Heather Clem Con Edison LaGuardia Airport weather radar the weather channel national grid LIPA
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
NBA's Collins comes out as first openly gay player
By Julian Linden
(Reuters) - Jason Collins, a veteran center in the National Basketball Association (NBA), announced that he is gay, becoming the first active player from any major U.S. professional sports league to publicly reveal his homosexuality.
Collins, a free agent who played with the Washington Wizards and Boston Celtics during the NBA's 2012-13 regular season, made the announcement in an interview with Sports Illustrated that was published on Monday.
"I didn't set out to be the first openly gay athlete playing in a major American team sport. But since I am, I'm happy to start the conversation," he said.
"I wish I wasn't the kid in the classroom raising his hand and saying, 'I'm different.' If I had my way, someone else would have already done this. Nobody has, which is why I'm raising my hand."
In the ultra-scrutinized world of U.S. professional sports, there had never been an openly gay player in any of America's major professional sports leagues, although some had revealed their sexual orientation after retiring.
In a country with openly gay politicians, entertainers and even soldiers, professional sports had become a final frontier and questions were being asked why sports, which helped play a key role in changing public opinion on racial discrimination, was out of step with the rest of American society.
Former U.S. President Bill Clinton, whose daughter Chelsea was a classmate of Collins at Stanford University, applauded Collins for coming out.
"Jason's announcement today is an important moment for professional sports and in the history of the LGBT community," Clinton said in a statement.
"It is also the straightforward statement of a good man who wants no more than what so many of us seek: to be able to be who we are; to do our work; to build families and to contribute to our communities. For so many members of the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) community, these simple goals remain elusive.
"I hope that everyone, particularly Jason's colleagues in the NBA, the media and his many fans extend to him their support and the respect he has earned."
NBA Commissioner David Stern also issued praised Collins for breaking the barrier.
"Jason has been a widely respected player and teammate throughout his career and we are proud he has assumed the leadership mantle on this very important issue," Stern said in a statement.
Collins, 34, has played for six NBA teams since entering the league in 2001 and twice appeared in the playoffs. He said he wants to continue playing and hopes to find a new team.
It had seemed like only matter of time until an active player said he was gay after the issue had become one of the hottest topics in North America, no more so than in the National Football League (NFL), the most macho of America's pro sports.
In the days leading up to this year's Super Bowl in New Orleans, San Francisco 49ers cornerback Chris Culliver told reporters he would not welcome a homosexual teammate into the locker room.
He later retracted his comments but reports have since emerged of NFL teams asking college players about their sexuality at a scouting combine in February.
This prompted the New York State attorney general to send a letter to the NFL, urging the league to take action and adopt a formal policy of sexual discrimination.
Culliver's comments are not typical of the attitude of all professional sportsmen. Indeed, there are several high-profile NFL players, most notably Chris Kluwe and Brendon Ayanbadejo, who have advocated for gay rights.
Both believe it was only a matter of time before a professional player came out publicly.
(Reporting by Julian Linden in New York; Editing by Frank Pingue)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/collins-comes-first-openly-gay-player-top-u-154217963.html
diane lane drew peterson Argo bonnaroo robin roberts Ashley Morrison El Chapo Guzman
Monkeys at Risk as Harvard Terminates Center: Op-Ed
Brian Hare?studies the cognitive abilities of primates and dogs as associate professor of Evolutionary Anthropology and Cognitive Neuroscience at Duke University and received his Ph.D. from Harvard. He recently co-authored the New York Times best-seller "The Genius of Dogs" with Vanessa Woods. He contributed this article to LiveScience?s Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights.
Nothing is more controversial in the realm of animal research than medical testing on primates. So when a primate center that is run by the Harvard Medical School announces that it will close, the world takes note. ?
Last Tuesday, Harvard announced that the New England Primate Research Center in Southborough, Mass., will be shuttered over the next two years. All of the current research projects will be moved or shut down. The 1,500-individual-strong rhesus macaque colony and the collection of critically endangered cotton-top tamarins will need to be relocated (or potentially euthanized).
Both the Boston Globe and the New York Times ran articles that were structured similarly: The center had a troubled past because of mistreatment of animals in its care. But, Harvard is claiming that the center is being closed down for economic reasons. A journalist looking for an angle must wonder ? which is it? Both papers covered "both" sides of the story by interviewing researchers and what the Boston Globe dubbed "animal rights activists." [Image Gallery: Monkey Mug Shots]
The answer, of course, is that both likely played a big role in the decision. Improving welfare conditions to meet federal standards can be expensive in many cases ? this type of research is expensive to start with ? and there is now less funding due to federal budget cuts. With fewer projected funds and more expenses, it was unlikely Harvard could meet welfare standards and conduct research without burning millions in cash. It seems they made a very rational decision. Closing the center has the added benefit of preventing future bad PR for Harvard. ?
Given how clear this seems, a couple of things bothered me about how the papers covered the story. First, the Boston Globe's casual use of "animal rights activist" to characterize an employee at the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) is inaccurate. HSUS is an animal welfare organization that works to prevent cruelty to animals by helping encourage enforcement and improvement of existing welfare laws. These are typically laws regarding food, water, space and provisions for psychological health. This is a very different stance than someone who is an animal rights activist who fights for animals to have humanlike rights that would prevent any form of research.
In fact, all federal employees are legally obligated to take a welfare stance when working with federally owned research animals. Too often, welfare and animal rights are being confounded. As a result, nongovernmental organizations and researchers striving to improve the lives of animals in their care are being branded as animal rights activists instead of being celebrated for finding new ways to protect both human and nonhuman health and well-being.?
Second, both papers failed to note that cotton-top tamarins are critically endangered in the wild but are used in research at Harvard's center. It seems the National Institutes of Health and Harvard should find housing for all the monkeys, but Harvard likely can euthanize the monkeys with no legal consequences. This is known as a "humane endpoint" in biomedical research. Legally, there will be nothing to compel Harvard to move the endangered primates to a sanctuary, or even another lab. The only protection the monkeys have is an informed press that can alert everyone to Harvard's actions.?
Supreme hypocrisy would be on display if the richest university on the planet cannot find a suitable sanctuary for a colony of endangered monkeys while they preach the importance of biodiversity to developing countries. Sadly, the journalists were so busy trying to polarize the wrong issue they missed blowing the giant whistle in the room.
The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher. ?
Follow us @livescience, Facebook?& Google+. Original article on LiveScience.com.
Copyright 2013 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Source: http://news.yahoo.com/monkeys-risk-harvard-terminates-center-op-ed-224628601.html
maryland lottery grand jury ozzie guillen fidel castro darvish george zimmerman website edmund fitzgerald uss enterprise
Google Search for iOS gets Google Now! All the great features of Android... locked in one little app
Google Search has just been updated and the big news is, it now includes Google Now! Yes, the card-style informational service, which includes traffic and weather updates, as well as information about sports teams and breaking news. That means iPhone and iPad owners get a taste of the same features Android users having been enjoying in Jelly Bean for almost a year.
Voice remains one of the core elements of Google Search, and works with the new Google Now features so, when Google isn't already serving up what you want, you can simply ask for it. For example, the traffic condition update can give you information on how long your commute will be before you leave for the day.
Unlike stock Android, where Google Now is a core service, on iOS it's locked inside the Google Search app, which limits its scope and convenience. Lack of Push Notification support makes that worse than it might otherwise be.
And, of course, you have to be willing to log into your Google account and give them access to location and other forms of data. That's the price of the virtual assistant. It knows all about you. If you don't want that, you don't get that.
- Free - Download Now
Thanks Eric for the tip!
     |
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/JJ3BWwYqIR8/story01.htm
world trade center kirk cousins ovechkin one world trade center bks new dark knight rises trailer khloe and lamar
Monday, April 29, 2013
Syrian state TV: Prime minister escapes assassination attempt
DAMASCUS, Syria - State-run Syrian TV says the country's prime minister has escaped an assassination attempt when a bomb went off near his convoy.
The TV says Prime Minister Wael al-Halqi was unhurt in the attack in the capital's western neighbourhood of Mazzeh. The TV said Monday's bombing left a number of casualties.
The attack was not the first targeting a high official in the Syrian capital.
On July 18, a blast at the Syrian national security building in Damascus during a meeting of Cabinet ministers killed the defence minister and his deputy, who was President Bashar Assad's brother-in-law. That attack also wounded the interior minister.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/syrian-state-tv-says-prime-minister-escaped-assassination-073754407.html
nazi ss andrej pejic steve jobs fbi safehouse brown recluse brown recluse front door
East Central Relay for Life raises funds, awareness for American ...
HURLEY, Mississippi -- Cancer survivors and their families as well as many from the Hurley area turned out Saturday for food, fireworks and fund-raising for the American Cancer Society at the East Central Relay For Life here at Shirley Stadium.
The event started at 10 a.m. and was scheduled to go through midnight.
Cancer survivors Eddie Christensen and Faye Griffith served as the king and queen of the festivities.
They led the survivor walk as survivors, identified by their purple t-shirts, walked a lap around the field, then were joined by their caregivers for another lap.
Different team members continued walking laps throughout the day.
There were vendors around the field selling various treats, raising money toward their team goals.
Of all of the games and fun activities, the most popular was an oversized, motorized Radio Flyer wagon that zipped around the East Central schools with riders, both old and young.
Source: http://blog.gulflive.com/mississippi-press-news/2013/04/east_central_relay_for_life_ra.html
Nastia Liukin Gabby Douglas hair Kayla Harrison Mars landing Gabby Douglas John Orozco Garrett Reid
Space coffee, just the way you like it - Gizmag
Since the early days of space travel, a consistent complaint has been bad coffee. Now a group of freshman engineering students at Rice University has developed a simple approach to alleviating this problem.
Hot coffee has been a part of space travel since the beginning of the Apollo program, which included a source of hot water for reconstituting food and drink. There are now many versions available, all freeze-dried and reconstituted using hot water at 70 degrees Celsius (158 degrees Fahrenheit).
Astronauts can choose from ordinary coffee (leaded or unleaded) and Kona coffee. It comes black, with artificial sweetener, with cream(er), with both, with sugar, or with cream(er) and sugar. And it all tastes bad.
"The key to freeze-dried food is Tabasco sauce."
The above quote is from a hiker and hunter, but is apropos here. Although modern freeze drying methods have greatly improved the taste of freeze-dried food and drink, even on Earth such foodstuffs are widely regarded as providing only a limited imitation of the taste experience that goes with ingesting "real" food and drink. Freeze-drying can cause the loss of some of the more volatile aroma compounds, thereby altering the taste. In addition, changes in texture during the freeze-drying process can alter the experience of eating a particular food. Tabasco sauce and similar condiments and additives can kick the flavor up a notch.
An additional factor in our appreciation of food and drink is related to the well-known psychological phenomenon of the Uncanny Valley. The Uncanny Valley is a concept used to explain why humanoid robots are so difficult to accept. If a robot is only vaguely humanoid, we take it for what it is. However, if it is close enough to appearing human, we concentrate on every aspect that makes it appear non-human, with the usual result being a "creepy" feeling.
A similar phenomenon takes place in food and drink. A processed food with a dramatically altered gustatory experience can be evaluated on its own merits. However, a processed food that is nearly correct will be perceived in terms of its difference from the ideal. In this case, the food will generally be perceived as "off" or on the verge of being spoiled. Sometimes food that is a bad imitation of some ideal food will be preferred to a fair to good imitation.
Culinary challenges in space
Do food and drink taste the same when you're in a small weightless capsule in orbit? In a word, no. The reaction of our taste buds is limited to five sensory responses (bitter, salty, sour, sweet and umami), but the experience of eating or drinking is strongly affected by a number of other sensory modes. These would include smell, texture, temperature, and chemesthesis (through which we gain the sensation of piquant flavors from chili peppers, black pepper, ginger, and horseradish). Of these, the sense of smell has perhaps the strongest influence on the experience of eating and drinking, and is particularly known to evoke old memories of events associated with similar odors.
The effect of weightlessness on the taste experience results from at least two physical effects. When sampling food on Earth, the aroma molecules from warm food are carried quickly into the nasal cavity by thermally-driven convection and turbulent flow. The main mechanism is that hot gas rises, and cool gas falls ? a process driven by gravity. However, in weightlessness thermally-driven motion of gases is much slower than on the ground. In the absence of the odors of food, the experience of the taste of food is greatly suppressed.
The second effect of weightlessness is that fluids within the body are not pulled into the lower body by gravity. As a result, fluids accumulate in the astronauts' upper body, so that they chronically suffer severely stuffy noses. We are all acquainted with how bland food tastes during the course of a cold, but for astronauts the cold doesn't go away.
Space coffee
"Moderation in all things" is a general guideline for life that apparently originated with the Ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle. When it comes to coffee, NASA may have gone missing that day in school. Black coffee is difficult to ruin, although the freeze-drying process does change the taste. However, there is a particular problem with premixed NASA coffee with additives. If you want sugar and/or creamer in your premixed NASA coffee, the result is a cuppa rendered syrupy with huge amounts of these additives. Astronauts complain more about the artificially large viscosity than about the taste, but both receive failing grades.
Rice University students, from left, Robert Johnson, Benjamin Young and Colin Shaw show their coffee as you like it for astronauts aboard the International Space Station
Among the goals of the Texas Space Grant Consortium (TSGC) is to provide opportunities for undergraduate students to participate in space based research and exploration. One mechanism for implementing this goal is the TSGC Design Challenge. Designing a ?coffee the way you like it? system for the use of astronauts on the International Space Station was one of the 2013 Challenges taken up by a trio of Rice University engineering students (Robert Johnson, Colin Shaw and Benjamin Young) and their faculty sponsors, Drs. Ann Saterbak and Matthew Wettergreen of Rice's Bioengineering department.
The challenge was to develop a method and equipment that allows astronauts to add liquid ingredients (cream, sweetener, and lemon juice) from a foil package to another that contains black coffee or tea. No spills in microgravity can be allowed, as these have a tendency to migrate into equipment and cause faults.
The Rice freshmen designed their system around the existing black coffee pouches. NASA supplied them two-ply heat sealed pouches to hold the sugar syrup and cream. The beverage and condiment pouches all have a septum which allows access to their contents without allowing any of the liquid contents to escape.
How is the new system used to make coffee with sugar? In use (see the video below), hot water is injected from a pistol-like dispenser through a septum into a coffee pouch and a sugar pouch. After dissolving the contents, a roller mechanism similar to those used to dispense all the toothpaste out of a toothpaste tube is engaged on the sugar pouch. The rollers were made on a 3-D printer.
To prepare coffee with sugar, a pouch to pouch drinking tube is inserted into the coffee and sugar pouches through their respective septums. A few cranks on the roller, and the coffee has just the right amount of sugar. The drinking tube is clamped shut, the contents of the coffee pouch are mixed by squeezing the pouch repeatedly, and then the drinking tube is unclamped so the astronaut can drink the coffee made to order. The spare sugar and creamer can be stored for later use.
Source: Rice University
Source: http://www.gizmag.com/space-coffee-as-you-like-it/27271/
september 11 9/11 Memorial 911 masterchef Dictionary.com Chicago teachers strike september 11 2001
Itihasa made itihasya...: Thoughts on education and learning...
Reimagining education, learning and society...some ramblings
Schools, learning, teaching, universal access, textbooks and more ...Matters educational are tenuously holding centre stage in contemporary India where otherwise facetious debates on corruption, gender violence, caste and communal fracases, economic stimulus and likes, form the cynosure of public attention,?? determined and defined mostly by hyperventilating TV news anchors and some by scholars and experts? in ed and op ed pages of leading dailies. But in their discourses, issues connected to education emerge often in terms of numbers: poor enrollment, high drop out rates or when lamenting the qualitative aspects; poor infrastructure, pitiable computing, reading and writing abilities, ( resulting mostly from) woeful teaching standards.
However such concerns appear very normalizing wherein other knowledge paradigms and possibilities of learning and teaching is barely taken cognizance of. So even when the tardy enforcement of RTE, viewed to be a progressive legislation to universalize education in India,? is seen with dismay by many, it is largely done so, perhaps unconsciously, as failure to enforce and 'democratize' a standardized vision of learning which also embeds certain dominantly accepted epistemes and knowledge systems.
Issues I have with studies and reports like ASER and PROBE and the alarming inferences that many draw is the fact that learning and literacy are seen as a very formal attribute. One certainly cannot but concede that literacy is what makes abstraction possible and enhance the quality of perception, observation and is transformative. No one can really find fault with a processes that seeks to activate the abstraction capabilities, and scholars such as David Olson, Jack Goody and Walter Ong have argued? that it is literacy that sharpens if not shapes culture as well as cognition, and which separates 'primitive' from 'civilized' societies and that 'mastery of a written language affects not only the content of thought but also the process of thinking - how we classify, reason, remember.' (references here)? But as Sylvia Scribner and Michael Cole contend the impact of literacy is complex and localized and cannot be described in terms of 'generalized changes in cognitive abilities'.??In this even Paulo Freire, the icon for critical schooling and political empowerment of the oppressed masses who envisaged a 'praxological' 'dialogic' form of pedagogy attempting to 'liberate' one from 'magical' consciousness to critical ability, stressed the act of reading and the importance of writing. However orality does continue in Freire's thought even when he privileges writing, reading as facilitating abstraction, in his emphasis of dialogue.? (reference here)? Dialogue is basically oral and in Freire's stress on reflexivity and praxis, he seeks to develop a sort of interior dialogue which links theory and action to social reality. When Freire suggests reading of the word has to be preceded by reading of the world, such an understanding is derived orally, '...even the spoken word flows from the reading of the world.' But since Freire's approach is democratic and egalitarian transformation through conscenciatization his goal, he adds that, '...we can say that reading the word is not just preceded by reading of the world but by certain form of writing it or rewriting it, that is, of transforming it by means of conscious practical work. For me this dynamic movement is central to the literacy process.' (reference here)
Consequently some argue that Freire and his followers failed to realize that literacy itself is often a colonizing process that reinforces a modern form of individualism. (reference here)? Further let us consider the study of Thomas Farrell who had asserted that many Black students-particularly those from inner-city? backgrounds- in the US have been socialized? in the purely oral cognitive patterns of Black English, which is essentially a spoken rather than written language. Consequently he observed that they lack control of the full? panoply of conjugations and coordinating and subordinating syntax that distinguish standard written English which form a necessary matrix? for abstract and analytic thought. Donald Lazere a scholar of literacy and media who tried using literature that black students could relate to like autobiography of Malcolm X or James Baldwin's 'Notes of a Native Son' in his advanced literature classes expecting that working-class Black students might better be able to relate to the subject matter was thwarted by their difficulties with the syntactic and intellectual complexities. In this these students leaned on readers (guides) in? handling new vocabulary and allusions and clearing exams. Further another scholar Lisa Delpit, also concludes from her experience teaching? Black inner-city children that? they dislike the current neglect of standard form and mechanics and want instruction in the? formal skills they need to progress in schooling. (Reference here)? In India many Dalits too maintain a similar position who want to be 'equal participant' and seek 'empowerment' because the past for them means nothing - no worthwhile skills other than menial and extremely derogatory work and therefore memory of past is one of exploitation and oppression. In the present, a normative education (despite all the warts and problems) is certainly more liberating.? But needless to say such formal schooling does entrap us into normative and regulative socio-politico regime which far from being liberating becomes another oppressive institution of modernity.
Therefore does it mean modes of cognition, perception and learning which are tied more to the concrete, specific and tangible have outlived their utility and relevance? I also ask this - Did not orality also nurture superior craft skills which more than the literate sections of the populace sustained us for thousands of years - fed us, clothed us and helped us survive wars, epidemics and hunger? help us make beautiful monuments, art and also brought about understanding of human body, physical world and more?
Schools as operationalized in certain formal space and time, even when enabled by a sensitivity to evolve a curriculum which is cognizant of the childs' social and cultural experience, resulting in a child centred, socially and culturally appropriate pedagogy and an inter-disciplinary and integrated curriculum, has its inherent limitations. These are particularly exacerbated in our age and time of super specialization and performance - where formal exhibition of knowledge in the abstract thru tests and examination - has become sine qua non to prove one's accomplishment and one's employment worth.
Indeed the point is our sense of shock, despair and lament at such poor 'showing', would perhaps not be so profound if it were that these school drop outs could still sustain themselves in work that ensures good living wages facilitating a life of dignity and self respect. The issue many perhaps worry about here is the fact that India does not have a well equipped labour force to work either in factories or in cubicles. In such a scheme of things, where manufacturing (mass produced in conveyor belt form) and services ( particularly IT enabled) which is predicted to contribute the most to GDP, and a high GDP and growth rate would then give us something to brag about, is being jeopardized.
In dealing with this anxiety and satisfying globally benchmarked and defined norms of literacy, education and learning, variables like pedagogy, teacher training, textbooks etc are reframed to make it relevant to the most deprived children and consciously tailored to seek their empowerment. But yet even accounting for few who do and will benefit from these well meaning interventions derived from critical theories of Habermas and Friere, it will in the end precisely do that i.e. enhance only a few.
Nevertheless let us look it matters this way...what if we have a an economy where agriculture and crafts can continue to provide for one's existence (beyond hand to mouth as it were) something which can be more environmentally sustainable, less competitive and ensures that we do not as a society sink to ribald consumerism?
An example will perhaps help to make my point with greater clarity. I know this carpenter whose services we have been availing for more than 10 years. He is a carpenter par excellence but (and I use but with a slant) a school drop out. The way he determines the quality of wood, is able to cut the wood with finesse, shape it into beautiful chairs, tables and cots is seen to be believed. It is evident that his craft displays an acute understanding of mathematical and geometric proportions, weight, mass along with a deep sense of aesthetics. Now his whole skill can be abstracted and presented in terms of non-figurative and theoretical? knowledge through formulas, axioms, theorems, hypothesis etc to students in classrooms. And if my carpenter friend was to be seated in the same classroom it is possible that he is at a complete loss (the key word is possible here...) but we cannot blame him (and the teacher as well or for that matter the curriculum) if he is at pains to understand the concept and even flunks all evaluative processes. On the other hand one may also claim that given the contextual and embedded learning in operation here, my carpenter can make the leap to abstract thinking and grasping. But my contention here is the tenuous nature of such abstraction .
One's credentials as someone who is learned need not be limited by abstracted abilities and skills exhibited through formalized learning spaces (schools/colleges) and its normative practices.? What is more important in my view is their politicization and equipping them with citizenship attributes. A Frierian vision of politicization and empowerment is not precluded because of? poor articulation in writing and deficient reading skills. In other words citizenship and criticality does not and need not hinge on formal literacy abilities. What if my carpenter friend also showed perceptible political consciousness, recognizing aspects of his work as being so fundamental to the material culture we have, takes pride in it but seeks adequate compensation that affords him a better quality of life? What if he says,' No! I dont have any regrets in being a carpenter and I wont insist that my children need the kind of education that will ensure them 'better' jobs as long as this job or any other which they are comfortable doing, emerges from skills and competencies they have proclivities for, arising organically from their socialization and exposure which 'formal schooling' enhances and nurtures it, rather than trying to impose something new on them. It should ensure a life of dignity and decency. Their work should not confine them to living in hovels with poor sanitation, power and deny them some creature comforts. (beyond mobile phones and TV!!!) So if carpentry, farming, garage work, masonary, etc, professions more fundamental to our existence than that of a IT code jockey, bank manager and even a doctor or an engineer, and can ensure us good quality of life, in what ways are we less important or our work less dignified or are we of any inferior intelligence?'
Of course, truth be told my carpenter nurses a deep sense of inferiority and neither does he exhibit such critical and politically edifying thoughts. He certainly does not want his sons (and even daughters thankfully) to have anything to do with carpentry and dreams of his kids becoming good techies and engineers working in false roofed, glass fronted A/C buildings.? But in my view my carpenter is a victim of double whammy - stigmatized as failure by education and lacking political and citizenship consciousness. This despite the brilliance he brings forth to his work which adds so much value to so many people. Tragic indeed. But if we lived in a world where one's intelligence, survival did not depend on such economic externalities and warped by skewed social values, would my carpenter be facing this crisis? This is precisely what Gandhi feared and sought a more organic and integrated school model not divorced from work as he argued in his Nai Talim. This dovetailed well into the non-industrial and non-urban vision he had for India based on his visceral understanding of modernity and its pathologies engendered by commerce, consumption and competition.
At certain levels such a perspective may appear elitist and Brahmanical. I have already dwelled on this aspect here and would not repeat myself.
II
As a teachers I think we need to understand the larger context elucidated above and work towards using pedagogies that can still overcome these structural constraints. Now this is not easy and I dont think I myself succeeded in much measure in this direction. I was teaching in a school catering to middle classes and had to do the needful to put them on an aspirational path. Also the training programmes offered by these schools with its obsession on performance never helped me to understand issues in the manner I'm increasingly begin to look at. As teachers we were given to, rather than subject to accountability and therefore lots of training on appropriate teaching methods, child centred teaching, multiple intelligences and blah blah we were inflicted upon.? Regarding these I recently came across this blog? by Subir Shukla. As Subir says over the last two decades, there has been an explosion of 'pedagogies'...(and government, NGOs etc) have all come up with what they consider 'sure fire' methods of teaching...(to make) classroom processes...interesting, 'joyful' activities will be conducted, teaching learning material and 'learning ladders' will be used, and so on.
What Subir says next is more significant, 'At the heart of it all though, is the basic tenet that if the teacher really cares for his children, he will find a way. All these pedagogies begin to have meaning only if the teacher is interested in children and finds delight in helping them learn. Now most of our training programmes, materials and pedagogical models might claim to be make teaching more effective, but they don't necessarily generate that emotional commitment to children and their learning that is a prerequisite to successful classroom processes.'?
Modernity as we have it then predicates on such an education system and institutionalized nature of work. To conclude
?
Source: http://www.historyandpedagogy.org/2013/04/thoughts-on-education-and-learning.html
halle berry kurt cobain Kamala Harris URI Facebook Home Ncaa Basketball Tournament 2013 Robert Ebert
Saturday, April 27, 2013
An alarm to ?Flip? over
Chances are you have more alarm clocks than uses for them.? They’re on just about every mobile electronic device you own on top of what’s currently sitting at your bedside.? If you’re the type of person who doesn’t want to navigate a bunch of menus or slide the correct buttons just to wake up at [...]
Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2013/04/26/an-alarm-to-flip-over/
curacao curacao home run derby kourtney kardashian kourtney kardashian DNS Changer ernest borgnine
Living with Google Glass, Day Two: Around the House
"You look ridiculous." This was not exactly the reaction I was hoping to receive from my wife the first time she saw me wearing Glass. She was long-since asleep when I arrived late the night before, and so had missed my triumphant, technologically augmented homecoming. I confess Google Glass is a bit odd-looking, but my wife is even more of a hardcore Trekker than I am and I thought somehow this headgear would channel her deep-seated love for bizarre, high-tech facial appendages.
Nope. She wasn't the least bit impressed. When she tried them later, she came around a bit, but spent more time saying the silicon grippers pinched her nose than reveling in the potential future applications of such technology. You can't please everybody.
Filed under: Wearables, Google
glen rice jr bars lindzi cox bachelor finale courtney robertson ben flajnik hunger games premiere
This Week's Top Comedy Video: Christopher Nolan Coffee Commercials
| |
best picture nominees 2012 academy awards 2012 albert nobbs a star is born oscar nominees oscar nominations 2012 kombucha tea
Thursday, April 25, 2013
U.S. to spend $890,000 ? on nothing (Star Tribune)
Fuel barges explode, causing large fire in Ala.
A massive explosion at 3 a.m. EDT on one of the two barges still ablaze in the Mobile River in Mobile, Ala., on Thursday, April 25, 2013. Three people were injured in the blast. Fire officials have pulled units back from fighting the fire due to the explosions and no immediate threat to lives. (AP Photo John David Mercer) Three people were hospitalized with burns. Information on their conditions was not immediately available.
A massive explosion at 3 a.m. EDT on one of the two barges still ablaze in the Mobile River in Mobile, Ala., on Thursday, April 25, 2013. Three people were injured in the blast. Fire officials have pulled units back from fighting the fire due to the explosions and no immediate threat to lives. (AP Photo John David Mercer) Three people were hospitalized with burns. Information on their conditions was not immediately available.
A massive explosion at 3a.m. EDT on one of the two barges still ablaze in the Mobile River in Mobile, Ala., on Thursday, April 25, 2013. Three people were injured in the blast. Fire officials have pulled units back from fighting the fire due to the explosions and no immediate threat to lives. (AP Photo John David Mercer) Three people were hospitalized with burns. Information on their conditions was not immediately available.
Fire burns aboard two fuel barges along Mobile River after explosions sent three workers to the hospital. Fire officials have pulled units back from fighting the fire due to the explosions and no immediate threat to lives. (AP Photo/Press Register, Glenn Baeske)
A massive explosion at 3 a.m. EDT on one of the two barges still ablaze in the Mobile River in Mobile, Ala., on Thursday, April 25, 2013. Three people were injured in the blast. Fire officials have pulled units back from fighting the fire due to the explosions and no immediate threat to lives. (AP Photo John David Mercer) Three people were hospitalized with burns. Information on their conditions was not immediately available.
Fire burns aboard two fuel barges along the Mobile River after explosions sent three workers to the hospital Wednesday April 24, 2013. Fire officials have pulled units back from fighting the fire due to the explosions and no immediate threat to lives. (AP Photo John David Mercer)
MOBILE, Ala. (AP) ? A large fire that began with explosions aboard two fuel barges in Mobile, Ala., was rocked by a seventh explosion early Thursday and fire officials said they planned to let the fire, which has injured three, burn overnight.
Firefighters from Mobile and U.S. Coast Guard officials responded after 8:30 p.m. CDT Wednesday to a pair of explosions involving the gas barges in an area of the Mobile River east of downtown, authorities said.
As they were responding, a third explosion occurred around 9:30 p.m., Mobile Fire and Rescue spokesman Steve Huffman wrote in an email to The Associated Press. Additional explosions followed over the next few hours.
The Coast Guard said early Thursday that a one-nautical-mile safety zone had been established around one barge, which it said was "at the dock for cleaning."
Authorities said three people were transported to University of South Alabama Medical Center after suffering burn-related injuries. Huffman identified them as workers with Oil Recovery Co. The three were in critical condition early Thursday, according to hospital nursing administrator Danny Whatley.
Across the river, the Carnival Triumph, the cruise ship that became disabled in the Gulf of Mexico last February before it was towed to Mobile's port, was evacuated, said Alan Waugh, who lives at the Fort Conde Inn in downtown Mobile, across the river from the scene of the explosions. Waugh saw the blasts and said throngs of Carnival employees and others were clustered on streets leading toward the river as authorities evacuated the shipyard.
"It literally sounded like bombs going off around. The sky just lit up in orange and red," he said, "We could smell something in the air, we didn't know if it was gas or smoke." Waugh said he could feel the heat from the explosion and when he came back inside, his partner noticed he had what appeared to be black soot on his face.
U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Carlos Vega said the initial blast took place in a ship channel near the George C. Wallace Tunnel ? which carries traffic from Interstate 10 under the Mobile River. The river runs south past Mobile and into Mobile Bay, which in turn flows into the Gulf of Mexico.
Video from WALA-TV (http://bit.ly/15NEYJl) showed flames engulfing a large section of the barge, and a video that a bystander sent to AL.com (http://bit.ly/13vWz4G) showed the fiery explosions and billowing smoke over the river.
The cause of the explosion was not immediately clear, Huffman and Vega said.
"Once (the fire) is out and safe, a full investigation will take place," Huffman wrote.
Mobile Fire Chief Steve Dean told AL.com he was confident the fire wouldn't spread to nearby industrial properties, including the shipyard where the Carnival cruise ship is docked.
Huffman said the ship is directly across the river from the incident ? about two football fields in length.
The barges are owned by Houston-based Kirby Inland Marine, company spokesman Greg Beuerman said. He said the barges were empty and being cleaned at the Oil Recovery Co. facility when the incident began. He said the barges had been carrying a liquid called natural gasoline ? which he said is neither liquefied natural gas or natural gas. He said the company has dispatched a team to work with investigators to determine what caused the fire.
The explosion comes two months after the 900-foot-long Carnival Triumph was towed to Mobile after becoming disabled on the Gulf during a cruise by an engine room fire, leaving thousands of passengers to endure cold food, unsanitary conditions and power outages for several days. The ship is still undergoing repairs there, with many workers living on board.
Carnival didn't immediately respond to an emailed request for comment late Wednesday.
Earlier this month, the cruise ship was dislodged from its mooring by a windstorm that also caused, in a separate incident, two shipyard workers to fall into Mobile Bay. While one worker was rescued, the other's body was pulled from the water more than a week later.
___
Associated Press writer Phillip Lucas in Atlanta contributed to this report.
Associated PressChris Culliver Atlanta school shooting Superbowl Kickoff Time 2013 30 rock What Time Is The Super Bowl 2013 Super Bowl 2013 Time BlackBerry 10
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
CALIFORNIA CODE OF REGULATIONS ztitle 10 #CGREA, #CRE ...
? CALIFORNIA CODE OF REGULATIONS TITLE 10. INVESTMENT CHAPTER 6.5. REAL ESTATE APPRAISERS SECTIONS 3500 et seq. NOTICE: THIS DOCUMENT WAS CURRENT WHEN ASSEMBLED; HOWEVER STATUTES AND REGULATIONS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE. OREA MAKES NO REPRESENTATION AS TO THE ACCURACY OF THE CONTENTS OF THIS DOCUMENT. IT IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE READER TO CONSULT CURRENT CODE BOOKS. ARTICLE 1. DEFINITIONS ? 3500. Meaning of Words and General Definitions. (a) Words shall have their usual meaning unless the context or a definition clearly indicates a different meaning. Words used in their present tense include the future tense and words in the singular form include the plural form. Use of the word "shall" or "must" denotes mandatory conduct; "may" denotes permissive conduct; and "should" denotes recommended conduct. (b) As used in these regulations, the following words and phrases shall have the following definitions: (1) "Applicant" means a natural person who has made application to be a State Licensed Real Estate Appraiser, a State Certified Real Estate Appraiser, a Course Provider or a person who has applied for a Trainee License, a Reciprocal License or a Temporary Practice Permit. Applicant also means an entity or Controlling Person that has applied for a Certificate of Registration as an Appraisal Management Company; (2) (A) ?Appraisal Management Company? means any person or entity that satisfies all of the following conditions: 1. Maintains an approved list or lists, containing 11 or more independent contractor appraisers licensed or certified pursuant to Part 3 (commencing with section 11300), of Division 4 of the Business and Professions Code or employs 11 or more appraisers licensed or certified pursuant to that Part. 2. Receives requests for appraisals from one or more clients. 3. For a fee paid by one or more of its clients, delegates appraisal assignments for completion by its independent contractor or employee appraisers. (B) ?Appraisal Management Company" does not include any of the following, when that person or entity directly contracts with an independent appraiser: 1. Any bank, credit union, trust company, savings and loan association, or industrial loan company doing business under the authority of, or in accordance with, a license, certificate, or charter issued by the United States or any state, district, territory, or commonwealth of the United States that is authorized to transact business in this state. 2. Any finance lender or finance broker licensed pursuant to Division 9 (commencing with Section 22000) of the Financial Code, when acting under the authority of that license. 3. Any residential mortgage lender or residential mortgage servicer licensed pursuant to Division 20 (commencing with Section 50000) of the Financial Code, when acting under the authority of that license. 4. Any real estate broker licensed pursuant to Part 1 (commencing with Section 10000) of Division 4 of the Business and Professions Code, when acting under the authority of that license. http://www.orea.ca.gov/pdf/orea_regs_full.pdf Thanks!
Curtis D. Harris, BS, CGREA, REB
Bachelor of Science in Real Estate, CSULA
State Certified General Appraiser
Real Estate Broker
ASTM E-2018 Commercial Real Estate Inspector
HUD 203k Consultant
HUD/FHA Real Estate Appraiser/Reviewer
FannieMae REO ConsultantCTAC LEED Certification
*PIRS/Harris Company and the Science of Real Estate-Partners*630 North Sepulveda Boulevard, Suite 9A, Number 702
El Segundo, CA. 90245
310-337-1973 Office
310-251-3959 CellWebSite: http://www.harriscompanyrec.com Resume: http://www.harriscompanyrec.com/CURRICULUMVITAENAME2011a.pdfCommercial Appraiser Blog: http://harriscompanyrec.com/blog/The LOoP! a Google CSE: http://www.google.com/cse/home?cx=000747579154309164948%3Annakvu69iqy We Make a Simple Pledge to
Communicate, in a timely fashion, each appraisal, analysis, and opinion without bias or partiality
Abstain from behavior that is deleterious to our clients, the appraisal profession, and the public
Hold paramount the confidential nature of the appraiser/consultant - client relationship
and
Comply with the requirements of the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice and the
Code of Professional Ethics of the National Society of Real Estate Appraisers
IT'S THE LAW- Statement 7: Prohibition Against Discrimination
State agencies should be aware that Title XI and the Agencies' regulations prohibit federally regulated financial institutions from excluding appraisers from consideration for an assignment by virtue of their membership, or lack of membership, in any appraisal organization. Federally regulated financial institutions should review the qualifications of appraisers to ensure that they are qualified for the assignment for which they are being considered. It is unacceptable to assume that an appraiser is qualified solely due to membership in, or designation from, an appraisal organization, or the lack thereof. The Agencies have determined that financial institutions' appraisal policies should not favor appraisers from one or more organizations or exclude individuals based on their lack of such membership. If a State agency learns that a certified or licensed appraiser allegedly has been a victim of such discrimination, the State agency should inform the Agency which has regulatory authority over the involved financial institution. INCLUDING THE APPRAISAL INSTITUTE-MAICONFIDENTIALITY/PRIVILEGE NOTICE: This transmission and any attachments are intended solely for the addressee. The information contained in this transmission is confidential in nature and protected from further use or disclosure under U.S. Pub. L. 106-102, 113 U.S. Stat. 1338 (1999), and may be subject to consultant/appraiser-client or other legal privilege. Your use or disclosure of this information for any purpose other than that intended by its transmittal is strictly prohibited and may subject you to fines and/or penalties under federal and state law. If you are not the intended recipient of this transmission, please destroy all copies received and confirm destruction to the sender via return transmittal
Sarah Savage Jaimie Alexander Army Navy Game john lennon leann rimes Jacintha Saldanha pearl harbor
Most Canadian Homeowners Have No Plans to Downsize
Recently I wrote a Realty Times story quoting professor John Andrew about a trend for Canadians to move to smaller homes and condominiums. Based on a Statistics Canada report, Andrew said demand will increase for smaller units in cities, and there may be less demand for three- and four-bedroom homes in the suburbs.
But since that story, several housing observers have said the baby boomer generation and their children are not finished with those big homes yet.
A recent survey by Leger Marketing, sponsored by Royal LePage Real Estate, found the demand for suburban detached homes remains strong among baby boomers and their children, known as Generation Y.
"Baby boomers are the wealthiest generation in Canadian history," says Phil Soper, CEO of Royal LePage. "They live in large homes with ample space for their many possessions. They love their garages and their yards. This study clearly indicates that contrary to popular belief, most boomers do not intend to downsize anytime soon."
Just over 40 per cent of boomers surveyed said they planned to move, but of that group, almost half plan to buy a home that?s the same size or larger than their current house.
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC) says that Canadians aged 55 to 64 have the highest rates of homeownership among all age groups, at about 78 per cent. In households where the primary household maintainer is aged 75 or more, 67.9 per cent are homeowners.
"The biggest increase in age-specific ownership rates in recent decades has been among those 65-74 and 75 plus," says Adrienne Warren of Scotiabank Economics.
"Contrary to some dire predictions, population aging will not fuel a demographically induced selloff in Canadian real estate," she says. "Today?s seniors are healthier, wealthier and living longer than prior generations. They are increasingly likely to own their own home and to live in their homes for longer. Many will not need to tap into their principal home to finance retirement."
CMHC says about 85 per cent of Canadians over 55-years-old want to remain in their current home for as long as possible, according to a 2008 study conducted by the federal housing agency.
One reason why boomers are choosing to stay in their larger homes is because the next generation hasn?t moved out yet.
"The adult children of baby boomers aren?t going anywhere fast," says Soper. "Good jobs have proven more difficult for them to find, they?re extending their studies and they?re living at home. It is no wonder the concept of swapping a family-sized home for a small retreat has lost its lustre."
But when Generation Y (born between 1980 and 1994) is ready to buy a home, most intend to purchase in the suburbs, says the Leger Marketing survey. Fifty-five per cent said they would buy in the suburbs, while 21.7 said they would prefer living in the downtown core of a city.
"The young people who make up Generation Y are our first-time home buyers," says Soper. "Like their parents, they dream of owning a lovely house in the suburbs, which provides value as well as access to parkland for children to play and the perception of greater family safety. Even as condominium living becomes more popular across Canada, the study results do not point to a corresponding decrease in demand for traditional single-family homes. For the baby boomers that do head downtown, there is a generation waiting to move in."
Immigrants are likely to become more important to Canadian population growth during the next 20 years and currently account for almost two-thirds of growth.
Scotiabank says that immigrants are more likely to settle in large and mid-sized urban centres than their Canadian-born counterparts, and that immigrant households are twice as likely to live in a condominium as non-immigrant families. Affordability is cited as the main reason for this choice.
CMHC?s Online Guide for Older Canadians says that ethnic groups have different settlement patterns and housing preferences. "For example, immigrants from Hong Kong typically bypass inner-city reception areas in favour of immediate settlement in the suburbs."
It says that a study of a Toronto suburb "found that immigrants from Italy had the highest rate of homeownership (95 per cent) followed by immigrants from Hong Kong, Portugal, Germany, the People?s Republic of China, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and India. The study also found that immigrant housing preferences come to resemble the preferences of Canadian-born households over time; that is, they tend to choose single-detached homes in low-density suburbs."
A TD Economics report about the long-term outlook for house prices says: "In our projections, we have assumed that baby boomers will not sell their homes in droves, driving down average prices. Even if they did - and the jury is still out on how many will downgrade their properties - baby boomers will not all sell their homes on the same day. These adjustments happen over years, which mitigate their impact."
Published: April 23, 2013
Use of this article without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.
Source: http://realtytimes.com/rtpages/20130423_cahomeowners.htm
halloween chipotle lsu football lsu football Jessie Andrews bloomberg bloomberg
Dems, GOP press Obama administration on drone use
WASHINGTON (AP) ? Senate Democrats and Republicans on Tuesday challenged the Obama administration to explicitly spell out its justification for using drones for targeted killings amid growing concerns about unchecked powers of the presidency and Americans' civil liberties.
"Even as President Obama commands a military with the most sophisticated weapons known to man, including the weaponized drones used in targeted killing operations, his authority is still grounded in words written more than 200 years ago," Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said at the start of a Senate hearing on the use of drones.
The Obama administration has successfully used drones in the war on terror and argued that the president's authority stems from his constitutional power to protect the United States from imminent attack. The administration also has cited the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force, which says the commander in chief has the authority for strikes against al-Qaida and its affiliates.
Obama has used the law's authority to target terrorists with fatal drone strikes, including Americans overseas.
The president has promised to explain his policy, but members of Congress argue that he has been less than forthcoming. The issue has created unique alliances on Capitol Hill with liberals joining forces libertarian-leaning Republicans.
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, told the Senate hearing that drones are technology, but the "real scope of this hearing and of the concern is on the scope of federal power."
Both Durbin and Cruz expressed frustration with the administration, which declined to send a witness to appear before the Senate Judiciary subcommittee.
The hearing with retired military officers and outside experts comes a month after Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul waged a nearly 13-hour filibuster of CIA Director John Brennan's nomination over whether the president has the authority to use a drone to kill a U.S. citizen on American soil if the citizen is not engaged in combat.
Attorney General Eric Holder said the president does not have that authority.
Associated Presskansas jayhawks mega millions results susan powell lotto numbers megamillions winners university of louisville louisville ky
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
'Eye gestures' spotted in Google Glass app code, hints at wink-based photography
While perusing the code for Google Glass's companion Android app, Reddit user Fodawim chanced across several lines of code that could be offer up some interesting navigation options for your Glass. Titled 'eye gestures,' it looks like the wearable's built-in sensors should be able to detect eye activity and integrate that into device input. Two lines of code mention enabling and disabling eye gestures, suggesting it'll be an optional feature, while other lines hint that it would have to be calibrated to your wink before use. Get your well-timed slow-wink at the ready, however, as the final line spotted suggests that a wink gesture can command the 5-megapixel camera to capture whatever you're looking at. Google was already granted a patent for unlocking a screen using eye-tracking information, although wink-based commands sounds a shade easier to deal with -- as long as it doesn't think we're blinking.
Filed under: Wearables, Google
Via: Glass-apps
Source: Reddit
Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/y6kb_LijeKY/
Ang Lee les miserables jennifer lawrence Oscar Winners 2013 quentin tarantino jessica chastain jessica chastain
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)