Lent and Lunch are Like Peanut Butter and Jelly ... Or Something

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />Hola y’all! You know what? I’m kind of having a problem with two things, and they both begin with the letter “L.”  There are a lot of things that begin with the letter “L” that really suck. Just of the top of my head I can think of  love, loneliness, lobotomy, losers, litter, lawyers, licorice, lunatic, liars, liver, Lichtenstein, love letter, lizards, leprechauns, lice, lameness, loins, lettuce and well, LIFE!  I’m sure there’s a lot more, but you get the idea. But, like I said, there are two things that begin with “L” that are really pissing me off right now …<br /><br />Lunch and Lent.<br /><br />I really don’t care for either. They’re both stooooopid! And, I can never decide what I should do about either. So, I guess the obvious thing to do is combine the two. No, I’m not giving up having lunch for lent, but there are some things I’m going to give up having for lunch during lent.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVNYb1imb1bAbSpfe07EOj3pahtznJ3YQIKxbK_CA2ZbjeeU6pcY0svPpECC7BoV6MceTs-Sf_2I7Gi8voxm66wUVgfpYX2mWvM4YleHFuwlG_8poZT64kpevENHMw8T3wypOQwlzznKI/s1600/Priyanka-Chopra-Hot-Nude-Pepsi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVNYb1imb1bAbSpfe07EOj3pahtznJ3YQIKxbK_CA2ZbjeeU6pcY0svPpECC7BoV6MceTs-Sf_2I7Gi8voxm66wUVgfpYX2mWvM4YleHFuwlG_8poZT64kpevENHMw8T3wypOQwlzznKI/s320/Priyanka-Chopra-Hot-Nude-Pepsi.jpg" width="231" /></a></div>Originally I was going to give up Pepsi for lent, but then I thought, fuck that. See, there are some very good reasons not to give up Pepsi for lent. 1) I don’t want to. 2) I won’t do it. 3) It’s not worth it.<br /><br />I’ve done the lent thing a few times. I gave up alcohol one year, which was much easier than it seems. I gave up chips and fast food another year. Again, that wasn’t a really big sacrifice. Now, I know people say you should give up something big that you really love. This somehow brings us closer to God and gives us strength and blah, blah, blah. If that works for you then that’s great and I totally support your lifestyle choices. But, it hasn’t done shit for me. In fact, even after participating in this lent-thing what did I get from God?<br /><br />HEARTACHE!<br /><br />God damn right, bitches! Nothing but heartache. So, what’s the point? Why should I bother? Especially if I try something I know I’m not going to succeed at. Or worse, something I have no intention of succeeding at. In this case, trying and failing will not be superior in any way to not trying at all.<br /><br />So, what to do? Ignore lent? Well, I’d like to. That would also mean ignoring Matt-Man’s attempts and guilting me into observing lent, which really wouldn’t be that hard to do. But, part of me feels like I should do something, if for no other reason to provide moral support for my partner in crime Mattcicle. Oh and that whole “get closer to God” thing too.<br /><br />This is where lunch comes in. I’m terrible at lunch. I always end up eating something “bad.” I tend to have hot dogs, cheeseburgers, frozen pizza, breaded chicken patties, Beefaroni … shit like that for lunch. Well, that’s gonna just have to change. For lent I will give up those “bad” things that I have for lunch (including the chips I would have with some of those items). This way I will not only observe lent, but I will use it for good.<br /><br />Trying to give up Pepsi, and failing, really wouldn’t accomplish a thing. But, if I stop eating unhealthy things at lunch, and replace them with healthier things or at least things not super unhealthy, then I will be doing something positive. It’s fucking brilliant!<br /><br />So, the great Lent Crisis of 2013 has been avoided.*<br /><br />Jayman<br /><a href="mailto:Jayman3768@gmail.com">Jayman3768@gmail.com</a><br />@Jayman_IWS<br /><br /><br />*I wrote this post on Wednesday, February 13, 2013, the first day of lent. But, since I had BBQ Pork Sandwich for lunch today, I started lent on the 14th. I checked with Jesus and he’s totally cool with it.<br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div>

Lent and Lunch are Like Peanut Butter and Jelly ... Or Something

Hola y’all! You know what? I’m kind of having a problem with two things, and they both begin with the letter “L.”  There are a lot of things...

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Sex Diseases Cost $16 Billion a Year to Treat, CDC Says - Bloomberg

<base href="data:"><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; color: black; text-align: left; "><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.6em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; "><a href="http://www.cdc.gov/std/" title="Open Web Site" rel="external" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 102, 204); text-decoration: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; ">Sexually transmitted diseases</a> cost $16 billion each year to treat in the U.S., with 19.7 million infections diagnosed annually, the nation's health agency found.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.6em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">People ages 15 to 24 account for half of the annual cases, according to reports released yesterday by the <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/" title="Open Web Site" rel="external" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 102, 204); text-decoration: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; ">Centers for Disease Control and Prevention</a>. There are about 110 million total infections among U.S. men and women of all ages, the agency said, with the most common infection human papillomavirus, a virus linked to cancer.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.6em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">Young people have borne a disproportionate burden of sexually transmitted diseases for as long as the Atlanta-based CDC has kept records, said Catherine Satterwhite, an author of one of the reports and a CDC epidemiologist. They often don't have good insurance or difficulties accessing care, she said.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.6em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">"We've seen a disproportionate burden for quite a while," Satterwhite said in a telephone interview. "Young women in particular are at greater risk."</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.6em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">The CDC reported data on eight sexually transmitted infections, including HIV, syphilis, gonorrhea, hepatitis B, chlamydia, trichomoniasis, herpes and HPV.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.6em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">Drug-resistant gonorrhea is a growing threat, the agency said in a <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6206a3.htm?s_cid=mm6206a3_w" title="Open Web Site" rel="external" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 102, 204); text-decoration: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; ">separate study</a> published today in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. There aren't enough antibiotics in development and more experimental therapies are needed immediately, according to the report. For now, to minimize the spread of resistant strains, more people should be screened and treated, the agency said.</div><h2 style="margin: 0px; padding: 10px 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 18px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Arial; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.3em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; ">Trends Persist</h2><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.6em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">The sexually transmitted diseases study released yesterday, which uses data from 2008, the most recent comprehensive information available, isn't directly comparable with previous studies because of changes in the reporting methods, the CDC said. However, some trends, including that of younger patients, have persisted.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.6em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">All sexually transmitted diseases are preventable, many are curable and all are treatable, Satterwhite said. Getting more people tested effectively, such as making sure more young women are screened for<a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0002321/" title="Open Web Site" rel="external" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 102, 204); text-decoration: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; "> chlamydia</a> and all sexually active adults are tested for HIV at least once, would help, she said.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.6em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">The costliest STDs are HIV, which requires lifelong care, and HPV, which causes throat, anal, penile, and cervical tumors. Use of vaccines that can prevent HPV, made by <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/quote/MRK:US" class="web_ticker" title="Get Quote" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 102, 204); text-decoration: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; ">Merck & Co.</a> and<a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/quote/GSK:LN" class="web_ticker" title="Get Quote" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 102, 204); text-decoration: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; ">GlaxoSmithKline Plc</a>, have remained low as rates of HPV-related cancers have risen, according to a study last month in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.6em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">Curable sexually transmitted diseases cost $742 million, with chlamydia as the most common and the most expensive.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.6em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">Prevention strategies for STDs include abstaining from sex, condom use, and mutually monogamous relationships, Satterwhite said. The HPV vaccine made by Merck called Gardasil is recommended for boys and girls to help prevent cancers.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.6em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; position: static; z-index: auto; ">The two reports on sexually transmitted infections' prevalence and cost, were published in the journal <a href="http://journals.lww.com/stdjournal/pages/default.aspx" title="Open Web Site" rel="external" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 102, 204); text-decoration: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; ">Sexually Transmitted Diseases</a>.</div></div><a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-02-13/sex-diseases-cost-16-billion-a-year-to-treat-cdc-says.html">http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-02-13/sex-diseases-cost-16-billion-a-year-to-treat-cdc-says.html</a><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; color: black; text-align: left; "><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div>

Sex Diseases Cost $16 Billion a Year to Treat, CDC Says - Bloomberg

Sexually transmitted diseases  cost $16 billion each year to treat in the U.S., with 19.7 million infections diagnosed annually, the nation&...

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From Commodore Criterion to Porcelanosa

Not too long ago I was giving an architectural walking tour in the Madison Square Park area when somebody asked me "what's going on with the Commodore Criterion building?" If you've been by the park you've probably <a href="http://goo.gl/maps/lsX4O">seen the building</a> at the intersection of Fifth Avenue, 25th Street, and Broadway with its name fixed atop the tall stone parapet. I had no answer to the question, except that the Christmas display over the front door had not come down in years, meaning the building was most likely vacant. What I did not know at the time was that Spanish tile/kitchen/bath company <a href="http://www.porcelanosa-usa.com/">Porcelanosa</a> bought the building <a href="http://www.madparknews.com/business/porcelanosa-buys-commodore-criterion-building-on-madison-square-park-for-us-headquarters/">last summer</a>. Since my tour I've also learned that Porcelanosa hired Foster + Partners to transform the six-story building into their US/NYC flagship showroom.<br /><br /><img alt="porcelanosa1.jpg" src="http://www.archidose.org/Blog/porcelanosa1.jpg" title="Image courtesy of Porcelanosa" /><br />[All images courtesy of Foster + Partners and Porcelanosa] <br /><br />The building at 202 Fifth Avenue, which dates back to 1918, has already been gutted, ready for the insertion of a public showroom on the lower levels (above rendering) and a materials library atop the building for architects and designers (below rendering). The showroom is a three-story space that extends from the cellar to the second floor. Plenty of light infuses the showroom through offset openings in the ground floor and second floor. In a statement, Norman Foster describes how "the design will create new visual connections vertically through the building and will introduce a greater variety of spaces, with a series of dramatic interlocking levels." Befitting for the architect, the interior is simple and clean, gallery-like in appearance. <br /><br /><img alt="porcelanosa2.jpg" src="http://www.archidose.org/Blog/porcelanosa2.jpg" title="Image courtesy of Porcelanosa" /><br /><br />The materials library atop the building is a double-height space where additional light comes in through new skylights that recall James Turrell's skyspaces. The below sketch—an east-west section looking south—shows these spaces at the top and bottom of the building, with two floors of offices in between. More importantly, this section shows the location of the stairs and services along the west facade (as they are in the existing), meaning that light previously entered the narrow building only through windows on the south and east sides. Hence Foster's decision to cut up the floor plates and insert skylights atop the building. A good deal of the budget will probably go toward these structural changes, but these renderings make it clear that it's worth it.<br /><br /><img alt="porcelanosa3.jpg" src="http://www.archidose.org/Blog/porcelanosa3.jpg" title="Image courtesy of Porcelanosa" /><br /><br />The building sits within the southern tip of the <a href="http://www.nyc.gov/html/lpc/downloads/pdf/maps/madison.pdf">Madison Square North Historic District</a> (PDF link), meaning that any changes to the building have to be reviewed by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. Comparing the photomontage below with the <a href="http://goo.gl/maps/lsX4O">Google Street View</a> I'd wager that won't be a problem, given that new windows on the ground floor and the new name atop the building are the only noticeable changes. Again Foster says, "the design will restore historic aspects of the exterior and create a new interior experience of large–volume showroom spaces ­– all within the context of a sustainable agenda." (LEED Gold is the target.)<br /><br />Manuel Prior, U.S. Branch Director for Porcelanosa says in a statement: "As a staple of New York’s Flatiron district for years, the Commodore Criterion is the ideal location for Porcelanosa’s new flagship showroom as the neighborhood is the epicenter of New York’s architecture and design community." Epicenter may be overstating it, but I can vouch that a lot of architects and other designers work in the area; I worked for an architect about four blocks up Broadway (near the <a href="http://www.acehotel.com/newyork">Ace Hotel</a>, a magnet for designers and other "creative types") and <a href="http://www.pentagram.com/">Pentagram</a> is right next door (note the abstracted P on the flag in the below photo).<br /><br /><img alt="porcelanosa4.jpg" src="http://www.archidose.org/Blog/porcelanosa4.jpg" title="Image courtesy of Porcelanosa" /><br /><br />Porcelanosa's flagship showroom is one of three projects in New York City that Norman Foster is currently working on, including the high profile <a href="http://archidose.blogspot.com/2012/10/425-park-avenue.html">425 Park Avenue</a> and the controversial <a href="http://www.fosterandpartners.com/News/486/Default.aspx">transformation of the New York Public Library's main building</a> into a circulating library. By comparison the 1,700-square-meter (18,000 sf) renovation overlooking Madison Square Park may be a walk in the park. We'll see if that's the case—literally, as I'll be making occasional site visits between now and the showroom's completion in spring 2014, documenting the construction on this blog. So check back here to see Foster's design for Porcelanosa take shape.

From Commodore Criterion to Porcelanosa

Not too long ago I was giving an architectural walking tour in the Madison Square Park area when somebody asked me "what's going on...

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Valentine's meal

<p>Here's what we had for Valentine's....</p><p>Wicklow Blue Cheese<br>Prawns in parsley butter<br>Steak and chunky chips (fries) with pepper sauce<br>Chocolate torte<br>Chocolate truffle</p><p>Washed down with a bottle of Cab Sauv.</p><p>What did you do for Valentine's Day?</p><div class='separator' style='clear: both; text-align: center;'> <a href='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH_5eUyHeKQ2xFZcDdersOuULHfq-Y3fbMg50LmZbduc6JXd6qJnJb5LDN4xP2U777eVpe4_4v8HiCeP3IenKE8dhZDNe05lVUDx72P3YyqNzQ74Od5dHw3XUx7CbZYLtNIgXdHhLpTCV-/s1600/20130214_194903.jpg' imageanchor='1' style='margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;'> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH_5eUyHeKQ2xFZcDdersOuULHfq-Y3fbMg50LmZbduc6JXd6qJnJb5LDN4xP2U777eVpe4_4v8HiCeP3IenKE8dhZDNe05lVUDx72P3YyqNzQ74Od5dHw3XUx7CbZYLtNIgXdHhLpTCV-/s400/20130214_194903.jpg" /> </a> </div><div class='separator' style='clear: both; text-align: center;'> <a href='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsTJfvklPcTF-pNMUlaj4qZ44HSEnWwG0Rlv182T8uCfC1P0r7gFjlolJERpH9VQGKPRre7BfV4hcgw5v6aaq8cT8nveSbiMv_Ov5lwwLrDgZBWG1y_pG5NcmYJVU9_6Am6ZFWBBG2im5B/s1600/20130214_183359.jpg' imageanchor='1' style='margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;'> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsTJfvklPcTF-pNMUlaj4qZ44HSEnWwG0Rlv182T8uCfC1P0r7gFjlolJERpH9VQGKPRre7BfV4hcgw5v6aaq8cT8nveSbiMv_Ov5lwwLrDgZBWG1y_pG5NcmYJVU9_6Am6ZFWBBG2im5B/s400/20130214_183359.jpg" /> </a> </div><div class='separator' style='clear: both; text-align: center;'> <a href='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiODN2i71Es3dbWybvoD89rdI0H_M9ef3CFfkipIhGLCK-D7QCl_xqWPrnY9SCgw1PLUMR89xekXgOWB_n8bs0X3sedtJZEOUbD36iADxoxQ44DAGy46XZSRxi-LWz4cffEucpuJzDJBOgU/s1600/20130214_190853.jpg' imageanchor='1' style='margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;'> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiODN2i71Es3dbWybvoD89rdI0H_M9ef3CFfkipIhGLCK-D7QCl_xqWPrnY9SCgw1PLUMR89xekXgOWB_n8bs0X3sedtJZEOUbD36iADxoxQ44DAGy46XZSRxi-LWz4cffEucpuJzDJBOgU/s400/20130214_190853.jpg" /> </a> </div><div class='separator' style='clear: both; text-align: center;'> <a href='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvl5CiyaQtj051dAb1g59JZtsDyWeahSMv8fWysMiZhmexigs2GQpPn3GicUO6jwUn8r-1UStuw1QxOiKYZjSdAQvkLHUKteo3wUoxv2XzzXjUbfr3nwI7VfG-HU5I98G56D0tMw4LOhmp/s1600/20130214_190052.jpg' imageanchor='1' style='margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;'> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvl5CiyaQtj051dAb1g59JZtsDyWeahSMv8fWysMiZhmexigs2GQpPn3GicUO6jwUn8r-1UStuw1QxOiKYZjSdAQvkLHUKteo3wUoxv2XzzXjUbfr3nwI7VfG-HU5I98G56D0tMw4LOhmp/s400/20130214_190052.jpg" /> </a> </div><div class='separator' style='clear: both; text-align: center;'> <a href='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP-YVNxXeci2G9U5uo4_QXkJnID-Bb8aDWlAUdh1oQV8MQt7s0TEwSRD7QE98_FcNSk7d_VQ9lEkNzW4ucrtqtPW2-TgoApzFrqvFTeqXzeuJrObT3SLpvf5MOWauvbnRBCmhr9473joX0/s1600/20130214_192211.jpg' imageanchor='1' style='margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;'> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP-YVNxXeci2G9U5uo4_QXkJnID-Bb8aDWlAUdh1oQV8MQt7s0TEwSRD7QE98_FcNSk7d_VQ9lEkNzW4ucrtqtPW2-TgoApzFrqvFTeqXzeuJrObT3SLpvf5MOWauvbnRBCmhr9473joX0/s400/20130214_192211.jpg" /> </a> </div><div class='separator' style='clear: both; text-align: center;'> <a href='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheajSovWqgAQrTSMiTRGyGvJSaKqXpEDLQkYBnmfx3tB3sJ1V0IP2FgnZMQvhvFK4DfILkde7AdZUZG_t096uRr9eFtl-pU3yOOh54LHFpeLrrM3BRA88Sr44AYfo8pzeGUbgJxTCxob2K/s1600/20130214_191248.jpg' imageanchor='1' style='margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;'> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheajSovWqgAQrTSMiTRGyGvJSaKqXpEDLQkYBnmfx3tB3sJ1V0IP2FgnZMQvhvFK4DfILkde7AdZUZG_t096uRr9eFtl-pU3yOOh54LHFpeLrrM3BRA88Sr44AYfo8pzeGUbgJxTCxob2K/s400/20130214_191248.jpg" /> </a> </div><div class='separator' style='clear: both; text-align: center;'> <a href='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqJ8hklrCNOHk5qOlslxNYUgtuwgw-nhcpqwjv2YQNAoFJ8Mu2UH7eIVDHjzEbCwkfQuNJYuv1sNyaD5q2YpljlV4-yquzFw-2p-2in67utNkeLl9CwruTVK-Z5nzbCJl2mLfKbywwwf6n/s1600/20130214_183223.jpg' imageanchor='1' style='margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;'> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqJ8hklrCNOHk5qOlslxNYUgtuwgw-nhcpqwjv2YQNAoFJ8Mu2UH7eIVDHjzEbCwkfQuNJYuv1sNyaD5q2YpljlV4-yquzFw-2p-2in67utNkeLl9CwruTVK-Z5nzbCJl2mLfKbywwwf6n/s400/20130214_183223.jpg" /> </a> </div>

Valentine's meal

Here's what we had for Valentine's.... Wicklow Blue Cheese Prawns in parsley butter Steak and chunky chips (fries) with pepper sauce...

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U.S. Approves First Method to Give the Blind Limited Vision - NYTimes.com

<div><div class="articleBody"><nyt_text><p itemprop="articleBody">The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved the first treatment to give limited vision to people who are blind, involving a technology called the "artificial retina."</p></nyt_text></div> <div class="articleBody"><p itemprop="articleBody"> With it, people with certain types of blindness can detect crosswalks on the street, burners on a stove, the presence of people or cars, and sometimes even oversized numbers or letters. </p><p itemprop="articleBody"> The artificial retina is a sheet of electrodes surgically implanted in the eye. The patient is also outfitted with a pair of glasses with an attached camera and a portable video processor. These elements together allow visual signals to bypass the damaged portion of the retina and be transmitted to the brain. The F.D.A. approval covers this integrated system, which the manufacturer calls Argus II. </p><p itemprop="articleBody"> The approval marks the first milestone in a new frontier in vision research, a field in which scientists are making strides with gene therapy, optogenetics, stem cells and other strategies. </p><p itemprop="articleBody"> "This is just the beginning," said Grace Shen, director of the retinal diseases program at the <a href="http://www.nei.nih.gov/index.asp">National Eye Institute</a>, which helped finance the artificial retina research and is supporting many other blindness therapy projects. "We have a lot of exciting things sitting in the wings, multiple approaches being developed now to address this." </p><p itemprop="articleBody"> With the artificial retina or retinal prosthesis, a blind person cannot see in the conventional sense, but can identify outlines and boundaries of objects, especially when there is contrast between light and dark — fireworks against a night sky or black socks mixed with white ones in the laundry. </p><p itemprop="articleBody"> "Without the system, I wouldn't be able to see anything at all, and if you were in front of me and you moved left and right, I'm not going to realize any of this," said Elias Konstantopolous, 74, a retired electrician in Baltimore, one of about 50 Americans and Europeans who have been using the device in clinical trials for several years. He said it helps him differentiate curbs from asphalt roads, and detect contours, but not details, of cars, trees and people. "When you don't have nothing, this is something. It's a lot." </p><p itemprop="articleBody"> The F.D.A. approved <a href="http://www.2-sight.com/SSMP_ARVO_2009.pdf">Argus II, </a>made by Second Sight Medical Products, to treat people with severe <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0002024/">retinitis pigmentosa</a>, a group of inherited diseases in which photoreceptor cells, which take in light, deteriorate. </p><p itemprop="articleBody"> The first version of the implant had a sheet of 16 electrodes, but the current version has 60. A tiny camera mounted on eyeglasses captures images, and the video processor, worn on a belt, translates those images into pixelized patterns of light and dark. The processor transmits those signals to the electrodes, which send them along the optic nerve to the brain. </p><p itemprop="articleBody"> About 100,000 Americans have retinitis pigmentosa, but initially between 10,000 and 15,000 will likely qualify for the Argus II, according to the company. The F.D.A. says that up to 4,000 people a year can be treated with the device. That number represents people who are older than 25, who once had useful vision, have evidence of an intact inner retinal layer, have at best very limited light perception in the retina, and are so visually impaired that the device would prove an improvement. Second Sight will begin making Argus II available later this year. </p><p itemprop="articleBody"> But experts said the technology holds promise for other people who are blind, especially those with advanced age-related <a href="http://www.nei.nih.gov/health/maculardegen/armd_facts.asp">macular degeneration</a>, the major cause of vision loss in older people, affecting about two million Americans. About 50,000 of them are currently severely impaired enough that the artificial retina would be helpful, said Dr. Robert Greenberg, Second Sight's president and chief executive. </p><p itemprop="articleBody"> In Europe, Argus II received approval in 2011 to treat a broader group of people, those with severe blindness caused by any type of outer retinal degeneration, not just retinitis pigmentosa, although it is currently only marketed in Europe for that condition. In the U.S., additional clinical trials need to be completed before the company can seek broader FDA approval. </p><p itemprop="articleBody"> Eventually, Dr. Greenberg said, the plan is to implant electrodes not in the eye, but directly into the brain's visual cortex. "That would allow us to address blindness from all causes," he said. </p><p itemprop="articleBody"> Initially, the artificial retina will be available at seven hospitals in five states: New York, California, Texas, Maryland and Pennsylvania. It will cost about $150,000, not including the surgery and training sessions to use the device. Second Sight said it was optimistic that insurance would cover it. </p><p itemprop="articleBody"> Developed over 20 years by <a href="http://www.usc.edu/programs/neuroscience/faculty/profile.php?fid=45">Dr. Mark S. Humayun</a>, an ophthalmologist and biomedical engineer at the University of Southern California's Doheny Retinal Institute, the artificial retina was inspired by cochlear implants for the deaf. Some financing came from a cochlear implant maker and other private sources, but about $100 million was provided by the National Eye Institute, the National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy, all federal agencies. </p><p itemprop="articleBody"> Dr. Humayun said he envisioned applying the technology to other conditions than blindness, implanting electrodes in other parts of the body to address bladder control problems, perhaps, or spinal paralysis. </p><p itemprop="articleBody"> "We don't think of the human body as an electrical grid, but it runs off electrical impulses," he said. </p><p itemprop="articleBody"> The Argus II has had relatively few safety problems, mostly post-surgical infections and occasional erosions of a thin layer in the eye that covered the implant. Those problems have been addressed, Dr. Greenberg said, and only two people needed to have the implant removed. An F.D.A. advisory panel voted unanimously last September to recommend approval, finding that benefits outweighed the risks. </p><p itemprop="articleBody"> Some patients experience more improvement than others, for reasons the company has not been able to determine. Kathy Blake of Fountain Valley, Calif., said she has had success with a Second Sight exercise to see if patients can identify large numbers or letters on a computer screen. </p><p itemprop="articleBody"> Dean Lloyd, a lawyer in Palo Alto, Calif., said he initially wondered, "Is it really worth all the time and expense? I, at first, did not think so." Early on, only nine electrodes were working, but over time his implant was adjusted so more electrodes responded, and now 52 of them work. He can see flashes of color, something not every patient can, and he wears the glasses and video processor constantly. </p><p itemprop="articleBody"> "If I don't wear it, it's like I don't have my pants on," he said. "I've even fallen asleep with the blooming thing." </p><p itemprop="articleBody"> Stephen Rose, the chief research officer for the <a href="http://www.blindness.org/">Foundation Fighting Blindness</a>, which supported Dr. Humayun's very early work but has not financed it since, said the artificial retina would eventually be only one of the options to help blind people. </p><p itemprop="articleBody"> "I think there are tremendous possibilities," he said. "I'm not downplaying the retinal prosthesis, don't get me wrong. It's huge for some individuals, and it's here now." </p><p itemprop="articleBody"> Barbara Campbell, 59, relishes how the device helps her navigate Manhattan streets, locate her Upper East Side bus stop, and spot her apartment building's foyer light while riding in a taxi. </p><p itemprop="articleBody"> Most exciting, though, is how it enhances her experience of museums, theater and concerts. </p><p itemprop="articleBody"> At a performance by Rod Stewart, "I could definitely see his hair," she said, which was white-blond under the lights. At a concert by Diana Ross, even though Ms. Campbell sat far away from the stage, she said Ms. Ross "was wearing a sparkly outfit, and I could see her." </p><p itemprop="articleBody"> No such luck at a performance by James Taylor, though. His low-key clothing created no contrast for the artificial retina to register. Alas, Ms. Campbell said, "He wasn't so sparkly."        </p></div></div><div><br></div><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/15/health/fda-approves-technology-to-give-limited-vision-to-blind-people.html?_r=0&pagewanted=all">http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/15/health/fda-approves-technology-to-give-limited-vision-to-blind-people.html?_r=0&pagewanted=all</a>

U.S. Approves First Method to Give the Blind Limited Vision - NYTimes.com

The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved the first treatment to give limited vision to people who are blind, involving a te...

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TeachMeet at Somerset House on Weds 13th Feb–an inspiring evening

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUDwk6gduCcOEjJOE760_Wo2lkaTSXjZSoXMLe1P_MDOyQVjULl-5C032eDFWnav2CCqB9iRXQ48hx3gSpilO4E9hMtPZii_2LHhK3JY2KSDnYoiCIMxWMdUD-QJxdksSMvg3YKl4CRVo/s1600-h/image%25255B3%25255D.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="86" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1jaJb6tZHyBHrW15ftGpmr2YDmYPT7NUdezxHfVkGv8hq8uFprPBbmNjWBpnUCjwRZxk8mPfD-xOTkMAOTJqhPtq3R7EBzEel65uhx-D7zPRHDvUTJsdaWTQpwUtkCicULxLZDdjd7OA/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="400" /></a></div><br /><em><br /></em><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>Submitted by Fiona Beal</em></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After attending the TeachMeet at Somerset House Preparatory school in Somerset West last night, I left with a feeling of great hope for education in South Africa. The teachers who presented were so enthusiastic about what they do, and the ideas shared about how to make education inspiring and relevant made me wish I was back in the classroom!</span><br /><br /><strong><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Somerset Prep – a primary school that embraces BYOD</span></strong><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Somerset House Prep is a very go-ahead primary school nestled in the heart of the Helderberg Basin mountains. I always love to hear about the latest developments at the school. Their whole campus has been wi-fied and it is not uncommon to see parents sitting on the grass working on their computer devices as they wait to collect their children from school. The school embraces the BYOD policy of 'Bring your own device' from Grade 6 upwards, and the principal Chris Storey reports that the engagement of the students is incredible. This is a fine example of “teaching children the way children learn best”. The school works hand in glove with the parents in every change they make. One of the great advantages of BYOD, says Chris Storey, is that one has to be task-orientated as opposed to application-orientated since every device is so different. The students also have the knack of knowing what works better on the different devices and they share this knowledge with one another. Best is, the teachers benefit enormously from the students’ knowledge of technology. This year they are piloting project-based learning in Social Sciences in one of the grades and this has been hugely successful. This school has big ideas and plans. Next on the cards is changing the traditional library to a 'knowledge centre’' and building has already started for this project. They have also started a teacher exchange programme with another very progressive school in Cape Town, Elkanah House, where two teachers from the one school will spend a day with their corresponding teachers at the other school and vice versa sharing ideas all the while. Amazing idea! No wonder I strongly feel that this is a school to watch closely!</span><br /><strong><br /></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The TeachMeet</span></span></strong><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The evening started off with a a light supper so that teachers could meet each other and network. The TeachMeet itself was led by the enthusiastic Michele Botha, Head of the Intermediate Phase and Chris Storey, the principal, welcomed everyone. I thought I would show the opening video here as it really set the tone for the evening. It is called ‘What is 21st Century Education?’ </span><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Ax5cNlutAys" width="420"></iframe> <br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There were 10 presentations, and we first had the Windows machines' presentations followed by Apple machines' presentations. Since they only used one data projector Michele gave us a programme for the evening. </span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzPwwzsGNq_IdccsLI6o6YM-rZG5IEF8Uw5bqTXRuwLf2Efk2Cnmu21w4rj2M5KakY9kxVykPjaukYZlWP3J2JYYs4ej9Mse-H8bStz7-fHi0NzKlmVQCiRRXawAETHdqAFLUyBDSdAyI/s1600-h/teaachmeet%25255B6%25255D.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="teaachmeet" border="0" height="356" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-I-lnmo6RKdupbPYDtpRzb9gnNjiIQT5GNil1Nr_q8BzkNvOakuoB6t_MiZW0yp-s4eIE1Ghy72BhgMjJbMZ0ipkxXLMnr1o4H3VRaPTRLV52fyUQ7y3xIsbzN3JwGgIk2uEr-qJlA14/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="teaachmeet" width="246" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>1. Youblisher.com </b></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Pam Roberts, who teaches Grade 1 at Somerset House, gave an inspiring presentation on how she uses Youblisher.com in her Grade 1 classroom.  She demonstrated this by showing a lovely e-book that her Grade 1 class had created. Each student contributed an illustrated page of writing. Pam also showed how you can make lovely 2nd language books on various topics with Youblisher, and ways of using Youblisher to encourage reading in a Grade 1 class. </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLHKbCQlWqe3AciB8J0jXbYM8nzVbt5cw4ty2Vmi7DvKC4-jb23DzUIIWTrlZDJ3cEaXCcRL7klQLM-D0I42G42dwSxZKxLbbBZhUbAg0BxE3P0S4TRbH-He9dvymoMpSvlhecP3wlRQY/s1600-h/image%25255B8%25255D.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="174" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd_BgFCtnTW-gUHL9hZWfSPVLIVCgx-kPTahBxiNViy25n-LCEum4TTCuZ93gW-E9JTRSel3bmBsDaf3Flz5cSlXmLrVySDKHfa-ui0Fv4dV-JXiZvYG6D2QHsuQDNrghhooK0vlHJYIs/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="242" /></a></div><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>2. Edcanvas.com </b></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jenny Martin, who teaches Grade 7 at Somerset House, showed her use of an application called Edcanvas which is perfect for a flipped classroom environment. This was a very fascinating presentation and I definitely want to try out this tool very soon. Jenny has started a blog called ReachaTeacha.weebly.com on which she displays all her amazing edcanvas lessons. I do hope she won’t mind if I give the link here <a href="http://www.edcanvas.com/lessons/jOvzAkmpnVCE6g/nouns-a-collection-of-resources" title="http://www.edcanvas.com/lessons/jOvzAkmpnVCE6g/nouns-a-collection-of-resources">http://www.edcanvas.com/lessons/jOvzAkmpnVCE6g/nouns-a-collection-of-resources</a></span><br />. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimcuimiG3c-UnF7N-APD5js8VeHTQMPOnNYoy3UcTMJIPW4yxWnmTUD5D_IDBDsemKq7m4IjdCHM1QJjq2_WohKIhlZaYELcANy9u9veCJic21cOstpV0IDuZx_DrLopkzZa4zbvzTc9g/s1600-h/image%25255B11%25255D.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="138" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif1EPpMiz4iUmPuRUG2yQ2-MDKA_IfnAM-qWfYfRQ-VWpannniZOwXYb899CjrWTq2iVIAoJJwVgloDhpGkll-wVw8SpXFmxSTK-ruFfwQdzOt3LglqyefnAtt9o5xkooP7okaRaKB268/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="244" /></a></div><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I loved the way Jenny summed up the benefits of using <a href="http://www.edcanvas.com/">http://www.edcanvas.com</a></span> <br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1g1HtRZ-KqWPZ0X-zsvy9JSzROLid1pr5mp_uWi5XLSoX9R7iDeIvlumvd_Y3rstqg_vmVHm5zaem9BdjrtB4R9pzdBKH_lkq2jFbh6Lxu9PLW0QhXhT-Vi6NvUDlgxRztWLTemsi6FU/s1600-h/image%25255B14%25255D.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="139" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidWrbmExuSUy1vCzjmbl-UxOqOtGSFlX9KZTyJmlwlQfDDX6d9G_91LQgayTdJZ26yho-spZ2wgEMO3r1FfudYsW-P_T2vXPXw8Jop3K94DKxLG0LN6bqr11qaAAJrvU3khXG7hnleA3U/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="244" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table> <b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3. Teenpower</b><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Michele Botha who is the Head of the Intermediate Phase at Somerset West and also their Technology Integration specialist, gave her presentation on Teen Power using Prezi. There were six steps in this superb project. This investigated the likes and dislikes of teens and used survey tools of choice (i.e. Survey monkey, Poll Daddy) plus data interpretation techniques using Excel. The groups had a lot of leeway in their choice of tools to use. It was fascinating to note how a teacher can make concepts that have the potential to be considered boring really come alive when using the right approach. </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>4. Inspire your students to write the right stuff</b></span><br /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This was a presentation by Fiona Beal of SchoolNet (that’s me!) on creative writing tools. I used this presentation to lead up to introducing the upcoming ‘African Storybook Project’ (which will soon be piloted in four countries in Africa) and the writing opportunity it presents for our learners.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnfQ9JRPXt-jjxdGbrIgyx2F5CxDTJdQsndJGpGdTq3D27oEQol_wWQ0pDvuk3YSs0Iw8foCq2mS5BoEk0YMxszqxGN83g1FWzbEveLUOUeQdxQEsoP-NgzlQzhGf9RAp1jC31J7DGLQM/s1600-h/image%25255B19%25255D.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="183" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL-HGZ3kqO6fr-i2yoQfH_wCWFKJPl-6ajm6kJNfapPB2-YDDtSiZ_jrWOZDXhAApmvd4QBgQMuDzdCcq9KqdYAafNNIsNAZycoHeN6N1CnrPq97daFFr2_RrnvmC377ryX4PHdR8B44A/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="242" /></a></div><br /><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have put my presentation on the SchoolNet blog for anyone who would like the links that I used: </span><br /><a href="http://e-blogschool.blogspot.com/2013/02/inspire-your-students-to-write-right.html"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Inspire your students to write the right stuff – a TeachMeet presentation</span></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>5. One stop shopping!</b></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This was another lovely presentation by Michele Botha on all the amazing tools one can find in <a href="http://classtools.net/">http://classtools.net</a>. This is the place where the Random Name Picker can be found that is often used at TeachMeets (sometimes referred to as the ‘Fruit Machine’). Michele outlined some of the useful tools and showed how one could use them in a classroom setting. She showed The random Name Picker, Fakebook, Countdown Timer, QR codes Game Generator, Timelines, and some of the others with their potential for being used in the classroom.  </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj77kGcJ_1TT3Owx_xOI0gkLkloYoi0EXhmLMykOx49roSHyV_HYjjxokY0U5rtZu32RzJRaUVRiYgppHn2juccwR0N6nX0HdYoBGbA1U_ZSxHdTIhbn_qRg_RAoy9sBR0KHxQRsozVrT4/s1600-h/image%25255B25%25255D.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="184" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpzYbUj30tnmeSRJ7ivNyIbuPVZZIGVlabSP3b4fjMEYgkPVLwrx5XEIwNViqwYo6vxnv4-ttNIxuYjX4sQgufZLE7Mlkt5sHnRpfgEhQ_F_GmHfAnPUnyjRK23ycCfBrq68XijGQj8jU/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="244" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now the Apple presentations started, mainly iPad presentations, and unfortunately there are no presentations for these in the Dropbox folder as they were all hands on demonstrations..so I can't show the opening slides.</span><br /><strong><br /></strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>6. You can play games at school!<br />7. You don’t even know you are learning</strong></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>8. Making friends all over the world</strong></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">These three were all presented by Dianne de Villiers who is the librarian at Somerset College ( another school in Somerset West). She spoke on gaming and told us how she uses critical thinking apps which are presented as 'games' as rewards for work completed. These are exceptionally motivating, Di says, and the students love them. Di demonstrated some of these apps and I must add that they were very indeed captivating.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">8. Foundation Phase kids have fun in the library<br />9. Foundation Phase and Story Apps</span></strong><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">These two presentations were by Kerry Dunkley from Somerset College. She showed us some of the ideas she used in her stop animation club. The club made the most gorgeous stop animation videos using iMotionHD. These videos were accompanied by lively, enjoyable music. Kerry's second presentation demonstrated iBooks, e-books and story apps on the iPad. What is great about these books is that they can include text, images, videos and some form of interaction with the reader which makes them really engaging. She also showed some of the story apps she uses for reading on the iPad and how appealing they are to the students.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Kerry demonstrated a lovely Cinderella story that has interactive features. I m not sure if this is the one – but it was captivating!</span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFynJu0dFfdQjapddPKWbHa17BpmRTUOFgab3HZW0DGX9ds-m6HdkX0wiYPGi6nPDnjuqYUIp5Y8puO0jb8yOTDqHqDNkqe0KZPgkVhamJ8lA8Y_F-VT5fBDLvENPre_bmestOfQwRHc0/s1600-h/image%25255B29%25255D.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="83" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBoGOxx0DRdyySc6MKTLQiJdNPKO7jb7zrE_MTAPlLukbggL1zSeQiJ-OcjTaqci_xMSIbZQHGnk3B-1hRE7VUwIGErdMt-vKMtu9ptyG2XcuiKV4dGzr6-2o148fMfk1k_JeWadwPN2s/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="242" /></a></div><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>10. Zanzibar – Hakuna Matata </b></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Carolyn Bruton gave a demonstration of how Book Creator on the iPad can be used to give a scrapbook-like effect when recording a holiday or an event. She used her recent holiday to Zanzibar as an example where she used video, sound, pictures, and  words to easily create a wonderful memory of a holiday. This could be made into a fun task for students in their holidays.   </span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCkUbps207CqDW8y4f1mEIQSwuJDdw0FhdodwKLudOweYuv6JnQrtBNRW6somXY6hg_pweXLxlFQ3L_Rfkm596pteeT5S7JgtgcN7Tf7SXOZ4_qlwKbCNoS0QbU7vxW1y1dX6s4x83VQg/s1600-h/image%25255B33%25255D.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="92" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWoVGKOS18Zn0q1vgEpxuGryPuAoSUR2iZxuQSSqnba7tzPDTfkFYj2spS7vE0ypUTtjmUmKUuOsgg9SdA-icFw4mnMq3uP8QWic7PI-xiz1f1ErajovdvbuBgslRP-AAJ53WL13HL7fc/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="242" /></a></div><br /><strong><br /></strong><strong><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Tweet archive</span></strong> <br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here is a summary of the tweets for the night archived in an application called<a href="http://storify.com/" target="_blank"> Storify:</a> You can read the tweet summary at: </span><a href="http://storify.com/edchatsa/tweet-summary-of-the-teachmeet-at-somerset-house-p"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Tweet summary of the TeachMeet at Somerset House on 13 Feb 2013</span></a><br /><strong><br /></strong><strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Conclusion</span></strong><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This was a really wonderful and inspiring evening. I must say a big thank you to Michele Botha and the Somerset House staff for hosting this TeachMeet. I believe the next one is going to be hosted at Somerset College which is also in Somerset West – so we look forward to that!</span></div>

teachmeets TeachMeet at Somerset House on Weds 13th Feb–an inspiring evening

Submitted by Fiona Beal After attending the TeachMeet at Somerset House Preparatory school in Somerset West last night, I left with a feelin...

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Sr SAP CRM Analyst ( functional ) (#108467)

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="WordSection1"><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Job Title:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> Sr SAP CRM Analyst<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Location:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> Milpitas, CA<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Duration:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> Fulltime<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Job title: <o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">We are currently seeking an energetic self-starter to work as a senior SAP CRM Business Process Analyst (Sr. CRM BPA). The Sr. CRM BPA will be responsible for conducting business process analysis, needs assessment, and preliminary cost/benefit analysis to support business requirements.  They will work closely with business partners to assess business requirements and build design specifications. They will perform required SAP system configuration changes and work with technical team to build new system functionality or to change existing system functionality.  Their work will span both system enhancements and projects in ECC –Sales & Distribution (SD), CRM (SAP) and other application platforms.  They are expected to support key Service business functionalities such as Case Management, Service Logistics, Contract & Quote management, and Pricing. They will collaborate with other IT departments such as Architecture, Business Engagement, Governance and Infrastructure to build and improve information system solutions.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Preferred Qualification / Responsibilities:<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">Candidate should be able to think independently, be comfortable with sharing and accepting ideas in an open manner.  Should possess solid written and oral communication skills and should have an aptitude for thriving in complex business situations. Candidate should enjoy working in a fast-paced, self-directed, diverse and customer service-oriented environment. Candidate should be able to translate business requirements into system & process solutions. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">Candidate should possess good understanding of IT change management and ticket release processes & systems (e.g. ServiceNow, Remedy). Must possess ability to work with global application service vendors <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">Candidate may possess project management skills such as planning, execution and control of project/task deliverable. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Candidate should have following technical and process skills: <o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">1.5-7 years of IT industry experience<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">2.3-5 years proven SAP ECC & CRM (Service) experience <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">3.Specific system knowledge of SAP ECC-SD and CRM Service modules/functionalities such as Case, RPA, Contracts, Quote, Order management, Pricing & Configuration, Partner determination, Billing/Invoicing.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">4.Good business understanding of key service processes in areas of Interaction Center, Service Delivery, and, Commercials<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Additional experience:<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">1.IPC, Business partner management, CRM middleware, and ECC integration.  <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">2.CRM 7 Web UI and Interaction Center<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">3.CRM Service Delivery experience for a large/midsize global company.  <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">4.Understanding of SAP CRM Sales & Marketing modules (Opportunity, Campaigns, Contacts etc.) is a plus <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">5.Project management experience is a plus<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">6.Additional certification in an industry group or related SAP module(s) is a plus. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Minimum Qualification:  <o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">Bachelor's Level Degree (Engineering or Business) with at least 7 years of IT industry, and 5 years of SAP ECC  & CRM experience. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">OR<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">Master's Level Degree (Engineering or Business) with at least 5 years of IT industry, and 3 years of SAP ECC & CRM experience.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Please send your resumes to vinod.sanker@kla-tencor.com</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div></div></div>

Sr SAP CRM Analyst ( functional ) (#108467)

Job Title: Sr SAP CRM Analyst Location: Milpitas, CA Duration: Fulltime Job title: We are currently seeking an energetic self-starter to...

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Library Associate: Acquisitions - Bay Path College, Longmeadow (MA)

<strong>Library Associate: Acquisitions -</strong> <strong><span style="color: #48286d;">Bay Path College</span></strong>, Longmeadow (MA). Part Time. Become part of a vibrant community of world-class professionals transforming the lives of a motivated and diverse student population. A pioneer in innovative academic programs since 1897 and one of the fastest growing colleges in New England, Bay Path College seeks a Library Associate for acquisitions, interlibrary loan, and other related tasks as assigned. The Library Associate will oversee and maintain acquisitions functions for library materials in all formats using WMS software; assist in interlibrary loan functions using OCLC and other automated systems; and perform public services, including circulation of library materials, reserves, and general office support. Twelve-month position, approximately 30 hours per week during regular business hours; occasional evening and/or weekend hours may be required. Qualifications: academic degree, business focus preferred; familiarity with academic library services; knowledge of Microsoft Word and Excel software; Internet search skills; library experience desirable; experience with WMS and OCLC software a plus. To apply, send a curriculum vitae and cover letter that includes a summary of your qualifications, and names and contact information of four professional references to <a _fcksavedurl="mailto:hr@baypath.edu" href="mailto:hr@baypath.edu">hr@baypath.edu</a>. Application materials should be sent in MS Word format. For questions about the position or the curriculum, email Michael Moran, Director of Library and Information Services, at <a _fcksavedurl="mailto:mmoran@baypath.edu" href="mailto:mmoran@baypath.edu">mmoran@baypath.edu</a>. Review of applications will begin immediately and will continue until the position is filled. An equal opportunity employer, Bay Path College is committed to fostering diversity in its student body, faculty, and staff.

Library Associate: Acquisitions - Bay Path College, Longmeadow (MA)

Library Associate: Acquisitions - Bay Path College , Longmeadow (MA). Part Time. Become part of a vibrant community of world-class profes...

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28 in 28 #14: Detail in Contemporary Concrete Architecture

<i>February is Book Month on A Daily Dose of Architecture. The "<a href="http://archidose.blogspot.com/search/label/28%20in%2028">28 in 28</a>" series features a different book every day of the month.</i><br /><br /><a href="http://www.laurenceking.com/en/category/architecture/detail-in-contemporary-concrete-architecture-1/"><b><i>Detail in Contemporary Concrete Architecture</i></b></a> by David Phillips and Megumi Yamashita<br />Laurence King Publishing, 2012<br />Hardcover, 224 pages<br /><br /><img alt="28-28_concrete.jpg" src="http://www.archidose.org/Blog/28-28_concrete.jpg" title="Book cover" /><br /><br />Previously I've reviewed a couple of Laurence King's <a href="http://www.laurenceking.com/en/catalogsearch/result/?dir=asc&order=relevance&q=detail+in+contemporary"><i>Detail in Contemporary ...</i></a> series, both by Virginia McLeod: <i><a href="http://www.archidose.org/books/mcleod.html">... Residential Architecture</a> </i>and <a href="http://archidose.org/wp/2011/11/23/detail-in-contemporary-glass-architecture/"><i>... Glass Architecture</i></a>. Those books varied from each other in terms of what they emphasized, but also in how they were presented; the former grouped details of the 100 houses into chapters (walls, floors, roofs, etc.), while the latter presented each project with its details, one after the other. I can see the value in both approaches, but just like a set of working drawings, as long as cross-referencing is considered the titles will work; they will have value in educating architects and students about details, and allowing them to compare different ways of detailing where walls meet roofs and various other conditions.<br /><br />Not surprisingly <i>... Concrete Architecture</i>, written by David Phillips and Megumi Yamashita, follows the same format as <i>... Glass Architecture</i>, putting about 50 projects into four chapters by building type (cultural, residential, commercial and public, and educational). Of course the emphasis is on concrete as a material, but it varies from overtly expressive concrete shells (Ryue Nishizawa's <a href="http://www.domusweb.it/en/architecture/teshima-art-museum-/">Teshima Art Museum</a>) to buildings that use concrete to achieve similar ends even as they cover the material with metal panels (Zaha Hadid's <a href="http://www.zaha-hadid.com/architecture/evelyn-grace-academy/">Evelyn Grace Academy</a>). But in this series it's all about the details. And in this regard the book is hit or miss, partially because each building is different and because the architects supplied the drawings; what they're willing to share obviously varies. For example, Toyo Ito's drawings for the <a href="http://www.toyo-ito.co.jp/WWW/Project_Descript/2005-/2005-p_11/2005-p_11_en.html">Tama Art University Library</a> are fantastic, going so far as to show the rebar layout in the hybrid steel-and-concrete arches. On the other hand, Nishizawa's Teshima Art Museum is documented with three long sections with absolutely no detail; they are laughable and probably should have been left out of the book, if it weren't for the fact the project is so unbelievable (part of the reason the drawings look preliminary). Thankfully the majority lean toward Ito rather than Nishizawa.<br /><br />But if those sections are laughable, they pale in comparison to the Imperial conversions that are found throughout the book. Yes, people outside of the United States may hate inches, feet, and other units of measurement, but nevertheless there are standards to it that should be followed, just like one follows metric standards. When it comes to the small sizes of details—less than an inch—that is especially important. Fractions of an inch are 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, and 1/16. But what do we find in these details? Exposed concrete that is 3-9/10" thick; insulation that is 7/10" thick; a 2/5" thick piece of glass. These are not real measurements. Pick up an Imperial ruler and try to make these measurements; it's not possible. And that's a shame, for it's a distracting detail in an otherwise good book of details.<br /><br /><b>US: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1780670095/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=aweeklydoseof-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1780670095" target="_blank"><img alt="Buy from Amazon.com" border="0" src="http://www.archidose.org/books/buy-from-tan.gif" /></a> CA: <a href="http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/1780670095/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=aweeklydoseof-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1780670095" target="_blank"><img alt="Buy from Amazon.ca" border="0" height="28" src="http://www.archidose.org/books/buy-from-tan-ca.gif" width="90" /></a> UK: <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1780670095/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=aweeklydoseof-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1780670095" target="_blank"><img alt="Buy from Amazon.co.uk" border="0" height="28" src="http://www.archidose.org/books/buy-from-tan-uk.gif" width="90" /></a></b>

28 in 28 #14: Detail in Contemporary Concrete Architecture

February is Book Month on A Daily Dose of Architecture. The " 28 in 28 " series features a different book every day of the month. ...

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For the Love of Skunks!

<strong>Skunk love is in the air on this Valentine's Day</strong>. Literally! Have you noticed an increase in these odiferous creatures this time of year? That's because it's breeding season for skunks in Ohio in late February.<br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtu3YQ3rNXH9buUJNfkKsmGyXGYNogioFyW0daaQ8stzhbLJ0QtazTT5jwGmuctWIYT7ervcI_rFHfDF3GyEmbu-n1GiL79xakIAHsGnag2MfNNtU5bic7pLVyFHACZ5cM5Cc3fWrOvLE6/s1600/6753_stripedskunk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtu3YQ3rNXH9buUJNfkKsmGyXGYNogioFyW0daaQ8stzhbLJ0QtazTT5jwGmuctWIYT7ervcI_rFHfDF3GyEmbu-n1GiL79xakIAHsGnag2MfNNtU5bic7pLVyFHACZ5cM5Cc3fWrOvLE6/s320/6753_stripedskunk.jpg" width="291" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The common Striped Skunk</td></tr></tbody></table>The striped skunk is the only native skunk found in Ohio. Found throughout most of North America, it is one of four species of skunks on this continent. They include the more southern spotted skunk, and the southwestern hooded and hog-nosed skunks.  All are members of the <em>Mephitidae </em>family, which is Latin for "stench."  All skunks have a gland around their anus that is capable of projecting a foul-smelling secretion up to 15 feet.  This defense mechanism, while rarely used, is what makes the skunk an unlikely prey for most predators.  Animals remember the bold black and white stripes and learn from experience to stay away.  The exception is the great horned owl.  Since owls have little to no sense of smell, they could care less about getting sprayed.  Just ask the unfortunate grad student who has to conduct nest surveys on great horned owls.<br /><br />Skunks are not true hibernators.  They do, however, take a lot of really long naps.  They will store up body fat for the winter and, when the weather is bad, will take to their dens for weeks to a month at a time.  By the time February rolls around, they are ready to roam about looking for love.  Skunks are omnivores and will eat just about anything they come across.  However, they have pretty poor eyesight.  You might notice an increase in road kill skunks this time of year as they are out wandering around looking for food and a mate. And, like our friend Pepe Le Pew, the males are promiscuous, mating with several females during the season.  Gestation is approximately two months and the females give birth to litters of 2-10 young.  They are born hairless and with eyes closed and remain in the den for about 6 weeks.  They are weaned at 6 weeks and begin to join their mother on her nightly ramblings.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXSyDArzJM6Hf5f7SKN1efcHkWe721NnsQMRWLzH40nRoMinQZae0rHftmw0HnXfJTTPZfL9DlEoQrxbBEwtHQ21c-Zc8xWAY7kN5tVtg_IQSfW9AoZMjcWHq-lNYUDFuu8ofryYU6UsYf/s1600/imagesCAN4TQMT.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="This famous "Looney Tunes" skunk was always looking for love in the wrong places." border="0" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXSyDArzJM6Hf5f7SKN1efcHkWe721NnsQMRWLzH40nRoMinQZae0rHftmw0HnXfJTTPZfL9DlEoQrxbBEwtHQ21c-Zc8xWAY7kN5tVtg_IQSfW9AoZMjcWHq-lNYUDFuu8ofryYU6UsYf/s320/imagesCAN4TQMT.jpg" title="Pepe Le Pew" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This famous "Looney Tunes" skunk was always looking for love in all the wrong places.</td></tr></tbody></table>Striped skunks are very adaptable and can become habituated to humans and their trash, pet food, and other sources of food.  In particular, they love our nicely manicured lawns, which tend to be full of grubs in the spring.  If you notice some morning that your lawn looks like someone went over it with a spade, you've probably had a visit from a family of skunks in the night.  They use their long claws and heavily padded feet to tear up your sod and eat the grubs of Japanese beetles and other yard bugs.  While you can probably appreciate the reduction of the grubs, it doesn't look pretty.  There's not much we can do about it except to let them pass on by.  After all, would you want to try to persuade a skunk to leave?<br /><br />For more information about Ohio's striped skunk, and other Ohio mammals, check out our <a href="http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/Home/species_a_to_z/SpeciesGuideIndex/stripedskunk/tabid/6774/Default.aspx" target="_blank">A to Z Species Guide</a>.  And Happy Valentine's Day!<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>

For the Love of Skunks!

Skunk love is in the air on this Valentine's Day . Literally! Have you noticed an increase in these odiferous creatures this time of yea...

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Pregnancy: In the Beginning - Part 1

I found out I was pregnant on a Wednesday.  By that Friday I had a doctor's appointment with my primary care physician just to verify the results <i>(This probably seems odd in hindsight, but I really didn't know what I should be doing in this situation.  Plus I have zero knowledge of the OB's in the area.)</i>  She confirmed the results, and basically stated that over-the-counter pregnancy tests are just as reliable as the urine tests they run in their office.<br /><br />That afternoon Joel and I decided to tell both of our parents the news.  Even though I would've only been about 6 weeks pregnant, we were still upset over it.  We thought that by telling them and hearing their reaction, it might help cheer us up.  Of course, they were both very excited and it did help us feel a little better about everything.  In fact, both of us shared the news with many people straight away.  I know that is a big, old pregnancy faux-pas because of the vulnerability of the fetus in the first trimester.  However, I needed to talk about it.  I needed to hear positive reactions and words of comfort to keep me going.  Plus, my coworkers were beginning to question why I wasn't showing up to work.  I don't regret doing this.   <br /><br />By the following Monday I was set to have my very first appointment with the OBGYN, but it got cancelled due to Hurricane Sandy.  By this time, I was in full fledged "all day sickness" mode.  There was no such thing as "morning sickness" with me.  I attempted work for two straight days the following week and had to leave both days by noon.  Fortunately, I can work at home.  But for those who work jobs that don't allow that kind of flexibility, I don't know how you do it! <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lastshredsofsanity.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/cartoon11.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://lastshredsofsanity.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/cartoon11.png" width="260" /></a></div>I literally felt like I was dying a slow death each day.  The smell of most things nauseated me, and trying to find things to eat was a whole new challenge.   The sight of ALL food gagged me.  I had to go buy unscented body wash, hand soap and deodorant   Joel had to take over laundry duty because I couldn't stand to smell the detergent.  Even loading the dishwasher and seeing bits of food on the plates was enough to send me over the edge! <i>(This is why I've been absent of comments from many of your blogs - reading about food - I could not take it!  I even had to take about 2 months off from Pinterest because I couldn't bear seeing pictures of food on there!) </i> I had a hard time showering - something about the water made me nauseous.  Brushing my teeth.... oh Lord!  I couldn't attempt that until at least noon every day because first thing in the morning was just asking for a disaster. <br /><br />To say the least, I was in total disbelief that this was all happening, and <i>so </i>quickly at that.  Literally, overnight, my world was turned upside down with the daily bouts of sickness and going to bed at 7 PM - I was having such a hard time processing it.   I lost total control of everything - God was definitely testing us!  Some things I found comfort in during that time was watching re-runs of Roseanne followed by Reba.  That became my nightly routine!  I also caught up on all the DVR'd episodes of 19 Kids and Counting - another show that comforted me.  Also, Joel was so incredibly helpful and positive throughout the entire ordeal, I wouldn't know what to do without him! <br /><br /><br />

Baby Busbee Pregnancy: In the Beginning - Part 1

I found out I was pregnant on a Wednesday.  By that Friday I had a doctor's appointment with my primary care physician just to verify th...

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ARGENTINA - AGRICULTURE CURSE

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font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style><![endif]--> <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNuYKg_8NMdxT_NH7zf4aa-rbe-WrVEXSbOtkSxinnxmiRuFUsxB7YcW1pmgB4NfAbd5bDhkZMJq3Tb0T4AbfwPC3a44rY8hF9fsl_3AhaE8Hkj_whrbRQQ88Cy_tHtpNQ-e_ptHV0o5go/s1600/2691271871_485b72dd7a_z.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNuYKg_8NMdxT_NH7zf4aa-rbe-WrVEXSbOtkSxinnxmiRuFUsxB7YcW1pmgB4NfAbd5bDhkZMJq3Tb0T4AbfwPC3a44rY8hF9fsl_3AhaE8Hkj_whrbRQQ88Cy_tHtpNQ-e_ptHV0o5go/s400/2691271871_485b72dd7a_z.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">AGRICULTURE COMMODITIES: CURSE & FORTUNE FOR ARGENTINA</span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">  <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;">Why the IMF and other international financial institutions and corporations such as Monsanto are desperate to “control” Argentina in whatever possible way in order to gain a slice of the large agr<span style="font-size: large;">iculture</span> commodity and natural resource cake.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">INVESTORS SUCH AS JIM ROGERS AND GEORGE SOROS ARE INTERESTED IN LATAM FARMLAND</span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">By Zachary Fillingham </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Farmland has two important attributes that set it apart from most other investments. The first is obvious: its inelastic demand. Humans need food to survive, it’s just a question of what food they eat. Second are the various political and environmental factors that continue to whittle away at an already-finite supply of global farmland: factors like climate change, urbanization, farmland degradation, and erosion. <a href="http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/footprint/agriculture/impacts/soil_erosion/">According to the WWF</a>, one-third of the world’s arable land has been destroyed since 1960 by erosion and other types of degradation. Though we’ve heard it all before that ‘they aren’t making any more land,’ it turns out that we are also good at ruining what little we have.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">GROWING DEMAND ON MEAT, SOMETHING ARGENTINA HAS PLENTY OFF</span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">This slowly dwindling supply must be juxtaposed to a level of global demand that is only going up.  It’s not just the growing global population (8 billion people by 2025 according to the World Bank) that will drive increases in food demand, but also the socio-economic changes that are already altering consumption habits all over the world. As the middle class of countries like China and India continues to swell, their diet shifts from being primarily vegetarian to including a lot more meat, which is more grain-intensive and thus places a greater demand on food producers.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">FEED FOR LIVESTOCK</span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Consider <a href="http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=meat-and-environment">Cornell Professor David Pimentel’s assertion</a> that if the grain used to feed the livestock required for US beef consumption was just eaten directly instead, it could feed over 800 million people. Now extrapolate this dynamic across an Asian middle class that will easily number in the hundreds of millions, and you have some of the economic rationale behind the global farmland boom.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">FARMING BOOM</span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">These fundamentals have piqued the interest of many investors around the world, <a href="http://moneymorning.com/2012/07/12/why-jim-rogers-is-investing-in-farmland/">including big names</a> such as Jim Rogers and George Soros.</span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Farm prices in the United States have also been <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/23/us/across-corn-belt-farmland-prices-keep-soaring.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0">rising at a steady clip</a>, posting double-digit gains every year since 2005, with the sole exception of a brief recessive blip in 2008. This year, a survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago revealed that farmland across Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, and Michigan has increased in value by an average of 15 percent.  These kinds of gains have some people worried the potential for an agricultural bubble, but others are quick to point out the relative security of farmland vis-à-vis unsettled equity markets and the inevitability of spiking food demand.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQPAZthrDsgFpHhKDMkPROYwLxhE1uGmLpDYXqWpJJga_EgcXkhnZte0ynNE21J9vP_Kcj82GAq9iIfiZF5Mi8yEQvlCIMcR71FqhAQDnBWouDs924uTG5N2eMgjEBdBxlht8qo840vLfP/s1600/WorldSoils_NRCS_FarmlandForecast.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQPAZthrDsgFpHhKDMkPROYwLxhE1uGmLpDYXqWpJJga_EgcXkhnZte0ynNE21J9vP_Kcj82GAq9iIfiZF5Mi8yEQvlCIMcR71FqhAQDnBWouDs924uTG5N2eMgjEBdBxlht8qo840vLfP/s400/WorldSoils_NRCS_FarmlandForecast.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">FARMLAND IN LATAM</span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The frenzy to buy farmland in the United States has even spilled over to Brazil, where US farmers have bought up land at a fraction of the price it would cost north of the border. This prompted the government of Brazil to pass a law restricting the amount of foreign ownership to 25 percent per municipality. Government intervention to stop large influxes of foreign investment has increased worldwide as arable land is increasingly seen as a strategic resource, and this is a factor that should be taken into account by people investing in agricultural ETFs or companies with large farmland portfolios. <a href="http://seekingalpha.com/article/588421-protectionism-in-argentina-threatens-foreign-investment">Another example of land protectionism</a> is the ‘Rural Land Law’ that passed in Argentina in 2011. This law limits any foreign ownership of land in Argentina to 1,000 hectares.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Another potential pitfall for farmland investors lies in the increasing unpredictability of global weather patterns. While it’s certainly true that global food demand will be trending upwards, there are no guarantees that a given patch of arable land will remain productive enough to reap the windfall. Given the large gaps in understanding that exist within climate science, it’s always possible that the record droughts experienced in the United States in 2012 will one day become the rule rather than the exception. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIQv2nMfMP4d4h81xw40rFR3qcBo5cK03AVkkdhJKc9TdTN6rSt4QFNqlh3Pf5tyhAA_RYFjEsWaaqlusmGru4xyrG1Uk9cgTO6E4uSnE1EJJEGgn56AXFeipTipKpWqU7YmHVvJG2bvVm/s1600/corn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIQv2nMfMP4d4h81xw40rFR3qcBo5cK03AVkkdhJKc9TdTN6rSt4QFNqlh3Pf5tyhAA_RYFjEsWaaqlusmGru4xyrG1Uk9cgTO6E4uSnE1EJJEGgn56AXFeipTipKpWqU7YmHVvJG2bvVm/s320/corn.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">INTERNATIONAL CORPORATIONS GAIN RECORD EARNINGS IN LATAM AGRO INDUSTRY </span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="266" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/VTaQf3nihBU?feature=player_embedded" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" width="320"></iframe></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">CORN-SEED SALES IN BRAZIL, ARGENTINA AND MEXICO HELP MONSANTO WITH RECORD EARNINGS</span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">See: </span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2012/02/monsanto-global-monster-corporation.html">http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2012/02/monsanto-global-monster-corporation.html</a></span></span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> </span> </span></b></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">US agricultural giant Monsanto Tuesday posted a large increase in quarterly earnings on strong results in corn seed sales in the US and Latin America and better sales of pesticides. The St Louis-based corporation said net income for the first quarter was 339 million dollars, up from 126 million a year earlier.</span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The results were boosted by particularly strong sales of its gene manipulated corn seed products in Brazil, Argentina and Mexico, the company said.</span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Farmers in Brazil and Argentina have upgraded to new Monsanto genetically modified products, the company said. Sales in this category rose more than 27% compared to the same period last year.</span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The company also said it also had a positive US order book that was better than the same point last year.</span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The other big improvement came in the agricultural productivity category, which includes crop protection products and law-and-garden herbicide products. Sales in this category rose nearly 31% compared with the same period last year.</span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">“We've achieved a successful start to the year, with contributions from multiple areas that speaks to the strength of our global business and provides confidence in our ability to realize a third consecutive year of significant growth,” said Hugh Grant, CEO of Monsanto.</span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Monsanto's earnings came in at 62 cents per share, excluding exceptional items, well above the 37 cents per share projected by analysts. Monsanto shares were up are currently up 3% to 98.86 dollars.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="266" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wvjCE_g2tKM?feature=player_embedded" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" width="320"></iframe></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span lang="ES-AR" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: ES-AR; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div><h1><span class="watch-title"><span lang="ES-AR" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: ES-AR;"><br /></span></span></h1><h1><span class="watch-title"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"></span></h1><h1><span lang="ES-AR" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: ES-AR;"> </span></h1>

ARGENTINA - AGRICULTURE CURSE

AGRICULTURE COMMODITIES: CURSE & FORTUNE FOR ARGENTINA   Why the IMF and other international financial institutions and corporations su...

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