Being in a serious car accident can make life difficult for a while. If you spent a great deal of time in the hospital afterwards, then you have a lot of rehab ahead of you. A home health care occupational therapist may be exactly what is needed. He or she will be able to help you get back on your feet and help you relearn all of the daily tasks, which can be difficult after an injury.
After a major accident, your recovery is something that might not go as quickly as you would like. Your main goal at first may have been to get out of the hospital. Perhaps you did not know how difficult it would be when you got back. Fortunately, there is home health care. If you or a loved one is overwhelmed with the adjustments, you should feel free to call and set up a consultation.
If severe brain injury is one of your struggles, then you may also need a little more help than most. An occupational therapist will help with a number of areas beyond just daily activities. They also help with speech therapy sometimes. You may need some more advanced physical therapy, and you may also need some medical assistance. Even if these are the case, you can still use home health care, because they likely have professionals in each of these areas.
If you are already getting home health care and you have found that it is not meeting your needs, then you should simply call the agency and speak with the individual who is handling your case. Explain what you think you need, and they should be able to accommodate you in this.
It is important that your insurance covers your help. It could get very costly if you did not arrange for an agency that is covered. If you need help finding one, call your insurance company. Ask them what home health care agencies they work with. From there, you should be able to find one that will work for you.
If you are struggling to take care of yourself and you need help doing it all, do not put off hiring a home health care agency or adding more treatment to your present setup. That is what they are there for. If you need help through an agency like this, look into it today. It will make such a difference for you.
Exclusive: David Anderson talks about the Stardust@home project
March 27th, 2023 | Uncategorized |
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
Following the return of the Stardust space capsule from its encounter with the Comet Wild 2, NASA scientists have come up with a novel approach to dealing with the samples of “interstellar dust” that have been collected; they want help from the public.
The Stardust spacecraft carried an aerogel-based dust collector, which was exposed to space in varying orientations during different phases of the mission.
Only one side of the collector was exposed towards the stream of particles coming off the Comet Wild 2 during the encounter in 2004, while the other side was used to collect interstellar dust at an earlier point in the spacecraft’s journey.
Although scientists have seen the particles captured from comet Wild 2 when they examined the aerogel, they have not examined any of the particles expected on the other side of the collector due to their smallness. They will be examined after they are found with the help of Stardust@home. It is believed that on the order of 50 interstellar dust particles impacted the aerogel, each now resting inside a tiny crater.
Dr. Peter Tsou, Stardust deputy principal investigator, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, holds a Stardust sample tray while speaking to various news media representatives during a press conference at Johnson Space Center.
Stardust traveled nearly three billion miles and its mission lasted seven years. At times it was traveling at 8 miles a second. Thats fast enough to go from San Francisco to Los Angeles in one minute.
Stardust set a new all-time record for being the fastest spacecraft to return to Earth, breaking the previous record set in May of 1969 during the return of the Apollo X(10) command module. Don Brownlee of the University of Washington, Seattle said “our spacecraft has traveled further than anything from Earth ever has – and came back. We went half-way to Jupiter to meet the comet and collect samples from it. But the comet actually came in from the outer edge of the solar system, out beyond the orbit of Neptune, out by Pluto.”
In a move similar to some distributed computing projects, the analysis work for the project will be spread among volunteers on the Internet, who are being asked to participate in this scientific undertaking.
Wikinews reporter Jason Safoutin investigated the Stardust@home project, and discussed its goals with one of its founders. Via email, he interviewed David P. Anderson, a founder of the SETI@home project, and one of the creators of the Virtual Microscope which will be used to search for captured particles from interstellar space.
I was wondering If I could get some questions answered or if you could give me some “insider” info for the project. I am aware that you are taking place in the development of the VM (Virtual Microscope)…Could I know more about that?The ‘virtual microscope’ lets you scan through a set of images as if you were turning the focus knob on a microscope. The images are fairly large (about 100 KB each) so it’s important to pre-load the images. While you’re looking through one set of images, the VM is busy downloading the JPEG files for the next set.
David P. Anderson, one of the creaters of Stardust@home’s Virtual Microscope and Director of SETI@home.
At first we thought we’d have to do this with a Java applet or Flash program – something tricky and complicated. My contribution was to point out that it could be done fairly easily using Javascript, and I wrote a prototype of this.
No. We thought about using some parts of BOINC (like the database and web pages for creating “accounts”) but it was easier just to do this from scratch.
How long will the project take?
It depends how many volunteers participate, and how fast they look at the ‘focus movies’. It will probably be just a month or two.
Anyone can join but they have to take a test before they can participate. What will the test include?
Looking at some focus movies and deciding whether they contain a dust particle. Participants see a lot of training examples before they take the test. It’s easy, not like a test in school.
How many will be allowed to participate?
No limit as of now.
When will the project start?
I think in about 2 months. It will take that long to transport the aerogel to the laboratory, and photograph it with the microscope. The software is ready to go.
Will the VM project analyze any of the particles or just look for them?
Stardust@home will only locate the particles. When they are located, they will be cut out of the aerogel and physically analyzed.
Thank you for your time David. And great work on the upcoming project and SETI@home.
“Old deeds threaten Buffalo, NY hotel development” — Wikinews, November 21, 2006
“Proposal for Buffalo, N.Y. hotel reportedly dead: parcels for sale “by owner”” — Wikinews, November 16, 2006
“Contract to buy properties on site of Buffalo, N.Y. hotel proposal extended” — Wikinews, October 2, 2006
“Court date “as needed” for lawsuit against Buffalo, N.Y. hotel proposal” — Wikinews, August 14, 2006
“Preliminary hearing for lawsuit against Buffalo, N.Y. hotel proposal rescheduled” — Wikinews, July 26, 2006
“Elmwood Village Hotel proposal in Buffalo, N.Y. withdrawn” — Wikinews, July 13, 2006
“Preliminary hearing against Buffalo, N.Y. hotel proposal delayed” — Wikinews, June 2, 2006
Original Story
“Hotel development proposal could displace Buffalo, NY business owners” — Wikinews, February 17, 2006
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Buffalo, New York —Buffalo, New York developers have been stymied by old real estate deeds.
The prospective Elmwood Village Hotel may be scuttled and businesses now located there may be forced to move.
Frustrations over property located in an area once known as “Granger Estates” circulate around a clause in the original deeds over land divided by then-owner Erastus Granger in the early 1800’s.
According to the documents, “no business establishment of any kind whatsoever” shall ever be constructed on the property, and they shall forever be exclusively for residential use only. Also prohibited are barns, farms and stables.
Sam Savarino, CEO of Savarino Companies, the prospective hotel developer, announced that his legal research team found the restrictions on properties located between 1109 and 1121 Elmwood Avenue which also stated in part that “no businesses, hospitality establishment of anykind whatsoever” shall ever be permitted to be built on the property.
Savarino, whom is expected to contest the restrictions, said that his company could have ignored the findings, but that, “we can’t risk the future of a multimillion-dollar project on the hope they wouldn’t be discovered. Our opponents would have had a field day if they’d surfaced after the fact.”
Savarino said his attorneys and researchers are anticipated to determine “exactly what weight the restrictions carry and if there’s a way for the courts to negate them.”
Existing businesses are also jeopardized.
Hans Mobius, owner of some of the restricted properties upon which a carriage house is built, said, he wasn’t aware of any restrictions, and “never had a reason to research the deed and title documents.” He confidently added that, “the lawyers can get this taken care of.”
Other threatened businesses include Don Apparel, H.O.D. Tattoo, Forest Plaza Art Gallery and Allentown Music.
‘Davos man’ versus ‘Camp Igloo’; 42nd World Economic Forum convenes in Swiss alps
March 25th, 2023 | Uncategorized |
Thursday, January 26, 2012
A Wikinews introduction to the 2012 World Economic Forum.
Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel gave yesterday’s opening address to the 42nd meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF), which is facing a distinctly different geo-political landscape from twelve months ago. Outside the WEF security cordon, in the sub-zero temperatures of Davos’ train station car park, the local incarnation of the Occupy movement are setting up ‘Camp Igloo’; but, with little hope of the archetypes of the 1%, ‘Davos Man’, arriving by public transport and seeing their sub-zero protest.
Occupy WEF protesters completing one of the ‘Camp igloo’ structures Saturday ahead of the 2012 World Economic Forum in Davos. Image: @Occupy_WEF.
David Roth, heading the Swiss centre-left’s youth wing — and an organiser of ‘Camp Igloo’, echoes much of the sentiment from ‘Occupy’ protests around the world; “[a]t meetings the rest of society is excluded from, this powerful ‘1 percent’ negotiates and decides about the fate of the other 99 percent of this world, […] economic and financial concentration of power in a small, privileged minority leads to a dictatorship over the rest of us. The motto ‘one person, one vote’ is no longer valid, but ‘one dollar, one vote’.”
Finishing touches being put to the 2012 conference’s stage setup. Image: World Economic Forum.
Roth’s characterisation of ‘Davos Man’, a term coined by the Professor Samuel Huntington of Harvard University, is more emotive than that of the late professor who saw ‘Davos man’ as “[having…] little need for national loyalty, view[ing] national boundaries as obstacles that thankfully are vanishing, and see[ing] national governments as residues from the past whose only useful function is to facilitate the elite’s global operations”.
As Reuters highlights, many attendees will opt to make their way from Zurich to Davos by private jet, or helicopter, and the WEF itself provides handouts indicating the cost of such is 5,100 Swiss francs (approx. 5,500 USD, 3,500 GBP, 4,200 EUR). In contrast: travelling by rail, even when opting for first class — without an advance booking, is 145 Swiss francs (approx. 155 USD, 100 GBP).
Shifting fortunes see several past attendees missing this year’s exclusive get-together in the alpine resort; for a second year running — and now caught up in the UK phone hacking scandal being scrutinised by Lord Leveson’s inquiry — media mogul Rupert Murdoch will not be attending. Nor will the former head of financial services company UBS Oswald Gruebel, who resigned in the wake of US$2.3 billion losses incurred through unauthorised trading; likewise, Philipp Hildebrand, the ex-head of the Swiss National Bank, is absent following scandal associated with his wife’s currency trading activities; and, although the sexual assault charges against Dominique Strauss-Kahn were dropped, having stepped down as managing director of the International Monetary Fund Strauss-Kahn will also be absent.
As the #OccupyWEF protesters were building igloos last weekend, an anti-WEF protest in the Swiss capital Berne was broken up by police, who stated their intent to prosecute participants in the illegal protest. Allegations of calls for violent protest action led to a high number of officers being involved. In the aftermath, charges of breach of the peace are to be brought against 153 people, with some targeted for more serious offences. At least one group involved in the protest described the police response as “disproportionate”.
Image of Berne riot police dealing with an anti-WEF protest last weekend. Image: agfreiburg, Flickr.
At ‘Camp Igloo’ Roth says he is seeking discussions with the WEF’s expected 2,000 attendees; but his voice, and that of others in the worldwide ‘Occupy’ movement, is unlikely to be given a platform in the opening debate, “Is 20th-century capitalism failing 21st-century society?” He, and others taking part in this Swiss incarnation of the ‘Occupy’ movement, are still considering an invite to a side-session issued by the World Economic Forum’s founder, Klaus Schwab; commenting on the invite Roth told the Associated Press they would prefer a debate at a more neutral venue.
As has been the case for several years now, the annual Forum meeting in Davos was preceded with the release of a special report by the World Economic Forum into risks seen as likely to have an impact the in the coming decade. The 2012 Global Risks Report is a hefty document; the 64-page report is backed with a variety of visualisation tools designed to allow the interrelations between risks to be viewed, how risks interact modelled, and their potential impacts considered — as assessed by the WEF’s panel of nearly 500 experts.
The WEF video introduction to their 2012 Risk Report. Image: World Economic Forum.
As one would expect, economic risks top both the 2012 impact and likelihood charts. Climate change is pushed somewhat further down the list of concerns likely to drive discussions in Davos. “Major systemic financial failure” — the collapse of a globally important financial institution, or world currency, is selected as the risk which carries the most potential impact.
However, “Chronic fiscal imbalances” — failing to address excessive government debt, and “Severe income disparity” — a widening of the the gulf between rich and poor, top the list of most likely risks.
At the other end of the tables, disagreeing respectively with the weight last year’s Wikinews report gave to orbital debris, and the Motion Picture Association of America’s (MPAA) fight with the Internet over copyright legislation, the 2012 Global Risks Report places “Proliferation of Orbital Debris” and “Failure of intellectual property regime” bottom of the league in terms of potential impact.
In 2011, with the current global economic crisis well under-way, “Fiscal crises” topped the WEF risks with the largest potential impact in the next ten years. However, perceived as most likely a year ago, “Storms and cyclones”, “Flooding”, and “Biodiversity loss” — all climate-change related points — were placed ahead of “Economic disparity” and “Fiscal crises”.
More mundane risks overtake the spectre of terrorism when contrasting this year’s report with the 2011 one; volatility in the prices of commodities, consumer goods, and energy, and the security of water supplies are all now ranked as more likely risks than terrorism — though the 2011 report did rank some of these concerns as having a higher potential impact. A significant shift in perception sees the 2012 report highlight food shortages almost as likely a risk the world will face over the next decade; and, one with a far more significant impact.
Attending the World Economic Forum at Davos is more than just an opportunity to discuss the current state of the global economy, and review the risks which face countries around the world. With such a high number of political and business leaders in attendance, it is an ideal opportunity to pursue new trade deals.
File photo of Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Image: Ted Buracas.
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper is, in addition to being a keynote speaker, expected to pursue improved relations with European and Asian trade partners at private meetings on the Forum sidelines. The Toronto Star reports Harper is likely to push forward an under-negotiation Canadian-European free-trade agreement, and hold closed-door discussions prior to next month’s planned trip to China.
Similarly, Canadian trade minister Ed Fast is expected to meet South Korean counterparts to discuss an equivalent deal to the preferential ones between the Asian nation and the US and Europe. Fast’s deal does, however, face opposition at home; the Canadian Auto Workers union asserts that such a deal would put 33,0000 jobs at-risk.
HAVE YOUR SAY
Do you believe discussions in Davos can make a difference globally?
Add or view comments
British Prime Minister David Cameron and chancellor George Osborne are expected to discuss a possible increase of UK funding to the International Monetary Fund (IMF); however, with the UK responsible for 4.5% of the US$400 billion in the IMF’s lending fund, backbench MPs have warned that committing any additional funds could provoke a Conservative revolt in parliament. Tuesday’s IMF cut of predicted global growth from 4% to 3.3%, warnings of a likely Eurozone recession in 2012, and ongoing problems with Greek financial restructuring, are likely discussion topics at Davos — as well as amongst UK backbench MPs who see adding to the IMF war-chest as bailing out failed European economies.
South Africa, less centre-stage during the 2011 Forum, will be looking to improve relationships and take advantage of their higher profile. President Jacob Zuma and several cabinet members are attending sessions and discussions; whilst former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown is to moderate a session, “Africa — From Transition to Transformation“, with Nigeria, Guinea, and South Sudan’s presidents on the panel. Wal-mart’s CEO Doug McMillon is to lead a dinner session, “Shared Opportunities for Africa’s Future” — highlighting larger multinationals looking towards the continent for new opportunities.
Davos may also serve as a place to progress disputes out of the public eye; a high-profile dispute between Chile’s state-owned copper mining business, Codelco, and Anglo American plc over the 5.39 billion USD sale of a near-quarter stake in their Chilean operations to Japan’s Mitsubishi, prompted the Financial Times to speculate that, as the respective company chiefs — Diego Hernández and Cynthia Carroll — are expected to attend, they could privately discuss the spat during the Forum.
The modern age has witnessed an explosion in the capabilities and availability of technological devices. As a result of these developments, it is essential for almost every building to be properly wired for these items. If a building has old or inadequate wiring, then it may be possible for electronics inside the building to be severely damaged. Fortunately, for those needing an Electrical Company Washington DC is served by Hawkins Electrical Service.
Typically, individuals will only require the services of an electrical contractor when they are experiencing an electrical problem or their building is undergoing construction work. Interestingly, some people fail to appreciate that remodeling may require rewiring of entire rooms. While general contractors are able to perform the vast majority of work on these projects, few are certified or experienced enough to safely complete electrical work. Not surprisingly, electrical contractors are among the most common subcontractors employed by construction companies.
When an electrical contractor is employed, they must have a thorough understanding of how the room will be used. This information will help ensure they select wiring that can accommodate the electrical load that will be required. Failure to use the correct wiring can result in fires, damaged electrical components and numerous other problems. Fortunately, if you are needing the services of an Electrical Company in Washington DC the friendly and experienced professionals from the Hawkins Electrical Service will be able to quickly complete almost any type of electrical work.
Constructing a new building or remodeling an existing building will almost always require the services of an experienced electrician. Unfortunately, some individuals may attempt to complete this work without professional help. In addition to posing a hazard to the building, it is possible for individuals to sustain life threatening injuries from electrical projects. Luckily, there are highly trained and experienced professionals that are able to accommodate the needs of almost any client. While the exact amount of time needed to complete the work will vary from project to project, the technicians from Hawkins Electrical Service provide all clients with free quotes.
Latest figures from the US government say that the country’s economy gained 290,000 jobs in April, the largest single-month gain since March 2006.
According to the Labor Department, excluding temporary workers for this year’s census, the number of non-farm jobs increased by a seasonally adjusted 224,000.
The unemployment rate, meanwhile, increased from 9.7% to 9.9%; the apparent contradiction is because 195,000 people who previously gave up searching for jobs started looking for work again, entering the labor force and augmenting the jobless rate.
The increases were larger than expected by economic analysts; according to a survey done by MarketWatch, economists believed the country would have added 185,000 jobs for last month.
President Obama commented on the numbers earlier today at the White House, saying: “This is the largest monthly increase in four years […] we’ve now seen job growth for four months in a row. These numbers are particularly heartening when you consider where we were a year ago, with an economy in freefall.”
Changes in the environmental conditions of an area could lead to significant issues that could greatly impact life. The destruction of water reserves through deforestation has led to a reduction in the water supply available for vegetation, thereby decreasing forest cover. Some of these problems have been blamed on urban construction that has cleared land previously occupied by natural vegetation to build houses. With this in mind, Environmental engineers in Jackson MS are embracing the concept of environmental engineering to utilize sound engineering principles for the preservation and even improvement of the natural environment. This is meant to increase the amount of healthy water and air that is present in these problem areas and consequently ensure environmental conservation.
Some of the commendable advances that have been realized in this field include the reclamation of polluted sites that were once filled with garbage. These have been converted into botanical gardens with plenty of flowers, fountains and birds to increase the amount of fresh air in urban areas. Design of energy efficient solutions has also been elemental in preserving natural energy sources. This has been realized through the design of systems that are able to harness solar energy, reducing the burden on wood and coal as sources of fuel. The result is preservation of trees in their natural habitats.
Use of waste water is increasingly becoming a topic of innovation for environmental engineers in Jackson MS. In a bid to solve waste water problems, designs have been developed to manage waste water and divert it to other areas of use. In living areas where environmental subdivision is being practiced, waste water is diverted to a purification system, which then removes various items such as sludge and debris. After this, it is used to water communal gardens to ensure minimal water goes to waste.
With the restrictions on environmental pollution that are increasingly being implemented by the Environmental Protection Agency, environmental engineers have a daunting task ahead. Education and innovation is increasingly becoming a pertinent process in the role of environmental engineers at Oneal-Bond Engineering as they design products that will solve key issues in environmental preservation.
Former member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) Tommy Sheridan and his wife are to be tried for perjury.
The charges stem from Tommy and Gail Sheridan’s successful £200,000 defamation suit against British tabloid newspaper The News of the World in 2006, during which the judge said that conflicting evidence meant some witnesses were perjuring themselves. This led to an investigation by Lothian and Borders Police. The newspaper had accused Tommy Sheridan of having an affair.
Sheridan established the Scottish Socialist Alliance in 1996, which became the Scottish Socialist Party and stood in the 1999 elections to the newly re-established Scottish Parliament. Sheridan was elected as MSP for Glasgow. He was re-elected in 2003 but the party split in 2006 — with some members giving evidence against Sheridan in his court case — and Sheridan and another MSP, Rosemary Byrne, formed a new party, Solidarity. However, this party — and the remaining Scottish Socialists — lost all their seats in the 2007 election.
After leaving Holyrood, Sheridan hosted a chat show at the Edinburgh fringe and had a talk radio show before joining the latest series of Channel 4’s Celebrity Big Brother. He is now studying law at the University of Strathclyde.
Recent cyber attacks in Estonia that have paralyzed the high tech country’s Web sites are a threat to national security, according to the country’s Minister of Defense. This has concerned NATO, seeing that Estonia is a member state of the organization. The attacks have subsided this week.
The Defense Minister Jaak Aaviksoo also mentioned that Russia may have been behind the attacks. He stated that the IP numbers in the initial attack belong to Russian government offices, but says that it’s insufficient evidence that the government is behind it. The Kremlin is dismissing the accusations, saying that its caused by hackers producing fake Kremlin IP addresses.
The cyber attacks came after Estonia removed a Soviet-era statue of a Bronze Soldier in Tallinn, which angered many Russians. Riots have left 160 injured, and 1 dead.
Both NATO and the European Union views this as an attack on one of their member states. Three hundred Estonian IT specialist worked day and night to fix the problem.
The Estonian government plans to analyze server logs and data to find out who is behind the attacks.
With the current drop in property value, interest rates for mortgage loans also took a dive. My friend, Jasper, knew that this would be the perfect opportunity to refinance his home that he bought a few years ago. When he bought his home, Jasper signed up for a 5/1 adjustable rate home loan with Chase bank. Basically the rate would be fixed for the first five years after which the annual percentage rate would change every year. Jasper was still enjoying a low interest rate when he decided to refinance because the adjustment period was almost due and the current interest rate at the time was even lower than the rate he signed up for almost five years ago. So Jasper decided to take advantage of the situation and contacted a Chase refinance officer to present his case.
Jasper’s objective was to reduce his monthly expenses so he could have more ‘left over’ money at the end of the month. With the current interest rate at its lowest point, Jasper knew that refinancing his home with Chase refinance would help him save more money and improve his cash flow. So Jasper went to see the refinance officer at a local branch of Chase bank. Of course, he did not go there unprepared. He had already done his own research. The market rate for mortgage interest might have been at its lowest but if he did not have good credit rating he probably would not be able to enjoy such low rate. So he obtained his credit report from all of the big credit reporting bureaus to show the refinance officer that he had stable financial and credit situation.
However, Jasper was also aware that his credit rating was not in the Tier One category. If anything his credit score was simply decent at best. So he discussed with the officer on other factors that they may consider to determine his creditworthiness prior to approving his application to refinance Chase mortgage on his home. The advantage that he had was that he was already a client of Chase bank and he was never late in making his monthly payments so the bank would definitely take that into consideration. Jasper also did not hesitate to mention what other banks were offering him. Basically he was giving himself leverage and effortlessly convinced the officer why he deserved the best interest rate. After all, no bank would want to be outdone by other banks.
Once he was offered the lowest interest rate he could possible get, he requested that the officer provide him with a Good Faith Estimate. Then it was time to negotiate the fees. He pointed out to the officer that he was not going to refinance mortgages at some other bank so he asked to be exempted from having to pay several fees. Jasper was aware that high processing fees and closing costs would defeat the purpose of having a very low interest rate. So after much negotiations and even arguments, he was successful in obtaining what he went there to get in the first place; a mortgage refinance with low interest rate and cost. Jasper then filed his application along with all the relevant documents requested by Chase bank. He converted his 5/1 adjustable rate mortgage to a fixed rate mortgage with considerably low interest and cost.
Basically Jasper managed to take advantage of the low interest rate as he can now afford to save more money because he is paying less than what he started with. At the same time, he also managed to lower his debt-to-income ratio which would work to his advantage for future financial activities.
