What is a normal range for progesterone in pregnancy

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25 days divided by 7), and the number of weeks in average month is near four. Select lean meat, lower the fat off pink meat and the pores and skin off chicken. Meanwhile, one of your ovaries is hormal preparing the egg that will soon be released. You can take a pregnancy take a look at from the day that your interval is due. I fired up my favorite Tumblr and within five minutes, What is a normal range for progesterone in pregnancy unloaded a sufficient-enough sample for the test and swirled the sample around to combine it with enzymes in the bottom of the collection cup. Included are stories of child-rearing practices, young love in adversity, the risks of false negative early pregnancy test the spiritual powers, the significance of social sharing, the position of girls in male conflicts, the darkish feminine, and the transformational energy can a weak cervix cause bleeding in early pregnancy language. It's needed for the manufacturing, repair and functioning of DNA, so is essential in pregnancy - a time of speedy pregnabcy growth,' says Saidee. Progexterone talked on length and I asked her what she did what is a normal range for progesterone in pregnancy overcome her own side of infertility, she told me that the problem she was having was also hormonal imbalance that online pregnancy test for teenagers her from getting pregnant all those years of childlessness. Exercise: still doing it, this week I didnt do any weights at all. i know i am cursed. Most miscarriages occur during the first 13 weeks of pregnancy. The veins may be more visible, and the nipples may darken and stand out. With a view to conceive a woman, it is higher for the woman to avoid orgasm, in order that there isn't any additional assistance for the boys membership. Knowledge IS energy. After the beginning, all the things adjustments. 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This soreness will usually final for a few months, however not all women will experience this. You blood pressure is so important throughout the 2nd trimester of pregnancy as a result of that is when many blood stress related complications start to develop. I'm having pregnancy symptoms should've gotten my period on the 30th. Our specialists can consider you shortly in an workplace fro. You may see blood clots, brown discharge or other tissue that is not clearly identifiable. Taking them earlier will produce more eggs and later a larger, better quality egg. The good thing about whole grain bread is that it will also offer you zinc and iron-minerals which can be essential on your child's progress and your health, too. This sort of vaginal bleeding will likely be accompanied by tenting as properly. If you were pregnant, you would have missed your period or it would have been very different. secondary amenorrhoea when periods stop after they have been established.

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Boar Tattoos Angola IN

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Boar tattoos

Check out these boar/pig tattoo design ideas Boar Tattoos - The Chinese Zodiac makes no distinction between the pig and the boar - the former having been domesticated from the wild boar some ten thousand years ago. In the West, the term boar is usually used to refer to the wild pigs of the forest. Technically, 'Boar' denotes an adult, uncastrated male of certain species, including the domestic pig. The wild variety is swift, nocturnal, omnivorous, and sports a razor sharp set of sharp tusks. Wild boars can weigh 440 lb (200 kg), and reach 6 feet (1.8 m) in length.

As a symbol, the pig takes on distinctively different meanings in its natural wild state and as a domesticated farm animal. This duality of meaning, as both wild and 'tame', is often used to reflect on man's nature.

In ancient Greece, the wild boar's ferocity, strength and destructiveness ensured its place in their mythology as a worthy opponent of hunters and heroes. Artemis, the goddess of the hunt - Diana in Roman myth - was linked with the boar and the animal symbolized her aptitude for violent retribution. Legend says the boar had breath that could set fire to leaves. Muscular, bristly, and fierce, the boar's image found its way onto Greek coins, gems, vases, and reliefs.

Young wild boar

In many regions of the world, including Britain, France, Germany and many areas in eastern Europe, hunting the wild boar was long a favourite sport among the aristocracy and nobility, as it honed skills useful in battle for the hunters and the boar could be counted on to fight to the death to defend its territory and when cornered. So respected was the boar for its fierceness, valor and courage, that during the Middle Ages, a boar or boar's head was a common and indeed favored symbol or charge in Heraldry, displayed on Coats of Arms, shields and banners.

The boar in heraldry suggests its positive qualities of courage and ferocity in battle. The boar's head may represent hospitality, as a whole roasted boar or a boar's head with an apple in its mouth is synonymous with a feast and was widely considered a delicacy at the dining table. The boar as a heraldic charge, or emblem may symbolize that the bearer of the arms is a noted hunter.

Because of its strength and speed, the wild boar in Europe became one of the four heraldic beasts of the chase. It was chosen by Richard III of England, as his distinguishing mark. The Scottish Clan Campbell uses the boar on its badge to symbolize courage and fierceness, and likewise, the Clan Urquhart uses three boars heads on its coat of arms. Sometime in the 17th century, the wild boar became extinct in Great Britain.

In Japan, the white boar was considered off-limits to hunters -- otherwise, the boar was a moon symbol in Japan. In China, the pig/boar was a sign of both fertility and virility, with the sow and her litter making an obvious statement about the perfect little, or large for that matter, family. At the same time, the boar symbolized battle and war.

In the Ardenn...

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Boston Weather: 33.0°F | A Few Clouds

How to Keep The Water Flowing

Conservation Methods Best Way to Insure Future Supplies

Michael J. Ring

Water, water everywhere -- and not a drop to drink.

Or use to wash your car.

Or water your lawn.

The water ban -- an annual rite of summer in many suburban communities -- has hit especially viciously this year as much of the eastern United States remains mired in a drought.

Cities, towns and counties up and down the coastline have been sniping at each other over shared water resources. But nowhere has the battle become more dramatic than in the area surrounding Washington, D. C., where a feud over one of nature’s simplest and most precious resources has turned two state governments against each other, locked in a bitter battle that could well end up in court.

While both Maryland and Virginia were severely impacted by the lack of rainfall this summer, the two states took very different actions in the face of the drought. Maryland imposed harsh restrictions on outdoor water use. Northern Virginia shunned such restrictions, instead choosing to tap the Washington, D.C. area reservoirs to meet high demand. The dichotomy of policy quickly sparked a nasty spat of namecalling -- Maryland officials calling Virginia’s tactics shortsighted and greedy, and one Fairfax (Virginia) Water Authority official calling Maryland’s water ban “unnecessary and harmful.”

The enmity felt in Maryland over the refusal of officials in Northern Virginia to impose a water ban only boiled further when Fairfax County attempted to replace a drinking water intake pipe at the bottom of the Potomac River. Maryland, which has jurisdiction over the Potomac, rejected Fairfax County’s permit application. Virginia’s attorney general threatens to pursue the controversy in court.

The communities around Washington, D. C. will have to make some unappetizing choices regarding their use of water, particularly since some officials believe the Washington metropolitan area could run out of water in the case of a severe drought by 2035. Maryland, Virginia, and the District are going to have to devise regional solutions to their water woes. Whether those solutions include building another reservoir, placing new controls on development, importing water from elsewhere, or living with permanent restrictions on usage, the solution to the present and future Mid-Atlantic water shortage will involve either, or more likely both, cost increases and headaches for water consumers.

While the watery quagmire faced by the two Mid-Atlantic states may be an extreme case, it is just an extension of the neighbor-versus-neighbor imbroglios always certain to surface in times of water bans. Just think of Virginia as the scofflaw flouting the town fathers’ promulgation, and Maryland as the neighbor who dropped the dime. Suburban sprawl across the nation has already guaranteed Maryland’s and Virginia’s problem is not isolated.

For most communities, building reservoirs will not be a practical answer to water shortages. A sizeable reservoir simply takes up too much land, displaces too many people, and costs too much money to be feasible in most circumstances.

The importation of water may not be an option in the future as well. As strains on local water supplies grow across the nation (and the world), communities with surplus water today will have shortages of their own in the future. And locales still possessing excess water will be more reluctant to export their precious resource.

Desalinization remains an intriguing option. Given the sheer size of the oceans, there would be no shortage there of water for human activities. But without further technological advances, the cost of such plants may be prohibitive.

Ultimately, the answer to our water crunches is going to have to be conservation. With the vast majority of the world’s water supply locked in the salty ocean or icy glaciers, there’s only so much fresh, liquid water to go around.

Activities such as laundry and dishwashing will need to be done after dusk, when demand for water is lessened. Given the horrendously long schedules many people work, that won’t be a problem.

The artificially-landscaped green of suburbia must cease in order to save water. Lawns are some of the thirstiest opponents in the effort to control the supply of water. The seemingly-endless expanse of grass lining wealthy suburban streets is unnatural anyway; trees and bushes fit much more naturally into the landscape and require much less water.

Summer car washes will need to be a little less frequent as well. There will always be some bird out there ready to use your automobile as its personal toilet. Get used to it.

Unless we’re all going to be at each others’ throats in the coming decades -- neighbor against neighbor, state against state, nation against nation -- it’s time to start thinking about conservation tactics. We need to adjust our gluttonous patterns of consumption and learn to live with a few new tricks. A little conservation will go a long way.


What to do when Your Friends Sometimes Suck 😭💩🖕🏼 ...

Being left out is an awful feeling.

It’s hurtful and can completely change your opinion about those who are leaving you out.

It’s bad when anyone does it but it’s even more hurtful when you’re being left out by your friends.

These are some things you can do when you find yourself in this position.

1. Take a Closer Look at the Situation

Sometimes a situation isn’t what it seems.

It may be that you weren’t really left out at all.

It could be that your friends were getting together to work on an assignment for a class you don’t have or something similar.

Many times, there’s a good explanation for things.

A lot of times we feel hurt when others never truly intended to hurt our feelings.

Give It Some Thought
Explore more ...


I HAVE followed the matter of the car park in Harnall Lane West which is required to build a hostel.

These people don’t seem grateful that they have had the use of this for so long, and I believe they are being selfish.

If a car park means so much to them why did they not include this in their plans when they put up their own building?

I am pleased with the decision the council has come to.

Mr A Bloomfield,

Bates Road, Coventry


Wholesale Cabochon Jewellery , Wholesale Silver Gemstone Cabochon Jewellery , Cabochon Jewellery Setted With Sterling Silver

Cabochon Jewellery

cabochon jewellery

In the gemstone world, a cabochon is a stone that is cut with a highly polished, rounded or convex top with no faceting and a flat or slightly domed base. A cabochon may be cut in any shape, though oval is by far the most common. The term comes from the French caboche, meaning knob or small dome


Women Farmers Producers Organisation for empowering rural women

Image Courtesy: The Better India

Women’s role and leadership in agriculture and producers organisation is governed by various sociological, psychological and economic variables. Therefore, it is imperative to understand different aspects of sociological, psychological and economic perspectives on women.

Economically, women constitute 49.6 per cent of global population, but they share only 40.8 per cent global labour market. About 48.4 per cent women’s productive potential is underutilized, but in case of men it is only 22 per cent. According to International Labour Organisation (ILO) (2010) most female household work is classified as non-economic activity, and they are classified as outside the labor force. More than six in ten women remain economically ‘inactive’ in three regions of the world- North Africa, South Asia, and the Middle East.

Women in Agriculture

Globally, 35.4 per cent women are employed in agriculture, as compared to 32.2 per cent of men; this figure is 60 per cent for Sub Saharan Africa and South Asia. Agriculture sector employs 4/5th of all economically active women. Women constitute 1/3 of the Agricultural labour force and 48 per cent of self employed farmer (ILO 2009). In context to India, nearly 84 per cent of all economically active women in India are engaged in agriculture and allied activity (Agricultural Census 2011). About 60 per cent of agricultural operations are exclusively done by women except ploughing. Rural India is thus witnessing a process called as ‘feminization of agriculture’. There is high number male migrate to seek better jobs in cities with shrinking land holdings’ size and decreasing family income. This leaves women overburdened with additional farming responsibility apart from household responsibilities. Moreover many women are not so well equipped with the technical knowhow because of lack of literacy and poor extension contacts.

Producers’ organisation

Producers Organisation or Farmers Producers Organisation (FPO) is a group of rural producers coming together based on the principle of membership, to pursue specific common interest of their members and developing technical and economic activities that benefit their member and maintaining relations with the partners operating in their economic and institutional environment (Anonymous, 2004).

Many times yields of small farmers are low and less market prices limits their motivation to improve production yields. They also have limitations in providing continuous supply of products. As individual farmer, they have very limited access to information, agricultural services and improved technology. Moreover financing services institutions consider them as high risk group. All these aspects reflect need for establishment of farmer’s organizations.

FO are the essential institutions for the empowerment, poverty alleviation and advancement of farmers and the rural poor (FAO,2000). FOs should be promoted to combine the advantages of decentralized production and centralized services, post harvest management, value addition and marketing (NCF,2004).

Why women FPO

The following points illustrate the need of women’s farmers’ organization in India.

  1. i) Nearly 84 % of all economically active women in India engaged in Agriculture and allied activity.
  2. ii) Most women are marginalised, resource poor, lacks social and financial capital

iii) Changing social and cultural dynamics: Women are ready to assume bigger roles and responsibilities, leadership position

  1. iv) Feminisation of agriculture: Because of migration of male members to the city for job searching.

For achieving desired social change in rural society, rural women are key agents and can play important role. In the wake of global demand for agriculture produce, opportunities are available for diversifying markets and earn competitive price for produce through food processing and value addition. FPO can help rural women to organize themselves for action, share the resources and get access to new markets and technology through collective action. Through FPO, they can influence policies and programmes of the government. FPOs provide opportunities for the rural women to participate in the decision making process of the developmental activities and provide more effective learning environment.

What kind of services can be provided by the women FPO?

Women FPO can provide following types of services.

  1. a) Marketing services: consultancies, input supply, marketing of produce, processing, packaging, market information etc.
  2. b) Financial services: savings, loans and other forms of credit
  3. c) Educational services: business skill, advanced technologies, entrepreneurship development skill training etc.
  4. d) Technology services: training, extension , education, literature etc
  5. e) Welfare services: Health, education to the members

Role of Extension agencies and professionals

According to Chamala 1990, extension agents and agencies can play following role in strengthening the women’s producers organization.

  1. a) Empowerment
  2. b) Community organizing
  3. c) Human resource development
  4. d) Education and problem solving

Challenges faced by women

While working in Women FPO, women are most likely to face following problems.

  1. Lack of social capital and network
  2. Less mentors and local role models
  3. Lack of access to infrastructure
  4. Limited access to education and appropriate skills training, availability and cost of child care provision
  5. Household and family responsibilities
  6. Inadequate social protection
  7. Discrimination
  8. Patriarchial mindset
  9. Lack of ownership over resources
  10. Self fulfilling prophecy
  11. External locus of control
  12. weak bargaining power within the household
  13. Domestic violence, and sexual oppression.

Vicious cycle of povertyTowo (2004) studied the relationship between gender and rural producers in Tanzania where he found clear differences between the experience of women and male farmers within producer organizations. Lack of sensitization of gender issues, restricted participation of women in meetings and the difficulties associated with balancing heavy domestic workloads were major factors behind the low female participation in producer organisations. Most of the organsations lacked the necessary lobbying and advocacy skills to encourage the participation of women in forums and expand outreach. These constraints and limitations of the FO can be overcome by forming FO exclusively for the women.

Opportunities available to women

Though women face different types of problems and challenges, there are multiple opportunities available with them which can be exploited for empowering hitherto neglected half population of the rural India.

  1. Congenial policy environment
  2. Success stories and role models
  3. Increase in education level of women
  4. Changing socio cultural patterns and norms
  5. IT revolution, automation: Decline in physical work
  6. Multiplicity of agencies like NGO, government, international organisations, religious groups to act as catalyst for formation and sustenance of groups
  7. Declining fertility rate-less time for household activities
  8. Changing consumer preferences: value addition through group activities
  9. Economy of scale: collective production and marketing; less transaction cost

Good practices for implementing women’s participation in FPO for agricultural development

A book “Gender in agriculture, a source book” by WB, FAO and IFAD (2008) suggests some good practices for women’s participation in groups. These are as follow.

  1. a) Use group formation strategies that are easily replicable and lead to scaling up.
  2. b) Provide long term, high quality capacity development and mentoring over at least one to two years from inception of groups.
  3. c) Explicit efforts to include women with different resource endowments in governance and decision making.
  4. d) Specific policies to alleviate gendered work and power relations unfavorable to women.
  5. e) Develop group management and leadership skills as well as technical skills for women as well as for men in the early stages of group organization.
  6. f) Asses the need for intensive social awareness and gender sensitization training for women and men to build mutual confidence, esteem, and capacity to negotiate.
  7. g) Selective targeting to enable women to control some key inputs and resources critical to projects success.
  8. f) Mechanism in group that include women and men in performance evaluation of groups and their leaders, and some enforceable sanctions such as the ability to withhold membership fees. Promote inclusive information sharing that enhances women’s understanding of the rights and opportunities.

Women FPO is a key factor in empowering large number of marginal and small farmers and women in agriculture to mobilise and organise them. FPO can effectively used to break the cycle of poverty, reducing transaction cost, increasing economy of scale and giving advantages of collective bargaining. Extension policies and programme should focus on formation of more number of women FPO. Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) and Agricultural Technology Management Agency (ATMA) should be given responsibility to form at least one FPO in a district with emphasis on women farmers.


Nearly half of all Americans regularly take at least one prescription medication daily, including many that produce dry mouth, and more than 90 percent of adults over age 65 do the same.  Because older adults frequently use one or more of these medications, they are considered at significantly higher risk of experiencing dry mouth.

The American Dental Association (ADA), Academy of General Dentistry (AGD), American Academy of Periodontology (AAP) and the American Pharmacists Association (APhA) are collaborating to expand awareness of the impact of medications on dry mouth, a condition known to health professionals as xerostomia.

With regular saliva production, your teeth are constantly bathed in a mineral-rich solution that helps keep your teeth strong and resistant to decay.  While saliva is essential for maintaining oral health and quality of life, at least 25 million Americans have inadequate salivary flow or composition, and lack the cleansing and protective functions provided by this important fluid.

"Each day, a healthy adult normally produces around one-and-a-half liters of saliva, making it easier to talk, swallow, taste, digest food and perform other important functions that often go unnoticed," notes Dr. Fares Elias, president, Academy of General Dentistry.  "Those not producing ad


28-day ‘amnesty’ period for Leeds gypsy and traveller convoys as they are allowed onto vacant housing land

Leeds is to introduce a 28-day amnesty period for traveller convoys as city bosses bid to reduce the numbers of illegal encampments and the clean-up costs associated with them.

The pioneering scheme - thought to be the first of it kind in the country -will see nine temporary caravan sites created on a rolling basis on vacant pockets of land which are awaiting redevelopment.

Traveller families would be allowed to stay on the sites for up to 28 days with no fear of being evicted, but would have to sign a good behaviour contract with the council.

The so called “negotiated stopping sites” would be spread fairly across the city, it is claimed, and no one site would be used for the purpose more than once in any 12 month period.

Skips and portaloos would also be provided by the local authority, and no single site would accommodate more than nine caravans at a time.

The idea is part of Leeds’s wider strategy to provide traveller pitches as part of its Site Allocations Plan. The council has to provide 62 individual permanent pitches.

The YEP has previously reported that Leeds City Council spent £3m in a decade on clean-up and eviction costs. Updated figures reveal that between 2012 and 2017, the authority has spent £800,000 on the issue.

However the introduction of a temporary site in Kidacre Street - and liaison with families through the Gypsy and Traveller Exchange (GATE) - has helped slash the overall bill to the taxpayer by 60 percent.

Councillor Peter Gruen, who sits on the Development Plans Panel, said the scheme - which awaits final approval from the council’s cabinet - was a “pioneering” and “flexible” way to deal with a long standing issue, which would also save on costs.

He said the council and traveller families would enter into a “toleration agreement”.

“Most families, we think, will only stay for a week or so, for events like weddings.

“In the past, if they left a mess, we never knew where they were.

“But with this, they will have to sign what is essentially a positive behaviour agreement.

“If they misbehave, hopefully we will get some recompense.”

Coun Gruen stressed that the sites to be used would not be “fixed sites”, and would be “flexible according to where there is a bit of land being redeveloped”.

The council will decide if a site where a traveller convoy has “pulled up” in Leeds is appropriate as a “negotiated stopping” site. This will depend on a range of factors around suitability, accessibility, landownership and risk.

If the site is not suitable, then the council will identify an alternative suitable site to which “G&T visitors” will be directed.

Negotiated stopping sites will be used for short periods of time only (i.e. less than 28 days) and will not be used again within a year. “This enables a spread of opportunities for temporary sites throughout Leeds rather than in specific wards or communities,” says the council.

UPDATED: Leeds’s capital of culture hopes are dashed as European Commission confirms UK city can’t hold title after Brexit


There is no know reason why, but women born in different months have different personality traits and different features as well. Why is it that a girl born in a different month is different from a girl born one month later? We found some shocking but amazing results.

Here you go:

Girls born in January have high ambitions while staying conservative and earnest. Although sometimes January girls are critical of others, they most often do not like to talk about their own feelings. January girls prefer to interact with people who are their intellectual equals. They communicate only with people of the same intellectual level and identical views on life

February girls are quite romantic, and must be treated with patience, due to their constant mood changes. Not every person can understand them due to constant changes in mood. They are able to think in abstract terms and act as more of a free soul. However, if betrayed, February girls are not likely to return.

Females born in March are often charismatic and charming. These dedicated and loyal women find it difficult to give away their hearts to fall in love. When they become upset, March girls can be very unpleasant, however, on a regular basis, they are delightful to be around.

Females born in April are effective communicators who are able to get their points across succinctly. A downfall to April girls is that they have a tendency to get jealous and have delicate confidence that may make them very sensitive. However, women born in April are able to make others happy by opening themselves up to those they trust and sharing their deep feelings.

Females born in May are very persistent and never abandon their principles. May girls are often very physically attractive but can be quite difficult and this makes them quite challenging for the men who are in love with them. May girls are memorable in the sense that they are strong willed and beautiful.

Those who are born in June tend to be curious, creative, and strong communicators. The downfall to this is that they may speak prior to thinking. June girls are often blunt with the truth, rather than hiding how they feel. This does make June girls strong-willed and they tend to have a lot of power over their men.

Ladies born in July are beautiful, honest, smart, and mysterious. Avoiding conflict, those who are born in July tend to always be honest from the start in order to avoid confusion down the road. That being said, they expect honesty out of others as well.

While women born in August have a tendency to center their lives around themselves, they also have big hearts for other people. These women often win arguments, while also not tolerating their existence. August women shun negativity or people disagreeing with them, and she is likely to react and strike back if someone displays these behaviors. However, they have a great sense of humor. August women love to be the center of attention, and often get a lot of attention from men. Due to their strength, men are often falling head over heals for them.

Women born in September are very self-disciplined, friendly and beautiful on the inside and out. They are faithful to themselves in that they are never likely to forgive people who betray them, and they often go out seeking revenge if they feel like they have been wronged. They are often successful in their quests for revenge. September ladies choose to be in lasting relationships rather than short flings. Due to the longevity of their partnerships, they have high expectations of the people they love.

October females, with a low display of emotions, yet a high display of intelligence, have a strong character. Often scared of betrayal, they keep to themselves. Women not born in October often envy those who are.

These are smart ladies who can see dishonesty from far away. Messing with a November woman is a mistake, as she will likely catch on. These women are also opinionated and not afraid to say it.

December women are impatient, but they know how to always make things work out for themselves in the end. They cherish the positive moods of others and open their hearts, leaving room for them to get hurt.


It's been some time since I did a really detailed and complex watercolour, so I set up this still-life in the afternoon sunlight of my studio.These tulips in a complex glass vase just appealed to me although a passing thought was this might make a better alkyd oil painting, but I'm not sure my skills in that area were ready for such a challenge. Anyway, here it is. Image size 14" x 17" on 300 lb. Arches cold pressed paper, using W&N Artist Quality colours.

For a step-by-step demo on how this was done click here.

Realism versus abstract

Realism versus abstract An age-old debate rose to the surface in one of my art classes recently, and it revolved around a basic disagreement on the role of realism as opposed to abstract or impressionist style. This discussion had been going on for decades and both sides hold strong opinions, but in the end art is about personal choice. I teach realism but have a healthy respect for other forms of artistic expression. I embrace the technological age and own an iPhone, iPad, laptop and desktop computers. In my classes we often hook up the laptop to our flat screen television to view the step-by-step watercolours I have posted on my Flickr page here and we use digital technology as an aid in every step of our projects. Our in-class controversy arose over the use of YouTube instructional videos demonstrating the use of Cling Wrap, waxed paper, bubble pack, salt and a variety of flashy gimmicks that seemed to promise instant results with the minimum of effort. In this age of instant gratification the tedious work of learning the basics is being eroded by such videos in my opinion. Our controversy resulted in a sharply divided class and two valued members dropped out. This was regrettable but probably inevitable. The teaching of realism in any medium involves patience, attention to detail, self-discipline, and a willingness to accept that learning is a cumulative experience. If the student leans towards a much looser style of painting the slowness of realism can prove irksome and demotivating. Neither side is right or wrong. It's a matter of personal choice and both sides have to agree to disagree. As a realist, I would argue that most people expect a work of art to resemble something they know, be it a still life with roses, a portrait, or a landscape. Within these boundaries there is room for personal interpretation, but YouTube gimmicks with Cling Wrap implies a loss of control over a project as the result is largely a matter of chance. Some would argue that is part of the charm of these techniques, and I can't argue against that. Itâ€™s a matter of personal choice. I will continue to produce, and teach, realism to students who are willing to learn the lesson of patience and the skills needed to turn out paintings that represent a high degree of realism. I wish other students well and hope they find teachers who can give them what they want. Â


Definitions of progress

  1.   the act of moving forward toward a goal
  2.   a movement forward he listened for the progress of the troops
  3.   develop in a positive way He progressed well in school My plants are coming along Plans are shaping up
  4.   move forward also in the metaphorical sense Time marches on
  5.   gradual improvement or growth or development advancement of knowledge great progress in the arts their research and development gave them an advantage
  6.   form steadily Resistance to the manager's plan built up quickly
  7.   form or accumulate steadily Resistance to the manager's plan built up quickly Pressure is building up at the Indian Pakistani border
  8.   A moving or going forward a proceeding onward an advance
  9.   In actual space as the progress of a ship carriage etc
  10.   In the growth of an animal or plant increase
  11.   In business of any kind as the progress of a negotiation the progress of art
  12.   In knowledge in proficiency as the progress of a child at school
  13.   Toward ideal completeness or perfection in respect of quality or condition applied to individuals communities or the race as social moral religious or political progress
  14.   A journey of state a circuit especially one made by a sovereign through parts of his own dominions
  15.   To make progress to move forward in space to continue onward in course to proceed to advance to go on as railroads are progressing
  16.   To make improvement to advance
  17.   To make progress in to pass through
  18.   A moving or going forward advancement growth improvement
  19.   To move forward advance grow improve
  20.   Advance course of a disease
  21.   To advance to go forward said of a disease especially when unqualified of one advancing toward a favorable termination
  22.   A going forward advance improvement proficiency course passage procession a journey of state a circuit
  23.   To go forward to make progress to proceed to advance to improve
  24.   Advance course
  25.   Progression
  26.   Progressive
  27.   To advance proceed
  28.   To move forward advance improve
  29.   A moving forward advancement
  30.   A moving or going forward advancement advance in knowledge proficiency passage a journey of state a circuit
  31.   To move forward to proceed to advance to make improvement
  32.   A moving or going forward advancement procession improvement either intellectual or moral proficiency passage from place to place
  33.   To move or go forward to proceed to make a circuit through to advance in any sense to make improvement

Quotes of progress

  1. I did help to set up an undergraduate course in medicinal chemistry and made progress in modelling and analysing pharmacological activity at the tissue level my new passion – James W. Black
  2. The Democrats need to remind people of where were in terms of our progress as markers against where we are and where we've fallen and how we've declined under Bush – Sidney Blumenthal
  3. I was taught that the way of progress was neither swift nor easy – Marie Curie
  4. Progress lies not in enhancing what is but in advancing toward what will be – Khalil Gibran
  5. Perhaps the best definition of progress would be the continuing efforts of men and women to narrow the gap between the convenience of the powers that be and the unwritten charter – Nadine Gordimer
  6. I've we have in this state like many other states we're experiencing an enormous budget deficit that we're trying to grapple with But we will have progress despite the deficits – Jennifer M. Granholm
  7. On what can we now place our hopes of solving the many riddles which still exist as to the origin and composition of cosmic rays It must be emphasized here above all that to attain really decisive progress greater funds must be made available – Victor Francis Hess
  8. Semantics or the study of meaning remained undeveloped while phonetics made rapid progress and even came to occupy the central place in the scientific study of language – Roman Jakobson
  9. Once serious political dialogue has begun the international community can assume that we have achieved genuine progress along the road to real democratisation – Daw Aung San Suu Kyi
  10. The year 1915 was one of meager results the advantages remaining on the side of the Central Powers with this understanding however The Allies were growing stronger because Great Britain was making rapid progress in marshaling her resources for war – Kelly Miller
  11. So while an incredible amount of progress has been made on this fifth anniversary I wanted to come here and tell the people of this city directly My administration is going to stand with you and fight alongside you until the job is done Until New Orleans is all the way back all the way – Barack Obama
  12. It appears that President Obama is making great progress on climate change he is changing the political climate in the country back to Republican – Timothy Pawlenty
  13. And our big theme has been you have made so much progress we urge you on with the openings and market openings that have occurred They clearly work and continuing on that path will produce further growth and further opportunities for the Indian people – John W. Snow
  14. In formal logic a contradiction is the signal of defeat but in the evolution of real knowledge it marks the first step in progress toward a victory – Alfred North Whitehead
  15. Had the Hebrews not been disturbed in their progress a thousand and more years ago they would have solved all the great problems of civilization which are being solved now under all the difficulties imposed by the spirit of the Middle Ages – Isaac Mayer Wise

Usage examples for progress

  1. Thus there is a progress in revelation – Love's Final Victory by Horatio
  2. The house would be perfectly quiet while the girls and the younger boys were away at school and as Everard really seemed to take the matter seriously he might be expected to make good progress – The Princess of the School by Angela Brazil
  3. The great law of human progress was not for him – History-of-the-Conquest-of-Peru-with-a-preliminary-view-of-the-civilization-of-the-Incas by Prescott, William Hickling
  4. “ He's come to inquire after Blenkinsopp major's health and progress – Philistia by Grant Allen
  5. But I'm for progress – The Heart of Canyon Pass by Thomas K. Holmes
  6. Second species in both parts means therefore that both parts progress in half notes – A Treatise on Simple Counterpoint in Forty Lessons by Friedrich J. Lehmann
  7. Their progress was therefore difficult and slow – Cruel As The Grave by Mrs. Emma D. E. N. Southworth
  8. The Colonel turned to a young officer standing a little distance away Lieutenant Osarov is it true that you recognised in this man when he was brought in here last night a person whom you saw in an English square during the progress of the battle – The Coming Conquest of England by August Niemann
  9. You're making excellent progress – Blake's Burden by Harold Bindloss
  10. You will if you are in earnest progress much more rapidly by this means and I wish to know when you would like to begin to work – The White Chief of the Caffres by A.W. Drayson
  11. How intolerable seemed the slow progress of the moments ” – Charlotte's Inheritance by M. E. Braddon
  12. “ For a time I had no progress to report – The Complete PG Edition of The Works of Winston Churchill by Winston Churchill
  13. Perhaps when I return from Paris you will permit me to come down again to report progress – My Strangest Case by Guy Boothby
  14. So you don't think we're making any progress nowadays – Thelma by Marie Corelli
  15. We however could not remain to watch the progress of the work – In the Wilds of Africa by W.H.G. Kingston
  16. But it was at least progress and once more he started – The White Desert by Courtney Ryley Cooper
  17. She watched his progress as he covered the last half mile on foot – The Settling of the Sage by Hal G. Evarts
  18. Now a few words about the progress of the war – The Boy Allies Under the Sea by Robert L. Drake
  19. It is heart breaking this progress – The Emancipated by George Gissing
  20. What progress has been made during these four years – The Geneva Protocol by David Hunter Miller

Rhymes for progress

Idioms for


Convivial Fridays: Rhum Clément

The air as I entered the tasting room (through the aisles, down this stair, find the man in the suit) tasted of spice and smelled of cellar. I was here for a tasting of Rhum Clément, with little idea what awaited me, which happened to be amber-colored magic in a plastic cup. Rhum Agricole, the finest rum in the world (some would say), from the steamy island of Martinique to the crisp bustle of Kansas City, Missouri.

My beverage expertise runs strongly toward coffee, so this was an educational, as well as sensory evening. Chris Morales, the Midwest rep for Rhum Clément (and a classy gent with a strong background in spirits), packed an incredible amount of information into 45 minutes. Before me were 8 samples, ranging from clear to a deep amber.

The classic Clément Première Canne, with a strong impression of grappa and almond bitters, is made from fresh-pressed sugarcane rhum-clement-maison-9959grown on the family plantation, Habitation Clément. A white rhum, it is aged for 6 months in stainless steel barrels. Terroir plays a big part in the development of these rhums, as with any agricultural product. Two of the rhums we tasted were identical, except one was made with cane from the north side of the island, which rests under the looming shadow of Mount Pele and has a heartier, earthier taste. The southern cane produced a simpler and less impactful rhum. Like springtime.

We progressed slowly through our samples, discussing the aging process and lingering over the concept of the “angel’s share”–in the high humidity and heat of Martinique, so much alcohol evaporates during the aging process that barrels of the same distillation year must be combined several times over the process, which produces an exceptionally rare liquor. Rhum Clément offers a classic 3.5 year aged rhum, as well as 6 and 10 years. I’m relatively new to spirits, and I could feel my palate opening and tentatively receiving impressions as time passed. I surprised myself by identifying pomegranates in the 10-year rhum, and quickly started finding creme brûlée, pecans, and a wide variety of spice and mellow fruit.

As you can see in this video, Rhum Clément is a richly evocative brand. Established by Homère Clément (who, incidentally, was the first person of color to graduate from the University of Paris) in 1887 during the peak of the Martinique sugarcane crisis, Rhum Agricole was an innovation that saved the entire island’s economy. Other rums are made from molasses (hello, Bacardi & your good enemy Captain Morgan!), while rhum is made directly from sugar cane. Here is a basic post on the difference. Based on his experience with French liquors like armagnac, Homère created a recipe which his descendants still create.

The result is countless evenings like this one, where palates of all ranges and humans from every background gather to sip in silence and sigh, appreciatively.

℅ Rhum Clément

Kansas City, Missouri / evening / @Gomer’s Midtown w/Rhum Clément

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The Impact of Global Financial Crisis on the United Kingdom Essays

2342 Words Apr 30th, 2012 10 Pages
The impact of global financial crisis on the United Kingdom

This report will examine the affects of the global financial crisis, which was a result of the collapse of the sub-prime mortgage market in the United States, on the UK economy. First of all, it will look at the background of the global financial crisis. Secondly, this paper will analyses why the UK economy has been influenced by the global financial crisis, what effects of the financial crisis on the United Kingdom have been, especially labour market. Lastly, brief conclusions will be drawn and a number of recommendations will be made.

* Outline
Financial crisis is a sharp deterioration of a group of financial indicators, such as business and financial
…show more content…
Thus, when interest rates rose in 2007, most of banks could not put cash back because more and more homeowners with mortgages were forced to default, and they also could not borrow money from wholesale market because others were involved in the same situation. Lastly, although Bob Bennett, the finance director, said ‘the credit crunch that was obviously coming should have led to more restrained [mortgage] volumes.’ in February 2007, managers of banks did not believe that rising interest rates would affect lending (Brummer, 2008, p.10).

Moreover, another reason is the changing of the UK economic structure. From 1945, significant sectors were run by the state, because the Labour Government stated that the economy must be centrally managed. However, it was a big challenge for the local government to run them efficiently because of a limited budget. In order to solve this problem, Conservative governments transferred some state industries to private sectors from 1979 to 1997. After that, the Labour Government also accepted privatization. Nowadays, there is a free market economy in the United Kingdom (Oakland, 2006). That means the UK government plays a neutral role in its administration and legislation of economic activity. It was so difficult for companies, especially for the private sector, to deal with the negative effects of the global financial crisis of 2007-2008. Furthermore, It is no wonder that the UK government should take…


Hyperparathyroidism: Symptoms, causes and treatment

  • Posted on- Aug 27, 2015

Hyperparathyroidism is a medical condition where overactivity of one or more of the body's four parathyroid glands leads to excess of parathyroid hormone in the bloodstream. The parathyroid glands are responsible for parathyroid hormone which maintains a proper balance of calcium in the bloodstream and in tissues that depend on calcium for proper functioning.

There are two types of hyperparathyroidism, primary and secondary. In primary hyperparathyroidism, an enlargement of one or more of the parathyroid glands leads to excess production of the hormone, resulting in increased levels of calcium in the blood, which can cause several health conditions. Secondary hyperparathyroidism occurs as a result of another disease that primarily causes low levels of calcium in the body.

Symptoms associated with Hyperparathyroidism

Hyperparathyroidism is usually diagnosed before any symptoms of the disorder are visible. When symptoms appear, they're the result of dysfunction in other organs or tissues because of high calcium levels in the blood and urine or very less calcium in bones.

Symptoms of hyperparathyroidism may be so gentle or severe that they don't seem at all related to parathyroid function. Some of the common symptoms include:

Causes of hyperparathyroidism

Hyperparathyroidism is the result of increase in production of parathyroid hormone. The disorder may occur because of a problem with the parathyroid glands themselves or because of an underlying medical condition that affects the glands' function.

Primary hyperparathyroidism
When there is a problem with one of the four parathyroid glands, it leads to primary hyperparathyroidism:
  • A benign growth on a gland is the most common cause
  • Enlargement of two or more parathyroid glands accounts for most other cases
  • A malignant tumor is an uncommon cause of primary hyperparathyroidism

Secondary hyperparathyroidism
Secondary hyperparathyroidism occurs due to another health condition that lessens calcium levels. Therefore, your parathyroid glands work overtime to compensate for the loss of calcium. Reasons behind secondary hyperparathyroidism include:
  • When your body is unable to absorb the calcium from your diet, it may lead to calcium deficiency.
  • Your body’s calcium levels may drop when you don’t get enough vitamin D because of less exposure to sunlight.
  • When your kidneys malfunction, they may not be able to use vitamin D properly. Hence, it leads to drop in calcium levels.

Available treatments for hyperparathyroidism

  • Surgery: Surgery is the most common form of treatment for primary hyperparathyroidism and has a high success rate. A surgeon will remove only those glands that have a tumor. If all four glands are affected, a surgeon will likely remove only three glands and a portion of the fourth, leaving some functioning parathyroid tissue.
  • Calcimimetic medicine: It is a drug that imitates calcium circulating in the blood. The drug prompts the parathyroid glands into releasing less parathyroid hormone. Some doctors prescribe Calcimimetics when surgery has given a negative response.
  • Hormone replacement therapy: For women who have signs of osteoporosis or who have undergone menopause, hormone replacement therapy is the perfect option. But this treatment doesn't address the main problem associated with the parathyroid glands.
  • Bisphosphonates: Bisphosphonates also prevent the loss of calcium from bones and may reduce osteoporosis caused by hyperparathyroidism.

It's important to get an accurate diagnosis and suitable treatment for hyperparathyroidism because if left unattended, it can lead to serious complications.


Edmondo Trentin

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The paper categorizes and reviews the state-of-the-art approaches to the partially supervised learning (PSL) task. Special emphasis is put on the fields of pattern recognition and clustering involving partially (or, weakly) labeled data sets. The major instances of PSL techniques are categorized into the following taxonomy: (i) active learning for training(More)
In spite of the advances accomplished throughout the last decades, automatic speech recognition (ASR) is still a challenging and di$cult task. In particular, recognition systems based on hidden Markov models (HMMs) are e!ective under many circumstances, but do su!er from some major limitations that limit applicability of ASR technology in real-world(More)
Acoustic modeling in state-of-the-art speech recognition systems usually relies on hidden Markov models (HMMs) with Gaussian emission densities. HMMs suffer from intrinsic limitations, mainly due to their arbitrary parametric assumption. Artificial neural networks (ANNs) appear to be a promising alternative in this respect, but they historically failed as a(More)
Estimation of probability density functions (pdf) is one major topic in pattern recognition. Parametric techniques rely on an arbitrary assumption on the form of the underlying, unknown distribution. Nonparametric techniques remove this assumption In particular, the Parzen Window (PW) relies on a combination of local window functions centered in the(More)
Real-world applications of pattern recognition, or machine learning algorithms, often present situations where the data are partly missing, corrupted by noise, or otherwise incomplete. In spite of that, developments in the machine learning community in the last decade have mostly focused on mathematical analysis of learning machines, making it difficult for(More)


Saturday, October 22, 2016

2016 books, #66-70

Cheer up, love: adventures in depression with the Crab of Hate, by Susan Calman. London: Two Roads, 2016.

This is a wonderful book.  It's often extremely funny, as you'd expect; but it's also extremely honest about living with depression, and some of the things Susan Calman has found help with her own depression; there's also a great section on the things to say, and not to say, at difficult times.  Calman looks at the impact of social media on mental health, at talking therapies, at people's attitudes to her being gay and depressed, at physical appearance...  It's all extremely engaging, and beautifully written, and (again) funny.  And obviously, there are cats. Highly recommended!

Out of bounds, by Val McDermid. London: Little, Brown, 2016.

A teenage joyrider crashes a stolen car, killing his three passengers and putting himself into a coma.  When his DNA is analysed to see whether he'd been involved in other car thefts, it seems to hold the key to the 20-year-old murder of a hairdresser killed on a night out. DCI Karen Pirie of the Cold Cases Unit is extremely keen to find the perpetrator of a crime which affected all the people involved so deeply, but it's not as straightforward as it seems; and Pirie also has enemies within Police Scotland who resent her involvement in the present-day crime and wish to stop her.  As the investigation goes on, some very powerful people are stirred up and Pirie's life is in danger.  As ever, this is brilliant.  (There's also an extremely accurate description of a Select Committee session in Portcullis House - Pete Wishart MP of the SNP is credited at the end for help with that one!)

The escape artist: life from the saddle, by Matt Seaton. London: Fourth Estate, 2002.

I had this recommended by the bibliography at the back of another cycling book; and it's a really interesting account of a keen amateur, almost-professional, cyclist in the 1990s, and the sacrifices people make to an obsession.  What I hadn't realised was that it's the Matt Seaton who's also the Family editor for The Guardian and widower of Ruth Picardie, whose heartbreaking Before I say goodbye... columns I read in the Observer in the 1990s.  So it's also a pretty poignant memoir; it balances the exhilaration of racing, and of feeling physically in completely top condition, with the guilt of not spending time doing more responsible, more social things.

The long way home, by Louise Penny. London: Sphere, 2014.

I finished The beautiful mystery, the previous book in the series, just before a meeting in Bloomsbury; and bought this on the way home.  Gamache and Reine-Marie are starting to enjoy a life in retirement in Three Pines, but there's one unresolved mystery - Peter Morrow hasn't returned to his wife Clara after their one-year trial separation, and while Clara is still undecided as to whether she really wants him back, she knows Peter wouldn't stay away if there wasn't something very wrong.  Gamache agrees to help find Peter, and it turns into a slightly bizarre road trip around Québec and Ontario. There's a lot about art and artists, and about losing one's way and trying to find it; and a surprising, heartbreaking conclusion.  Extremely good.

The critic: an Enzo MacLeod investigation, by Peter May. Kindle edition.

The second of the Enzo novels.  After solving one historic unsolved case, Enzo is again taking time out of his day job as a chemistry professor at Toulouse University to look at another case, this time in the vineyards of the Gers.  A prominent US wine critic went missing from the area a decade before, and no trace of him has been found, until his corpse appears displayed in a vineyard, seemingly having been pickled in wine all this time.  Enzo's enquiries aren't popular with everyone, though, and his motley crew of students, his daughters and their boyfriends prove both a help and a hindrance before the mystery is finally (slightly horrifyingly) solved.  This was a brilliant book to be reading in France last month.

2016 books, #61-65

Lanterne rouge: the last man in the Tour de France, by Max Leonard. London: Yellow Jersey Press, 2014.

This was a good year to read this book - the last man to finish on the Tour de France this year was the lovely Sam Bennett, who rode all but the first stage with stitches in his right hand and a clamp holding his little finger together.  Sometimes a bit of a joke, sometimes, like this year, a badge of honour and survival, the people who've "won" the lanterne rouge are a fascinating bunch.  Leonard picks a dozen from all eras of the tour, and looks both at the Tour they rode that year and the rest of their careers; and in doing so sheds light on this fascinating "honour".  Sam Bennett joked that as more riders finished the Tour than in any previous year this July, he was "the last of the last".  This book shows he's in extraordinarily good company.

Telesa: the covenant keeper, by Lani Wendt Young. Kindle edition.

This was a book group book, a YA novel. 18 year old Leila's father dies, leaving her with only her autocratic grandmother; rather than spend her summer at an academic camp, she travels to Samoa to try and find out more about the mother who died when she was a baby.  Far from being overjoyed, her mother's family are anxious and fearful at first.  Leila settles in well at school and makes friends for the first time, but strange things are happening to her physically, and she's also awakening sexually.  There's some fascinating stuff about Samoan traditions and superstitions here, and I think if I was a teenager I'd love these; as it was, reading about the perfectly-sculpted bodies of teenage boys made me feel uncomfortably like some middle-aged voyeuse.

How the light gets in, by Louise Penny. New York: Minotaur, 2013.

This is a stunning book.  I like this series in general; but it's rare that a book manages to totally transcend its series, and this is one of those rare times.  The title comes from Leonard Cohen's Anthem; Ring the bells that still can ring / Forget your perfect offering / There is a crack in everything / That's how the light gets in. After the events of Beautiful mystery, Gamache and Beauvoir are estranged, the Homicide unit of the Sécurité du Québec has been decimated by malevolent high-ups, and Gamache himself feels defeated.  And in the middle of all this, Gamache has a call from Three Pines - Myrna's Christmas guest never arrived, and subsequently is found dead in her apartment in Québec City.  Her secret is that she was one of a set of quintuplets who were astonishingly famous as children.  But as Gamache looks into the crime, he's also being watched... There is so much despair, beauty and hope in this book.  It's worth reading the entire series just to get to it.

The murder road, by Stephen Booth [audiobook]. Read by Mike Rogers. Oxford: Isis, 2015.

There's only one road out of the village of Shawhead; and now that road is blocked by a lorry which has got stuck under the bridge.  There's no sign of the driver, but the cab is bloodstained.  Ben Cooper starts to investigate, but the villagers of Shawhead are a strange lot, and his investigation isn't the only thing on his mind, as he drives back and forth to Nottingham to visit Diane Fry.  Another extremely good book in this series, and I love Mike Rogers's Derbyshire voice.

Dirty work, by Gabriel Weston. London: Jonathan Cape, 2013.

The book starts with a disastrous surgical operation; and moves on to the disciplinary hearing before the British Medical Association.  A young female doctor is charged with gross misconduct.  We hear the entire process through her point of view, and the book's divided into four sections, one for each week of the hearings.  We find out about her, about the events around the operation, about her family background and how she became a doctor; and as we move through, it becomes steadily more disturbing.  This is definitely not one for the squeamish, either physically or morally; it's one which will stick in my brain for a long time.  Weston is a doctor and writer, and recently presented a BBC series on the history of forensics, which led me to this book.


Reviewed by Garret Rose

The Rafters weaves an intricate, but confusing series of characters, storylines, and subplots that don’t add up to a pleasing conclusion.

The first of the Somnambulist Saga begins with choppy dialogue that reeks of the type of discussions that one would hear in a misogynistic, high school locker room. As the story becomes more involved with the plot, the dialogue becomes more sporadic, profane, and annoying. While the story is visually stunning and weaves an intricate amount of threads, characters, and even plots, this complex world gives the feel of a newly-released scenario video game. While this novel falls short on quality, there is enough room for improvement in the following books of the Somnambulist saga.

Rhyus Delmar is a young Calling who, due to memory loss, finds himself running ever further from his Messenger in a vain attempt to discover his true identity. Every chapter brings with it new revelations, and often new questions. As he seeks to find his memory with help from Venn, a reluctant, but ultimately compassionate character, Rhyus sets out on an adventure that offers the reader a new and exciting world for the fantasy epic lover. As the novel nears the end, many questions are answered, but many questions remain open for answering in the following books to come.

Montgomery adds an unnecessary dose of banter throughout the story, which only serves to slow down the action. The characters wear biker jackets, sport lip rings, eyebrow barbells, magic tattoos, and use adolescent lingo. This seems intended to appeal to a younger audience. This is ultimately the undoing for the first book of the series. Hopefully the maturity of the dialogue will increase without sounding too dramatically different from the opening novel of the saga.

The Rafters is a great read for those who are interested in the fantasy genre, but only for those interested in the fantasy genre.

Rating: 2/5

Garret loves literature! He is creating the Vernal Journal for his students as well as anyone else that is interested in literature – be it fiction, non-fiction, poetry, drama, or even miscellaneous! Garret’s goal is to share, review and make connections to the world and each other.

Review copy was provided free of any obligation by Intrasomnium Publishing. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.


A BRIEF BIOGRAPHY

    William Gerald Golding was born in Cornwall in 1911. His family was progressive and it was the first source of influence for Golding's talent. He studied physics and English literature at Marlboro and Oxford University of England. From the first years of his life, he faced the atrocities of war. He also took part in the Second World War by joining the British Navy at 1940.

The war, as a physical result, changed a lot W.Golding's view of life. W.Golding couldn't believe in man's innocence any longer. He found that even the children are not innocent. No one is innocent until the society and the way of his life make him to pretend that he's innocent. But sometimes, when a man is facing a difficult situation (as an example, a surviving need) then he will propably show his other nature, the dark and guilty nature.

After the war (1945-1962), he worked as a teacher in Salisbury. These years he started to act as a writer. He published the books "Lord of the Flies" (1954), "The Inheritors" (1955), "Pincher Martin" (1956) and "Free Fall" (1959).

The ideas of W.Golding's view of human nature can be found in almost any of Golding's books. Particularly, in his first and most famous book, "Lord of the flies". This book finally published in 1954 and it didn't become a success at once. Today, it's considered one of the best books of English literature. It also became a film with great success.

William Golding was awarded with the BOOKER Mc CONNEL Prize, the greatest British Literature Prize. Finally in 1983, he was awarded with the NOBEL Prize for his whole offer to Worldwide Literature.

William Golding has also teached in Greece (in 60's). He always loved Greek literature, and many of his books show clearly his Greek influence. His last book, "The double tongue" (1993), was a novel about Ancient Greece and most specific about Pythia's life. Pythia was the name which used to be given to the Greek Priestess of Delphi oracle. W.Golding tried to describe a woman's life (he tried this before, when he was writing his novel "Darkness Visible" (1979) who lived in the years of Roman Empire and she happened to be priestess in the last years of the oracle decay. Unfortunately, this book never been finished. William Golding, died in Wiltshire, England in 1993. W.Golding's last book, finally published in 1995, but even it's just a rough draft, it affords to be a great novel.

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© Juan Javier Herraiz Pujante
 Juan Javier Herraiz Pujante
                                                  E- Mail: juanhepu@alumni.uv.es


Jakarta History

The Jakarta area was part of the fourth century Indianized kingdom of Tarumanagara. Following the decline of Tarumanagara declined, its territories, including the Jakarta area, became part of the Kingdom of Sunda. The harbour area became known as Sunda Kelapa and by the fourteenth century, it was a major trading port for the kingdom. The first European fleet, four Portuguese ships from Malacca, arrived in 1513 when the Portuguese were looking for a route for spices.

The Kingdom of Sunda made a peace agreement with Portugal by allowing the Portuguese to build a port in 1522 in order to defend against the rising power of the Sultanate of Demak from central Java. In 1527, Fatahillah, a Sumatran Malay warrior from Demak attacked and conquered Sunda Kelapa in 1527 driving out the Portuguese. Sunda Kelapa was renamed Jayakarta, and became a fiefdom of the Sultanate of Banten which became a major Southeast Asia trading center.
The Castle of Batavia, seen from West Kali Besar by Andries Beeckman circa 1656-58

Through the relationship with Prince Jayawikarta from the Sultanate of Banten, Dutch ships arrived in Jayakarta in 1596. In 1602, the British East India Company's first voyage, commanded by Sir James Lancaster, arrived in Aceh and sailed on to Banten where they were allowed to build a trading post. This site became the center of British trade in Indonesia until 1682.


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Apps for Teachers in School

If you are a lucky teacher who owns (or is provided by your school) an iPod Touch, iPad, or even iPhone, then this is the blog post for you.  I have written several posts about apps that would be great for students to use in the classroom, but now I’m going to turn the tables and provide you with a list of apps that would be great for teachers to use in the classroom.

Percentally is a low-cost app to keep track of tally marks.  This app would be very helpful in many different classroom scenarios.  It could be used to keep track of student participation, the number of times a student is redirected in class, or even to mark down the number of questions the student received correct on a verbal or written assignment.  The tally marks can are automatically converted into percentage points through the use of the dual mode.  This would be great to keep track of the number of answers correct, for example 5 out of 8 answers correct.  In the single mode you only track one tally, for example 3 warnings.  The tally mark information can then be quickly transferred to a Google Spreadsheet or manually entered into a gradebook or anecdotal notes on a student.  Here is a video demo of this app in action.

iReward is a low-cost app that is an electronic behavior modification chart.  With this app you can setup a student in the program and then create the behavior you would like the child to achieve along with the reward they will earn.  You then choose how many times the behavior must be displayed for the student to earn the reward.  You can add a picture to the reward chart to encourage the student to earn the reward, for example a picture of the correct behavior.  You can take a picture and load it, or use a picture that you already have.

After the chart is set up, all you have to do is tap the star to indicate that the behavior has been displayed and it changes color from white to gold.  When all of the stars are filled in, they will all turn red.  A video of congratulations (or other reward videos) can be applied for when the student has achieved the award.

There are many modifications you can make to this reward system.  You can also select the stars to revert them back to white if a student has displayed the incorrect behavior.  To reset the stars, you just double tap to remove the colored filling.  If a student has achieved the goal of the behavior modification, you can delete the option by swiping across the row of a reward and then select delete.  To prevent unwanted changes you can also password protect the rewards under the settings mode.  After editing the reward, you relock it by shaking your electronic device.  Here is a video demo of iReward.

Remember the Milk

Remember the Milk is a free organizational checklist app.  I know as a teacher that there are so many different tasks to do in each day of the school week.  This app can help to manage the different tasks that you need to get done.  Items could include parent meetings, staff meetings, student conferences, when to make copies, what lessons you need to plan for, items you may need to pick up at the store for your classes, or even activities or lessons for the day.  These lists can be shared with other programs like a Google Calendar, Outlook, or Twitter.  Alerts can be set to remind you though your smart phone, email, text messages, or instant messages.  Tasks can be tagged by applying keywords or even locations on a Google Map.  There are many options you can apply including choosing a title for your task, a date, time, and if it repeats.  Tasks can be marked as incomplete or complete.  Tasks can be scheduled in advance or for the current day.

I also found a great resource that has a variety of apps that are subject area related.  There are apps for science, math, language arts, and social studies teachers.  Do you have any favorite apps that you use for teaching?

Article By Laura Ketcham

Picture By mortsan

Free Teacher Resources | Special Education by MangoMon by MangoMon

© 2016 Smart Tutor LLC. All Rights Reserved.


Winston Churchill

Mini biography

Born on 30 November 1874 at Blenhiem Palace in Oxfordshire, England, into an aristocratic family. His father is a politician for the Conservative Party, his mother an American heiress. Churchill receives his schooling at Harrow then is admitted to the Royal Military College at Sandhurst, where he studies to become an officer.

1895 - Churchill is commissioned as a second lieutenant in the 4th Hussar Regiment in February but soon obtains leave to cover the Cuban war for independence as a reporter for the 'London Daily Graphic'.

1896-98 - He serves as a cavalry officer and journalist on the North-West Frontier in India and on Lord Kitchener's Nile expedition. His dispatches attract wide attention, launching his literary career.

1899 - He resigns his commission and is assigned to cover the Boer War in South Africa for the 'London Morning Post'. He becomes a celebrity when he is captured by the Boer during a reconnaissance mission into their territory then five weeks later manages to escape from a prison in Pretoria.

1900 - Churchill is elected to the British Parliament as the Conservative Party candidate for the seat of Oldham in Greater Manchester. During his term he advocates for a fair, negotiated peace with the Boer.

1904 - Disenchanted with a push by the Conservatives to introduce a tariff on imports, Churchill, a committed free trader, joins the Liberal Party.

1906-1911 - The Liberals win the general election of 1906, with Churchill taking the seat of Manchester North West for the party. He is appointed as undersecretary of state for the colonies before being promoted to president of the Board of Trade (1908-1910), a position that gives him a seat in the Cabinet.

At the Board of Trade Churchill continues a program of social reform begun by his predecessor, Lloyd George, introducing an eight-hour working day for miners, setting up boards to fix minimum wages, and establishing state-run labour exchanges.

In 1908 Churchill marries Clementine Hozier.

Churchill is a key figure in a successful campaign to curb the power of the House of Lords after it rejects the Liberal Party's budget of 1909. In February 1910 he is promoted to home secretary. Here his often controversial handling of industrial disputes damages his reputation among the organised labour movement.

Churchill is appointed lord of the admiralty in October 1911. He oversees an ambitious program to prepare the fleet for a brewing war with Germany.

On 2 August Churchill orders the mobilisation of the navy. Germany declares war on France the following day. Britain joins the conflict on the side of the French and declares war on Germany on 14 August. The First World War has begun. It will last for four years as fighting on the Western Front bogs down into grim trench warfare.

Churchill takes a hands-on approach to the war, travelling to Antwerp in Belgium in October to personally organise the city's defence. Though the city soon falls, he is able to buy enough time to ensure the orderly evacuation of the forces there.

1915 - Churchill pushes a plan to seize Istanbul, the capital of Turkey, by forcing a fleet through the Dardanelles Strait then sailing across the Sea of Marmara to launch a naval attack on Istanbul, which lies on the sea's northeastern shore. Turkey is a German ally. Seizing the capital could take the country out of the war and open a route to Russia.

British and French battleships enter the Dardanelles Strait on 18 March but are forced to withdraw when three ships are sunk by mines and three others are damaged. The naval attack is abandoned in favour of an even more disastrous ground assault.

On 25 April the Allied forces land at Gallipoli in an attempt to seize Turkish positions on the peninsula that forms the eastern boundary of the Dardanelles Strait. The Gallipoli campaign, which includes troops from the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (the ANZACs), results in the deaths of about 48,000 men for no effective gain. It is abandoned in the autumn.

Churchill's support for the Dardanelles strategy and for the failed defence of Antwerp results in his demotion to the minor office of chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.

He resigns from the government in November and rejoins the army, seeing active service on the Western Front in France as lieutenant-colonel of the 6th Royal Scots Fusiliers.

1916 - Churchill returns to parliament in June, sitting as an independent.

1917 - In July he is appointed minister of munitions in Lloyd George's coalition government.

1918 - The First World War ends on 11 November. In January 1919 Churchill is appointed state secretary of war and air. He has initial success in securing British support for a war against the new Bolshevik Government in Russia but others in parliament are reluctant to continue the involvement and the support is eventually withdrawn.

1921 - Churchill is made colonial secretary. While in this post he produces a white paper confirming Britain's commitment to the Balfour Declaration. The declaration supports "the establishment in Palestine of a National Home for the Jewish People" on the proviso that "nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine".

He oversees the establishment of Arab monarchies in Iraq and Jordan and is involved in the negotiations that lead to the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty.

1922 - Churchill loses his seat in parliament at the general election and returns to writing. The following year he resigns from the Liberal Party.

1924 - In November he is reelected to parliament as an independent but is nevertheless offered the post of chancellor of the exchequer by the Conservative Party government. His decision to reintroduce the gold standard results in an economic disaster that leads to the general strike of 1926.

1929 - Churchill loses the office of chancellor of the exchequer when the Conservatives are defeated at the general election. He is not reappointed to Cabinet when a National (coalition) government is formed in 1931.

While on the outer his attention once again turns to writing, but he is also concerned by the growing danger posed by the rise of Adolf Hitler's Nazi Party in Germany. Over the next 10 years he argues in and out of parliament that the threat should be taken seriously and that appeasement of Hitler is not a long-term solution.

He also campaigns against the granting of limited home rule to India under the Government of India Act.

1938 - On 29 September Britain, France, Germany and Italy sign the Munich Agreement ceding the Sudetenland, the German-speaking area in the north of Czechoslovakia, to Germany in return for an assurance of no further territorial expansion.

Churchill calls the agreement "a total and unmitigated defeat".

"This is only the beginning of the reckoning," he tells parliament on 5 October. "This is only the first sip, the first foretaste of a bitter cup which will be proffered to us year by year unless by a supreme recovery of moral health and martial vigour, we arise again and take our stand for freedom as in the olden time."

1939 - German troops invade Poland on 1 September. Britain declares war on Germany on 3 September. On the same day, Churchill is appointed to his old post as lord of the admiralty.

1940 - On 10 May Churchill is appointed prime minister of a coalition war government. He also takes charge of the Ministry of Defence and the leadership of the House of Commons.

He faces the house for the first time as prime minister on 13 May. "I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat," he says.

"We have before us an ordeal of the most grievous kind. We have before us many, many long months of struggle and of suffering. You ask, what is our policy? I can say: It is to wage war by land, sea and air, with all our might and with all the strength God has given us; to wage war against a monstrous tyranny, never surpassed in the dark, and lamentable catalogue of human crime. That is our policy. You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word: It is victory, victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory, however long and hard the road may be; for without victory there is no survival." Full copy of the speech.

On 4 June, following the evacuation of 340,000 Allied troops from Dunkirk on the north coast of France, Churchill again addresses the parliament.

Beginning on 10 July, the Battle of Britain rages in the skies as the Royal Air Force (RAF) desperately combats wave after wave of aerial attacks and bombing raids by the Luftwaffe while launching counteroffensive bombing missions into Germany.

Though outnumbered by four to one the RAF is able to inflict enough damage to the German forces to cause Hitler to suspend Operation Sealion, the proposed invasion of Britain by sea. By the end of September the Battle of Britain is effectively over. Germany has suffered its first major setback of the war. About 14,000 British civilians have died in the German raids.

Churchill is named 'Time' magazine's person of the year for 1940. "He gave his countrymen exactly what he promised them - blood, toil, tears, sweat - and one thing more: untold courage," the magazine states.

"It was the last that counted, not only in Britain but in democracies throughout the world ... On his behaviour hung the shape of the future. His civilised toughness, his balanced courage and his simple pride altered the course of history in 1940."

1941 - When Germany invades the Soviet Union on 22 June Churchill states that "the Russian danger ... is our danger" and pledges to aid the Russian people. He also begins planning a "grand alliance" between Britain, the United States and the Soviets.

On 14 August Churchill and US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt issue the Atlantic Charter, a joint statement setting out eight "common principles ... for a better future for the world". The charter includes commitments to national sovereignty, democratic government, free trade, improved labour, economic and social standards, freedom of movement, world peace, and the abandonment of the use of force.

After the Japanese attack the US Navy at Pearl Harbour in Hawaii on 7 December the US enters the war. Germany and Italy declare war on the US on 11 December.

Churchill travels to Washington DC to negotiate an Anglo-American accord on the conduct of the war with President Roosevelt, who also embraces Churchill's plan for a "grand alliance". The two leaders agree that their primary aim should be the defeat of Germany and that countering Japan should be a US responsibility.

1942 - In The Declaration of the United Nations of 1 January the Allies agree not to make a separate peace with the enemy and pledge themselves to the formation of a peacekeeping organisation (the United Nations) on victory. An accord between the British and the Soviets is accepted in May. The "grand alliance" to fight fascism is now a reality.

The military turning point of the war in Europe comes when the German Sixth Army is defeated at Stalingrad (now Volgograd) in the winter of 1942-43. Though the German forces laying siege to the city are encircled and trapped by a Soviet counteroffensive, Hitler refuses to allow them to attempt an escape. They surrender on 2 February 1943.

In the skies over Germany the Allied air forces intensify their bombing raids. During February, March and April of 1945 two thirds of the entire bomb tonnage used during the war is dropped on Germany. The strategy of indiscriminate carpet and fire bombing, which is endorsed by Churchill, kills an estimated 600,000 civilians, including about 75,000 children.

"The question of bombing German cities simply for the sake of increasing the terror ... should be reviewed," Churchill writes to the chief of the air staff six weeks after Dresden. "Otherwise we shall come into control of an utterly ruined land. ... The destruction of Dresden remains a serious query against the conduct of Allied bombing. ... The foreign secretary has spoken to me on the subject, and I feel the need for more precise concentration upon military objectives ... rather than on mere acts of terror and wanton destruction, however impressive."

1943 - Churchill and Roosevelt hold the Casablanca Conference on 14 January, declaring they will except nothing short of unconditional surrender from any of the Axis powers.

From 28 November to 1 December Churchill meets with Roosevelt and Soviet leader Joseph Stalin in Tehran, the capital of Iran. The three leaders discuss the details of their joint campaign against Hitler and reaffirm their policy of accepting nothing less than an unconditional surrender from Germany.

By the end of year the Soviets have broken through the German siege of Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg) and recaptured much of the Ukrainian Republic. By the end of 1944 the front has moved into Eastern Europe.

Meanwhile in India the independence movement gains pace after Britain unilaterally declares India's participation in the war on the side of the Allies. Churchill rejects the movement's offer of military support in return for independence and jails its leaders. Thousands of the movement's supporters are also jailed.

When a famine breaks out in Bengal in 1943 Churchill does little to provide food relief. Between one and two million Bengalis subsequently starve to death.

1945 - From 4 February to 11 February Churchill again meets with Roosevelt and Stalin. The conference, held near Yalta in the Crimea, reaffirms the commitment of the Allies to the destruction of German militarism and Nazism.

It is agreed that a conquered Germany will be divided into three zones of military occupation. Soviet forces will remain in Eastern Europe until free elections are held and the people are allowed to choose the form of government under which they will live. A conference will be held in San Francisco in April to prepare the charter for the United Nations (UN).

However, despite the positive outcome, Churchill comes away from the conference with misgivings about Stalin's ambitions in Europe. His doubts are well-founded. While the UN is established, Stalin fails to allow free and fair elections in the Eastern European countries the Soviets occupy after the war.

Churchill announces the German surrender on 8 May.

Despite leading Britain to victory, Churchill loses office when his Conservative Party is defeated by the Labour Party in the general election held in July. He continues on in parliament as leader of the opposition and begins writing a six-volume history of the Second World War.

Over 46 million Europeans have died as a result of the war. The war has also claimed over 13 million people from other lands.

1946 - On 5 March Churchill delivers a speech at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, calling on the UN to stand firm against the spread of communism in Eastern Europe. The speech marks the beginning of the Cold War and provides the lexicon for future Western criticism of the Soviet Union.

"From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the continent," Churchill says.

"(Peace) can only be achieved by reaching now, in 1946, a good understanding on all points with Russia under the general authority of the United Nations Organisation and by the maintenance of that good understanding through many peaceful years, by the world instrument, supported by the whole strength of the English-speaking world and all its connections. There is the solution which I respectfully offer to you in this address to which I have given the title 'The Sinews of Peace'." Full copy of the speech.

1949 - Churchill is again named 'Time' magazine's person of the year. "Starting with superb confidence, the 20th Century plunged vigorously forward from ambush to ambush," the magazine states.

"Shock after shock threw civilisation into confusion. As the 20th Century plunged on, long-familiar bearings were lost in the mists of change. Some of the age's great leaders called for more and more speed ahead; some tried to reverse the course. Winston Churchill had a different function: his chief contribution was to warn of rocks ahead, and to lead the rescue parties. He was not the man who designed the ship; what he did was to launch the lifeboats. That a free world survived in 1950, with a hope of more progress and less calamity, was due in large measure to his exertions."

1951 - In October Churchill leads the Conservative Party back into office and is elected prime minister for the second time.

Meanwhile in Iran the administration of Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh legislates to nationalise the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (AIOC), which is majority-owned by the British Government.

Britain responds to the nationalisation by placing a worldwide embargo on the purchase of Iranian oil and pressuring its allies to do the same. In September Britain freezes Iran's sterling assets and bans export of goods to Iran.

1952 - With negotiations over the nationalisation of the AIOC in Iran at an impasse, Britain starts to plan a coup d'état to topple Mossadegh and urges the US to join in the operation, which is code-named TPAJAX, or Operation Ajax. The coup plan has the full backing of Churchill, although the outgoing administration of US President Harry S. Truman is reluctant to become involved.

1953 - On 27 June Churchill suffers a stroke that causes partial paralysis but from which he quickly recovers.

Final approval for Britain's participation in the plan to oust Mossadegh is granted on 1 July. Incoming US President Dwight D. Eisenhower approves the joint British-US operation on 11 July. The plan has four elements. First a campaign to undermine Mossadegh's popularity and raise the spectre of a communist takeover of the government. Second, Mossadegh's dismissal. Third, street riots. Fourth, the emergence of a new prime minister who has been hand-picked by Britain and the US.

The coup begins on 15 August. By 19 August Mossadegh and his government have fallen.

Under an agreement reached between the new Iranian government and a consortium of eight foreign oil companies, industry control of oil production in Iran is restored.

Meanwhile, Churchill is knighted and wins the Nobel Prize for Literature.

1954 - Churchill is acclaimed by Queen Elizabeth II and the British Parliament as "the greatest living Briton".

1955 - Ill health forces him to resign as prime minister on 5 April but he remains in parliament as "father of the house" and writes another major historical work, 'A History of the English-speaking Peoples'. Before stepping down as prime minister he authorises the manufacture of a British hydrogen bomb.

1963 - On 9 April the US Congress grants him honorary American citizenship.

1964 - He formally retires from politics in July.

1965 - Churchill dies from a stroke in London on 24 January. His state funeral is held on 30 January. He is buried beside his mother at the family grave in Bladon churchyard, Oxfordshire.

2004 - On 30 November Churchill is given a place of honour in St Paul's Cathedral in London. A specially commissioned memorial screen stretching across the mausoleum of supreme military distinction in the cathedral's crypt is dedicated to Churchill, placing him in the same rank as two other celebrated British wartime heroes - Vice Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson and Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington.

We all owe 'Winnie' and the Brits in general a great debt of gratitude. When the fascist forces led by Germany's Adolf Hitler threatened to overrun all of Europe in the early days of World War Two it was Britain under Churchill's leadership that formed a last outpost. Soviet resistance in the east and Allied offensives in the west eventually defeated the fascists, but the outcome could have been horribly different if Churchill and Britain had not grasped for their "finest hour" during the closing months of 1940. We could have all ended up living in a far less tolerant and far more frightening world.

That said, we should not forget the dark side of Churchill's legacy - the regressive industrial relations policies; the opposition to Indian home rule; the carpet bombing of German cities during the Second World War that killed tens of thousands of innocents; the coup in Iran that ousted a popular leader and helped to poison future relations between the Islamic world and the West; and the contribution to the nuclear arms race.


Chongyang Bai

Ph.D. at Dartmouth College

Machine learning and Cybersecurity

I am a first-year Ph.D, under supervision of Prof. V.S. Subrahmanian. From 2016 to 2017, I worked in Oppen Future as a Graphics Algorithm Engineer. From 2015-2016, I studied Geometry Modeling in Microsoft Research Asia for a year, under supervision of Dr. Yang Liu. I received my B.S.(2016) in Computational Mathematics and B.E.(2014-2016) in Computer Science from Univ of Sci & Tec of China.

Sudikoff 157, Dartmouth College

Efficient Volumetric PolyCube-Map Construction

Xiaoming Fu , Chongyang Bai , and Yang Liu

Project Page

Word Reciting Module of Microsoft Bing Dictionary UWP(V2.0.0)

Chongyang Bai , Renqian Luo , Wei Zhang , Liyuan Liu , and Shuo Ren
Microsoft Store, 2016

In word reciting module of this app, we substitute the discrete choice between 'known' and 'unknown' for a continue metric of familiarity of a word(calculated by the time of recall), algorithm 'MemReflex' is employed to compute the reminder time of next word review. Based on the concept, we design a refreshing and friendly user interaction: when the user presses a button, a word is shown and clocking starts, when the user remembers the word and releases the button, the clocking ends. Our app has the following features: i.adapted in mobile, tablet and PC ii.add/remove user dictionary list iii.recting both user-created and system dictionary iv.night mode v.tag easy/hard words conveniently vi.repeal wrong operation vii.user teaching mode.

Download, Video (YouTube), Algorithm: MemReflex

Generalized PolyQuad Aided Planar Quadrilateral Mesh Generation

Chongyang Bai and Yang Liu (advisor)
Dissertation for Bachelor's Degree, 2016

Recently, various planar quadrilateral mesh generation methods are either not fully automatic and robust enough, or will produce too many singularities for complex and irregular planar domains. To solve this problem, our idea is simplifying the boundary of input triangle mesh first, i.e. deforming it to a generalized PolyQuad, and computing an inversion-free mapping between them at the same time, then using existed algorithms to generate a quadrilateral mesh of good quality, finally mapping the mesh back to the initial domain. In addition, an advanced mesh optimization algorithm is employed to improve mesh quality after the topology is determined. A medial axis based geometry decomposition method is used to prove our algorithm, which generates singularity controllable planar quadrilateral meshes efficiently and robustly.

PDF (Chinese version), Video (YouTube)