How do snakes kill their prey?

There are over 2700 species of the snakes, but they all use one of the three methods available to kill their prey before eating it.

Eating the prey alive; this is a method which is not impressive or eloquent, but in the end it is effective. The snake will overpower the prey and it will start to swallow it when it is still alive. Because the snakes have many backwards curved teeth when the prey is in the mouth, it will be impossible for it to escape and it will be swallowed. Examples of the snakes that use this method are grater snake, eastern indigo snake and eastern hognose snake.

Constricting the prey until it dies and then eats it: this is a popular method that snakes use to kill their prey. The snake will seize the prey animal in the mouth and it will coil on it and start to constrict. When the prey exhales, the snake will tighten its coils and this will prevent the prey from inhaling. This continues until the prey is completely dead. The snake like a boa constrictor can know when the victim’s heartbeat has stopped and this is when it will start to eat its meal. It is believed that the snake will crush the prey or will break the bones, but this is not what happens. The constriction will shut off the blood and oxygen that reaches the brain and heart, and this will lead to unconsciousness and death. When the artery pressure drops, the vein pressure will increase and the blood vessels will start to close. The heart will fail to pump more blood. Examples of the snakes that use this method are king snake, boa constrictor and ball python.

Envenoming the prey using deadly saliva: the final method that the snakes will use in order to subdue their prey before they eat them is to use their venom. The snakes will bite the animal through the skin and it will inject the saliva within the wound. The saliva is called venom and it causes a deadly reaction in the body of the prey and this will lead to death. It is not advised to keep a venomous snake without the right training since it may end up killing you. The venoms used are neurotoxins which affect the nervous system, and after seizing the nerve centers, they will often cause the breathing to stop. Cardiotoxins will deteriorate the muscle of the heart and it will make it stop beating. Hemotoxins will cause the blood vessels to rupture and it will result in widespread internal bleeding. The venom may include agglutinins that may clot the blood or anticoagulants that thin the blood. Some snakes will have different types of venom to kill the victim. The snakes that use this method are timber rattlesnake, black mambas and gaboon viper. There are some snakes that may use both venom and constriction to kill their prey. They are mussuranas and the western terrestrial snake.

For more information about how do snakes kill their prey, go to my Snake Removal - How to Get Rid of Snakes home page.


Sold To:_____________________________________________________________________________________________

 As the Buyer/ Purchaser of this animal I agree to the following and will abide by it !!!

1.This cat/kitten is purchased for PET ONLY. Buyer agrees to neuter/spay this cat by the age of 5 months which is the date of______________________.

2. If no proof of spay/neuter has been sent from buyers to sellers by kittens age of 5 months which is the date of _______________________the buyer agrees to pay an additional $1000 to seller for breeding rights.

3. Buyer agrees that the seller will receive an additional $1000 from buyer for a kitten sold as pet only that is being used for breeding.

4. To the best of our knowledge this cat/kitten is in good health at the time of purchase. We do not guarantee life quality, common or minor problems. If the animal is found to be medically deficient with an untreatable or life threatening problem, it will be replaced with another kitten/cat of equal value/price (or price paid credit). If no replacement is available at that time the Seller will have 12 months to furnish a satisfactory replacement or you can choose 50% of kittens price back to the buyer. The cat cannot be returned after the guarantee period has expired and/or if it has been exposed to another cat or if it is let out side.

5. This cat/kitten is guaranteed against life threatning congenital defects for 2 full years of kittens birth date, 5 years on the heart. Should the cat die within that time as a direct result of a congenital defect, the cat/kitten will be replaced ONLY if an appropiate necropsy is performed by a licensed vet, and a vet's certificate is provided as proof of cause of death. Seller will replace the said kitten/ cat with one of equal value. All veterinary bills are the responsibility of the buyer and will not be refunded. All shipping expenses are the responsibility of the buyer and will not be refunded. Undesirable behavior issues ( inappropriate urination, defication, spraying, scratching furniture, etc...) are not reasons for return/refund and are out of breeders control once the animal leaves the breeder .

6. If for any reason the buyer decides they don't want the kitten within 30 days of purchase date they can return him/her for a 50% refund of purchase price. This refund does not apply if the kitten has sustained injuries, abuse or sickness after it has left sellers property. Seller also gives the buyer the option to return the cat for any reason within 6 mo. of the birth date of cat and seller will refund $100. This refund does not apply if the animal has sustained injury, abuse, neglect or sickness after it has left sellers property. If at any point after the 1 year the seller does not want the cat for any reason seller will take the animal back, no refund, no questions asked. Seller just does not want the cat on the street or in a shelter.

7. NO FULL CASH REFUNDS. All health guaranttees are void if cat/kitten is declawed, given the FIP or Feline Leukemia vaccination.

Buyer's signature below indicates full agreement of all above conditions. This contract is leagally binding to all parties involved. It applies only to the buyer and seller in this transaction and is non-transferable to other parties. In the event of a legal dispute legal jurisdiction of this contract shall be in the sellers county and state.

Buyers signature__________________________________________________________Date:____________________

Sellers signature__________________________________________________________Date:____________________

                    Candy L. 320-291-9738
                           Milaca, Mn.


Susan Gelman on children’s preference for unique owned objects

This is an incredible and profound study on children’s attachment to objects, with implications both for cognitive and emotional development. It’s also a study that amazes me for the amount of work it required from researchers (who had to find brand-new replicas of more than 100 children’s attachment objects).

The experimental design is quite simple. Researchers asked 36 three-year-olds to choose between two toys for either themselves or the researcher: an old (visibly used) toy vs. a new (more attractive) toy matched in type and appearance (e.g., old vs brand-new blanket). Focal pairs contrasted an old toy that belonged to the child with a matched new object; control pairs contrasted toys the child had never seen before.

The conclusion of the study is that, by 3 years of age, young children place special value on unique owned objects. Children prefer their original objects to newer, better versions, but only in the case of the focal pairs (with their objects of attachment) and not with the control pairs (objects the child had never seen before). These findings are consistent with the view that possessions are extensions of the self.

In addition, these preferences hold for “sleep” objects (blanket, pillow) and toys representing an animated character (dolls, action figures) but not for inanimate objects (a car, a toy hammer, etc.) Uniqueness is valued for sleep objects and animate toys, but not for inanimate toys. Moreover, in 30 out of 31 cases, attachment objects had a proper name. Ownership, attachment and anthropomorphism (eyes, animated features, soft or furry texture) all combine to enhance children’s preferences for their own objects.

In addition, children seemed to understand that their special objects had value for them only in so far as they share a history with the object. That is, they did not attribute the researcher the same preference for the old (attachement) object. In this sense, they seem to understand the subjective nature of value.

The results are remarkable, among other things, because of the understanding of the abstract ownership relationships, the distinction between appearance and reality and the perspective-taking abilities involved in children’s responses. The authors also emphasize how attuned any child can be to minor features of an object that indicate that it is her unique object and not a substitute.

These findings also offer a different (experimental, cognitive) perspective on the phenomenon of “transitional objects,” first described by Donald Winnicott in the 1950s.

A remarkable study indeed.

Ekman on emotions

Ekman, P. (1984). Expression and the Nature of Emotion. In Approaches to emotion.

I plan to read and write more about emotions, as I am interested in the topic of self-possession vs. being possessed (or overwhelmed) by emotions. I wonder whether the use of ownership-related terms in this field is metaphorical, or rather points to a fundamental aspect of human experience: the fact that one must first possess oneself (one’s own body and actions) in order to possess other things. Many philosophers (Locke comes to mind, but also Hegel and Aristotle) have drawn this relationship between self-possession (or self-governance, being master of oneself) and personhood (being an agent in the world with the capacity to possess and own stuff).

In this article (a classic), Ekman distinguishes emotions from other reactions (mainly reflexes) and other affective phenomena, such as moods, emotional traits and affective disorders.

He also establishes 10 main characteristics of emotion:

  1. There is a distinctive pan-cultural signal for each emotion.
  2. There are distinctive, universal, facial expressions of emotion that can also be traced phylogenetically.
  3. Emotional expression involves multiple signals.
  4. The duration of emotion is limited.
  5. The timing of emotional expression reflects the details of a particular emotional experience.
  6. Emotional expression can be graded in intensity, reflecting variations in the strength of the subjective experience.
  7. Emotional expression can be totally inhibited.
  8. Emotional expressions can be convincingly simulated.
  9. Each emotion has pan-human commonalities in its elicitors.
  10. Each emotion has a pan-human pattern of the autonomous nervous system (ANS) and central nervous system (CNS) change.

Ownership in literature and clinical practice

Romantic love is universal

Fletcher, G. J. O., Simpson, J. A., Campbell, L., & Overall, N. C. (2015). Pair-Bonding, Romantic Love, and Evolution: The Curious Case of Homo sapiens. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 10(1), 20–36.

This is a paper about the evolutionary function of romantic love. Against common ideas that romantic love is purely a social and cultural construct, the authors show that some form of romantic love exists in virtually any culture on earth and that (as ancient myths and folk tales prove) it has existed since immemorial times.

Love is an important topic for a blog concerned with ownership, because loving relationships tend to be possessive. Even more, individuals in formal relationships (married, engaged, etc.) argue about their exclusive rights to the sexual enjoyment of their partners in a way that resembles an owner defending her exclusive rights to a certain property. Moreover, when they feel such exclusivity is threatened, they can be overwhelmed by emotions such as jealousy or rage.

The paper quotes several scholars (mainly Shaver and Hazan) who postulate three-dimensional theories of love that I find quite appealing. Romantic love is composed of attachment, caregiving and sex; or passion, intimacy and commitment. They also mention the striking similarity between the behavioral manifestations of parent–infant love and romantic love, which suggests that evolution may have borrowed these ancient bonding mechanisms, originally evolved in mammals to bond mothers to their offspring, and applied them to men and women in the context of romantic pair-bonding.

Warneken: Young children share the spoils after collaboration

Warneken, F., Lohse, K., Melis, A. P., & Tomasello, M. (2011). Young children share the spoils after collaboration. Psychological Science, 22(2), 267–73.

Interesting paper.

1) The authors postulate that the relationship between joint collaboration and sharing is crucial for understanding the origins of equality, both in ontogeny and phylogeny. Therefore, they investigate how children actively divide rewards after working for them in a collaborative problem-solving task.

Most studies on sharing involve windfall situations, in which resources are given to the children by a third party, with no work or effort involved. Moreover, many studies use a forced-choice paradigm with predefined allocation options, which does not allow for an assessment of how children themselves would actively negotiate over how to distribute resources with another person.

In contrast, Warneken et al.’s research is guided by the notion that people often have to work toward obtaining resources, and that they distribute those resources actively, rather than choosing individually between predefined options. Previous studies, they say, have not shown how children share resources in situations that might be the cradle of equality: actual joint collaborative activities with a social partner.

2) The experiment closely resembles sharing experiments with chimpanzees and other non-human primates. Warneken et al test children in dyads. Children have to perform a task together: they have to pull from both ends of a rope at the same time in order to bring a box close to them. In this way, they are able to get a reward (such as stickers or candy that have been placed in the box). In one condition, the box has two holes far apart, so that each child can get her reward without interference from the other participant. In a second (“clumped”) condition, the box has only one hole, and therefore only one child can access the rewards at a time.

3) Warneken et al. found that neither the reward type nor the opportunity to monopolize rewards in the clumped condition interfered with the children’s collaboration. 3 year-olds collaborate successfully in situations in which resources can be monopolized. The collaborative abilities of young children, compared with those of chimpanzees, are not constrained to the same extent by a tendency to monopolize resources.

Children predominately produced equal shares. They shared rewards equally most of the time, even when rewards could be monopolized more easily (clumped condition). At an age when children are just beginning to skillfully collaborate with peers, they already engage in sharing behavior that results in equitable outcomes.

4) What does it all mean? Competition over resources, the authors claim, is mitigated in human children (when compared with chimpanzees and other primates) by an emerging sense of equal sharing of the spoils, which enables successful collaboration even early in ontogeny. Thus, the authors claim that this study supports a Tomasello-like evolutionary hypothesis, according to which the emergence of cooperation is due not only to cognitive and behavioral skills, but also to a reduction in competition over resources. Competition over resources is mitigated in human children by an emerging sense of equal sharing of the spoils, which enables successful collaboration even early in ontogeny.

5) According to this study, children are capable of equitable distributions a very early age. Although many studies place the origins of equality at around 5, 6 or even 7 years of age, it all depends on how the concrete distribution problem is presented to the children. Warneken et al. present children with a collaborative, non-competitive situation. In addition, in this study the peer is present; the dyad works together in a problem solving activity (compare this with economic games that are played by a single present individual and an absent, anonymous, “invisible”). Even more, some of the dyads comprise children who know each other well, since they attend the same day-care center (they are not one-shot interactions, as in most economic games). All this seems to help even 3 year-olds to produce equitable outcomes early in development. The authors reach the conclusion that, perhaps, children learn to acknowledge each other’s right to gain equal resources in situations in which they collaborate to produce a mutually beneficial outcome that one person acting alone would not be able to achieve (this result is not proven by the experiment, in my opinion).

Paulus & Moore On Recipient-Dependent Sharing Behavior and Expectations


Taste, habits, price and availability: Why young Singaporean adults aren’t eating whole grains

By Gary Scattergood contact

- Last updated on GMT

Limited availability of whole grains was cited by many participants as a barrier to increased consumption. ©iStock
Food manufacturers and health officials have to overcome significant barriers to encourage the consumption of disease-fighting whole grains among young Singaporean adults, a new study has found.

The biggest hurdles to overcome, according to a study led by Dr Iain Brownlee from Singapore’s Newcastle University, are sensory factors and dietary habits.

Writing in the journal Nutrients, Brownlee and his colleague Jia En Neo pointed out that whole grain consumption was linked to a reduction in a raft of diseases. They added: "While wholegrain food consumption appears to be increasing in Singapore, it is still low, with more infrequent consumption noted in younger Singaporeans. Therefore, the primary objective of this study is to determine the knowledge of whole grains and barriers to consumption of wholegrain foods.”

Thirty participants, aged 21–26, took part in two focus groups and trialled a range of wholegrain foods.

The focus group discussions found that sensory and habitual barriers were the most commonly cited reasons for a lack of consumption, with eight participants highlighting them. Seven participants also noted family preference, five mentioned availability and two referenced price as potential barriers.

With regard to price, participants consistently noted that wholegrain products generally cost more than refined products.

“Most participants could not relate why unprocessed products were actually more expensive,” the paper added.

Cooking skills and preparation time were also mentioned as causes for concern.

“Participants mentioned the issue of insufficient recipes and their lack of food preparation skills leading to frequent consumption of similar foods if whole grains were incorporated into the diet.

Time consuming

“Preparation time was a recurrent barrier that was mentioned in the post-familiarization focus groups. Some wholegrain products that required long cooking time and extra preparation method, such as soaking of brown rice were considered to be more time-consuming or challenging in their preparation than non-wholegrain products.”

However, more positive responses were focused around ready-to-eat wholegrain snacks, but the researchers pointed out these may have fewer nutritional benefits.

“The two-week product familiarization period significantly improved acceptability of most of the snack foods but only one of the staple food items. While snack items may be effective in improving intake of whole grains, they also tend to be higher in fat and sugar which may negate any individual- or population-level health benefits that increasing whole grain consumption could confer.”

Despite attempts to improve accessibility of whole grains in Singapore, limited availability was cited by many participants as a barrier to increased consumption.

The study concluded: “Amongst all the factors, sensory analysis and habitual dietary intake were concluded to be major barriers to increasing whole grain consumption. A short period of wholegrain product familiarization was not entirely successful in altering the taste preference of participants but it did manage to significantly improve the opinion of some wholegrain products and may be a means to encourage some individuals to incorporate them into their diets.”

Source:  Nutrients

“Wholegrain Food Acceptance in Young Singaporean Adults”

Authors: Jia En Neo and Iain A. Brownlee

Dr Brownlee is speaking at our Food Vision Asia summit in Singapore this week. We'll have full coverage from the event online as the week progresses.

Related topics: Emerging Markets, Snacks, Markets

Related news


Metatarsal Stress Fracture

Stress fractures are an overuse injury that can affect any level athlete. When a bone doesn’t have an opportunity to recover from stress applied to it, a fracture occurs. The most common fracture locations are between the foot and lower leg.  In normal bone, stress fractures are often caused by significant increases in training without adequate rest time, and can strike the professional or novice athlete. They can also be caused by improper footwear for the activity, biomechanical problems with running gait or foot and knee alignment.

Osteoporosis, poor nutrition or hormonal disorders can weaken bones and make them susceptible to stress fractures in normal training situations.

Stress fractures typically present as pain related to the activity causing the bone stress. The pain is usually highly localized, unlike general muscle aches. Rest for the affected foot is very important for the recovery of a stress fracture.  It’s important to listen to the body and avoid activities that cause pain such as walking or running, but the patient can engage in other non-weight-bearing activities such as swimming or yoga to stay in shape while healing.

Acupuncture is an excellent treatment for stress fractures because of its ability to send healing energy and blood flow to the fracture.  This allows the fracture to heal much faster than with rest alone.  There are Chinese herbal formulas that are specifically formulated for the regeneration of bone cells: these herbs in combination with acupuncture are extremely effective for stress fracture recovery.


开发者:来自Google ...

Ultimate Tennis is the most complete mobile tennis game ever! Enjoy thrilling gameplay, beautiful graphics and pack of action! Ultimate Tennis offers you a tweaked version of the familiar finger-swipe tennis gameplay combined with a detailed element that gives you near to unlimited options for improving and customizing your character(s). To provide a more action-packed experience the tennis rules have been adjusted slightly, resulting in fast-paced gameplay and shorter but much more exciting matches! On top of that the game offers great graphics and visualizations to give you one of the most visually realistic tennis experiences to date. - Experience different game modes, such as World Tour, League, and Online. - Master up to four different special moves to surprise your opponents. - Play with various different players, both men and women, each with their own unique playing style. - Challenge your friends or face random players in real-time. - Enjoy the most realistic graphics seen in a mobile tennis game so far. - Tweak and customize your player’s equipment and skills to the smallest detail. - Play the game either with one or two-handed controls. Face AI or human opponents and outplay them using the game’s natural controls and a set of special skill shots. Put together a team of different players and beat increasingly difficult opponents for valuable rewards. Use Gold and Coins to purchase and upgrade items, and use points to improve your characters’ skills and abilities. Experience the most immersive and complete tennis game in the world and download Ultimate Tennis now! * Save (READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE, WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE) : Used to change the profile picture and to attach photos when Using SNS account. * Contacts (GET_ACCOUNTS) : Authority to sync the Google account info. Customer Support: https://9minteractive.freshdesk.com/ Visit Us: http://www.mobirum.com/9tennis Like Us: https://www.facebook.com/UltimateTennisGlobal 1. Black Card Skills Adjustment 2. Added a new player (Kurumi) 3. Added 'Superstar Red' Package

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Opiate Addiction Addiction Can Be Treated Successfully in Bridgeport Alabama 35740

Therapy and also Recovery can addiction be treated effectively in Bridgeport AL.

Alcohol Addiction is a treatable disease. Study in the science of dependency and the therapy important usage problems has actually caused the growth of evidence-based interventions that aid people stop abusing drugs and also return to productive lives.

Can addiction be cured in Bridgeport?

Not constantly– however like other chronic diseases, addiction could be taken care of effectively. Treatment makes it possible for people to counteract addiction’s powerful turbulent results on their mind and also habits and also gain back control of their lives.

Does regression to substance abuse mean treatment has failed?

Therapy of chronic conditions entails transforming deeply imbedded behaviors, as well as relapse does not imply therapy has stopped working. For a person recouping from addiction, lapsing back to medication use indicates that therapy requires to be renewed or readjusted or that an additional treatment ought to be tried

In Alabama, Just what are the concepts of efficient meth usage disorder therapy?

Study reveals that combining therapy medications (where available) with behavioral therapy is the very best means to guarantee success for a lot of patients. Treatment techniques need to be tailored to deal with each client’s substance abuse patterns and also drug-related clinical, psychological, and social problems.

How can medicines help treat methamphetamine addiction at a rehab in AL?

Different kinds of medications may work at various stages of treatment to assist a person stop abusing drugs, remain in treatment, and also avoid relapse.

Rehabs in Bridgeport Alabama Treating Withdrawal of meth

When patients first stop using drugs, they could experience a variety of physical and also emotional signs, consisting of anxiety, stress and anxiety, as well as other mood conditions, in addition to uneasyness or sleep loss. Certain therapy medications are designed to lower these signs and symptoms, makings it much easier to stop the drug use.

Staying in Rehab in Bridgeport Alabama.

Some treatment medications are made use of to assist the mind adjust progressively to the lack of the abused medicine. These medications act slowly to stave off medicine food cravings as well as have a relaxing result on body systems. They could assist clients focus on counseling and other psychiatric therapies associated with their medication therapy.

Avoiding Relapse.

Scientific research has actually educated us that anxiety, hints connected to the medicine experience (such as individuals, places, things, as well as state of minds), as well as exposure to drugs are one of the most typical triggers for regression. Drugs are being developed to interfere with these triggers to help people receive recovery

Just how do behavior modifications treat opiate addiction?

Behavioral therapies help involve individuals in substance usage disorder treatment, customizing their attitudes and also actions related to drug use as well as raising their life abilities to handle difficult circumstances and also environmental signs that may activate intense yearning for medicines and punctual one more cycle of compulsive use. Behavioral therapies can also improve the efficiency of medications and assist people stay in treatment longer.

Exactly how do the most effective therapy programs assist people recuperate from the prevalent impacts of dependency?

When individuals enter treatment for a compound use disorder, dependency has actually commonly taken over their lives. The obsession to obtain drugs, take drugs, as well as experience the results of drugs has dominated their every waking minute, as well as abusing drugs has actually taken the place of all things they utilized to enjoy doing. It has actually interfered with how they function in their household lives, at the workplace, as well as in the neighborhood, as well as has made them more probable to struggle with various other serious health problems. Since dependency could affect so many facets of an individual’s life, treatment must resolve the requirements of the whole person to be successful. This is why the most effective programs integrate a selection of rehabilitative services right into their comprehensive therapy routines.

Acquiring the capability to quit abusing opiate is simply one part of a long and also complicated healing procedure.

Treatment therapists might select from a menu of solutions for satisfying the specific medical, mental, social, trade, and legal demands of their people to promote their recovery from dependency.|When people get in therapy for a material usage disorder, addiction has actually often taken over their lives.

Since dependency could impact so lots of aspects of a person’s life, treatment needs to attend to the requirements of the entire person to be successful. Therapy therapists could select from a food selection of services for satisfying the details clinical, emotional, social, trade, and also legal needs of their people to promote their recuperation from addiction.


Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Minimum Wage Blog

The Human Resource Minister needs help in making up his mind:

Blogspot being set up to gather views on minimum wages

“KUALA LUMPUR: The Human Resource Ministry is expected to set up a blogspot in two weeks, to gather views and opinion from the public on the minimum wage implementation mechanism…Its Minister Datuk Dr. S. Subramaniam said it was necessary to collect various views, opinions and suggestions for the minimum wages proposal since there is two versions of request - (a) to have a standard minimum wage scale, (b) to allow market forces to decide.”

My thoughts on the minimum wage have evolved over the past year. My original thinking was based on established research that showed that a minimum wage slightly above the market clearing wage has a negligible impact on employment, while at the same time helps redress asymmetries in the wage bargaining process. Now, I'm less convinced that such a thing can be successfully administered, in the absence of information on what the "market-clearing" wage actually is. There's also the risk of setting the wage floor too high, in which case the ones to suffer are exactly the ones the minimum wage is supposedly there to help – the poor and the young. And then there’s the problem of accounting for regional and industry differences.

If and when this blog actually appears, I think I’ll be dropping by.

  1. I agree with your assessment of the current situation. Skilled workers will definitely have found employment where they are sufficiently compensated.

    People who require the help of minimum wage to subsist will be even more vulnerable of the floor price is set too high as you pointed out.

    Well for sure I am skeptical of the success of a one-size-fit all policy. In terms of price competitiveness, China is way ahead of us. And despite how I disagree with people who oppose minimum wage, I recognise their concerns that it will reduce competitiveness. Nonetheless if we look at the success of Scandinavian countries or even places like Canada, then it is not clear that minimum wage harms productivity or competitiveness.

    I might be wrong in this cause-effect hypothesis, but I think that if we have a financially strong middle class to help drive consumption, then paying them "fair" wages is beneficial, because they will presumably spend it. Even if they don't, they'll save it and then we can direct those savings for worthwhile projects.

    Nice reading your blog. A little suggestion though, try linking the research you mentioned. Always delights Econonerds like me. Anyway, mind writing an advice post for aspiring economists like me (I start my undergrad come Fall). It can be a post on preparing for grad school and all that.

  2. GoatKY,

    Thanks for the comments. I think assessing the impact of implementing a minimum wage really depends on two things (i) the degree to which it differs from the market-clearing wage (ii) the presence or absence of a social security net. In other words, imposing a minimum wage is not an either/or proposition with respect to employment and productivity.

    You might want to read this for a Canadian/theoretical perspective.

    I didn't link to any of the research mentioned in this post, because I've already done it before.


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固体地球物理学术报告通知-20170605 于永刚 研究员

2017-06-05 15:00
Thermodynamics, phase equilibrium, and defect computations in solids

Ab-initio computational approach has been applied to reveal properties of interest in single component solid, minerals in solid solutions with high mutual mixability, and insulators that are hard to dope by impurities (e.g. at ppm level). (1) We will briefly describe our previous calculations on thermodynamics and phase transitions in polymorphs of magnesium silicates (Mg2SiO4 and MgSiO3) in the Earth upper mantle and transition zone, and illustrate the phase equilibrium calculations in Fe-bearing olivine and ringwoodite, both of which are of direct impact on the transition zone mineralogy. (2) A comprehensive defect equilibrium calculation for vacancy, interstitial, and anti-side defect in solids at various temperature and chemical condition range will be given to exemplify the methodology that can be useful to study the content of defects and their dominant charge states in dilute solid solutions. Possible applications may include immobilization of radioactive elements and trace elements behavior in solids (e.g. elements of rare Earth).


9781449321505 PDF: 1 to 1 of 1 results fetched - page 1 [kb]

Programming Interactivity

Ready to create rich interactive experiences with your artwork, designs, or prototypes? This is the ideal place to start. With this hands-on guide, you'll explore several themes in interactive art and design-including 3D graphics, sound, physical interaction, computer vision, and geolocation-and learn the basic programming and electronics concepts you need to implement them. No previous experience is necessary. You'll get a complete introduction to three free tools created specifically for artists and designers: the Processing programming language, the Arduino microcontroller, and the openFrameworks toolkit. You'll also find working code samples you can use right away, along with the background and technical information you need to design, program, and build your own projects. Learn cutting-edge techniques for interaction design from leading artists and designersLet users provide input through buttons, dials, and other physical controlsProduce graphics and animation, including 3D images with OpenGLUse sounds to interact with users by providing feedback, input, or an element they can controlWork with motors, servos, and appliances to provide physical feedbackTurn a user's gestures and movements into meaningful input, using Open CV


active family resemblance

it's ongoing

Family-resemblance is a term invented by Wittgenstein to indicate the relationship between the many uses of a word, like "game" or "number." In these cases, and by extension many abstract words, there is no simple essence that applies to all instances of a word, but an overlapping set of similarities.

The metaphor is based in the resemblances of various members of a family. Some may have a characteristic nose, hair, or walk, or laugh. It is not necessary all members share one family trait in order for us to recognize them as family members.

The phrase "family resemblance" come from Ludwig Wittgenstein:

"consider for example the proceedings that we call "games"...[to] look and see whether there is anything common to all... we can go through the many, many other groups of games in the same way; we can see how similarities crop up and disappear.

I can think of no better expression to characterize these similarities than "family resemblances"; for the various resemblances between members of a family: build, features, colour of eyes, gait, temperament, etc. etc. overlap and criss-cross in the same way. — And I shall say: "games" form a family. "

His concept was aimed at combating the unexamined belief that all words have an essential meaning. and that the lack of essentialism is a common and useful feature of our words.

I want to highlight two additional features of family-resemblance:

The metaphor of "family resemblance" makes us think of a somewhat static activity; it fails to analogize the ongoing activity of family resemblance as used in thinking, talking and understandings.

AFR is a feature in all philosophical words. I am using philosophy in its most general sense of talking | thinking | understanding about the most general aspects of our world. (It is also a feature of nearly every word in human language use.) we make the word fit the situations or contexts in which it is used.

Since AFR is a constant feature and possibility, it is or are the activities which underlie our fuzzy (multi-criterial or extensible words),

There are a number of important points about this extensibility


Blog #5

A MOOK... I like the idea of reaching out beyond the classroom, but I am daunted by the amount of work this would entail. I have just been doing research on a fairly narrow aspect of writing race (aimed at teachers - how do writing teachers reach students with different ethnic backgrounds? is it important to share a cultural background with the majority of your students? how much should writing teachers focus on race/ethnicity?) and I really feel I would need a more thorough grounding on the theoretical and practical reality of race and writing. I am definitely still in the learning phase of this project, and I don't know if I am even finding any of the resources that everyone already knows about. I, at least, would feel extremely self-conscious pretending I was capable of creating a MOOK on this topic (or maybe any topic?)

Regarding my research for teachers, I have stumbled across some good resources. I have been re-reading a book called Teach Like Your Hair's on Fire and it has a lot of parallels to the movie Freedom Writers. While it is encouraging to find these positive examples of reaching at-risk students, (sometimes of the same ethnic group as the teacher and sometimes not), it is also discouraging to me because these examples show teachers who have sacrificed almost every other part of their lives to reach their students. Above all, the lesson is that it is not easy for anyone to reach at-risk students and teachers are often left to fight the powers-that-be (administrators, standardized test producers, big business, government bureaucrats)--the very forces that should be helping teachers help students. This fact is discussed in "This is Not a Test" when a math teacher in Washington Heights provides a narrative on how schools can serve the needs of all children. but how it is teachers working against the system to make it happen.

I am still reading an old, but interesting to me, article called "The (In) Visibility of the Persona(al) in Academe." This article discusses the need to provide relevant, multi-cultural resources to all students. But she also narrates her struggle with finding literature for a composition class after dealing with an episode of anti-Semitism in one of her classes. The author is Jewish and she said she had no trouble selecting reading assignments that reflected a wide range of cultures, but she struggled with finding literature to describe the Jewish experience. She said that she "became hypersensitive to references to Jews in literary works by writers who are not Jewish" and she further struggled with any negative depictions of Jews in literature. Later, she said that she learned to read literature as literature, instead of a representation of an entire race of people. Furthermore, she said that sometimes it takes someone with more distance from an experience to show it in another light. I thought it was a different take on multicultural discussions--the author was stressing that literature is a work of art and it requires an open-minded reader to see it from all different perspectives. Maybe this is just a rationalization for more inclusion and less exclusion?


THE sound of the wailing alarm booming across the British army base in Iraq was a noise I hoped I would never hear.

But after just 36 hours in Basra I had my first serious taste of life under fire.

The noise, much like a fire alarm, meant a rocket had been fired at the base and the impact was imminent.

It was simply a matter of counting down the seconds.

There was nothing else we could do.

I hit the deck, lay as flat as I possibly could and hoped for the best.

All around me hundreds of soldiers were lying on the floor with their hands over their heads, bracing themselves for the explosion.

Sprawled in the dust it was then that I realised my helmet had fallen just out of reach and I had no protection on my head.

Luckily, I had thought to keep my body armour slung over both shoulders, a move that saves thousands of lives and limbs of British troops.

By keeping low I had the best chance of surviving unscathed as any shrapnel from a mortar blast would fly upwards and over our heads.

But I knew if the rocket landed close enough then I simply wouldn’t live to tell the tale. Seconds passed and then the all-clear was given. A few minutes later we were told it was a false alarm and nobody had been hurt.

But indirect fire, rockets fired at the camp by insurgents up to 15km away, continues to be a constant threat to British troops in Basra.

It served as a reminder that there are still plenty of Iraqis who do not want the British in their country. The situation may be stable in Basra now, bu tthere is always the knowledge there are those nearby who want the soldiers dead.


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This paper posits to address the issues surrounding the Vietnam War during the reign of John F. Kennedy. Much of the information has been derived from a careful review of the available literature that has been written on the same field. To support this information, it has been imperative to conduct a research that brings about the first hand information on the same issue.

Research questions

v  What caused the Vietnam War?

v  What happens during the time of John F. Kennedy presidency during the war?

v  What was the outcome of the war?

Vietnam War involved was a military conflict in form of a cold war which took place in Vietnam between the years 1955 to 1975. The participants in the war were North Vietnam with some significant support from their communists' allies against the South Vietnam government who had the support of the United States together with the rest of the anti-Communists countries.

According to the perception of the government of the United States, the war was taken as an avenue of blocking a communist takeover in the South Vietnam along with the containment strategy. On the other hand, the perception of the North Vietnam in as far as the war was concerned was that one of colonial war whose first culprit was France with a backing of the United States and consequently against the South Vietnam which is also the puppet state of the United States. The arrival of the military advisors from the United States side was documented in 1950, with a further escalation of the involvement of the United States in the early stages of 1960. The levels of the United States troops tripled in 1961 and tripled for another time in 1962. And in the year 1965, the combat units from the United States were deployed (Gibbons, 2003).

Literature review

One of the presidents in office during the time of the Vietnam war was John F. Kennedy and in 1961, a new team was deployed by John F. Kennedy to accomplish the investigations of the conditions that prevailed in the South Vietnam, an investigation that was called the "December 1961 White Papers". The contents in the "December 1961 White Papers" were some humble requests for additional aid to Vietnam. The decision of Kennedy led sending of additional advisors together with machinery but no troops were sent. The support from John F. Kennedy was put in to a coup in the year 1963 (Coleman, 1988).

John F. Kennedy happened to be an enthusiastic believer that the issue of communism must be contained at all costs. He was keen to make it clear to the public that he was supporting the policies laid down by Dwight Eisenhower, who was the former president before him. He was also emphatic on his support for Diem government that hailed in the South Vietnam. Also John F. Kennedy was also emphatic on his staunch support for 'Domino Theory' and due to all these virtues that he held, it was as per his believe that on succumbing of the South Vietnam to communism, then there was all the possibility for the rest of the states in the entire region to consequently fall suite. This was an issue that John F. Kennedy was not ready at all to contemplate.

John F. Kennedy was given some advice that was in conflict in as far as Vietnam was concerned. One of the advisors asserted that the issue of Vietnam and the war had all potentials to trap the United States in to the bottomless swamp in consideration of the Us military as well as political set up. The basis of this advice was the experience that was gained by French at the time of Dien Bien Phu whose consequences were leaving a psychological scar that was sizeable in as far as the foreign policy of French was concerned for an appreciable extent of time.

John F. Kennedy however maintained some contacts to the Washington DC 'hawks' on a daily basis, which had a strong believe that the forces of the Americans was equipped in a better way and also prepared to face the conflict that was facing Vietnam as compared to the French. They were for the opinion that a marginal increase in the support offered by the United States to the Diem could be a potential source of success in as far as Vietnam War was concerned. The Washington DC 'hawks' particularly opted to support in the strongest terms the 'Domino Theory'. It was also the perception of John F. Kennedy for the Americans to "Pay any extent of price, bear any weight of burden, meet any form of  hardship, support any potential friend to ascertain that the success as well as the survival of liberty were forthcoming (Coleman, 1988).

Causes of Vietnam War

The roots of the war may be traced from the termination of the Second World War. This was the time that Indochina, being a French colony was under the occupation of Japanese. This led to the formation of a nationalist movement by the Vietnamese aimed at resisting the inhabitants and a Guerilla type of war against by the Japanese was initiated by a communist Ho Chi Minh, who had the full support of the United States. As the war came to an end, a tendency developed among the Japanese of promoting the Vietnamese nationalism. This consequently brought about nominal independence in the country.

As a result of the defeat of the Japanese, the French embarked on repossessing their colony. They could only access Vietnam with the permission of Viet Minh and only after assuring that, there was a possibility for the attainment of independence as a section of French union.

With the indulgence of the Americans in this war in the year 1965, some individuals raised dome voices in dissent. A warning was raised to the effect that, the government of South Vietnam was functionally a non entity and consequently it was not just simple to sustain it with the aid of the United States irrespective what extent of effort was put in place. There was formation of protests groups that were against the war in most of the campuses in the nation. However, a dissent of significance was only to be noted after 1966. The years up to 1965 were associated by a notion that the involvement of the Americans in this war was rooted towards the suppression of communism that was evident in the Southern Asia region. Most of the people ignored the occurrences and continued with their daily activities, not being aware of the fact that the war that was first growing would in future disrupt their society (Coleman, 1988).

Research methodology

This section spells out the procedures and the methods that the researcher employed in achieving the objectives of the project. It defines location of the study, research procedures and analysis plan that were addressed in the course of the study consideration when carrying out this particular research. Success of the project was a factor of the provision of satisfying information in line with the objectives and hypothesis in the determination of causes and the consequences of the Vietnam War.

The objective of the research just as a recap is to identify the causes and the consequences of the Vietnam War.  It is important to note here that this research was mainly based on the interviews even though other research methodologies were briefly discussed.

Primary research

Primary research refers to collection of statistics that is non existent. This was considered to be achieved through numerous forms: including the use of questionnaires, making telephone conversations, surveys, etc. As pertained to this project, the primary sources were likely to be the existing literature on the causes and the consequences of the Vietnam War. The major merit with conducting primary research is that it was accurate. However, the disadvantage of primary research was that it was time consuming, as it involved dealing with people from various regions, the human sources may only become resourceful out of their own willingness, and this took them quit sometimes before making up their minds to tell what they knew or give their side stories about your questions on causes and the consequences of the Vietnam War.

Secondary research

Secondary research on the other hand is the collection of existing data, that is, in contrast to primary research. For example: research on experiments or specific subjects. The merit of secondary research is that it's not time consuming however a disadvantage is that the information retrieved may not be relevant.

Choice of research philosophy

Another aspect that is of great significance in this research was the research strategy. It's the research strategy that indicated which methods a researcher adapted to answer the research objectives or questions on causes and the consequences of the Vietnam War.

Research validity and reliability

A debate about the findings of the preceding literatures on causes and the consequences of the Vietnam War includes the discussion of the 'research', more often than not referring to the manner in which the statistics were collected". This research being a phenomenological, all questions are related to theoretical characteristics discussed in literature preview. The process would therefore be accurate in collecting, analyzing and sampling data; hence the validity of result would be quite high. Considering that there are many different aspects of validity, which influence the validity of the research in general.

Limitations of the research

Limitations are usually present in every research and these limitations actually tarnish the results of the research. Certain limitations are also associated with this research. One of the biggest limitations of this research is lack of budget and lack of time. The lack of time given by the respondents can also be another limitation of this research. If the respondents have lesser time than it is highly probable that they might not take the research properly and ultimately the final results of the research would be affected in this scenario. Finally, certain chunks or sources of secondary research can also be treated as a limitation of the research. This is because of the fact that these sources are not valid or they are not updated therefore the data that is attained from these sources might affect the entire results of the research. Therefore, the researcher should take utmost care about all these constraints and try to minimize it

Findings: The outcome of the war

Irrespective of the side that one may opt to take with respect to the opinion pertaining the Vietnam War, it is only logical to make the conclusions that no side emerged as the winner. Over 50 000 lives were lost on the side of the Americans apart from over 35 000 casualties, the reputation of the nation as one that deserved to be trusted as an ally, financial loses as well as the unity of the people for a considerable period of time. The Vietnamese on the other hand recorded millions of deaths.

As a result of the war, the American congress decided to enact the 1973 War Powers Act. According to the provisions of the Act, any president had to be granted some congressional approval explicitly prior to the decision of committing the American forces to engage in outside war.

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Emotionally Unstable Malaysian Bloggers Seek Counselling

Posted on January 15, 2007

Recently, there has been a growing number of Malaysian bloggers, such as MENJ who, visibly upset over negative remarks posted by visitors, have demanded silence from them, or to simply “GET LOST”. This ‘if you don’t like it get out’ idea, and its close relative the ‘if you write negative comments I won’t publish it’ mentality, is a concept that is totally alien to the ideals of free speech and democracy, and is perhaps a reflection of the level of iron-fist dictatorship which Malaysians have been subjected to over the past two decades.

When a blogger chooses to publicly post his or her article on the Internet, he has to understand that there will be readers who may not agree with his views, and they are entitled to voice their disapproval, before they “get lost”, just as he has the right to leave comments on websites that he visits. If he is able to accept praises and adulation from admirers, he should be just as able to accept negative feedback. You cannot have it both ways. When a person publishes articles in public, he is ‘fair game’ to comments, be they roses or brickbats. If he is unable to comply, then he should perhaps retrieve to the private life.

Some other bloggers pretend to be fair and declare they have no problem with “constructive criticism”. “Constructive criticism” is a deceptive phrase usually employed by people who are otherwise unable to accept negative comments, in an effort to appear rational. In actual fact, these “constructive criticisms” are opinions they themselves more or less agree with. It is not that difficult to accept “constructive criticisms” if you agree with them in the first place. When a visitor posts critical feedback on their websites, the reply by these mob of emotionally unstable bloggers is usually riddled with expletives and generous use of multiple exclamation marks, a practice we suspect they adopt from 12 year old spoilt brats suffering from ADD.

MENJ is not the only one suffering from anger management issues. There are numerous websites out there, dedicated to bashing the government, bashing God, bashing atheists, bashing cross-dressing transsexuals, bashing the fly-infested mee goreng at Seksyen 19, that display overtly emotional language.

Why then, do we unfairly target MENJ, when there are many other Malaysian bloggers out there, who either due to a lack of vocabulary, a traumatic childhood or unresolved issues,resort to employing course language and a ridiculous number of exclamation marks? Why do we concentrate on him, when there are many other bloggers who are more educated, more intelligent and are far better equipped at defending themselves without looking like an infantile fool? The main reason is because, as stated by MENJ, he simply does not care. From the tone of his language, it is clear that criticisms have upset him, and we suspect there have been numerous. Although we at kampunghouse pride ourselves at being irresponsible and irreverent, we sincerely believe further distressing MENJ  on his website will aggravate his already serious emotional instability (even though that hasn’t stopped us in the past), and after having to endure more than 20 years of authoritarian rule by an emotionally disturbed Prime Minister, we understand the severe implications and acknowledge that this is no laughing matter.

To MENJ, and all the other angry and emotionally unstable bloggers, we wish them a speedy recovery


This post is dedicated to my friend Kathleen, who joined the ranks of Heaven this past week.

When I taught English, one of the activities I would have my students do was write their own obituary. While it may sound morose, it was a good lesson—not only would it help them choose concise and vivid descriptors, but I encouraged my students to reflect on how they wanted to live—and be remembered.

I’m not sure what Kathleen would have written as a high school student if given that assignment, but I do know that she lived her life with amazing grace.

In remembering Kathleen, there’s a big part of me that feels like I have no business writing this because I won’t do even a sliver of justice to who she was. She had so many wonderful people in her life who knew her way better than I did. Yet I feel compelled to say something about my friend, so please bear with me.

Kathleen was an extraordinary woman. I met her when she began serving on a ministry I led at our church, and it grew into a real friendship. Kathleen was a real friend. When I use the word “real” here, it means two main things—that Kathleen was both a genuine friend, and also that she did not pretend to be a perfect person. She let herself be seen as she really was. She was courageous in that way.

The temptation might be to make her into a saint in her passing, but she would be the first to giggle at that notion. She was honest, loving, caring, silly, brave, smart…and beyond that, she was wise. She genuinely listened and mulled things over. She was so very thoughtful. And she was a truly devoted wife and mother. Her kids meant the world to her. But she would never claim to be June Cleaver sweeping through life with her pumps and pearls on. As I said, Kathleen was real.

In the throes of her battle with a devastating cancer, she would still always ask, “And how are you?”…and she really wanted to know. She was the kind of person that made you feel special—and she did that for countless people. That is truly a gift.

The last chapter of her life was an immensely challenging one, and she battled with every ounce of energy and strength she had. Her fight with cancer was a roller coaster journey that was physically and emotionally cruel. Hope here, disappointment there. Good news! But then there’s more bad news…We used to joke about primal scream therapy—because sometimes that seemed to be the only thing that made sense.

Through it all, Kathleen remained faithful to her belief that Jesus was her Savior. And as with all other things about Kathleen, her faith was real. Which meant that it wasn’t easy. She struggled with the Big Why of it all. She was angry that her cancer had returned, and her heart was broken as a mother that she would not physically be here for her children. And because of this “realness,” she was an inspiration to so, so many of us. She wrestled with so much, and while she lost the earthly battle, she won the ultimate war with amazing grace.

wispy sky

And out of all of the wonderful ways I could describe Kathleen, for me, it really all comes down to that: she had amazing grace. She had the grace of her Lord that she knew she could count on, and she lived her life with amazing grace and love.

I really can’t think of a better way to be remembered. And Kathleen will indeed be remembered by so many people who loved her and were loved by her. I am blessed to have been her friend, and while I am joyful that she is free from pain and Home, I will miss her dearly.

All photos are my own.


‘RiME’: Beauty trapped in stone

"RiME" is a single-player puzzle adventure game about a young boy shipwrecked on a mysterious island after a torrential storm.

By MORGAN SHAVER | Shacknews.com | Published: July 3, 2017

Let me preface this review by stating that “RiME” isn’t for everyone. It’s a slow, solemn puzzle platformer that requires a lot of patience. If you aren’t a fan of the genre, you won’t be able to extract the full experience that the game has to offer. Additionally, among the top questions asked in relation to “RiME” is whether or not it’s worth purchasing on the Nintendo Switch.

My quick answer is yes, but I want to stress the importance of separating the two entities. “RiME” wasn’t a game built exclusively for the Nintendo Switch, despite graphical comparisons to “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.” “RiME” plays like a passion project, a creative landscape pulled straight from a dream.

When you first load up the game, you notice just how gorgeous “RiME” is to look at. From the shimmering waters, to the breathtaking day/night cycle, right down to the ivory white towers that you climb and explore, “RiME” is a visual marvel. These mesmerizing vistas are given extra beauty as they’re backed by a powerful soundtrack (one of my favorite game soundtracks of 2017 thus far).

Arguably, the game’s two greatest strengths are its visuals and sound. Where it starts to fall short is the delivery of its message. With that, I want to dive a little deeper into its story; namely, what it got right and what it got wrong.

Note: A full spoiler warning is in effect for the remainder of the review. If you haven’t completed “RiME,” I suggest returning once the game is completed.

“RiME” story summary, final verdict (spoilers)

The story of “RiME” begins with a young boy stranded on a mysterious island. Now, I want to refrain from making too many comparisons to games like “Journey” or “Abzu,” but there are a few similarities worth mentioning to fans of this particular category of games who may be interested in picking up “RiME.”

First, there’s no dialogue in “RiME,” as the boy is restricted to interacting with the world around him by shouting out to blue statues, or by humming to himself. Second, you’re given no instruction on how to solve the various puzzles you encounter. They’re kept purposefully simple so that you can figure them out on your own, while ensuring they’re cumbersome enough to make you feel like you accomplished something.

Finally, the melancholy tone that seems to pervade the game from start to finish borrows a lot from anonymous characters found in “Journey” and “Abzu.” Even by the game’s ending, you don’t know much about the boy and his life before finding himself stranded on the island. Furthermore, “RiME” wastes no time introducing you to the mysterious figure in the red cloak whom the boy chases throughout the game. It’s in these moments that you get the feeling that the boy has lost something (or someone) that was close to him.

Aside from chasing the mysterious cloaked figure, the boy is accompanied by a mystical fox you free from stone. Despite how welcome it is to have a friend, the mystical fox isn’t inherently real, and you’re actually given glimpses of this throughout the game if you pay close enough attention.

For example, the fox appears to be composed of delicate autumn leaves, especially in moments where you see the fox jumping around. “RiME” seems to be a realization of coming to terms with something that cannot be changed, that’s set in stone like the statues of people (which remind me a lot of “Pompeii”) that the boy encounters in the later stages of the game.

The first half of “RiME” is stoic, detached, and reserved, while the middle is the epicenter of action. Despite being enjoyable, it’s the ending that elevates the game. Notably, each character’s final acceptance of the truth despite how painful this truth is. Indeed, “RiME” diverts from the ambiguous endings of other games in this genre and instead adopts an ending that’s far more grim.

The person within the red cloak is the boy’s former self, who he became separated from after perishing in a shipwreck. At the end, the boy confronts a stone image of himself and realizes that his fate is set in stone. He has crossed over to another realm, leaving his father and former life behind. The fox dissolves away in his arms, and he cries out activating the stone’s powers which encases him in stone.

Within the stone, you can hear the anguish in the boy’s voice as he continues screaming. When he finally breaks out of his stone chrysalis, he emerges as a black shadow and watches the other shadows descend into a dark chasm. With his quest complete and nowhere else left to go, he follows the shadows down into the darkness. Meanwhile, his father completes a more traditional grieving process.

You see the boy’s father sit with the key to his son’s room in his hands. After working up the courage, he finally unlocks the boy’s bedroom and stares out the window at the sea. Soon, he’s greeted by a spectral image of his son, whom he’s allowed to hug before the boy disappears.

This helps give his father closure. With the last scrap of his son’s red raincoat (not a cloak after all) in his hands, he releases it into the wind which carries it off to sea, symbolizing that he’s finally accepted the reality of the loss he’s suffered. The sight of him letting go both literally and metaphorically is one of the hardest parts of “RiME” to stomach.

Even though these two characters are fictional, you can really feel the weight of their tragedy. As such, the game’s ending is the most praiseworthy component of its story. Unfortunately, the meaning can get muddied by some of the forced ambiguity in “RiME.” You can guess that something has happened, but the realization that the boy has been dead the whole time feels like it comes out of left field in a way.

Some have even compared it to the ending to M. Night Shyamalan’s cult classic, “The Sixth Sense.” Only this time, it’s the boy who’s been dead all along. I can’t fault “RiME” for the portions of the story that I feel didn’t work, though, as I concluded the game feeling incredibly moved by the final act. “RiME” is a slow burn, and isn’t for gamers who find themselves bored by games like “Abzu” or “Dear Esther.”

Furthermore, if you’re only interested in “RiME” because it’s a new IP coming to the Nintendo Switch, you may want to do a bit more research before writing it off as either “good” or “bad.” “RiME” lives up to the reputation set by its predecessors. No, it’s not “Journey” nor does it have to be. It may use the same conventions, but the last half of the game succeeded in flipping things on their head.

It’s a tragic tale, one that deserves far more recognition and praise than it has currently been receiving.

Platforms: Windows PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
Online: greybox.com/rime

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Lino on WCCO in Minnesota

Our fearless leader Lino Rulli appeared on WCCO tonight to talk about faith, his book, and the 10th anniversary of September 11. I forgot to record the audio, so I do apologize for not having a clip available.

Here are memorable quotes from the interview, some paraphrased:

On Catholicism having so many rules and restrictions: "I don't mind those things," Lino said, stating that he actually found it fun.

On his trip to Thailand: "I'm one of the worst people on earth. I claim to be religious, love God, love Catholicism, and I want to get a prostitute (Lino revealed that since his Mom was listening that no, he did not get a prostitute, but the temptation was strong).

"I just thought thats a story I'm going to put in this book. Maybe there are other people who go, 'Wow i fail too.' ... I think lot of people who fall short on what we believe in."

On honesty in Catholic media: I don't see enough in my personal life and faith is honesty. I want to be as honest as humanly possible. We all have struggles, why not laugh at them.

"I'm a real goofball. I want to laugh at myself. When you take yourself lot less seriously, you're more open to taking God seriously.

On 9-11, the anniversary, and God: "There's a feeling in NYC of hesitation, even on my walk here, there's more police presence. I don't mean to be disrespectful, but people are yet still living their life. People all over the place.

"As far faith is concerned, that was something done in name of religion. I can understand that people think religion is a bad thing. The most I can say is that God can make good out of bad, God can take meaning out of suffering.

" Where was God is question? Why does God allow things to happen. God gives us free will, we get to do good or choose to do bad. Many people talk about God being in suffering. God is in the firefighter that races into building to save someone, laying down your life for someone is one of Christ's greatest commandments.

"I know that answer is not helpful, adequate to a lot of people. It's important to be honest. I'll be the first person to be honest and say its ok to find doubts and sadness in this. Allow ourselves to ask important questions, and if we don't find answers, dig deeper. Somehow I still trust, have faith in all of this."

On not having a date tonight: I'm 39 and single. Being on a radio show on Saturday night, I can blame you for being dateless, but we know the truth.


Detailed Instruction

681. Proper Light For Developing

Proper Light For Developing. While gaslight papers are not nearly as sensitive to actinic or white light as dry plates, still it is necessary that a certain amount of precaution be exercised. A very strong yellow light or a dim lamp light is perfectly safe, providing the direct rays from the light do not strike the sensitive paper. It is not necessary to develop by a dark room (ruby) lamp. The printing frame may be loaded and the development carried on in the same light.

682. Disposition Of Outfit, Management Of Light, Etc

Disposition Of Outfit, Management Of Light, Etc. To insure perfect results the place where you intend working should be far enough from the source of light to prevent the possibility of the paper becoming fogged. Six to eight feet from an ordinary lamp or gas jet is far enough, or if the space is limited work nearer to the source of light, interposing a piece of cardboard between the light and the place where you are developing and loading the plate holder. The safety of your position can easily be determined by taking a small strip of the paper, covering a part of it and exposing the remainder for about 30 seconds in the light in which you intend working. If upon development there is a difference between the exposed and the unexposed portions of the strip, the light is too strong, and you should either move farther away or shade your light more.

683. Printing Light

Printing Light. For exposure, artificial light is preferable to daylight, because it varies less in strength. When you have obtained the proper distance and time of exposure on a test print from a given negative, it is easier to make the remaining prints from the same negative of uniform quality.

684. Length Of Exposure

Length Of Exposure. If a kerosene lamp is used for printing we would advise the placing of a piece of camphor about the size of a walnut in the oil. This will have a tendency to make your light of a whiter color and naturally its strength will be greatly increased. With a kerosene lamp you can place your negative, while printing, quite close to the lamp, but keep it revolving and moving so that the light will be distributed evenly over the entire negative. If there are parts of the negative that print slower expose longer on these parts, holding them closer to the light. As a general thing the frame placed about 10 or 12 inches from the light gives the best result.

685. The length of exposure is naturally governed by the strength of negative and the kind of light employed. If a 32 candle-power incandescent light is used with a fairly good negative, from 6 to 8 seconds exposure will be plenty if the negative is held about 10 inches from the light. A thin or soft negative would probably print in 4 seconds. The same negative held 20 inches from the light would probably take 16 seconds. One advantage of holding the negative at least 10 inches from the light is that the light is more evenly distributed. If held very close to the light there is danger of printing one part of the negative more than the other, thereby producing an uneven print. The length of exposure during printing depends entirely on the density of the negative and the strength of the light employed.

686. To find the proper distance from the light at which the negative should be placed during printing, take a piece of white cardboard, actual size of negative to be printed from, and move to and from the light until you find the shortest distance at which the entire card is evenly illuminated. You will find that the regular papers will need from four to five times more exposure than the specials, if the negative is placed at the same distance from the light.

687. The following table will give you a slight idea of exposure, but only practice and close observance of your results can teach you the exact exposure: With special papers, and size of negative 4x5, or smaller, held 7 inches from the light of a kerosene lamp, it will require about 30 seconds; Welsbach Burner, 10 seconds; 16 candle-power electric light, 20 seconds; 32 candle-power, 10 seconds; ordinary oil lamps, from 30 to 50 seconds. Regular Carbon papers, 7 inches from the light, with a kerosene lamp, will require about 1 1/2 minutes to print; Welsbach Burner, 40 seconds; 16 candle-power electric light, 50 seconds; 32 candle-power, 40 seconds; average oil lamp, anywhere from 2 to 3 minutes. If a 4-foot gas burner is used, give the same exposure as with a 16 candle-power electric light. If a 6-foot gas burner is used, give the same exposure as used for the 32 candle-power.

688. A good rule to follow is to first sort the negatives. Place your strong negatives in one pile, the thin ones in another, and when about to print from the heavy ones use the special papers of any surface you prefer. In printing from the thinner negatives use the carbon, or regular paper. While making the exposure be sure that the box containing paper or exposed prints is covered. Being quite sensitive to light, it is easy to ruin an entire box of paper by allowing it to remain uncovered during a single exposure.


Football Birthday Party

I have decided to puttogether a listing of distinct card folding tactics, after which slowly sort out the checklist to create directions and illustrations on how to begin building each card. I purchased 16 inch disposable platers from a regional restaurant supply shop (Orson Gygi) Then I designed them with felt (I'd a number of felt left from the felt dragons... more about them in a minute). I really Lunch Napkin believe they were the two INCH/4” inch size… I picked them up from the regional party retailer (Zurchers). Two-dollar store plastic table cloths are used to disguise the dense and tough pack our Television got in. So I get a several size containers in the grocery store and set our previous hollow core gates to get a spacious banquet table ontop.

still but when you're done gift-wrapping have more report to use, slide this cuff over the center. Afterall, chances are you've carefully chosen pretty and festive report and have lovingly included your sweet effect...it's not time to hide things aside (the exception being these for young kiddos, you then need to tuck them away from their prying tiny fingertips!). My first magazine article for your Chicago suburb paper was released the other day.

For your own baking, blend every one of the dried materials for a distinct menu and shop it in plastic bags tied-up closely and soon you are able to make the entire batch or big jars. I'm not just a lover of additives but that doesn't mean many people are, so if you are creating a huge set of snacks, cakes or pies, select the techniques of store bought combinations, pre-created cookie money and pie crusts along with canned fruits. Our Tip Number 3. Maintain your sheets of covering paper in a small hamper, high holder or even a plastic bucket, whatever can take several moves upright to assist you observe what you have at a look.


Tuesday, September 12, 2017

Evolutionary geneticists spot natural selection happening now in people

Human evolution can seem like a phenomenon of the distant past which applies only to our ancestors living millions of years ago. But human evolution is ongoing. To evolve simply means that mutations – the accidental changes to genes that happen normally in the process of copying DNA – are becoming more or less common in the population over time.

These changes can happen by chance, because the individuals who reproduced happened to carry a particular mutation somewhat more often than individuals who didn’t have children. They can also happen because of natural selection, when carriers of a specific mutation are better able to survive, reproduce or tend to their family members – and therefore leave more descendants. Every biological adaptation, from the ability of humans to walk upright on two feet to flight in birds, ultimately traces back to natural selection acting on these minute changes, generation after generation.

So humans are definitely still evolving. The question is whether we are still adapting: Are individuals who carry harmful mutations living less long, reproducing less – ultimately leaving fewer descendants? For instance, terrible eyesight may have been a major survival disadvantage living on the savanna, but with glasses and laser surgery, it’s unlikely to prevent people from living a long life today. How commonly then are mutations under selection in contemporary humans?

Long time scale makes evolution hard to study

Because adaptations involve tiny changes in the frequencies of mutations from generation to generation and their fortune plays out over tens to hundreds of thousands of years, they are incredibly hard to study directly – at least in long-lived organisms such as people.

So while there is overwhelming evidence for human evolution and unequivocal footprints of adaptation in the genome, rarely have scientists been able to directly observe natural selection operating in people. As a result, biologists still understand very little about the workings of natural selection in humans.

Indeed, one of the clearest footprints of a past adaptation in the human genome involves a mutation that permits milk to be digested in adulthood. This mutation in the lactase gene rapidly rose in frequency with the rise of dairy farming thousands of years ago, independently in multiple populations. It’s the reason some people can drink milk as adults, whereas most remain lactose intolerant.

But even in this well-studied case, let alone for the rest of the genome, researchers don’t know whether the mutation was beneficial for survival or for reproduction; whether the benefits were the same for both sexes, or across all ages; or whether the benefit depended on the environment (for instance, availability of other food sources). As pointed out by evolutionary biologist Richard Lewontin in the 1960s, to learn these properties of natural selection would require a massive study, in which genetic and genealogical information is obtained for hundreds of thousands of people.

Fifty years later, our group realized that this thought experiment is starting to become feasible. We sought large biomedical data sets that would let us learn about mutations that affect survival.

Looking at gene frequency across age groups

Our basic idea was that mutations that lower the chance of survival should be present at lower frequency in older individuals. For example, if a mutation becomes harmful at the age of 60 years, people who carry it have a lower chance to survive past 60 – and the mutation should be less common among those who live longer than that.

We therefore looked for mutations that change in frequency with age among around 60,000 individuals from California (part of the GERA cohort) and around 150,000 from the U.K. Biobank. To avoid the complication that people whose ancestors lived in different places carry a somewhat different set of mutations, we focused on the largest group with shared ancestry within each study.

Across the genome, we found two variants that endanger survival. The first is a variant of the APOE gene, which is a well-known risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease. It drops in frequency beyond age 70. The second harmful variant we found is a mutation in the CHRNA3 gene. Associated with heavy smoking, this inherited mutation starts to decrease in frequency at middle age in men, because carriers of this mutation are less likely to survive longer.

People who carry a variant of the APOE gene die at a higher rate and are less common among the old age categories. Mostafavi et al, PLOS Biology, CC BY

Both deleterious variants only had an effect long after the typical ages of reproduction for both females and males. Biologists usually consider such mutations to not be under selection. After all, by late middle age, most people have already passed their genes on to whatever offspring they’ll have, so it seems like it might not matter how long they live beyond that point.

Why then would we only find two, when our study was large enough to detect any such variant, if common in the population? One possibility is that mutations that only imperil survival so late in life almost never arise. While that is possible, the genome is a large place, so that seems unlikely.

The other intriguing possibility is that natural selection prevents even late-acting variants from becoming common in the population by natural selection, if they have large enough effects. Why might that be? For one, men can father children in old age. Even if only a tiny fraction of them do so, it may be enough of an evolutionary fitness cost for selection to act on. Survival beyond the age of reproduction could also be beneficial for the survival of related individuals who carry the same mutations, most directly children. In other words, surviving past typical reproductive ages may be beneficial for humans after all.

Smokers who carry a mutation in the CHRNA3 gene tend to smoke more cigarettes per day and so are more exposed to harmful effects of smoking. NeONBRAND on Unsplash, CC BY

Your mutations do influence your survival

In addition to examining one mutation at a time, we were also interested in considering sets of mutations that have all been shown to influence the same trait, and might have very subtle effects on survival individually. For example, researchers have identified approximately 700 common mutations that influence height, each contributing only millimeters. To this end, we considered tens to hundreds of mutations that shape variation in one of 42 traits.

We found genetic mutations linked to a number of diseases and metabolic traits that decrease survival rates: individuals who are genetically predisposed to have higher total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, risk of heart disease, BMI, risk of asthma or lower HDL cholesterol tend to die younger than others.

Perhaps more surprisingly, we discovered that people who carry mutations that delay puberty or the age at which they have their first child tend to live longer. It was known from epidemiological studies that early puberty is associated with adverse effects later in life such as cancer and obesity. Our results indicate some of that effect is probably due to heritable factors.

So humans carry common mutations that affect their survival and natural selection appears to act on at least a subset, in some contemporary environments. But what is bad in one context may well not be in another; as one example, the CHRNA3 variant has an effect because people smoke. These are early days, however, and our findings offer only a first glimpse of what can soon be gleaned from millions of genomes, in combination with genealogical records. In future work, it will be important to study not only lifespan, but also the number of children and grandchildren individuals leave, as well as populations and environments worldwide.

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Title: High Resolution, Multi-Spectral, Automatic Satellite Rainfall Estimation Over Amazonia in Real Time

Principal Investigators: (Current and Past)
Marcos Costa (SA-PI)
Gilberto A. Vicente (US-PI)

Please review the following pages summarizing the relationship between your team's publications and datasets.

  1. This list of publications attributed to your investigation is based on publications in the peer-reviewed primary scientific literature that you reported via annual reports and proposals, and are a product of your LBA-ECO investigation. If you have additional peer-reviewed publications not listed here, that are a product of your LBA-ECO research, please send the reference to lbaeco_pubs@mail.lbaeco.org.
  2. This list of datasets is based on metadata provided by your team using the LBA Metadata Editor (LME). If you need any assistance creating metadata for datasets not yet described, please contact Merilyn Gentry (mgentry2@utk.edu).
  3. The matrix shows your reported publications (on column headings referenced by letter) and datasets (on row labels referenced by number). Linkage between publications and datasets was performed by your team with the help of the LBA-ECO Project Office staff. All publications should have datasets; not all datasets necessarily are associated with publications yet. Any publications without datasets are shaded in gray. Please attend to these soon. Contact Merilyn Gentry (mgentry2@utk.edu) if you need assistance.
  4. Publications highlighted in yellow are special issues.

1. LBA-ECO Publications for PC-09

There are no publications available.

2. LBA-ECO Datasets for PC-09

1. LBA-ECO PC-09 Hourly Precipitation estimated from GOES imagery

3. Matrix of Publications / Datasets for PC-09
  • NDE = No Datasets Expected with this publication.

click to view dataset


To Observe, To Detect, To Protect

Imperial Hosts Fundraising Luncheon on Behalf of LCSW

Mr. Asher Brodt of Imperial Real Estate hosted a fundraising luncheon on behalf of LCSW in the state-of-the-art conference room at the Imperial office in Lexington Towers. The by-invitation-only event was attended by professionals, including executives, attorneys, accountants, and real estate and insurance brokers, and highlighted the vital service that LCSW performs for Lakewood.

Mr. Brodt shared his personal admiration for the organization with the distinguished attendees. He acknowledged the supreme efforts LCSW has undertaken to keep the streets of Lakewood safe, efforts that often fall beneath the radar of communal awareness. He cited a specific situation, whose details he could not disclose due to confidentiality, where LCSW discreetly and professionally took control, expending tremendous amounts of time, effort and financial resources to bring the matter to a satisfactory conclusion. The incident enlightened him as to the vast scope of LCSW’s activities and complex situations they are often called upon to handle, and it enhanced his understanding of the role LCSW plays in upgrading the quality of life in Lakewood.

Committee member Meir Lichtenstein was in attendance as well and led a question and answer forum which detailed the important role LCSW plays in the town of Lakewood.

He highlighted the value a citizens patrol brings to a municipality such as Lakewood and marveled at how the organization has built itself over the years to become a formidable force against crime. Lichtenstein went on to stress the positive working relationship between LCSW and the Lakewood Police Department. The LDP appreciates the assistance of LCSW volunteers in maintaining the safety and security of residents, as well as their involvement  that facilitated  numerous arrests made.

Attorney Larry Loigman, who is the legal advisor for LCSW, presented Mr. Brodt with an appreciation award thanking him for hosting the lucrative event.

Donation and sponsorship opportunities are available. To donate or to host a luncheon or parlor meeting in your residence or business, or to become a corporate sponsor, contact the LCSW administrative office at 732-367-5279, or

Most importantly, remember that during the holiday season, experience and research has proven that crime rates rise dramatically. LCSW encourages all residents to leave valuables out of the car, to keep doors locked and to be aware of your surroundings. If you do see something suspicious please call the Lakewood Police Department and the LCSW 24 hour dispatch center immediately, because every minute delay gives criminal another minute to get away. By remaining vigilant and contacting the appropriate authorities immediately, you will help LCSW in their mission of keeping you safe.


Stranger Stalkers – from the Office of Women’s Programs and Studies ▪ Colorado State University

Stranger Stalkers fixate on a particular victim, unannounced to that person. The stalker begins to make contact with the victim in a variety of ways that may initially seem harmless, but their continued presence generates fear and terror for the victim. “Peeping Toms” should not be taken lightly, and can pose a very real threat to their victims.

A survey of university undergraduates revealed that 20% had been stalked or harassed by a former dating partner. (Haugaar & Seri 2004) Stranger stalkers are fantasy oriented and obsessive, with definite personality and/or mental disorders. Cyber-stalkers and pedophiles are also types of stranger stalkers who may use the internet to gather information on their victims.

Stalking literally means to pursue prey or quarry. Legally, it is defined by state statutes, and is generally considered a course of conduct that places a person in fear for their safety.

In Colorado, stalking is defined as harassing someone (i.e., following, contacting, or watching another person) in a way that causes them to feel fearful (state statute C.R.S. 18-9-111). A first time offense is considered a Class 5 Felony, and a Class 4 Felony when there is a restraining order or injunction already in place.

According to the National Center for Victims of Crime, 1,006,970 women and 370,000 men are stalked annually in the United States. On college campuses, 3 in 10 college women report being injured emotionally or psychologically from being stalked, and 80% of campus stalking victims know their stalker.

Additional Resources

I welcome your feelings and ideas on Morgan's Stalking


Notes, Scales & Chords:- A guide to Understanding music

By chirag
In featured
Mar 30th, 2012

This guide will help you approach music directly, as opposed to approaching it from the point of view of any one particular instrument, helping you grow as a well rounded musician not just a specific instrument player, something that will help you expand your horizon.

The notes in the musical alphabet are:

This pattern repeats itself, and is called the CHROMATIC SCALE

It consists of the “Natural” Notes
A   B  C  D  E  F  G
with the addition of “Accidental” notes
A#    C#    D#   F#  and  G#

What does the “#” symbol mean?

The “#” symbol is pronounced as “Sharp” in the music notation, and is considered a half tone(Immediately next note) above the intended natural note. “A#” for instance, is the intermediate note between A and B, the next note after A.
In the musical alphabet, B# and E# don’t exist, and the immediately next note for B is C, and for E is F directly, without any intermediate. Please see the piano correlation to understand how this works out.

The musical Inverse of “sharp”, is “flat” and is denoted by “b”. A# can be represented as Bb(pronounced B flat). Similarly, C# can be represented as Db.

After the G# note, the pattern starts repeating itself indefinitely.

In physics, each one of these notes represent a particular frequency, which doubles itself in it’s next manifestation. To elaborate, lets take two instances of the above pattern, in sequence:

In this example, the second occurrence of the A note is double the frequency of the first A note, And the same goes for all the other notes present here. The second occurrence of the initial note, is called the “Octave” of the note. If you were to take this pattern and repeat it for five times, then the fifth occurrence of the same note would be the “fifth octave” of the note.

It is common practice to initiate this pattern from C to C instead of A to A, although it’s a full circle either ways.  Have you ever wondered why the notes on a piano are arranged the way they are?

Like many things in music, there is logic behind that too. Although this guide is meant to be general, we’re using a piano’s keys(something we’ve all seen) to elaborate the points mentioned.

All the white keys on a keyboard represent the “Pure” (natural) notes as opposed to notes that are sharpened or flattened versions of the natural notes(accidentals). The black keys, ofcourse, are the accidentals.

Take a look at the figure:

Figure: The notes on a piano.

As visible in the figure,  The White keys denote natural notes and the black keys denote accidentals.

After the concept of notes has been established, logic dictates there must be some unit step between two sequentially occurring  notes. Taking our piano diagram into consideration again:

Semitone is the gap between a note and the immediately next tone in the chromatic scale. In the example mentioned here C# is a semitone above C and similarly, F is a semitone above E (as there is no E#)

Some more examples:
Semitone above B is C
semitone above: G# is A (as chromatic scale repeats itself after G#)

TONES(not to be confused with Tonality)

Tones are twice the gap of semitones which means, Two Semitones Make up a Tone. A tone is also referred to as Whole tone or Full tone.

Examples of Whole Tones:

F# is a tone above E
G is a tone above F
B is a tone above A

D is a Tone above C

Chords are built from scales, and scales are built from notes. The understanding of the musical notes thus becomes a critical step to understand these aspects of music.

We strongly suggest you continue to a study of SCALES to put the knowledge of notes into perspective. Feel free to hit us up with any questions that you might have, in the comments section below.