News for today's 2018

MIDDLE EASTERN EQUATION

4:21 PM Tukiyooo 0

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0xVcYmnqjRfQ4vrwz_yquu-iB5_lxeQ4o2dVgnc3H6VeP2czIYRvX1qYZGrKpScpwoT4KmRfmaaGqwJIxURezR0DcXx-GEH_1AqV_78WC6FOBEadYgqA9emdedZUVDuhcZSFZh2vfWVid/s1600/94757362-benjamin-netanyahus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0xVcYmnqjRfQ4vrwz_yquu-iB5_lxeQ4o2dVgnc3H6VeP2czIYRvX1qYZGrKpScpwoT4KmRfmaaGqwJIxURezR0DcXx-GEH_1AqV_78WC6FOBEadYgqA9emdedZUVDuhcZSFZh2vfWVid/s320/94757362-benjamin-netanyahus.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /> <br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 24.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">NETANYAHU’S DILEMMA: CAMPAIGNING ON A SECURITY TICKET WHEN IRAN CALLS THE SHOTS</span></b></span></div><br /><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">via DEBKA<i>file</i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><i> </i> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced an early general election in January, 2013. Most pundits agreed he would lead his Likud party’s campaign for reelection on the security ticket, namely the danger of a nuclear-armed Iran.  </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><br />Netanyahu explained his decision by his coalition partners’ refusal to make do with a “responsible budget” and  said he would rather have his government fall than increase the deficit, especially when the country’s top priority was stopping IRAN gaining a nuclear bomb.<br /><br /></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><i>Running on the IRAN ticket subjects him to three major difficulties</i>:</span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><br />1.   Tehran can be safely guaranteed to place every possible obstruction in the prime minister’s path to an election win because his failure in the polls would not just suit IRAN but be popular in the Arab world where he is portrayed as a fire-eating militarist although he has delayed attacking IRAN for three and-a-half years.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><br />2.   Tehran, helped by its proxies, the LEBANESE <b>Hizballah</b> and the <b>Palestinian Hamas</b> and <b>Jihad Islami</b>, will dig up every possible stratagem to tarnish his performance, such as the unmanned helicopter flyover which Saturday, Oct. 6 showed ISRAELI air defenses in a poor light , and the salvo of 55 missiles and mortars from the Gaza Strip two days later.<br />Until recently, it was generally believed that the ISRAELI government’s military decisions were motivated solely by considerations of national security without political undertones.<br />But that was only so long as the prime minister and the defense minister were of one mind.<br />However, the falling-out between them of late means that neither trusts the other’s decisions any longer. An election campaign in these circumstances could have disastrous fallout.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><br />3.  President Barack Obama’s campaign for reelection in less than a month will no doubt play into the Israeli election contest. The US president, who has accused Netanyahu of interfering in his race for a second term, will no doubt bring his weight to bear on the ISRAELI poll.  Last-minute cancellation of joint exercises, for example, or other such steps could reflect negatively on Netanyahu’s prospects.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Obama will be swayed most of all by his prospects against the Republican Mitt Romney. This consideration might persuade him to play the IRANIAN card and thereby indirectly affecting how the ISRAELI prime minister comes out of his election.<br /> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><b><i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">In this respect, Obama has three options: </span></span></i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">a) To exercise the AMERICAN military option and blowing away IRAN’S nuclear program – with or without ISRAEL. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">b) To meet IRAN’S leaders halfway for a diplomatic breakthrough that would amaze the AMERICAN voter and be inimical to ISRAEL and set back Netanyahu's chances or reelection; or </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">c) To do nothing.<br />It is hard to say at this time whether or not Mitt Romney if elected would give Netanyahu a leg up before he takes the oath of office.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><br />The rumor mills in Jerusalem, Washington and Tehran are buzzing with speculation about what to expect in the days ahead.  The new players in the ISRAELI ring, Labor’s leader Shelly Yacimovich who has never before faced a general election and Yair Lapid who has just founded “Yesh Atid” (There Is a Future) and whose platform is still an enigma, are unlikely to have cruckal effect on the eventual outcome of the high-stakes game of strategy in progress between Obama, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Hassan Nasrallah, and Binyamin Netanyahu.  </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div>

MIDDLE EASTERN EQUATION

NETANYAHU’S DILEMMA: CAMPAIGNING ON A SECURITY TICKET WHEN IRAN CALLS THE SHOTS via DEBKA file Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has an...

Breast cancer surgery rate differences 'raise questions' - Health - CBC News

2:13 PM Tukiyooo 0

<base href="data:">Mastectomy rates for breast cancer vary widely across Canada, according to a new report.<br><br>Thursday's report by the Canadian Institute for Health Information showed differences in the use of all surgical treatments for breast cancer. About 22,000 women in Canada have surgery for breast cancer each year.<br><br>Most of the breast cancer patients studied were treated for invasive disease. (iStock)<br>"These findings raise questions about how Canadian women are exercising their treatment options and the resultant quality of care," the report's authors concluded, based on data from 2007–2008 to 2009–2010.<br><br>Mastectomy rates ranged from 69 per cent in Newfoundland and Labrador to 26 per cent in Quebec.<br><br>The differences decreased only slightly when age, income and travel time to a cancer centre were considered, the institute said.<br><br>Generally, clinical practice guidelines recommend breast conserving surgery, also called lumpectomy, and radiation therapy for the majority of women with breast cancer. Lumpectomy and radiation are less invasive and are associated with fewer complications with similar survival to mastectomy.<br><br>Dr. Geoff Porter, a professor of surgery at Dalhousie University in Halifax, called the report an important step in understanding differences in breast cancer surgery.<br><br>"We can only really understand where we're going if we know where we are," Porter said. "I think that's just very valuable when you think about optimizing the quality of breast cancer care. We need to know those patterns and trends so that we can see whether they're changing."<br><br>Porter said that the high rates of mastectomies and re-excisions or repeated surgeries if lab tests show that residual tumours may be present, could be higher in Newfoundland and Labrador because of differences in how the surgeries are counted in that province.<br><br>In many areas in Canada, core biopsies with a needle are used to make a diagnosis. In Newfoundland and Labrador, the tumour itself may be removed for the diagnosis and that surgery could be counted as the first one, he said.<br><br>Porter said the report offers a powerful way to look at breast cancer in the population. The tradeoff is that clinical data, such as the size of tumour and its stage, weren't included.<br><br>The type of surgery can also vary with income. In the report, women living in the least affluent areas had the highest rates of mastectomy. Long courses of radiation are generally recommended after lumpectomies and travel time appeared to significantly reduce use of less-invasive surgery, the authors said.<br><br>A third of mastectomies in Ontario were done as day surgeries but fewer than two per cent in Alberta and Saskatchewan were done that way.<br><br>"The extent of this variation raises interesting questions regarding the organization of care and resources issues."<br><br>The report was prepared by CIHI and the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer.<br><br><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeYCFGvc3tz8Fb1Mrh39tbXETO-SvSLa-qCh_INllBeF1-o2ovqamIvNGqCe3Hj1kK5MYboet5ttXR24uD9_-pMayxCPrS3-hmxWChGNxzm1AFbCHDScsqyMs5OQT2gPFrFSSZhjmzkzk/s1600/Data-714584.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5798162963459059570" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeYCFGvc3tz8Fb1Mrh39tbXETO-SvSLa-qCh_INllBeF1-o2ovqamIvNGqCe3Hj1kK5MYboet5ttXR24uD9_-pMayxCPrS3-hmxWChGNxzm1AFbCHDScsqyMs5OQT2gPFrFSSZhjmzkzk/s320/Data-714584.jpg" /></a><div><br><a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/story/2012/10/11/breast-cancer-surgery.html">http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/story/2012/10/11/breast-cancer-surgery.html</a><br><br></div>

Breast cancer surgery rate differences 'raise questions' - Health - CBC News

Mastectomy rates for breast cancer vary widely across Canada, according to a new report. Thursday's report by the Canadian Institute for...

Furnishing Tama

10:30 AM Tukiyooo 0

<img alt="tama1.jpg" src="http://www.archidose.org/Blog/tama1.jpg" title="Tama Art University Library" /><br />[Photo by Iwan Baan | image <a href="http://www.archdaily.com/22711/tama-art-university-library-toyo-ito-by-iwan-baan/">source</a>]<br /><br />One thing I learned about Toyo It's design 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> (2007) when reviewing <a href="http://archidose.org/wp/2012/10/08/toyo-ito-forces-of-nature/"><i>Forces of Nature</i></a> recently was how the ground floor slopes, which required some skill in terms of furnishings. Ito decided to have the countertops remain level even as the floor pitched itself at 1:20, meaning that stools had to not only be adjustable in height but actually sit up straight on a leaning floor.<br /><br /><img alt="tama2.jpg" src="http://www.archidose.org/Blog/tama2.jpg" title="Tama Art University Library" /><br />[Photo Photo by Fujie Kazuko Atelier | image <a href="http://www.fujie-kazuko-atelier.com/fujie_kazuko_atelier/tama.html">source</a>]<br /><br />The resulting stool—carried out with <a href="http://www.fujie-kazuko-atelier.com/">Fujie Kazuko Atelier</a>*, a firm with a mission to "<span class="style_2">propose the comfortable relationship between architecture and furniture</span>"—is an adjustable-height design that sits upon what can be described as a squished ball rather than four legs. This allows the stool to address the two driving considerations on the ground floor, but I'm guessing it also makes sitting at the counters and computer workstations kind of fun.<br /><br /><img alt="tama3.jpg" src="http://www.archidose.org/Blog/tama3.jpg" title="Tama Art University Library" /><br />[Photo Photo by Fujie Kazuko Atelier | image <a href="http://www.fujie-kazuko-atelier.com/fujie_kazuko_atelier/tama.html">source</a>]<br /><br />Yet Kazuko Atelier's documentation of the building's furniture doesn't stop with the stools. They also show some chairs whose backs peel away (above), ideal for lounging and listening to music or watching videos, and an undulating object that is less furniture than a surface for improvisation (below). The more I look at Ito's design for Tama, the more I'm impressed by it. Some of that appreciation stems from the choice of furnishings, which work well with the architecture but don't try to compete with it (I'm glad furniture with arched legs, for example, wasn't the route taken).<br /><br /><img alt="tama4.jpg" src="http://www.archidose.org/Blog/tama4.jpg" title="Tama Art University Library" /><br />[Photo Photo by Fujie Kazuko Atelier | image <a href="http://www.fujie-kazuko-atelier.com/fujie_kazuko_atelier/tama.html">source</a>]<br /><br />*I'm not sure if Kazuko Atelier is responsible for the design for the furniture or just its selection, but nevertheless they are an integral part of furnishing the spaces.

Furnishing Tama

[Photo by Iwan Baan | image source ] One thing I learned about Toyo It's design for the Tama Art University Library (2007) when reviewi...

Who is it?!

9:44 AM Tukiyooo 0

<span style="font-size: large;">Recognise this pair?!</span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXW-Diyw8-tRXn5SHjuFUqWg529H1xNlENvM7-WqhyphenhyphenZi9NLPXwYMD22LTyydRMsdvB0M2EFa78fHhoZcHy66vYTeaPuGF5SvlBznYWUlv2eh7JpH73dASZ0MfZwqvZnfQDl1ATMmBxCfQH/s1600/IMG_2183%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXW-Diyw8-tRXn5SHjuFUqWg529H1xNlENvM7-WqhyphenhyphenZi9NLPXwYMD22LTyydRMsdvB0M2EFa78fHhoZcHy66vYTeaPuGF5SvlBznYWUlv2eh7JpH73dASZ0MfZwqvZnfQDl1ATMmBxCfQH/s320/IMG_2183%5B1%5D.JPG" width="239" /></a><span style="font-size: large;"> Painted by Ciaran</span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">And check out this little handsomer!!</span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixKLi-ZeKNhhui1mBOvVVf-bkXbkgEWNGcdiLQkIITZGlTSZ8DlHg55V1bxthai9fHa-_rFGrXwOk57idmsfd9u_Fca3DVVRE2gY2dmKKxh-IepL9HIkTwN5IzvMQphAOD6YBEtJSoFE2g/s1600/IMG_2188%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixKLi-ZeKNhhui1mBOvVVf-bkXbkgEWNGcdiLQkIITZGlTSZ8DlHg55V1bxthai9fHa-_rFGrXwOk57idmsfd9u_Fca3DVVRE2gY2dmKKxh-IepL9HIkTwN5IzvMQphAOD6YBEtJSoFE2g/s320/IMG_2188%5B1%5D.JPG" width="239" /></a><span style="font-size: large;"> "Bones" painted by Ciaran's Dad</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKsdCTu_i-nwXZbJqplm9T20_StdHwjdEkNnNJ26gmRx4V-Mh1vkSbgP7AkiXPdULmvxOOBR9JvzSGJAM7CaA-qcFIPF3agl_qikzvVaobcVSZHFWrDirgm0eTMAqlb-njbl9A6G13W32V/s1600/IMG_2032%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKsdCTu_i-nwXZbJqplm9T20_StdHwjdEkNnNJ26gmRx4V-Mh1vkSbgP7AkiXPdULmvxOOBR9JvzSGJAM7CaA-qcFIPF3agl_qikzvVaobcVSZHFWrDirgm0eTMAqlb-njbl9A6G13W32V/s320/IMG_2032%5B1%5D.JPG" width="239" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Bones outside the house - he is not an outside dog, he goes out to go to the bathroom and then immediately starts to whine to be let back in - I think he thinks he is human!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>

Who is it?!

Recognise this pair?! Painted by Ciaran And check out this little handsomer!! "Bones" painted by Ciaran's Dad Bones outside ...

Daily Education and Technology News for Schools 10/11/2012

2:30 AM Tukiyooo 0

<ul class="diigo-linkroll">      <li>      <p class="diigo-link">                <a href="http://business.ftc.gov/blog/2012/10/justin-demi-selena-rihanna-and-coppa">Justin, Demi, Selena, Rihanna - and COPPA | BCP Business Center</a>      </p>      <p class="diigo-description">This Justin Beiber fan site has been penalized more than $100,000 for collecting emails of minors under 13 without parental permission. COPPA compliance is more important than ever. I find it ironic that kids under 13 aren't even supposed to be able to have emails in the first place on many websites.  "The details of the registration process varied depending on the site, so you'll want to read the complaint for the specifics.  But the 25-words-or-less summary is that Artist Arena allegedly collected kids' names, addresses, email addresses, birthdates, gender and other info without properly notifying parents and getting their consent.  According to the complaint, the company violated COPPA by knowingly registering over 25,000 kids under 13 and collected and maintained personal information from almost 75,000 other kids under 13 who started the sign-up process, but didn't finish it."</p>              <p class="diigo-tags">          <span>tags:</span>                      <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education">education</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/news">news</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/coppa">coppa</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/digital_law">digital_law</a></p>                                        </li>  </ul><p class="diigo-ps">Posted from <a href='http://www.diigo.com'>Diigo</a>. The rest of my favorite links are <a href='http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher'>here</a>.</p>

Daily Education and Technology News for Schools 10/11/2012

Justin, Demi, Selena, Rihanna - and COPPA | BCP Business Center This Justin Beiber fan site has been...

NAAEE 2012-Wednesday

11:18 PM Tukiyooo 0

I had to catch up on some sleep, having been up since 4:45 EST the day before.  So after sleeping in a bit, till 9:30 EST :-), I joined the Phenology Monitoring and Citizen Science Workshop.  This all day workshop focused on the science of phenology.  <br /><br />If you have never heard this term before, phenology is the study of recurring plant and animal life cycle stages.  These stages are also called phenophases.  These phenophases are usually looked at on an annual basis and they are phenomenon that have an onset, duration and end stage.  Some examples might include the study of the blooming periods of spring wildflowers, or the timing of foliage color change, or the migration patterns of songbirds and waterfowl.<br /><br />This science is not by any means a new field or practice.  Native Americans used phenology to determine prime hunting and gathering periods based on the emergence of buds, flowers and berries for centuries.  For example, tribes on the Canadian east coast would not fish for shad until the "shadbush," or serviceberry as we call it in Ohio, bloomed.  They learned to associate the timing of the emergence of the bush's blooms with the time of when these fish were at their peak for eating.  In the U.S., the <a href="http://www.usanpn.org/archive/history" target="_blank">Department of Agriculture</a> was using phenology in as early as the 1920's to help determine growing seasons for crops.<br /><br />Basically, phenology is about paying attention to the physical cues that plants and animals exhibit to determine changes in the environment.  These physical cues can be used to track climate change, including temperature and precipitation changes, and overall environmental changes that occur over time.  <br /><br />Why would we want track these changes? Phenological changes have biological and economical importance.  <br /><br />A biological example is found in Europe with the relationship between the English oak, the Winter moth, and the Dutch Pied flycatcher. <a href="http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v441/n7089/abs/nature04539.html" target="_blank"><em>Both et. al. Nature 2006.</em></a><em>  </em>Basically, this study showed that as the English oak begins to leaf out earlier and earlier each year, the caterpillar of the Winter moth begins to emerge earlier as well.  However, the Pied flycatcher continues to return at the same time each year from its migration, finding less and less of its favorite food available as the caterpillars have already entered the pupae stage, making them unavailable to the birds.  The bird's populations have declined as much as 90% in the last two decades because of this "mistiming" of phenological events.<br /><br />One simpler and more familiar economic example is the annual National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington D.C.  This festival is centered around the blooming of the thousands of cherry trees in the nation's capital that are an annual gift from Japan.  The timing of peak blooms vary to some degree each year, as much as a 10 days, depending on local weather conditions.  However, you can see that in the last twenty years, <a href="http://www.nationalcherryblossomfestival.org/about/bloom-watch/" target="_blank">the trend</a> as crept earlier and earlier from early April to now mid-March.  This impacts when events will be held each year, which impacts the local economy to the tune of over $120 million annually. A mistiming of this event could be critical to local hotels, restaurants, tour guides, and more. <br /><br />There is a relatively new national organization called the <a href="http://www.usanpn.org/" target="_blank">USA National Phenology Network</a>, or NPN. This network is hoping to become the clearinghouse for any and all national, regional and local data related to phenology of plants and animals.  It already contains information on 630 plant species and 230 animal species across the country.  They work with many partners across the country to develop collection protocols, best practices, and education about phenology, as well as data collection.  This is where you come in.<br /><br />If you're interested in learning more about conducting a phenology study in your area, and how to contribute data, please check out the NPN website at <a href="http://www.usanpn.org/">www.usanpn.org</a>  They have a ton of valuable information on conducting research, engaging students and adults, submitting data, using archived data for comparison studies, and more.  It is a very user-friendly, intuitive website.  <br /><br />My hope is that we, as an agency, can eventually provide training in phenology for schools that have high quality outdoor classrooms as part of our WILD School Sites program.  I believe that phenology can be used in not only science, but math, language arts, and social studies as well.  And, as the new Ohio Academic Content Standards move towards more project or process-based learning, phenological studies fit very well within these frameworks for learning.<br /><br />At a minimum, I hope that you all start to pay attention to the natural world around you.  Phenology can help you reconnect with the nature that is right in your neighborhood and backyard.  Keep a journal for your property or local park.  You can submit that data to NPN as well.  Get reconnected to nature through the science of phenology.<br /><br />We took a field trip to the Golden Gate Bridge National Recreation Area to see how to conduct a phenology study.  The field trip was hosted by the educators of <a href="http://www.naturebridge.org/" target="_blank">NatureBridge</a>, a non-profit organization that works in partnership with western national parks and recreation areas to bring students to these areas for environmental educational experiences.  Many of their programs include the collection of phenological data.  Here are some pictures from the day.  Enjoy!<br /><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/AVvXsEgP5OgZ4-802rktfdIPtt5MpEeLOXzwmKBsLecdN2RtGUzNeizOEW0X8BCHva84QOWTkwxPKJBIQHHRWl1z30IZfbhkF3FO7Kv-B29qwERvnluMsZVxrMFQp-qEmg-aNMTbikN8J75jVRiN/s1600/P1010868.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP5OgZ4-802rktfdIPtt5MpEeLOXzwmKBsLecdN2RtGUzNeizOEW0X8BCHva84QOWTkwxPKJBIQHHRWl1z30IZfbhkF3FO7Kv-B29qwERvnluMsZVxrMFQp-qEmg-aNMTbikN8J75jVRiN/s320/P1010868.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A bus view of the Bay from the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge.</td></tr></tbody></table><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/AVvXsEjccq_U5dYlrmZcTCl88QoOyNX1KJRQhyB0Bc_WwYhrmTocOZ9qYzn6iThdRrGQSmKwYL83tdp9-kKqV8FPAbi9vnn1zZpDvJXGeciNGaltbHJbIeSOAKSIoNGMGllDX3_xzLDZdKx3Vb9o/s1600/P1010873.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjccq_U5dYlrmZcTCl88QoOyNX1KJRQhyB0Bc_WwYhrmTocOZ9qYzn6iThdRrGQSmKwYL83tdp9-kKqV8FPAbi9vnn1zZpDvJXGeciNGaltbHJbIeSOAKSIoNGMGllDX3_xzLDZdKx3Vb9o/s320/P1010873.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Red Rock Island.</td></tr></tbody></table><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/AVvXsEjc3DL-aQHRmMHWDJniIvY86mFFvPq8Q0qKp78Ejuu47j_nkBDg5nt2De39PFO_Jj0bEtfWHgjtKd_IFL7d80VVY0qvDnnmHLX2YTXTaPaGFz1E2SOMvFjBeJdi36-EprzIalqGekIZNrp4/s1600/P1010890.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc3DL-aQHRmMHWDJniIvY86mFFvPq8Q0qKp78Ejuu47j_nkBDg5nt2De39PFO_Jj0bEtfWHgjtKd_IFL7d80VVY0qvDnnmHLX2YTXTaPaGFz1E2SOMvFjBeJdi36-EprzIalqGekIZNrp4/s320/P1010890.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Group members having a great discussion.</td></tr></tbody></table><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/AVvXsEh1eycIFg8AisesP6Tvppeu0nqzMnmpqlbvQLwIOWkUAviE5qRX4jgKSH2GQVALiPqWChPYk2X00bcyZLGbDcU7KVDkOPouQIrGJI3UmcMU0FOj9TXAjukhV6wfiFPSHO_VNhtpysDt3vsJ/s1600/P1010889.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1eycIFg8AisesP6Tvppeu0nqzMnmpqlbvQLwIOWkUAviE5qRX4jgKSH2GQVALiPqWChPYk2X00bcyZLGbDcU7KVDkOPouQIrGJI3UmcMU0FOj9TXAjukhV6wfiFPSHO_VNhtpysDt3vsJ/s320/P1010889.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Checking out one of the plant species that this site monitors.</td></tr></tbody></table><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/AVvXsEjkBaz40Vc0LGOdFFsHLovOWN4th3c8d-orjW0HXiZ1BAQwlpaAJek3qakbNgwZIl_5t0GbQaFbzNDL__xNSZV_L2tttKUK5EnsUfHNuK-tXHyCu0gCbnHJof62v492c1xWBpjSzdH5tmWm/s1600/P1010878.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkBaz40Vc0LGOdFFsHLovOWN4th3c8d-orjW0HXiZ1BAQwlpaAJek3qakbNgwZIl_5t0GbQaFbzNDL__xNSZV_L2tttKUK5EnsUfHNuK-tXHyCu0gCbnHJof62v492c1xWBpjSzdH5tmWm/s320/P1010878.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nature Bridge monitors three plant species at this particular site.  <br />This is called Coyote Bush, or <span class="kno-fv">Baccharis pilularis</span> </td></tr></tbody></table><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/AVvXsEjRWFOtp5scOe9A4d-96TpdB8a0UMhQnT707KIEY7W7aC-3M0zTQpwjtIOW8o8CgYBLjvlosrOJYz03T_hfp84C3v94AZxmhpt9X0D2dAdHh9hzl7j_B-chhCPgZNfAUwGb7weV2duLGCkN/s1600/P1010879.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRWFOtp5scOe9A4d-96TpdB8a0UMhQnT707KIEY7W7aC-3M0zTQpwjtIOW8o8CgYBLjvlosrOJYz03T_hfp84C3v94AZxmhpt9X0D2dAdHh9hzl7j_B-chhCPgZNfAUwGb7weV2duLGCkN/s320/P1010879.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An upclose view of the leaves and flowers of the Coyote Bush.</td></tr></tbody></table><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/AVvXsEiOakr_TbjMTKJEjTiHEv_sLBC9WPmUitIwxfyGPSZVGXyWyiSJL1Wjt-bOjVJj9f5-nCHPLhnaRmHug2yWOMjXVy7qcPymwjSCUB8mJr3K0FqfvC0fffJ1tTNHrvGhefQLfYpq1WKpkkzm/s1600/P1010880.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOakr_TbjMTKJEjTiHEv_sLBC9WPmUitIwxfyGPSZVGXyWyiSJL1Wjt-bOjVJj9f5-nCHPLhnaRmHug2yWOMjXVy7qcPymwjSCUB8mJr3K0FqfvC0fffJ1tTNHrvGhefQLfYpq1WKpkkzm/s320/P1010880.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another plant that is monitored is the cow parsnip, or Heracleum maximum </td></tr></tbody></table><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/AVvXsEg97ZnLCdZoMA09rXd_HLI3hpD_iGZ6b_43Ia75LGe74v31y3x9xAeSiARJwvfphTmfSeGOU_Gng-JdFXQRg54lq7PDItCdy716KCWpPdaOFWLxT4cH2eRQpAkkUaA-Fx35YL-e6PnMatpx/s1600/P1010883.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg97ZnLCdZoMA09rXd_HLI3hpD_iGZ6b_43Ia75LGe74v31y3x9xAeSiARJwvfphTmfSeGOU_Gng-JdFXQRg54lq7PDItCdy716KCWpPdaOFWLxT4cH2eRQpAkkUaA-Fx35YL-e6PnMatpx/s320/P1010883.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The third monitored plant is the Sticky Monkey plant, or Mimulus aurantiacus.</td></tr></tbody></table><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/AVvXsEj_pAP4hRe0cK_p0uUYzwBstvoD-ejGY0ORNCHYJCSxTLOtXiyJmN8EbMVCmaHeXuTdfNvjybJkpupu2Aqaai39gnNcVm-q_VBAHoDWR0Mqs2_CFnx4EUEOWoBVYR2V1wwZeLX9IMUao3Gy/s1600/P1010882.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_pAP4hRe0cK_p0uUYzwBstvoD-ejGY0ORNCHYJCSxTLOtXiyJmN8EbMVCmaHeXuTdfNvjybJkpupu2Aqaai39gnNcVm-q_VBAHoDWR0Mqs2_CFnx4EUEOWoBVYR2V1wwZeLX9IMUao3Gy/s320/P1010882.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just so that you won't think I made up that name. :-)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><br /><table 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/AVvXsEjccx9el3PNiByKzPA0NTJ9NmQFu1OcZowuV9ZAyTueOw56zsxwo7kfbWzmXtU1aa8khBmi5R4u2coP07CZMWvBBml1LWO-hdlUtHbBfXH6vf95IAZzI80Jt7kSBhsbtp4UjQUXqwyIOokv/s1600/P1010887.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjccx9el3PNiByKzPA0NTJ9NmQFu1OcZowuV9ZAyTueOw56zsxwo7kfbWzmXtU1aa8khBmi5R4u2coP07CZMWvBBml1LWO-hdlUtHbBfXH6vf95IAZzI80Jt7kSBhsbtp4UjQUXqwyIOokv/s320/P1010887.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the many spectacular views from the Golden Gate Bridge National Recreation Area.</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table 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/AVvXsEgEFXD8nMS8N7xUJPWf6RflHscR795h_IPGfUkcj6R0dB4H1xo72l4v34uiduXSuzfZrEYM5NOJnAuSGkPPMCLkXvVF0IIB8PFBu9v1aCE4P3ExaTkUQJPvOR9VPnvtj2qWpdgr72lQkXBy/s1600/P1010888.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEFXD8nMS8N7xUJPWf6RflHscR795h_IPGfUkcj6R0dB4H1xo72l4v34uiduXSuzfZrEYM5NOJnAuSGkPPMCLkXvVF0IIB8PFBu9v1aCE4P3ExaTkUQJPvOR9VPnvtj2qWpdgr72lQkXBy/s320/P1010888.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A tanker steaming into the Bay.  Another great view from the Recreation Area.</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy1aXYONXfZA4lsMWCbzIDUdsyZruXGtGHh829JjTQqpDhG_BAM9jljwjJTc2fUILGuP6XLIhhMnOCGDkIHx47aHZLy8I8e20pQ1C3U_DUpGaUTPjy7rEK3gsCTlvLshQLer6nGxxCdd94/s1600/P1010895.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy1aXYONXfZA4lsMWCbzIDUdsyZruXGtGHh829JjTQqpDhG_BAM9jljwjJTc2fUILGuP6XLIhhMnOCGDkIHx47aHZLy8I8e20pQ1C3U_DUpGaUTPjy7rEK3gsCTlvLshQLer6nGxxCdd94/s320/P1010895.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the few shots I was able to get from the bus of the actual Golden Gate Bridge.</td></tr></tbody></table><br />

NAAEE 2012-Wednesday

I had to catch up on some sleep, having been up since 4:45 EST the day before. So after sleeping in a bit, till 9:30 EST :-), I joined the ...

North American Association for Environmental Education Conference, Oakland, CA 2012

9:24 PM Tukiyooo 0

As the wildlife education coordinator, I have the privilege of travelling to a lot of great places in the U.S.  This week I am in Oakland, CA for the North American Association for Environmental Education Conference, or NAAEE for short.  This is an annual conference and, as conferences go, it's pretty huge.  Attendance usually gets to around 900 or so each year.  I just heard this year's was closer to 1000!<br /><br />It's been several years since I've been as this conference is also pretty pricey.  But, I always learn a ton of things while I'm here.  This year is no exception.  So, the next few posts will be all about what I've seen and learned at the NAAEE Conference.  I hope you enjoy it and I hope it inspires you to attend future NAAEE conferences and even become a member.  You can find more information about that online at <a href="http://www.naaee.net/">www.naaee.net</a><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/AVvXsEj3QdP6hyphenhyphenaVwIGB5uhWUyeRY3mLydR7W4wvxCTKcOPDgn5tS_vMNgzvB5f_xrRD-Nx7g_iY2LUWhqN4KUd3fvNrMuYmPacEvjKALQ7Wgipk-orz0KBZp0D3XhzlQYFlA_sVWF6RtYDSOHaF/s1600/P1010857.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3QdP6hyphenhyphenaVwIGB5uhWUyeRY3mLydR7W4wvxCTKcOPDgn5tS_vMNgzvB5f_xrRD-Nx7g_iY2LUWhqN4KUd3fvNrMuYmPacEvjKALQ7Wgipk-orz0KBZp0D3XhzlQYFlA_sVWF6RtYDSOHaF/s320/P1010857.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You've got to love a good view from your hotel room.</td></tr></tbody></table><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/AVvXsEjOmPZVDZEuG_K3WtZO2h20jA943DS7RXzZJfTDMFRjYCszWjCR9Wqd0tZvcMkEoswI585EpBTvDadiutvQ6w3qAYM_Ssgdgt0Wwfqxt72p3lP6RH98MrsKbj1EbwGiF43TqEO09pepuSrY/s1600/P1010858.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOmPZVDZEuG_K3WtZO2h20jA943DS7RXzZJfTDMFRjYCszWjCR9Wqd0tZvcMkEoswI585EpBTvDadiutvQ6w3qAYM_Ssgdgt0Wwfqxt72p3lP6RH98MrsKbj1EbwGiF43TqEO09pepuSrY/s320/P1010858.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That's San Francisco across the Bay.</td></tr></tbody></table><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/AVvXsEgfqfxrDpYjOA9iiYt4XmJEKo0fjlD2Idp4rY9m6xCfaD_Dp7ar2Qukm3NZrO8xYtvIgDOGM7eldh43lHzQLoM4uncOmzgGNsh6dNX-_vdDgU9Cuwx9Cb09ER0RoUOXtjXZMECXpKWEnpeu/s1600/P1010861.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfqfxrDpYjOA9iiYt4XmJEKo0fjlD2Idp4rY9m6xCfaD_Dp7ar2Qukm3NZrO8xYtvIgDOGM7eldh43lHzQLoM4uncOmzgGNsh6dNX-_vdDgU9Cuwx9Cb09ER0RoUOXtjXZMECXpKWEnpeu/s320/P1010861.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The second bridge in the back is the famous Golden Gate bridge.  You could see the orange color with binoculars. </td></tr></tbody></table><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/AVvXsEhHfDYWBwyJ0ilnsiaps0TEKQ6I2k-ZpaO-VCVz4d_pw_MTZMEnOUmtFmKuALneqWbTXRn__J6APyHIbYkwHviB68tgFKAYHX-SDsZX6SaXN2MDgBdjnyUGdAEaRqzf3Kk2Mb_ovM-kmELo/s1600/P1010864.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHfDYWBwyJ0ilnsiaps0TEKQ6I2k-ZpaO-VCVz4d_pw_MTZMEnOUmtFmKuALneqWbTXRn__J6APyHIbYkwHviB68tgFKAYHX-SDsZX6SaXN2MDgBdjnyUGdAEaRqzf3Kk2Mb_ovM-kmELo/s320/P1010864.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Also beautiful at night.</td></tr></tbody></table>OK, enough of the room views.   I am staying at the <a href="http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/oakdt-oakland-marriott-city-center/" target="_blank">Marriott</a> and it's attached to the Oakland Convention Center.  Everyone has been super friendly and very accommodating.  And downtown Oakland is very nice.  Very clean and foot traffic friendly.  And, as could be expected in California, very environmentally conscious.  Lots of opportunities to recycle, reuse, and conserve.<br /><br />I got in Tuesday afternoon and got to have lunch at the <a href="http://www.pacificcoastbrewing.com/" target="_blank">Pacific Coast Brewing Company</a>.  Very good food and micro brews, if you're into that.  I then met up with the affiliates group for dinner.  Most states have a state affiliate organization of NAAEE.  Ohio's is EECO or the <a href="http://www.eeco-online.org/" target="_blank">Environmental Education Council of Ohio</a>.  I happen to be the ODNR Advisor to their executive board.  Each year, NAAEE hosts an Affiliates workshop and they all went out to dinner together at <a href="http://www.jdvhotels.com/dining/sanfranciscoeastbay/miss_pearls" target="_blank">Miss Pearl's Restaurant</a> in the <a href="http://www.jacklondonsquare.com/" target="_blank">Jack London Square</a>, which is Oakland's waterfront district.  Good food and good conversation with people from the D.C., Hawaii, Maryland, Vermont and more.  This is another benefit of these conferences, you get to meet a lot of cool people from all over the country.  The networking is tremendous!<br /><br />More to come!

North American Association for Environmental Education Conference, Oakland, CA 2012

As the wildlife education coordinator, I have the privilege of travelling to a lot of great places in the U.S. This week I am in Oakland, C...

Poetry 'n' Such With Paul Piatt

9:00 PM Tukiyooo 0

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix9N19cLJq8S0nEq0rSHYSopCgepH-RVM1Je52FUFKO2FSOrE7o6lXevuIiRXn2mIv6HNzu_kqtMu-cZ8qHVcmvD3JgsNv3K9mGr175TNlgzif3RgoiKyHPwlln1-bNDLdj4BRYGnyvXs/s1600/Paul_Delany.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix9N19cLJq8S0nEq0rSHYSopCgepH-RVM1Je52FUFKO2FSOrE7o6lXevuIiRXn2mIv6HNzu_kqtMu-cZ8qHVcmvD3JgsNv3K9mGr175TNlgzif3RgoiKyHPwlln1-bNDLdj4BRYGnyvXs/s400/Paul_Delany.jpg" width="285" /></a>Gentle, yet heartfelt greetings to all of you discerning drinkers of the warm and aromatic coffee of life that is the IWS website.<br /><br />Renown poet and IWS Literary Editor, Paul Piatt here once again in order to share with you some of today’s finest in the world of poetry, prose, and people.<br /><br />Today during our bi-monthly and continuing journey of words made magical, and life’s pentameters made iambic, I introduce you to a fellow poet and a dear friend of some thirty-five years…<br /><br />The world renown Russian born poet, or poetess if one prefers…Mischie Karmakova.<br /><br />For those of you well-intentioned persons who long to share in the intellectual dalliances of fine poetry, yet never seem to get around to it, allow me to offer unto you some background on the lovely Mischie Karmakova.<br /><br />Upon the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, she at the tender, yet not untainted nor un-jaded age of 25, emigrated to the United States and settled in the bucolic town of Newburgh, NY.<br /><br />It is there that she began to pen her rhythmic words that speak brutally, reflectively, yet eloquently on her desperate past, her discordant thoughts on what the future holds, and her more than amorous relationship with vodka.<br /><br />Her first book to be published in the U.S was her critically acclaimed 1997 book of poetry, <i>Vodka Da, Whiskey Nyet</i>, which charismatically compared and contrasted her feelings about the differences between living in her former homeland of Mother Russia and her new life in the United States.<br /><br />From the aforementioned book, a poem she wrote titled, <i>I Thought Potatoes Were the Only Vegetable</i>, she clearly illustrates the lushness and richness of America’s bounty…<br /><br /><i>I had heard that far beyond my hammer and sickle borders, </i><br /><i>things such as peas, such as carrots, and such as justice…existed.</i><br /><i>Little did I know until I moved, that the potato upon which I had filled my body all those years,</i><br /><i>was merely the empty starch that is Communism.</i><br /><br />Following three more books that combined and varied in degrees of angst, wit, and hopelessness, she produced in 2005, her award winning poetic stylings that culminated in the classic book…<br /><br /><i>Ad Hominem…An Attack Upon Myself</i><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCKrLZ7ryBvV7caY8nSqmbR9TTDmzGesxfrV2IwEmhUhiGlWinciN_MTEabkNEDh1zCkE6tv7u12bMPEnySfixxth038JhkFD23oXzAG32s0w4HhKNCvhODgbaNUT_WJQ5AMhSz8ZIE8s/s1600/TetherBall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCKrLZ7ryBvV7caY8nSqmbR9TTDmzGesxfrV2IwEmhUhiGlWinciN_MTEabkNEDh1zCkE6tv7u12bMPEnySfixxth038JhkFD23oXzAG32s0w4HhKNCvhODgbaNUT_WJQ5AMhSz8ZIE8s/s400/TetherBall.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>This book contains the timeless and masterful offering, <i>Being Tied to a Tether Ball Pole is Like Being in a Siberian Gulag</i>, and from the prose contained within that priceless piece of poetic charm, she offers to us…<br /><br /><i>I was tied….No, I was chained.</i><br /><i>The ball whizzed by like cosmic rain.</i><br /><i>Trying to be still.  Hoping to be free.</i><br /><i>Gulags and tether balls make me want to pee.</i><br /><br />And now, let’s fast forward to today.  <br /><br />Just last week Mischie launched her seventh and perhaps best offering from her heart…<br /><br /><i>Fuchsia and Fornication</i><br /><br />The book is laced with stories from her life and as always, each beat, pause, and poetic outpouring is besmirched with the beautiful and masterful verbal paintings of her well-honed craft.<br /><br />For instance, a line or two from the title poem of her book, <i>Fucshia and Fornication</i>…<br /><br /><i>I looked hot in my fuchsia dress.</i><br /><i>A box of donuts against my chest.</i><br /><i>And from the street, there he waved.</i><br /><i>He looked like Dad, so I went; I caved.</i><br /><br /><i>And as I approached he waved some bills.</i><br /><i>He said he’d pay me to give him thrills.</i><br /><i>I was so crushed, he was a John.</i><br /><i>My fuchsia dress had done me wrong.</i><br /><br />Beautiful as always Mischie; beautiful as always.<br /><br /><i>For now, as I travel the road less traveled,</i><br /><br /><i>Paul Piatt</i><br /><br />And of course folks…Jayman and Matt-Man did another award winning <i>IWS Radio</i> Show yesterday that focused on Turkey Trot Week in Yellville, AR., so if you didn't catch it, you can listen here:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.adobe.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,0,0" height="105" id="143577" name="143577" width="210"><param name="movie" value="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/btrplayer.swf?file=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.blogtalkradio.com%2Fim-with-stupid%2F2012%2F10%2F10%2Fbreasts-and-thighs-running-amok%2Fplaylist.xml&autostart=false&bufferlength=5&volume=80&corner=rounded&callback=http://www.blogtalkradio.com/flashplayercallback.aspx" /><param name="quality" value="high" /><param name="wmode" value="transparent" /><param name="menu" value="false" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><embed src="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/btrplayer.swf" flashvars="file=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.blogtalkradio.com%2Fim-with-stupid%2F2012%2F10%2F10%2Fbreasts-and-thighs-running-amok%2fplaylist.xml&autostart=false&shuffle=false&callback=http://www.blogtalkradio.com/FlashPlayerCallback.aspx&width=210&height=105&volume=80&corner=rounded" width="210" height="105" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" quality="high" wmode="transparent" menu="false" name="143577" id="143577" allowScriptAccess="always"></embed></object></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: left;">Cheers!!</div>Matt-Man <br /><div style="text-align: left;"></div><i><span style="color: blue;">mattmaniws@ymail.com</span></i><br /><a href="https://twitter.com/MattMan_IWS"><i><span style="color: blue;">@MattMan_IWS</span></i></a></div>

Poetry 'n' Such With Paul Piatt

Gentle, yet heartfelt greetings to all of you discerning drinkers of the warm and aromatic coffee of life that is the IWS website. Renown po...

One of Ours...on Turner Classic Movies

7:04 PM Tukiyooo 0

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuMCaLOTqRuXXJPZV2mCTU08N4jBwsv7_fN_5t7GGnJ5tfxljU3wobq79I65uli8IHNAMpm_tdH9zVGIM_jW7OutAc5TMem6FCxpbYTYqVuDdCiJGRBTXL8ROsHHbwbxV8rbWufFZgbM4/s1600/moviemorlocksbanner+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuMCaLOTqRuXXJPZV2mCTU08N4jBwsv7_fN_5t7GGnJ5tfxljU3wobq79I65uli8IHNAMpm_tdH9zVGIM_jW7OutAc5TMem6FCxpbYTYqVuDdCiJGRBTXL8ROsHHbwbxV8rbWufFZgbM4/s1600/moviemorlocksbanner+2.jpg" /></a></div><span id="goog_978664509"></span><span id="goog_978664510"></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span id="goog_978664509">Moira Neylon, aka/moirafinnie, blogger on TCM's Movie Morlocks site and member of the Classic Movie Blog Association, will be a guest programmer on Turner Classic Movies</span> next month. Moira and three other Morlocks will be featured in segments with host Robert Osborne on Friday, November 30; each will discuss a film they've chosen to be screened that evening.</span></span><br /><br /><a name='more'></a><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I was delighted to discover (thanks to the new issue of TCM's "Now Playing") that Moira selected the classic Jacques Becker crime drama, <i>Touchez Pas Au Grisbi </i>(1954), starring the incomparable Jean Gabin in what has been called his "comeback" performance.  It is one of his best. The film also features a young Jeanne Moreau. </span></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Keep an eye out for Moira on TCM in November and, if you haven't already, check out her work at <b><a href="http://moviemorlocks.com/author/moirafinnie/">Movie Morlocks</a></b> and on her blog, <b><a href="http://moirasthread.blogspot.com/">The Skeins</a></b>. On Twitter, she's <b><a href="https://twitter.com/moirathefinn">@moirathefinn</a></b>.  She's also active at <b><a href="http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/">The Silver Screen Oasis</a></b>.</span></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhucyrULspe7JtW4RxPitW_6QF-CMclmPrqk-ksVzg4DGwRS-iGLEMfEVJ8fAylaWvZHM6qXk8gnm-mRbRsWJcVbk32eN39vFYrqWCdm7zFmCBAMVuEZ0w-0TRv1GCo8mY05MSHHeTtRZU/s1600/touchez+pas+au+grisbi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhucyrULspe7JtW4RxPitW_6QF-CMclmPrqk-ksVzg4DGwRS-iGLEMfEVJ8fAylaWvZHM6qXk8gnm-mRbRsWJcVbk32eN39vFYrqWCdm7zFmCBAMVuEZ0w-0TRv1GCo8mY05MSHHeTtRZU/s400/touchez+pas+au+grisbi.jpg" width="295" /></a></div>

Moira Neylon, aka/moirafinnie, blogger on TCM's Movie Morlocks site and member of the Classic Movie Blog Association, will be a guest pr...

Technical Instructor (BS or MS in Physics or Optics)(Good communication| FAB| Troubleshoot| Thinfilm metrology| Design curriculum)(#108682)

3:50 PM Anonymous 0

Technical Instructor (BS or MS in Physics or Optics)(Good communication| FAB| Troubleshoot| Thinfilm metrology| Design curriculum)(#108682)

Job Title: Technical Instructor Location: Milpitas, CA Duration: Fulltime Job Description: 1.Responsible for conducting technical trainin...

Research & Instruction Librarian/Special Projects Coordinator - Connecticut College

11:11 AM Anonymous 0

<strong>Research & Instruction Librarian/Special Projects Coordinator - </strong><strong></strong><strong><span style="color: #48286d;">Connecticut College</span></strong>,  a highly selective private liberal arts college, located in the  historic seaport of New London, seeks a highly experienced Librarian to  provide instructional and research resources, initiate and develop  activities to integrate research instruction into the curriculum,  provide reference services for the faculty, students, scholars and other  patrons by selecting information resources to support their  instructional and scholarly needs. In this position the  librarian/coordinator will also manage special projects and provide key  departmental administrative support to the office of the Vice President  for Information Services and Librarian of the College as well as serve  as a member of the IS Leadership Team. S/he will be responsible for  providing professional leadership in the design and provision of use of  library outreach materials; assist, advise, and instruct faculty and  students in the access and use of scholarly information through research  consultations and reference desk service; act as a liaison to academic  departments providing research instruction and discipline-specific  reference assistance to faculty and students in these departments;  develop library print and digital instructional materials to support  general and subject-specific research and instruction; collaborate with  faculty and colleagues to plan sessions for course-integrated library  instruction and develop supporting materials and guides; manage and  complete surveys, reports, marketing publications, events, planning and  other activities as assigned; serve on College wide committees and task  forces as necessary. Master’s degree, obtained from an ALA accredited  program, in library and information studies with 3-5 years relevant  experience required. Particular attention will be given to applicants  with subject expertise in English, American Literatures, and film  studies. Candidates must demonstrate effective teaching, presentation,  and communication skills and knowledge of established and emerging  instructional methods and technologies. Project management experience  and a strong understanding of trends in librarianship and higher  education is a must. Ability to build and sustain relationships within  the College community and enthusiasm for public service, teaching, and  student learning are essential. Thorough applicant credentialing,  including criminal records check will be conducted on the selected  applicant. Forward resume, cover letter and contact information for  three professional references to <a _fcksavedurl="mailto:humanresources@conncoll.edu" href="mailto:humanresources@conncoll.edu">humanresources@conncoll.edu</a> (include full name and LIBR in the subject line). Accepting applications until 5:00 pm on <span style="color: red;">October 24, 2012</span>.  Connecticut College is committed to creating a vibrant community  enriched by diverse perspectives, talents and experiences. We encourage  applications from candidates who share this commitment and will  contribute to the diversity of our college community, especially members  of historically under-represented groups. AA/EOE.

Research & Instruction Librarian/Special Projects Coordinator - Connecticut College

Research & Instruction Librarian/Special Projects Coordinator - Connecticut College , a highly selective private liberal arts college, ...

IT Business Engagement Director (Analysis | project life cycle | SAP | Oracle | PeopleSoft) (#108199)

10:24 AM Anonymous 0

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="WordSection1"><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Job Title:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"> IT Business Engagement Director<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Location:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">  Milpitas, CA<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Duration:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"> Fulltime<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Job Description:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Specifically, the responsibilities of the Director IT Business Engagement include:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Team Leadership: Lead teams of individuals in the Information Systems to lead its Relation Management for the Product divisions and Global Operations. Interact with subordinate supervisors, customers, and functional groups to become the central point of contact for understanding all of the customer uses cases.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Create business requirement and Design, Develop and Implement technical solutions to support the company's growth requirements<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Measurable Goals and Deliverables: Use metrics to provide quantitative analytics of system availability, performance, capacity planning and cost effectiveness. Improve Total Cost of Ownership and customer satisfaction for the corporate desktop computing environment.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Project Management: Coordinate interfaces among corporate computing platforms, evaluating new hardware and software, developing budget and cost analyses, and providing technical leadership and support to staff and other end-users.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Establish Strategic Relationships: Partner with key vendors, other IT service groups, and company departments to ensure the most practical technical solutions are available.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Communications and Leadership: The position is required to lead, consult and Manage across an extensive global organization. The position is often called upon to present to Executive Management, International organizations and in customer forums, and hence must possess an IT base knowledge and technology, and be able to articulate, both in written and oral form, and adapt communications for clarity to the audience<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Education and Experience:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Strong project management experience, including full-project life cycle Management, coordination of multiple projects and Management of project planning and oversight.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Demonstrated strategic, visionary, and customer focused planning. Strong leadership with excellent interpersonal and communications skills.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Operations background with experience providing technology solutions in a global high-tech business environment.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Experience with deployment of large enterprise systems (SAP, Oracle, PeopleSoft).<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Engineering/Product Development Support: Extensive background in supporting global Engineering functions is very important in this position. This function provides key support and consulting services to Product Development groups, including assisting in design and integration of information technologies into KLA-Tencor products and services. The organization also consults and interacts extensively with KLA-Tencor customers, particularly customer IT organizations, in integrating products, services and solutions into customer operations.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">The Director provides the leadership for these activities and is often the focal point with Product Development initiatives and customer problem solving when IT issues are involved.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Information Security: Security continues to be a key challenge across KLA-Tencor's global operations and within customer operations. The Enterprise Services organization provides an essential service in designing, implementing and consulting on information security solutions. The Director provides a key leadership role in understanding security issues and solutions, and designing process and technologies to ensure information security while maintaining productivity. Also assist in developing and implementing a comprehensive risk-based strategy for IP and information assets protection.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Basic Qualification:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Bachelor's Level Degree with at least 7+ years of experience.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">OR<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Master's Level Degree with at least 6+ years of experience.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Please send in your resumes to vinod.sanker@kla-tencor.com<o:p></o:p></span></b></div></div></div>

IT Business Engagement Director (Analysis | project life cycle | SAP | Oracle | PeopleSoft) (#108199)

Job Title: IT Business Engagement Director Location: Milpitas, CA Duration: Fulltime Job Description: Specifically, the responsibilities...

Contaminated drug draws attention to steroid injection procedure Physicians divided on value of low-back steroid injections - The Boston Globe

10:17 AM Tukiyooo 0

<base href="data:"><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; color: black; text-align: left; "><content style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 26px; 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-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.125em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; list-style: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">The discovery that a potentially tainted drug is linked to 119 cases of meningitis nationwide has fueled debate among doctors about widespread use of the back-pain treatment, which has little proven longterm benefit.</p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.125em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; list-style: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">Use of the medication, a steroid injected near the spine to quell inflammation, has increased in part because of the demands of an aging population and the relatively few risks associated with the injections when compared with surgery and other treatments, which also carry no guarantee of success.</p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.125em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; list-style: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">Patients and doctors often saw a so-called lumbar injection as a safe alternative, until the outbreak of fungal meningitis cases tentatively linked to the injectable steroid supplied by a compounding pharmacy in Framingham.</p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.125em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; list-style: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">"What one can say from 10,000 feet is that these are one of the most overused procedures in the United States," said Dr. Steven J. Atlas, a primary care internist and director of Primary Care Research & Quality Improvement Network at Massachusetts General Hospital. "I think it reflects the fact that treatments for low back pain and low back pain conditions often don't provide the relief that patients are wanting or looking for, and they in desperation or hope look to procedures that may offer them the magic cure."</p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.125em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; list-style: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">A 2007 study in the medical journal Spine found that there was a greater than 200 percent increase in steroid injections administered for back pain in two different ways between 1994 and 2001. It concluded that fewer than half were performed for medical problems for which there was the strongest evidence they worked.</p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.125em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; list-style: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">The steroid drug, methylprednisolone acetate, is not approved by the US Food and Drug Adminstration for use in epidural injections for back pain, but physicians are allowed to use drugs "off-label" for unapproved uses.</p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.125em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; list-style: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">Critics of the injections say that patients overestimate the benefit they will receive from a treatment, and the injections are often used to treat ailments other than those most likely to respond to the steroid treatment. But proponents say that subgroups of patients can benefit from the injections.</p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.125em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; list-style: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">Dr. Ray Baker, president of the International Spine Intervention Society, said word of mouth, not just the aging population, has probably helped drive the increase in injections. His analysis of Medicare data found almost 2.5 million injections in that patient population in 2011, and he estimated that they probably make up about half of injections administered last year in the United States.</p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.125em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; list-style: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">"The vast majority of practitioners are trying to very conscientiously use these injections on their patients to increase their activities and functions," Baker said. "We have a pretty expectant population; we have a population of baby boomers that are not aging in a wheelchair or in a rocking chair. These are people that are playing tennis and golf and running into their 80s."</p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.125em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; list-style: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">The Cochrane Review, an organization that analyzes the strength of medical evidence, published a review in 2010 of 18 randomized trials. Just two of the studies were deemed to show benefits greater than possible harm. The review concluded that there was not strong evidence for or against the use of the treatments. The review added it could not rule out the possibility some groups of patients would benefit.</p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.125em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; list-style: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">"I would say that there does seem to be consensus that at least in well-selected patients with . . . spinal pain that involves nerve dysfunction or nerve root dysfunction, that they at least provide some benefit and the controversy revolves about how much benefit and the duration of benefit," said Dr. Steven P. Cohen, a professor of anesthesiology at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.</p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.125em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; list-style: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">For patients, the matter can be more clear-cut. Josephine Kendall, an 80-year-old from Methuen, said her lower back pain had gotten so bad that she could only lie down. She has to go to dialysis three days a week, and tasks as simple as bringing home groceries had become unbearable.</p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.125em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; list-style: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">Two and a half years ago, she began receiving injections at New England Baptist Hospital, which she said transformed her life, for three months at a time.</p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.125em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; list-style: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">When she heard the news about the possibly tainted drugs, Kendall asked her physician whether she was receiving injections supplied by the same company. She was not, and she said it has not changed her mind at all about whether to continue receiving injections.</p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.125em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; list-style: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">"I can't exist without them; let's put it that way," she said.</p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.125em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; list-style: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">Physicians said they had been inundated with calls from patients wondering if they had received the drug from New England Compounding Center. Some said that patients who were eligible for an injection were forgoing the procedure now.</p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.125em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; list-style: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">Dr. Carol Hartigan, a physiatrist at the spine center at New England Baptist, said Tuesday that more than one patient she had seen who was a candidate for an injection has declined to receive it for now.</p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.125em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; list-style: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">She noted that while anecdotally, individual patients can report dramatic improvement, it is crucial to evaluate the effectiveness of an injection and that she looks for at least a 50 percent improvement that lasts three months.</p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.125em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; list-style: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">"Clinicians and patients can really exaggerate the response out of hope, Hartigan said. "So many people we see come in with this list and litany of injections they've had," and they still aren't fixed, she said. "We want the quick fix sometimes."</p><div><br></div></content></div><a href="http://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/2012/10/09/contaminated-drug-draws-attention-steroid-injection-procedure-physicians-divided-value-low-back-steroid-injections/1cQdfBP0dVidlJxNz2HogL/story.html?p1=Well_BG_Links">http://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/2012/10/09/contaminated-drug-draws-attention-steroid-injection-procedure-physicians-divided-value-low-back-steroid-injections/1cQdfBP0dVidlJxNz2HogL/story.html?p1=Well_BG_Links</a><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; color: black; text-align: left; "><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div>

Contaminated drug draws attention to steroid injection procedure Physicians divided on value of low-back steroid injections - The Boston Globe

The discovery that a potentially tainted drug is linked to 119 cases of meningitis nationwide has fueled debate among doctors about widespre...

A Genetic Test for Exercise - NYTimes.com

9:04 AM Tukiyooo 0

<base href="data:"><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; color: black; text-align: left; "><div id="well" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 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; "><div align="left"><div class="entry-content"><div style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: medium; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.375em; ">Research <a href="http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/17/phys-ed-the-workout-enigma/" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102); text-decoration: none; ">has confirmed</a> that people's physiological responses to exercise vary wildly. Now a new genetic test promises to tell you whether you are likely to benefit aerobically from exercise. The science behind the test is promising, but is this information any of us really needs to know?</div><div style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: medium; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.375em; ">The new test, which is being sold by a British company called <a href="http://www.xrgenomics.co.uk/" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102); text-decoration: none; ">XRGenomics</a>, is available to anyone through the company's Web site and involves rubbing inside your cheek with a supplied swab and returning the tissue sample to the company. Results are then available within a few weeks. It is based on a body of research led by James Timmons, a professor of systems biology at Loughborough University in England, and colleagues at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Louisiana and other institutions.</div><div style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: medium; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.375em; ">That original research, published in a <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20133430" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102); text-decoration: none; ">landmark 2010 study,</a> looked into the genetics of why some people respond to endurance exercise so robustly, while others do not. Some lucky men and women take up jogging, for example, and quickly become much more aerobically fit. Others complete the same program and develop little if any additional endurance, as measured by increases in their VO<sub>1</sub>2 max, or their body's ability to consume and distribute oxygen to laboring muscles.</div><div style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: medium; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.375em; ">For the 2010 study, Dr. Timmons and his colleagues genotyped muscle tissue from several groups of volunteers who had completed 6 to 20 weeks of endurance training. They found that about 30 variations in how genes were expressed had a significant effect on how fit people became. The new test looks for those genetic markers in people's DNA.</div><div style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: medium; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.375em; ">"The idea is to help people to understand why" they might be progressing more slowly in an exercise program than their training partners are, says Dr. Timmons, one of the founders of XRGenomics.</div><div style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: medium; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.375em; ">After he appeared on a BBC science program last year, in the course of which the host was revealed to be a "low" responder, according to his gene profile, Dr. Timmons was inundated with e-mails and calls requesting the test, he says. At that point, he and several colleagues filed a patent (still pending) for the gene markers and brought the test to market.</div><div style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: medium; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.375em; ">It joins other, less-sophisticated exercise-related gene test kits already available over the counter. These tests, which are not monitored by the Food and Drug Administration, typically rely on a single gene marker and claim to be able to predict whether you - or your child - will have success as a distance runner, say, or as a power-based athlete, like a sprinter.</div><div style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: medium; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.375em; ">Their actual predictive value, based on the best currently available genetic science, "is approximately zero," says Claude Bouchard, a professor of genetics at Pennington, who was the senior author of the 2010 study with Dr. Timmons, but has no involvement with XRGenomics. (He is a paid consultant for another company, Pathway Genomics, that offers gene tests only through physicians.)</div><div style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: medium; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.375em; ">The new test is almost certainly more reliable, with "a much stronger scientific basis than any of the previous exercise-related DNA test kits," says Tuomo Rankinen, a professor of genetics at Pennington, who, like Dr. Bouchard, was an author of the original gene study but has no involvement with XRGenomics. But, he adds, it relies on VO<sup>1</sup>2 max, just one measure of how someone responds to exercise, so it has severe limits.</div><div style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: medium; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.375em; ">The new test will not tell you, for example, how exercise might affect your blood pressure over the long haul, Dr. Rankinen says, or whether your insulin sensitivity might change, or whether you'll lose weight. The genetic markers related to these health responses to exercise are quite different from those related to VO<sub>1</sub>2 max, he says.</div><div style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: medium; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.375em; ">In other words, the scientific understanding of how our DNA affects our overall bodily response to exercise is in its infancy.</div><div style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: medium; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.375em; ">Which does not mean that anyone curious - and deep-pocketed - enough to take the test should refrain from doing so. At present the basic test kit costs about $318 (199 British pounds) for genotyping and a brief accompanying report. For about $478, you receive a more extensive explanation of the findings, along with customized exercise recommendations from the company's scientific advisory board. The report might suggest, Dr. Timmons says, that if you are a "low" responder to endurance exercise, you should concentrate on resistance training or otherwise refocus your training.</div><div style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: medium; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.375em; ">"What we hope," he says, is that the test and report "will encourage people to keep exercising" who might otherwise have quit when running or swimming didn't make them more fit.</div><div style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: medium; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.375em; ">On the other hand, some people might look on the news that they are a "low" responder to endurance training as a license to quit working out altogether, he acknowledges.</div><div style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: medium; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.375em; ">But Dr. Bouchard says that that would be the worst message to take from any gene testing. "This is a good test, as far as it goes," he says. But genes will never be destiny.</div><div style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: medium; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.375em; ">In the original 2010 gene study, the authors concluded that the gene profile they'd uncovered accounted for at least 23 percent of the variation in how people responded to endurance training, which, in genetic terms, is a hefty contribution. That leaves perhaps 77 percent of how you respond to exercise consciously up to you.</div></div></div></div></div><a href="http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/10/are-you-likely-to-respond-to-exercise/?src=mv&ref=general&pagewanted=print">http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/10/are-you-likely-to-respond-to-exercise/?src=mv&ref=general&pagewanted=print</a><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; color: black; text-align: left; "><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div>

A Genetic Test for Exercise - NYTimes.com

Research has confirmed that people's physiological responses to exercise vary wildly. Now a new genetic test promises to tell you whet...

Today's archidose #625

7:00 AM Tukiyooo 0

Here are some photos of the Basque Culinary Center in San Sebastián, Spain, by <a href="http://www.vaumm.com/">VAUMM</a> (2011), photographed by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwape/">Pawel Paniczko</a>.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwape/8059426157/" title="Basque Culinary Center by Pawel Paniczko, on Flickr"><img alt="Basque Culinary Center" height="427" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8174/8059426157_e4df37cc06_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwape/8059415295/" title="Basque Culinary Center by Pawel Paniczko, on Flickr"><img alt="Basque Culinary Center" height="427" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8449/8059415295_7b2f8d0a7c_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwape/8059433875/" title="Basque Culinary Center by Pawel Paniczko, on Flickr"><img alt="Basque Culinary Center" height="427" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8458/8059433875_9cbf300269_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwape/8059543704/" title="Basque Culinary Center by Pawel Paniczko, on Flickr"><img alt="Basque Culinary Center" height="427" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8321/8059543704_38c6e16a1f_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwape/8059456414/" title="Basque Culinary Center by Pawel Paniczko, on Flickr"><img alt="Basque Culinary Center" height="427" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8321/8059456414_27f467d681_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwape/8059476329/" title="Basque Culinary Center by Pawel Paniczko, on Flickr"><img alt="Basque Culinary Center" height="427" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8307/8059476329_250ee14a04_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwape/8059491551/" title="Basque Culinary Center by Pawel Paniczko, on Flickr"><img alt="Basque Culinary Center" height="427" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8169/8059491551_1b3c13f885_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwape/8059505334/" title="Basque Culinary Center by Pawel Paniczko, on Flickr"><img alt="Basque Culinary Center" height="427" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8037/8059505334_7eda5f9503_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br /><br />To contribute your Flickr images for consideration, just:<br /><blockquote>:: Join and add photos to the <a href="http://www.flickr.com/groups/archi-dose/">archidose pool</a>, and/or<br />:: Tag your photos <span style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/archidose/">archidose</a></span></blockquote>

Today's archidose #625

Here are some photos of the Basque Culinary Center in San Sebastián, Spain, by VAUMM (2011), photographed by Pawel Paniczko . To contribute...

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5:46 AM Anonymous 0

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Have I got a treat for you. BirdAve is sharing the love! If you are a follower of this site, (just click on the blue 'Join this site...