from suit rather than merely immunity from liability; therefore, the question of qualified immunity should be decided before trial. Id. A defendant asserting qualified immunity has the burden of proving the defense. Id. A court deciding the applicability of qualified immunity must determine "whether a constitutional violation occurred" and "whether the right violated was clearly established." Tobey v. Jones, 706 F.3d 379, 385 (4th Cir. 2013).

The Fourth Amendment to the Constitution prohibits unreasonable seizures of a person's effects. U.S. Const. amend. IV. Property is seized whenever "there is some meaningful interference with an individual's possessory interests in that property." United States v. Jacobsen, 466, U.S. 109, 113 (1984). As a general rule, a seizure of personal property is "per se unreasonable within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment unless it is accomplished pursuant to a judicial warrant issued upon probable cause and particularly describing the items to be seized." United States v. Place, 462 U.S. 696, 701 (1983).

An exception to the general warrant requirement, known as the plain view exception, applies where (1) an officer views the item to be seized from a place where he is lawfully present, (2) the officer has a lawful right of access to the seized item, and (3) the incriminating character of the seized item is immediately apparent. Horton v. California, 496 U.S. 128, 137 (1990). "[O]nly those items that are perceived to be contraband, stolen property, or incriminating in character" may be seized without a warrant under the plain view exception. United States v. Jackson, 131 F.3d 1105, 1108 (4th Cir. 1997). The "immediately apparent" requirement means that police must have probable cause to believe the item is associated with criminal activity. Arizona v. Hicks, 480 U.S. 321, 326-27 (1987). "[P]robable cause is a flexible, common-sense standard" that "requires that the facts available to the officer would 'warrant a man of reasonable caution in the belief' . . . that certain items may be contraband or stolen property or useful as evidence of a crime." Texas v. Brown, 460 U.S. 730, 742 (1983) (quoting Carroll v. United States, 267 U.S. 132, 162 (1925)). Probable cause does not require certainty, nor does it require that the seized evidence is more likely than not to be contraband, stolen property, or evidence of a crime. Id. Probable cause does, however, require more than reasonable suspicion. Alabama v. White, 496 U.S. 325, 330 (1990). In evaluating whether probable cause existed to support a seizure, the court must assess the totality of the circumstances. Florida v. Harris, 133 S. Ct. 1050, 1055 (2013).

Whether McClanahan is entitled to qualified immunity depends upon whether the summary judgment record, viewed in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, shows that McClanahan did not violate Adkins's right to be free from an unreasonable seizure of his property.

McClanahan also asserts that he is entitled to sovereign immunity. While the Complaint does not expressly indicate that he is being sued in his individual rather than his official capacity, the circumstances show that he is being sued in his individual capacity, and thus the defense of sovereign immunity does not apply. See Biggs v. Meadows, 66 F.3d 56, 61 (4th Cir. 1995) (holding that when the plaintiff does not specially allege capacity, the court must examine the nature of the claims made and the course of the proceedings to determine whether a state official is being sued in a personal or an official capacity). For example, the Complaint here seeks compensatory damages, which would be unavailable in an official capacity suit; the plaintiff does not allege any official policy or custom as grounds of liability, but only individual acts; and the defendant has asserted qualified immunity, applicable only in individual capacity claims. S ee id.

McClanahan contends the undisputed facts show that at the time of the seizure, he had probable cause to believe that Adkins was engaged in the Virginia crime of unauthorized use and that the bulldozer was the subject of that unauthorized use. A dispute of material fact exists, however, as to whether Dellinger told McClanahan that Adkins was not permitted to use the bulldozer. Dellinger's deposition testimony is in conflict with McClanahan's deposition testimony on that point, and a trial is necessary so that a jury can weigh the conflicting testimony, judge the witnesses' credibility, and resolve the factual dispute. Moreover, McClanahan testified at his deposition that prior to seizing the bulldozer, he twice attempted to contact Dellinger to confirm that she still owned it and Adkins still was not permitted to use it. A jury might infer from this admission that McClanahan understood that the circumstances may have changed since he had spoken to Dellinger two months earlier. Nevertheless, he proceeded to seize the bulldozer without waiting to hear from Dellinger. Therefore, even if one accepts McClanahan's testimony as true, McClanahan has not shown that he is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.

The unauthorized use statute provides that

Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-102 (2009).

Because there is a dispute of material fact that prevents me from deciding the applicability of the plain view doctrine as a matter of law, I must deny the motion for summary judgment. Similarly, McClanahan has not met his burden of proving that he is entitled to qualified immunity because I cannot find as a matter of law that he did not violate Adkins's clearly established constitutional right to be free from unreasonable seizures of his effects.

I previously ruled that Adkins's Fourth Amendment right to be free from an unreasonable seizure of his property was clearly established at the time McClanahan seized the bulldozer. Adkins v. McClanahan, No. 1:12CV00034, 2013 WL 942323, at *5 (W.D. Va. Mar. 11, 2013).

For the reasons stated, it is ORDERED that the defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment (ECF No. 34) is DENIED.

James P. Jones

United States District Judge


Waves crash against the coast in Nerja, Spain
Photo by Ken Yamaguchi  –  Link

The scenic resort town of Nerja, located about 50km east of Malaga city, is sandwiched between the Mediterranean Sea and the Sierra Almijara mountain range, making for quite the stunning setting. Come for the beautiful sandy beaches or to take a tour of the incredible Nerja Caves (Cueva de Nerja), filled with remarkable stalactites and stalagmite that formed millions of years ago. Whether you're a sun-worshipper, a foodie or a history buff, you'll feel right at home in Nerja.

Old Town

Nerja Old Town is a network of narrow pedestrian streets flanked by charming restaurants and tapas taverns. After you've explored a bit, treat yourself to some pescaito frito (fried fish) and pinchitos (meat skewers). And be sure to take a photo on the famous Balcon de Europa, a pretty promenade at the edge of a cliff overlooking the water. The panoramic views from here are second to none, especially with the mountains in the background.

If you're travelling by car, we highly recommend making a stop at Playa de Moro, a relatively secluded beach ten minutes east of Nerja proper. Crystal clear waters make this the perfect spot to go for a swim, so bring your goggles!

Parking is just off the main road, and you'll need to walk down a steep staircase to reach the beach. Make sure you bring your own towels and snacks (and, if it's the summertime, an umbrella to escape the summer heat!)


Tiled image of an exclamation point

Here are six potential consequences of untreated hearing loss.

1. Missing out

Hearing loss can cause you to miss out on essential conversations and familiar sounds like birds chirping or the sound of rain on the rooftop. Ordinary household sounds continue to fade as your private world of sound narrows.

2. Anxiety and depression

3. Cognitive decline

Hearing loss can affect your thinking and memory. Johns Hopkins Medicine discovered that those with hearing loss suffered rates of cognitive decline 30-40 percent faster than individuals with normal hearing.

The rate of decline is dependent upon the severity of hearing loss, but on average, those with hearing loss developed drastic impairment in cognitive ability 3.2 years sooner than those with normal hearing.

4. Mental exhaustion

Listening requires energy and effort, and when you struggle to hear specific words or have to continuously fill in the blanks, the extra hassle is tiring. Those with hearing loss report greater levels of fatigue at the days end, in particular after lengthy meetings or group activities.

5. Diminished work performance

The Better Hearing Institute discovered that, according to a survey of more than 40,000 households, hearing loss negatively affected annual household income by an average of as much as $12,000. The economic impact was directly related to the level of hearing loss.

6. Safety considerations

People with hearing loss can fail to hear alarm systems, sirens, or other alerts to potentially dangerous situations. They’re also more likely to have a history of falling.

The reality is hearing loss is not just a small inconvenience—it has a multitude of physical, mental, and social consequences that can radically decrease an individual’s overall quality of life. But the good news is that it’s virtually all preventable.

All of the consequences we just discussed are the result of decreased sound stimulation to the brain. Modern hearing aids, while not able to restore hearing completely to normal, nonetheless can furnish the amplification necessary to avoid most or all of these consequences.

That’s why most patients are content with their hearing aid’s overall performance. It allows them to easily understand speech, hear without continuously struggling, and take pleasure in the sounds they’ve been missing for many years.

Don’t risk the consequences—test drive the new technology and discover for yourself how your life can improve.

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CBSE Class 12 Physics Practice Paper 2017: Set – II

Jan 23, 2017 17:00 IST

    CBSE Class 12 Physics paper is available here. All the questions of this practice paper are based on the concepts which have been frequently asked in previous year question paper of CBSE Class 12 Physics board exams.
    This practice paper is based on latest CBSE Class 12 Physics Syllabus 2017. The pattern of this practice paper is almost similar to Class 12 Physics Sample Paper issued by CBSE for CBSE board exam 2017.
    With this practice paper students of CBSE class 12 can easily analyze their preparation level of CBSE Class 12 Physics board exam 2017.
    All the questions of this practice papers are very important for CBSE Class 12 Physics Board Exam 2017

    Time allowed: 3 hours                                                                                Maximum Marks: 70

    General Instructions:

    (a) All questions are compulsory.

    (b) There are 26 questions in all. Question number 1 to 5 carry one mark each, question number 6 to 10 carry two marks each, question number 11 to 22 carry three marks each, question number 23 carry four marks and question number 24 to 26 carry 5 marks each.

    (c) There is no overall choice. However, internal choices have been provided in some questions.

    Question1. If a sphere S encloses a charge Q. There is a larger concentric sphere S’ with no additional charge between S and S’. What is the ratio of electric flux through S and S’?

    Question2. Can there be a potential difference between two adjacent conductors carrying the same charge?

    Question3. What is a wattless current?

    Question4. Which of the following have shortest wavelength and lowest frequency?

    Ultraviolet Rays, Infrared Rays, Microwaves, X-Rays

    Question5. Define current sensitivity of a galvanometer?

    CBSE Class 12 Physics Syllabus 2017

    Question6. Write two ways by which the range of transmission can be increased?

    Question7. Using the data given below, state as to which of the given lenses will you prefer to use as an eyepiece, and an objective, to construct an astronomical telescope. Give reason to support your answer.

    Focal length

    100 cm

    10 cm

    100 cm

    5 cm

    10 cm

    2 cm

    5 cm

    2 cm

    Question7: The following data was recorded for values of object distance and the corresponding values of image distance in the experiment on study of real image formation by a convex lens of power + 5 D. One of these observations is incorrect. Identify this observation and give reason for your choice.

    Serial Number

    Object distance (cm)

    Image distance (cm)

    Question8: Find the radius of the path of an electron moving at a speed of 3 × 107 ms‒1 in a magnetic field of 6 × 10‒ 4 T perpendicular to it? Also, find its frequency.
    Give, mass of electron = me = 9 × 10‒31 kg and charge on it = 1.6 × 10‒19 C).

    Question9: What is meant by ‘half-life’ of a radioactive element? What percentage of a given mass of a radioactive substance will be left undecayed after four half lives?

    Question10: Two cells of E.M.F. 10 V and 2 V and internal resistances 10 Ω and 5 Ω respectively, are connected in parallel as shown in the figure given below. Find the effective voltage across R.

    Question11: (i) In a meter bridge shown in the figure given below, the balance point is found to be 39.5 cm from end X, when the resistance in the right arm is 12.5 Ω. Find unknown resistance R.

    (ii) What will happen to balance point when resistance R and12.5 Ω are interchanged.

    (iii) Why are resistors in a meter bridge are connected by thick copper strips?

    Question11: In the figure given below, a long uniform potentiometer wire XY having a constant potential gradient along its length. The two primary cells are connected and the reading of the null points is obtained from point X as shown in the figure.

    Calculate (i) Ratio E1/E2 (ii) position of the null point for the cell E1.

    Question12: A glider with 20 m long metallic wing spread is flying at 250 ms‒1 straight south parallel to the earth’s surface. The earth’s magnetic field has a horizontal component of 2 × 10‒5 Wb m‒2 and the dip angle is 60o. Find the value of induced emf across the tips of the wing.

    Question13: (i) The ground state energy of hydrogen atom is –13.6 eV. What are the kinetic and potential energies of the electron in this state?

    Question14: Arrange the following electromagnetic radiations in ascending order of their frequencies:
    (i) Microwaves
    (ii) Radio waves
    (iii) X-rays
    (iv) Gamma rays
    Write two uses of any two of these.

    Question15: Draw a plot showing the variation of binding energy per nucleon versus the mass number A. Explain with the help of this plot the release of energy in the processes of nuclear fission and fusion.

    Question16: (a) What are characteristic properties of an intrinsic semiconductor?

    (b)The following figure shows the input waveforms (A, B) and the output wavefrom (Y) of a gate. Identify the gate, write its truth table and draw its logic symbol.

    Question18: Light of wavelength 2000 Å falls on a metal surface of work functions 4.2 eV. What is the kinetic energy (in eV) of the fastest electrons emitted from the surface?

    (i) What will be the change in the energy of the emitted electrons if the intensity of light with same wavelength is doubled?

    (ii) If the same light falls on another surface of work functions 6.5 eV, what will be the energy of emitted electrons?

    Question19: What is the effect on the interference fringes in a Young’s double slit experiment when

    (i) the separation between the two slits in decreased?

    (ii) the width of the source slit is increased?

    Justify your answer in each case.

    Question20: With a circuit diagram, explain how a Zener diode can be used as a voltage regulator.

    Question22: If N drops of same size each having the same charge, coalesce to form a bigger drop. What is change in the charge, capacity and potential of the bigger drop with respect to smaller drop?

    Question23: Amit is a resident of Tamil Nadu was all set to leave everything and shift to another place in view of the decision of Government to start nuclear thermal power plant at Tamil Nadu. His granddaughter Rashi, a science student was really upset on the ignorant decision of her grandfather. She could finally convince him not to shift, since adequate safety measures to avoid any nuclear mishap have already been taken by the Government before starting nuclear thermal power plants.

    (i) What is the value displayed by Rashi in convincing her grandfather?

    (ii) What is the principle behind working of nuclear reactor?

    (iii) What are the main components of nuclear reactor?

    (iv) Why is heavy water used as moderator?

    Question24: (a) Derive an expression for the torque experienced by an electric dipole kept in a uniformly electric field.

    (b) Calculate electric potential energy of the system of charges placed on the vertices of a triangle (as shown in the figure given below). Here q =1.6 × 10-19 C.

    Question24: (a) How will the (i) energy stored and (ii) the electric field inside the capacitor be affected when it is completely filled with a dielectric material of dielectric constant ‘K’?

    (b) Obtain the equivalent capacitance of the network given below. For a supply of 300 V, determine the charge and voltage across C4 .

    Question25: Derive an expression for the impedance of a series LCR circuit connected to an AC supply of variable frequency and hence find the expression to find the value of resonant frequency. Explain briefly how the phenomenon of resonance in the circuit can be used in the tuning mechanism of a radio or a TV set.

    Question25: (a) What do you understand by root mean square value of alternating current? Derive an expression to show that the root mean square value of alternating current is 0.707 times the value of alternating current.

    (b) Find the virtual value of alternating current shown in figure given below

    Question26: Draw a labelled diagram of compound microscope and show the how image of a linear object is formed in the same diagram. A compound microscope uses an objective lens of focal length 4 cm and eyepiece lens of focal length 10 cm. An object is placed at 6 cm from the objective lens. Calculate the magnifying power of the compound microscope. Also calculate the length of the microscope.

    Question26: (a) Derive an expression for the Prism formula?

    (b) One face of a prism with a refracting angle of 30° is coated with silver. A ray incident on another face at an angle of 45° is refracted and reflected from the silver coated face and retraces its path. Find the refractive index of the material of the prism.

    CBSE Class 12 Biology Solved Practice Paper 2017

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For those days when arthritis, here’s something to keep in mind: at one point in human history, it may have been the thing that kept early Europeans alive.

Skeletal hand.

Image via Pixabay.

Roughly one-half of all Europeans living today carry a variant of the GDF5 gene which nearly doubles the chance of arthritis popping up in our golden years. People from other areas of the world have it too, but in much lower percentages of the population — so what gives?

Well, achy joints may have kept the early settlers of Europe survive frostbite and prevent fractures in the new, colder climate, researchers from the US report.

Little cavemen, short and stout

The same GDF5 variant which increases the likelihood of arthritis also seems to shave roughly 1 cm in the height of people who harbor it. So why on Earth would a gene that makes you shorter and ultimately less mobile not only persist but actually proliferate in a population?

Well, it’s all about context. While those traits above are arguably disadvantages when trying to secure a mate or going about your Stone Age day, they can also help a population recently moved out of Africa better adapt to the freezing northern territories of Europe. Being short and stocky makes it easier to retain heat in cold weather, and as the old saying informs us, the shorter you are the more lightly you fall — so you’re at less of a risk of fracturing bones in the process, a life-threatening experience back in those days.

As for the evolutionary costs, arthritis may actually carry less than you’d initially assume. As the condition usually develops past reproductive ages, it didn’t actually impair people’s ability to have babies. In other words, it brought more to the table than it took — so the gene got passed down.

“This gene variant is present in billions of people, and it’s likely responsible for millions of cases of arthritis around the globe” says Dr David Kingsley, Professor of developmental biology at Stanford University and paper co-author.

“Many people think of osteoarthritis as a kind of wear-and-tear disease, but there’s clearly a genetic component at work here as well. It’s possible that climbing around in cold environments was enough of a risk factor to select for a protective variant even if it brought along an increased likelihood of an age-related disease like arthritis, which typically doesn’t develop until late in life.”

The link between arthritis and GDF5 was first established back in the 1990s, and since then research has also linked its expression to a genetic mechanism called GROW1, which signals the gene to turn off bone growth.

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The team analyzed the genomes of people from across the world who submitted their genetic material to the 1,000 Genomes project. They noticed that the genetic variant and the mechanism for switching off bone growth was far more common in populations from Europe or those of European descent. In much warmer places, such as Africa for example, the gene variant was extremely rare in the overall population.

The gene variant also seems to have been pretty common in Neanderthals and Denisovans, who inhabited Europe and Asia for about 600,000 years before modern humans came around and drove them extinct — in fact, it’s likely that Europeans today inherited the gene from these initial populations.

Of course, while it could have saved our ancestors during the Ice Age, arthritis may be overstaying its welcome today.

“The variant that decreases height is lowering the activity of GDF5 in the growth plates of the bone,” said Dr Terence Capellini, associate professor of human evolutionary biology at Harvard University and first author of the paper.

“Interestingly, the region that harbors this variant is closely linked to other mutations that affect GDF5 activity in the joints, increasing the risk of osteoarthritis in the knee and hip.”

The paper “Ancient selection for derived alleles at a GDF5 enhancer influencing human growth and osteoarthritis risk” has been published in the journal Nature Genetics.

Estimate my solar savings!


fgi Model of Culture

Organizational culture influences the operations of a company in a barely noticeable yet effective manner. It shapes its processes and structures, forms of working and ways of cooperation.

Making the impact of culture visible requires a well-grounded understanding of the core elements and the functions of culture. Here, the fgi model of culture which incorporates and bundles research results of numerous sciences (incl. organizational and cross-cultural research, sociology, anthropology) serves as a basis in each cultural analysis.

The foundation of culture comprises values, basic assumptions and norms

In principle, the fgi model of culture distinguished between two functions of organizational culture.

  1. Culture unites people.
  2. Culture shapes our relationships.

Organizational cultures additinally vary in their strength and consistency.

Fischer Group International