Class Descriptions

Barre Strength/Express|This class integrates fat-burning interval training with muscle-sculpting isometric exercises to systematically lengthen and sculpt your muscles to create a lean and beautiful body. Utilizing your own body weight, small hand weights and other simple props, your muscles are targeted to the point of fatigue and then immediately stretched for relief. This non-impact workout targets all muscle groups and improves core strength and posture. Class is conducted in bare feet or grippy socks – no sneakers. Please bring a mat to class, all other equipment will be provided.

Barre Bootcamp|  Train, shape and strengthen with our Barre Boot Camp!  Expect the strengthening and toning of a barre class paired with more intense cardio segments. This class will have you moving quickly and sweating profusely while listening to great music! Your heart will thank you for the cardio and your body will thank you for a fabulous physique!

Beginner/Intro Yoga|  A gentle beginner class that will help you familiarize yourself with the yoga postures and structure of class. Suitable for anyone who has never taken a yoga class, or a student looking for a gentle and restorative yoga experience.

Buddhi Shake Dance Fusion| Buddhi Shake Dance Fusion is a dance party! This fitness dance class is designed to burn calories through movement and nonstop music! This Latin, hip hop-inspired class will incorporate many different dance styles as well as music and fitness in an easy to follow, accessible and welcoming environment. You don’t have to be a dancer to enjoy this dance party!  Please remember to bring/wear your sneakers to class!

Conscious yoga| This class will offer you the opportunity to explore space in your body and your mind. By bringing consciousness to your breath, your movement, and your thoughts, you will learn to explore possibility, drop expectations and limitations, and harness the power of your mind. Each class will build heat with a Baptiste-based flow designed to prepare you for the focus of the class. Each month we will intentionally bring awareness to something different.

Foam Roller Myofacial Release|  In this class, you will learn how to perform self-myofascial release of trigger points in the muscles. Trigger points are sore spots that form within muscles or tendons. Foam rolling is a way of massaging away muscle soreness in these trigger points, and preparing your muscles for deeper stretching.  Enjoy this class pre/post-workout or as a way to help start your day and begin moving more efficiently.

Gentle Yoga| A Hatha Yoga class for all body types including accessible yoga poses with and without a chair to develop and maintain strength, balance, flexibility, and bone density. Class includes relaxation techniques, breathing and meditation practices which calm the nervous system and maintain brain function such as memory and cognitive functions.

Hatha Yoga| This is a slow, gentle and meditative approach to yoga. Plenty of instruction and details will be given as well as modifications. This is a great class for beginners and those who prefer a less rigorous yoga class.

Pilates| Transform your Body with Pilates, the perfect compliment to your Yoga Practice.   This dynamic workout is designed to challenge students of all levels. Incorporates small props such as foam rollers and flex bands to add interest while maintaining the integrity of the STOTT method. Classes will focus on strengthening core, lengthening and toning, restoring balance and improving posture.

PiYo|PiYo is an all-over body work out that combines the muscle-sculpting, core-firming benefits of Pilates with the strength and flexibility advantages of yoga. Moving through many body-weight movements, PiYo will strengthen your body from head to toe and improve your cardio fitness.  It will also increase and refine your flexibility and balance. PiYo  moves can be modified for all fitness levels so it is a great workout for everyone!

Vinyasa Yoga| In Vinyasa Yoga the movement and breath are linked together to create a rhythm and flow. Each posture builds from one to the next with the pace of the breathe. This synchronized flow of movement creates balance, flexibility, strength, and endurance. You will leave class feeling balanced and energized physically as well as mentally.

Power Vinyasa Yoga| A more vigorous and challenging Vinyasa class, fast paced and sweat-inducing.

Yoga Nidra| is a yoga practice where the instructor leads a guided relaxation/meditation while the students rest in savasana. You will be guided through a conscious physical, mental and emotional relaxation. All that is required is to lie down and listen. It is a systematic method of complete relaxation and peace, not only for the physical body, but also for the deeper emotional and mental systems.  Yoga Nidra will bring you to a place of deep calm, quiet and clarity by releasing tension and stress and allowing you to live fully.


December 22, 2015
December 22, 2015
Carl Froch

Action Images/Andrew Couldridge

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5. Arthur Abraham

Abraham is known for his strength and accompanies it with a strong chin. When Abraham has failed to get into gear, for instance in fightsagainst Andre Dirrell and Andre Ward, he allowed them to land at will throughout but still wasn’t phased. Arthur Abraham also has a solid text book guard, making it difficult for even accurate punchers to land flush.


The Lessor Gods

Demeter is the godess of corn, grain, and the harvest. She is the daughter of
Cronus and Rhea. It is Demeter that makes the crops grow each year. The first loaf of bread from the harvest is scarificed to her.

Demeter is intimately associated with the seasons. Her daughter Persephone was abducted by Hades to be his wife in the underworld. In her anger at her daughter's loss Demeter laid a curse on the world that caused plants to wither and die, the land became desolate. Zeus became alarmed and sought Persephone's return. However, because she had eaten while in the underworld Hades had a claim on her. Therefore, it was decreed that Persephone would spend four months each year in the underwold. During these months Demeter greves her daughters absence, and withdraws her gifts from the world, creating winter. Her return brought the spring.

Demeter is also known for founding the Eleusinian Mysteries. These were huge festivels held every five years. They were importaint events for many centuries. Yet, little is known of them as those attending were sworn to secrecy. The central tenant seems to have been that just as grain returns every spring after its harvest and wintery death, so too the human soul could be reborn after the death of the body.

Persephone is the daughter of Zeus and Demeter. After her abduction by Hades she became his wife and Queen of the underworld.

Dionysus wandered the world actively encouraging his cult. He was accompanied by the Maenads, wild women, flush with wine, shoulders draped with a fawn skin, carrying rods tipped with pine cones. While other gods had templaces the followers of Dionysus worshipped him in the woods. Here they might go into mad states where they would rip apart and eat raw any animal they came upon.

The festivel for Dionysus is in the spring when the leaves begin to reapper on the vine. It became one of the most important events of the year. It's focus became the theater. Most of the great greek plays were initially written to be performed at the feast of Dionysus. All who took part writers, actors, spectators were regaurded as scared servents of Dionysus during the festivel.

Eros is the son of Aphrodite. Eros is the god of love. In particular erotic, romantic, love. He is often represented blindfolded because, love is often blind. His "weapon" is darts or arrows. In either case the tips have been magically treated to produce either uncontrolable love or unsurmountable disintrested in the first person seen be Eros's victim after wounding.

Hebe is the daughter of
Zeus and Hera. She is the goddess of youth. She, along with Ganymede are the cupbearers to the gods. Hebe is Hercules wife.

Hebe is the daughter of Zeus and Hera. She is the goddess of discord. In addition to her main activity of sowing discord, she frequently accompanies her brother Ares to battles. On these occasions she rides his chariot and brings her son Strife.

Eris is unpopular and frequently snubbed as a guest by the other gods and mankind. This was not always a safe thing to do. The most dramatic example being the Trojan War, which was an indirect result of not inviting Eris to a wedding.

Helios was the greek sun god. He may be thought of as a personification of the sun. He plays little role in the myths. He became rather overshadowed by Apollo the lord of the sun. He was the son of Hyperion.

Thanatosos was the greek god of death. He may be thought of as a personification of death. He plays little role in the myths. He became rather overshadowed by Hades the lord of the sun.

Pan is the son of Hermes. He is the god of goatherds and shepherds. He is mostly human in appearnce but, with goat horns and goat feet. He is an excellent musician and plays the pipes. He is merry and playful frequently seen dancing with woodland nymphs. He is at home in any wild place but, is favorite is Arcady, where he was born. He is always in pursuit of one of the nymphs but, always rejected because he is ugly.

His name is the basis for the word "panic". There are two differing explanations for this. The first is that he was present when Zeus defeated the Titans and claimed that it has his yelling that caused the Titans to flee. However, this seems at odds with his being Hermes son. The second is that he created the noises in the woods at night the scared travelers.

The Graces

The Muses

The Erinnyes

Also known as the Furies, punish crime. They persue wrong doers relentlessly, until death, often driving them to suicide. They are particularly concerned with matricide. There are three Erinnyes, Tisiphone, Megaera, and Alecto. The Erinnyes came from the blood of Uranus when he was castrated.

The Fates

The Fates are old and predate the gods. It is not entirely clear how far their power extends. It is possible that they determine the fate of the gods as well. In any case, not even the most powerful is willing to triffle with them.

[Greek Myth]


Paris 1 / Paris Descartes Master in Economics & Psychology

The Economics and Psychology master program is a joint initiative of the University Paris 1 Panthéon Sorbonne and the University Paris Descartes.

It combines teachings at the graduate levels to economics and psychology students in the fields of economic psychology and behavioral economics. Please refer to the corresponding categories for detialled information about the overall curriculum, as well as the M1 and the M2 years. A compact presentation of the master is available from the universities open days. The next ones will take place on march 18, 3pm, at Paris 1 (Panthéon, Paris) and on march 28, 6pm, at Paris Descartes (Insitut de Psychologie, Boulogne).

A few questions and answers about the master:

Q - Why studying Economics and Psychology ?

A2. from one of the most respected historian of economic thought, Paul. A. Samuelson: "Psychology is really the basis from which any social science must start and in terms of which all fundamental explanation must run." Schumpeter (1954, p.27 in History of Economic Analysis, OUP).

Q - Why studying in Paris ? Why in this master ?

Q - What for ? What is the placement of former students ?


All Schedules of Indian Constitution

·  The Indian Constitution is the world's longest.
·  At its commencement, it had 395 articles in 22 parts and 8 schedules. It is made up of almost 80,000 words.
·  In its current form (September 2012), it has a preamble, 25 parts with 448 articles, 12 schedules, 5 appendices and 101 amendments, the latest of which came into force on 8 September 2016
·  The 9th schedule was added via First Amendment Act, while 10th Schedule was first added by 35th Amendment {Sikkim as Associate State}. Once Sikkim became a state of India, the 10 Schedule was repealed but later added once again by 52th Amendment Act, 1985 in context with the “Anti-defection” law.
·  Following is the 12 schedules of the Indian Constitution

Schedules in Indian Constitution

» Sixth Schedule (Articles 244(2) and 275(1))— Provisions made for the administration of tribal areas in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Mizoram.
» Eighth Schedule (Articles 344(1) and 351)—The official languages.
» Ninth Schedule (Article 31-B) – Validation of certain Acts and Regulations.
» Twelfth Schedule (Article 243-W) — Municipalities (urban local government).

Deals With
I.        The States
II.     The Union Territories
Part A: Provisions as to the President and the Governors
Part B: Omitted
Part C: Provisions as to Speaker, Deputy Speaker etc.
Part D: Provisions as to the Judges of SC and HC
Part E: Provisions as to Comptroller and Auditor-General of India
Forms of Oaths or Affirmations
Allocation of seats in the Council of States
Provisions as to the Administration and Control of Scheduled Areas and Scheduled Tribes (contains Parts A, B, C and D)
Provisions as to Administration of Tribal Areas in the States of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram
List I : Union List (97 subjects)
List II : State List (66 subjects)
List III : Concurrent List (47 subjects)

List of 22 languages of India recognised by Constitution
1. Assamese
2. Bengali
3. Gujarati
4. Hindi
5. Kannada
6. Kashmiri
7. Manipuri
8. Malayalam
9. Konkani
10. Marathi
11. Nepali
12. Oriya
13. Punjabi
14. Sanskrit
15. Sindhi
16. Tamil
17. Telugu
18. Urdu
19. Santhali
20. Bodo
21. Maithili
22. Dogri
·   Sindhi was added in 1967 by 21 Amendment
Validation of Acts and Regulations though inconsistent with Part III of the Constitution.
Provisions as to Disqualification on Ground of Defection.
Powers, Authority and Responsibilities of Panchayat
Powers, Authority and Responsibilities of Municipality

 Important Questions on Schedules of Indian Constitution for SSC CGL UPSC and Railway Exams

1. How many schedules are now in the Indian Constitution?
Answer: Twelve

2. Where the details of territories of the States and Union Territories are given in?
Answer: Schedule I

3. Which Schedule details the salaries and allowances of the President, Vice-President, Speaker of Lok Sabha, Judges of the Supreme Court?
Answer: Schedule-II

4. Where does the Emoluments of the Judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts are given?
Answer: In Part D of Schedule II

5. How many subjects have been included in the 12th schedule of Constitution, under the jurisdiction of Municipalities?
Answer: 18 subjects

6. Which schedule details the distribution of powers between the Union and State governments?
Answer: VII schedule

7. In which schedule the Provision of administration and control of scheduled areas are given?
Answer: Schedule V

8. Which languages have been added to the 8th Schedule of the Constitution by 92nd Constitution (Amendment) Act, 2003?
Answer: Bodo, Santhali, Maithili, Dogri

9. How many subjects have been included in the 11th Schedule of Constitution, under the jurisdiction of Panchayati Raj institution?
Answer: 29

Objective Questions on Schedules of Indian Constitution for Competitive Exams

1. In the Eight Schedule which languages were added by 92nd Constitutional Amendment Act, 2003?
(a) Bodo, Maithili, Sindhi and Santhali
(b) Nepali, Maithili, Sindhi and Santhali
(c) Bodo, Maithili, Dogri and Santhali
(d) Bodo, Konkani, Sindhi and Santhali

2. Which Schedule of the Indian Constitution prescribes distribution of seats in Rajya Sabha?
(a) 3rd Schedule
(b) 4th Schedule
(c) 8th Schedule
(d) 12th Schedule

3. Which schedule of the Constitution contains a provision as to disqualification of MPs and MLAs on the ground of defection?
(a) 8th Schedule
(b) 9th Schedule
(c) 10th Schedule
(d) 12th Schedule

4. Currently how many Schedules are there in the Constitution of India?
(a) 8
(b) 10
(c) 12
(d) 14

5. At the time of adoption how many Schedules were there in the Indian Constitution?
(a) 6
(b) 8
(c) 10
(d) 12

6. 8th Schedule of the Indian Constitution deals with?
(a) Schedule Tribes
(b) disqualification of MPs and MLAs on the ground of defection
(c) Panchayats
(d) Recognised Official Languages

7. Firms of Oath or Affirmations are contained in?
(a) 3rd Schedule
(b) 6th Schedule
(c) 10th Schedule
(d) 12th Schedule

8. By which Amendment Act, Konkani, Manipuri and Nepali were added to the 8th Schedule of the Indian Constitution?
(a) 42nd Amendment Act, 1976
(b) 44th Amendment Act, 1978
(c) 71st Amendment Act, 1992
(d) 74th Amendment Act, 1993

9. Which one of the following Schedule is not matched correctly?
(a) 3rd Schedule - forms of oaths or affirmations
(b) 4th Schedule - Provisions as to President and the Governors of the States
(c) 7th Schedule - Union, State and Concurrent List
(d) 12th Schedule - Municipalities

See also:
5.    The Preamble
10.  The Union Executive
                     1.    President
                     2.    Vice- President
                     3.    Prime-Minister
                     4.    Council Of Ministers
                     5.    Attorney-General for India
15.   CAG

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Taxi marshal discussions put on hold

Have your say

PLANS to force black cab drivers to pay a £40 annual fee to fund taxi marshals to provide night time security at ranks in Sheffield city centre have been put on hold.

Drivers were furious they would have to pay for the scheme when they say they are already having to absorb a big increase in fuel costs.

Sheffield Council’s licensing board decided more consultation was needed and deferred a decision.

At the same meeting, the committee approved restrictions on drinking in the centre of Woodhouse.

The order gives police the power to confiscate alcohol from people behaving in a disorderly manner through booze and arrest those who refuse.

It affects the area between Tannery Street, Beaver Hill Road, Tithe Barn Lane and Chapel Street, plus the recreation ground off Beaver Hill Road.

Dozens of residents and businesses supported the move after problems with anti-social behaviour. They also gave the go-ahead for an alcohol exclusion zone in Shiregreen after police chiefs told them the area was blighted by underage drinking, anti-social behaviour and drug abuse.


This Blog was started to express that no one is alone when it comes to mental health. In 2015 I lost my brother due to mental health he was only 25 years old. I want you to share my journey and feel you have some where to go to know your not alone.

I hope this journey will benefit you and I can’t wait to share all my memories with you all.


You are here

Read or Submit Public Comments

Please review the proposed Healthy People 2030 framework below. You are invited to submit specific comments on individual sections—or you can leave a general comment on the entire framework.

Healthy People 2030 Proposed Framework

Healthy People is a national effort that sets goals and objectives to improve the health and well-being of people in the United States.

“History of the Healthy People initiative”

Healthy People 2030 is the fifth edition of Healthy People. It aims at new challenges and builds on lessons learned from its first four decades. The initiative began in 1979, when Surgeon General Julius Richmond issued a landmark report entitled, Healthy People: The Surgeon General’s Report on Health Promotion and Disease Prevention. This report focused on reducing preventable death and injury. It included ambitious, quantifiable objectives to achieve national health promotion and disease prevention goals for the United States within a ten-year period (by 1990). The report was followed in later decades by the release of updated, ten-year Healthy People goals and objectives (Healthy People 2000, Healthy People 2010, and Healthy People 2020). For more on the history of Healthy People refer to

“What Healthy People contributes”

Healthy People helps users to access data on changes in the health status of the U.S. population; these data also inform each new decade’s goals and objectives. Communities across the U.S. adopt Healthy People goals and objectives. They may alter the goals and objectives to meet their own needs, and/or use them to set priorities for their region and population groups. Healthy People priorities are those aspects of health that are the most critical to overall health and well-being and can be improved using our available knowledge.

Since the Healthy People initiative was first launched, the United States has made significant progress. Achievements include reducing major causes of death such as heart disease and cancer; reducing infant and maternal mortality; reducing risk factors like tobacco smoking, hypertension, and elevated cholesterol; and increasing childhood vaccinations. During these decades, the importance of collaborating across agencies at the national and state levels and with the private and public health sectors has been demonstrated.

A key lesson is that a widely accessible plan containing achievable goals and objectives can guide the action of stakeholders to improve health. It is important to monitor progress on Healthy People goals and objectives, and to share high quality data and feedback on progress with stakeholders and the public. In addition, we have learned that significant changes (e.g., reduced rates of smoking) may be difficult, but are achievable through persistent effort. Although much progress has been made, the United States lags behind other Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries on key measures of health and well-being, including life expectancy, infant mortality, and obesity, despite having the highest percentage of GDP spent on health. A challenge for Healthy People 2030 is to guide the United States in achieving our population’s full potential for health and well-being so that we are second to none among developed countries.

“Where we are headed”

A society in which all people achieve their full potential for health and well-being across the lifespan.

“Why we are here”

To promote and evaluate the nation’s efforts to improve the health and well-being of its people.

Foundational Principles

“What guides our actions”

Note: Foundational Principles explain the thinking that guides decisions about Healthy People 2030.

1. Health and well-being of the population and communities are essential to a fully functioning, equitable society.

2. Achieving the full potential for health and well-being for all provides valuable benefits to society, including lower health care costs and more prosperous and engaged individuals and communities.

3. Achieving health and well-being requires eliminating health disparities, achieving health equity, and attaining health literacy.

4. Healthy physical, social and economic environments strengthen the potential to achieve health and well-being.

5. Promoting and achieving the nation’s health and well-being is a shared responsibility that is distributed among all stakeholders at the national, state, and local levels, including the public, profit, and not-for-profit sectors.

6. Working to attain the full potential for health and well-being of the population is a component of decision-making and policy formulation across all sectors.

7. Investing to maximize health and well-being for the nation is a critical and efficient use of resources.

Plan of Action

“What we propose to do”

1. Set goals and objectives to guide policies, programs, and other actions that improve health and well-being.

2. Identify regions and groups with poor health or at high risk for poor health in the future.

3. Foster impact through public and private efforts to improve health and well-being for individuals of all ages.

4. Provide tools for the public, programs, policy makers and others to evaluate progress toward improving health.

5. Share evidenced-based programs that are scalable and sustainable.

6. Report on progress throughout the decade from 2020 to 2030.

7. Stimulate research and innovation toward meeting Healthy People 2030 goals.

8. Develop and make available affordable means of health promotion, disease prevention, and treatment.

Overarching Goals

“What we plan to achieve”

1. Attain healthy, purposeful lives and well-being.

2. Attain health literacy, achieve health equity, eliminate disparities, and improve the health and well-being of all populations.

3. Create social and physical environments that promote attaining full potential for health and well-being for all.

4. Promote healthy development, healthy behaviors and well-being across all life stages.

5. Engage with stakeholders and key constituents across multiple sectors to take action and design policies that improve the health and well-being of all populations.

General Comments

Healthy People 2030 Framework

If you would like to leave a general comment about the overall Healthy People 2030 Framework, please do so here.


al maiorino

Portugal combines hydro and solar power: How the technology can be implemented around the globe

Portugal, a country inching closer to fossil fuel independence each year, has revolutionized the renewable energy industry once again. In early July, the world’s first ever hydro-solar plant began full-scale operation. Now floating on the surface of the dammed river at the Alto Rabagão Dam are 840 solar panels that work in conjunction with the dam’s hydroelectric rotors. Floating solar farms are quite common, but none of the existing floating solar farms work in tandem with a hydroelectric plant, making Energias de Portugal’s project the first of its kind.

The solar panels only cover a surface area of approximately 2,500 square meters on a dammed river that has a total surface area of over 8 square miles. While the project is relatively small, the electricity produced by the solar panels is estimated to be able to power over 100 homes for an entire year.

In the United States, hydroelectric power produces more electricity than any other form of renewable energy. In 2015, hydroelectric power accounted for 35 percent of all electricity produced by renewables and around 6.5 percent of the nation’s total electricity production. Solar power on the other hand, produced just over 1 percent of the United States’ electricity in 2015. According to the US Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, if just 0.6 percent of the land area of the US was covered by solar panels, enough electricity would be produced to power the entire country.

Combining hydro and solar power as Energias de Portugal did at the Alto Rabagão Dam, creates potential for enormous growth in the renewable energy industry, both in the U.S. and across the globe. According to the National Hydropower Association, there are roughly 2,200 hydroelectric plants in operation in the United States. If each of these plants were to replicate and implement this technology demonstrated in Portugal, 220,000 additional home each year could be powered strictly by renewable energy.

Economically, both the hydroelectric industry and the solar industry would benefit from such a merger. Hydroelectric companies could significantly increase energy production at their plants without having to spend money on dam reconstruction, a process that has been deemed rather costly and environmentally hazardous. Solar companies could see economic benefits in nearly every facet of the industry, and more importantly it would serve as a stepping stone for solar to become more utilized for both mass production and individual residences.

For energy companies that seize this opportunity and recognize the potential in combining hydro and solar power, it will be important to recognize the areas in which they will face opposition during the approval process for the new development. Given the rugged relationship that already exists between the hydroelectric industry and the World Wildlife Federation, companies can certainly expect backlash and opposition from wildlife groups and activists. In addition, companies may face opposition from community members who do not view a floating solar farm as “aesthetically pleasing.”

Another important and effective aspect of grassroots campaigning is stakeholder relations. Contacting stakeholder groups both locally and statewide to coordinate grassroots efforts can amplify messaging through newsletters, email blasts, presentations to the organization’s members, and state house days to petition the legislature. Coordinating a call to action with stakeholders can greatly enhance support in a meaningful way.

Portugal may have opened the door for revolutionary innovation in the renewable energy industry, but it will be up to hydroelectric and solar companies located across the globe to make sure the technology is implemented and utilized. Doing so will require strong and strategic public affairs campaigning that uses both digital and grassroots tactics to ensure these innovative projects come to fruition in any country.

Al Maiorino

President, Public Strategy Group

Al Maiorino, the President of Public Strategy Group, Inc.,is a public affairs executive presenting over two decades of success in his field.

Maiorino is a NIMBY expert, writer, and public affairs consultant who has made Public Strategy Group, Inc. a unique firm that goes beyond the traditional public affairs role of many firms.  He has successfully run and won corporate campaigns involving land use difficulties, legislative advocacy issues for large and small companies ranging from Fortune 100 clients to smaller firms, and voter referendum campaigns.

He began his career as a political party operative and took the knowledge gained from a diversity of political campaigns to the corporate level over 20 years ago and formed Public Strategy Group, Inc. He has made PSG one of the few firms in the nation that specializes in building public support for development type projects, while also offering grassroots public affairs for corporate clients on legislative and regulatory issues. Throughout the years, he has managed hundreds of corporate public affairs campaigns in a variety of industries such as energy, gaming, shipping, tourism, cable television, retail development, auto racing, and housing/residential projects. His company has worked in twenty states, one U.S. Territory and three countries, and for over 20 years has helped companies gain approval on development projects totaling billions of dollars in investment.

He has authored many articles, and is a regular contributor to numerous trade journals and business periodicals.

Add a comment
Square metres ... square miles. Could you just use the metric system so that the world knows what you mean. A whole mini million dollar space probe was lost in this way : see


Loan Types

As a borrower, one of your first choices is whether you want a fixed-rate or an adjustable-rate mortgage loan. All loans fit into one of these two categories. Here’s the primary difference between the two types:

Fixed Rate Loans:

Fixed-rate mortgage loans have the same interest rate for the entire life of the loan. Because of this, the size of your monthly payment will stay the same month after month, and result in a portion of the loan’s principal being paid down every month. The consistency in the monthly payment makes budgeting easier for homeowners.

Fixed-rate mortgages are offered in a variety of terms, the most common of which are 30, 20 and 15 years. Most mortgage lenders offer fixed-rate mortgages in all of their Conventional, FHA, VA and Jumbo loan products.

The main benefit of a fixed-rate loan is that the borrower is protected from sudden increases in monthly mortgage payments if interest rates rise. The downside to fixed-rate mortgages is that when interest rates are high, qualifying for a loan is more difficult because the payments are less affordable.

Adjustable Rate Mortgage Loans:

Adjustable-rate mortgage loans (ARMs) have an interest rate that will change or “adjust” from time to time. An adjustable-rate mortgage has a short-term fixed-rate term during which an interest rate is fixed. After this initial term, the interest rate on an “ARM” loan can change periodically at certain intervals. For instance, the 5/1 ARM loan carries a fixed rate of interest for the first five years, after which it begins to adjust every one year, or annually. This adjustment allows the lender to adjust the interest rate to match changing interest rate environments.

ARMs appeal to borrowers because they offer low initial payments, enable the borrower to qualify for a larger loan and in a falling interest rate environment, allow the borrower to enjoy lower interest rates (and lower mortgage payments) without the need to refinance. However, the “ARM” can pose some significant downsides. With an “ARM”, your monthly payment may change frequently over the life of the loan. And if you take on a large loan, you could be in trouble when interest rates rise.


Porodomy represents change in all its forms. Evolution, murder, rebellion, study, meditation and just putting people to the sword. If it changes a single thing, Porodomy represents that. Porodomy loves change. It embraces the concept. Change for any reason delights it.

Some would say Porodomy is manipulative. Considering it tricked Anu into creating the Gods, that probably isn’t too far from the truth. But it’s not the truth either. Anu doesn’t mind being straight faced if it means bringing about change. You think the Gods of Darkenss stuck with it for being a liar?

Then again, Porodomy’s dealing with Lihilim hasn’t done it any favors either. It did bring about the Diabolist’s existence, and her rage at him is the root cause of all the chaos born from the Demons.

It is curious though how it was Anu, not Porodomy that brought the greatest change to creation in the form of the mortal beings. Some suggest that Porodomy must have had his hand in it, or perhaps Anu felt it was a necessary to undermine Porodomy in some way. If that was the case then the plan had backfired on it.


Thor vs. Loki

This is a category for the Norse gods or lore featured in the series.

Juniper Lee has come into contact with many ancient deities throughout the course of her adventures, such as the hammer-wielding, mankind-protecting god Thor. And the half-god Loki, who brings tragedy to Juniper and her friends.

Ancient Germanic people that inhabited early Europe worshiped a number of different Gods and Goddesses. Germanic deities are attested from numerous sources, including works of literature, various chronicles, runic inscriptions, personal names, place names, and other sources. This article presents a comprehensive list of these deities which are featured in the cartoon series.

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Sunday, November 21, 2010

CERN traps antimatter atoms

It looks like the doomsday sayers were wrong - creating antimatter didn't destroy the planet (or was it the universe?). That's hardly surprising, as antimatter pops in and out of existence all the time, and both the universe and the planet seems to still be here.

CERN has created antimatter for nearly a decade, starting in 2002, but these particles have always been short-lived as the interact with the matter around them, and disappears.

This week, however, Nature published the news that scientists at CERN has managed to contain antimatter atoms, for more than 170 milliseconds, 38 times. This was done by using a "magnetic trap"

The ALPHA claim is the first major advance since the creation of thousands of antihydrogen atoms in 2002 by a forerunner experiment called ATHENA2 and by ATRAP3 [...]. Both experiments combined decelerated antiprotons with positrons at CERN to produce antihydrogen atoms. But, within several milliseconds, the atoms annihilated with the ordinary matter in the walls of their containers.

To prevent that from happening, the ALPHA team formed antihydrogen atoms in a magnetic trap. Although not electrically charged like antiprotons and positrons, antihydrogen — like hydrogen — has a more subtle magnetic character that arises from the spins of its constituent particles. The ALPHA researchers used an octupole magnet, produced by the current flowing in eight wires, to create a magnetic field that was strongest near the walls of the trap, falling to a minimum at the centre, causing the atoms to collect there.

Creating antimatter atoms this way has proven to be much more difficult than the "traditional" way

To trap just 38 atoms, the group had to run the experiment 335 times. "This was ten thousand times more difficult" than creating untrapped antihydrogen atoms, says Hangst — ATHENA made an estimated 50,000 of them in one go in 2002. To do spectroscopic measurements, Surko estimates that up to 100 antihydrogen atoms may need to be trapped at once.

Obviously, there is some work yet to be done before measurements can be made, but according to this National Geographic article, great advances have been made since the Nature article

According to Fajans, "We're doing much better now."

That's a pretty big deal. Let's hope that the progress continues.

For the original paper, you can find it behind Nature's pay-wall here

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Are skepticism and atheism non-overlapping magisteria?

Ever so often a fight breaks out among skeptics and/or atheists about how to deal with religious people. This time it was started by Jeff Wagg who is criticizing the skeptic conference Skepticon3 for being too atheistic. The organizer of the conference, JT Eberhard has responded (pretty well in my opinion) as has PZ Myers, who is a speaker on the conference.

Now, I make no bones about being both a skeptic and an atheist, so it is easy for me to just side with Eberhard on this, and dismiss Wagg out of hand. But would it be right? Looking at the comments to Wagg's original post, you'll notice some fairly prominent skeptics siding with him. It might be one thing to dismiss Wagg, a person who has flirted with anthropogenic global warming denial in the past, but I'll be damned if I am going to dismiss Eugenie Scott without serious consideration.

So, is atheism and skepticism non-overlapping magisteria, as Gould famously said about science and religion?

The short answer to that is NO. The longer answer is, on the other hand, more complex. Skepticism can be said to be a method, while atheism is a position related to a specific subject (the belief in the existence of deities). Skeptics are people who apply skepticism to all subjects, while atheists are simply people who don't hold a belief in a deity.

The group of atheists and skeptics are overlapping, but neither is by any means a subset of the other. Many, probably even most, skeptics are also atheists, but there are many skeptics who are still religious - some by not applying skepticism on that particular part of their lives, others by accepting that their faith flies in the face of evidence. Atheists, on the other hand, are often not skeptics.

Personally, I think that atheism is a natural result of skepticism (and it is interesting to note that the skeptics involved in this conversation are, to the best of my knowledge, all atheists).

So, what's my point? Well, what I am getting around to, is that Wagg might be right that a skeptic conference focused overly much on skepticism towards religion might be off-putting to some skeptics. But so what? There are global warming deniers showing up in all skeptic groups that I've come across - should we pretend that they are right? Or should we avoid the subject? Or course not. For skepticism to make sense, we have to apply it to everything.

This doesn't mean that we have to do it all the time, so if Wagg wants a skeptic conference that doesn't touch the subject of religion, that's great - he should go ahead and create it. Then the rest of us will choose whether we want to participate or not. If it is about ghost hunting, UFOs and cryptozoology, I'll personally give it a pass, but if it, on the other hand, is about woo and alternative "medicine", I'd be interested.

What Wagg shouldn't do, however, is to tell other people how to run their conferences, nor should he try to exclude subjects from being covered by skepticism. All subjects must be open to skeptical inquiry. Otherwise, how will we expand out knowledge and understanding of the world?

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Thursday, November 04, 2010

Call for submissions - best skepticism of 2010

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Sunday, May 14, 2017

The ghost of Renato Corona haunts LP and Leni Robredo

WHEN the Liberal Party, acting at the behest of then President Benigno S. Aquino 3rd, impeached Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona, they lowered the bar for impeachment. They considered the act of misdeclaration in a statement of assets, liabilities and net worth, or SALN, on the same level as a culpable violation of the Constitution, and as amounting to a betrayal of public trust.

They succeeded. Renato Corona was convicted. Humiliated and vilified, he died a broken man, all because he committed a mistake in his SALN.

But the LP did not anticipate that the ghost of Renato Corona would come back to haunt them. They did not foresee that one of them, in the person of Leni Robredo, would find herself mired in the same predicament of a misdeclared SALN.

All the while, Leni Robredo and her LP cohorts were thinking that the only ground for which an impeachment complaint can be filed against her was her video-taped speech at the UN. Thus, they were blindsided when we considered as one of our basis for filing a complaint her misdeclaration of her shares of stocks in Meralco.

The impeachment team, of which I am a part, stumbled on this information, with a tip from an accountant who is now based in the US. While Leni Robredo listed her Meralco shares in her SALN, she failed to indicate the value of those shares, and as such, these were not incorporated in the total value of her assets. This was a consistent pattern, as revealed by her previous SALNs.

On May 9, in the program “Saksi sa Dobol B” at DZBB hosted by Mike Enriquez, Robredo admitted that she indeed owned Meralco stocks. In trying to belie a claim we did not allege in our complaint, Robredo revealed her own Achilles heel. She asserted that she in fact declared those stocks, and without Enriquez asking her, she volunteered that the acquisition value of these stocks in 1995 was P95,000.

We did not allege that she failed to list her stocks in her SALN.

What we alleged was that she did not declare the value of these stocks at current prices, and hence she misdeclared her assets. Furthermore, she also admitted to Enriquez that she doesn’t know the current value of these stocks, which is a tacit admission that she couldn’t have indicated this value in her SALN.

On these alone, and regardless of the amount of the stocks, the fact that Robredo failed to declare those already constitutes misdeclaration of her assets. And since by law, SALNs are supposed to be filed under oath, Robredo also committed perjury.

It now behooves us to inquire into how many Meralco shares of stocks Robredo really owns, and what is their value.

Market data in 1995 indicates that the value of Meralco stocks in 1995 ranged from P62.51 to a high of P70 per share. Assuming that we can take Robredo’s public admission that the value of her shares was P95,000 in 1995, we can safely assume that she only held about between 1,357 to 1,520 shares.

Let us assume that these are correct values, even if one has to wonder at the rationality of why the Robredos owned only a very limited number of shares of blue-chip stocks for a long-term investment.

At the present share price, which is around P272 pesos, this would amount to between P369,104 to P413,440.

One can admit that these are not large amounts.

However, the law on SALN did not provide for a minimum amount below which a government official can escape accountability.

In 1997, the Supreme Court affirmed the dismissal of a court interpreter from Davao for her failure to disclose her ownership of a public market stall in her SALN.

In 2001, Erap Estrada was hauled to court for under-declaring his assets in 1999. He however was acquitted by the Sandiganbayan due to the prosecution’s failure to prove that such was done with malice.

And in 2012, Renato Corona was impeached for his non-declaration as assets his deposits in banks and his other investments.

The Corona case is the most relevant of all in the issue of Robredo’s failure to declare as part of her assets her investments in stocks at Meralco, as it was an impeachment case.

And here, Robredo and her allies in the LP find their backs to the wall, which is entirely of their own making.

The Corona precedent, for which they are the principal architects and perpetrators, has effectively denied them the moral suasion to argue that misdeclaration is a non-impeachable offense.

If they argue that the amount is not that much, they will test the patience of a public that frowns upon selectiveness in the dispensation of justice. They will have to tell those who have been punished for misdeclaring lesser amounts in their SALNs that Leni Robredo is exempted from the reach of the law.

Or they can argue that Robredo is ignorant of the law. To prove that she had no malice, they could say that she was innocent about the amount as she was unaware of the means to know the value of her stocks. However, this would paint her as unfit to hold her license as a lawyer.

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