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Credit Card-Sized Super Computer That Powers AI Such As Robots … – Forbes

Posted on March 8, 2017 by Danzig

Credit Card-Sized Super Computer That Powers AI Such As Robots ...
Forbes
A super computer the size of a credit card that can power artificial intelligence (AI) such as robots, drones and smart cameras, has been unveiled by computer ...
Nvidia Jetson TX2: Credit card-sized supercomputer looks to fuel AI developmentThe INQUIRER
Nvidia shows off Jetson supercomputerFudzilla (blog)
Nvidia Unveils Jetson TX2: Pocket-Sized Supercomputer Doubles TX1 Performance, Powers Drones With AI, And MoreTech Times
TechRadar -Silicon UK -Geeky Gadgets
all 33 news articles »

Supercomputer – Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Posted on March 8, 2017 by Danzig

A supercomputer is a computer with great speed and memory. This kind of computer can do jobs faster than any other computer of its generation. They are usually thousands of times faster than ordinary personal computers made at that time. Supercomputers can do arithmetic jobs very fast, so they are used for weather forecasting, code-breaking, genetic analysis and other jobs that need many calculations. When new computers of all classes become more powerful, new ordinary computers are made with powers that only supercomputers had in the past, while new supercomputers continue to outclass them.

Electrical engineers make supercomputers that link many thousands of microprocessors.

Supercomputer types include: shared memory, distributed memory and array. Supercomputers with shared memory are developed by using a parallel computing and pipelining concept. Supercomputers with distributed memory consist of many (about 100~10000) nodes. CRAY series of CRAYRESERCH and VP 2400/40, NEC SX-3 of HUCIS are shared memory types. nCube 3, iPSC/860, AP 1000, NCR 3700, Paragon XP/S, CM-5 are distributed memory types.

An array type computer named ILIAC started working in 1972. Later, the CF-11, CM-2, and the Mas Par MP-2 (which is also an array type) were developed. Supercomputers that use a physically separated memory as one shared memory include the T3D, KSR1, and Tera Computer.

Organizations

Centers

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Supercomputer - Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Final Premier League table predicted: Super computer reveals where each side should finish – Daily Star

Posted on March 8, 2017 by Danzig

A SUPER computer has predicted how the final Premier League table will look as we approach the finish line.

A SUPER computer has predicted how the final Premier League table will look as we approach the finish line. *Data from talkSPORT.

1 / 20

Although it looks as though Chelsea are running away with the Premier League title, there's plenty left to be decided among the teams below them.

The five clubs directly behind the Blues are all battling for Champions League places.

And at the other end of the table, an exciting scrap to stay in the English top flight is taking place.

So where will your side finish?

TalkSPORT have fed the data into their super computer - and they may have the answer.

Click through the gallery above to see the final predicted Premier League table.

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Final Premier League table predicted: Super computer reveals where each side should finish - Daily Star

SDSC Seismic Simulation Software Exceeds 10 Petaflops on Cori … – insideHPC

Posted on March 8, 2017 by Danzig

Researchers at the San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC) at the University of California San Diego have developed a new seismic software package with Intel Corporation that has enabled the fastest seismic simulation to-date, as the two organizations collaborate on ways to better predict ground motions to save lives and minimize property damage.

The latest simulations, which mimic possible large-scale seismic activity in the southern California region, were done using a new software system called EDGE, for Extreme-Scale Discontinuous Galerkin Environment. The largest simulation used 612,000 Intel Xeon Phi processor cores of the new Cori Phase II supercomputer at the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC), the primary scientific computing facility for the Office of Science in the U.S. Department of Energy.

SDSCs ground-breaking performance of 10.4 Petaflopssurpassed the previous seismic record of 8.6 PFLOPS conducted on Chinas Tianhe-2 supercomputer. Through efficient utilization of the latest and largest supercomputers, seismologists are now able to increase the frequency content of the simulated seismic wave field.

Obtaining higher frequencies is a key to predict ground motions relevant for common dwellings in conducting earthquake research. SDSC and Intel researchers also used the DOEs Theta supercomputer at the Argonne National Laboratory as part of the year-long project.

In addition to using the entire Cori Phase II supercomputer, our research also showed a substantial gain in efficiency in using the new software, said Alex Breuer, a postdoctoral researcher from SDSCs High Performance Geocomputing Laboratory (HPGeoC) and lead author of the paper, to be presented in June at the ISC 2017 conference in Frankfurt, Germany. Researchers will be able to run about two to almost five times the number of simulations using EDGE, saving time and reducing cost.

Example of hypothetical seismic wave propagation with mountain topography using the new EDGE software. Shown is the surface of the computational domain covering the San Jacinto fault zone between Anza and Borrego Springs in California. Colors denote the amplitude of the particle velocity, where warmer colors correspond to higher amplitudes. Image courtesy of Alex Breuer, SDSC.

A second HPGeoC paper submitted and accepted for the ISC High Performance conference covers a new study of the AWP-ODC software that has been used by the Southern California Earthquake Center (SCEC) for years. The software was optimized to run in large-scale for the first time on the latest generation of Intel data center processors, called Intel Xeon Phi x200.

These simulations, also using NERSCs Cori Phase II supercomputer, attained competitive performance to an equivalent simulation on the entire GPU-accelerated Titan supercomputer. Titan is located at the DOEs Oak Ridge National Laboratory and has been the resource used for the largest AWP-ODC simulations in recent years. Additionally, the software obtained high performance on Stampede-KNL at the Texas Advanced Computing Center at The University of Texas at Austin.

Both research projects are part of a collaboration announced in early 2016 under which Intel opened a computing center at SDSC to focus on seismic research, including the ongoing development of computer-based simulations that can be used to better inform and assist disaster recovery and relief efforts.

The Intel Parallel Computing Center (Intel PCC) continues an interdisciplinary collaboration between Intel, SDSC, and SCEC, one of the largest open research collaborations in geoscience. In addition to UC San Diego, the Intel PCC at SDSC includes researchers from the University of Southern California (USC), San Diego State University (SDSU), and the University of California Riverside (UCR).

The Intel PCC program provides funding to universities, institutions, and research labs to modernize key community codes used across a wide range of disciplines to run on current state-of-the-art parallel architectures. The primary focus is to modernize applications to increase parallelism and scalability through optimizations that leverage cores, caches, threads, and vector capabilities of microprocessors and coprocessors.

Research and results such as the massive seismic simulation demonstrated by the SDSC/Intel team are tremendous for their contributions to science and society, said Joe Curley, senior director of Code Modernization Organization at Intel Corporation. Equally, this work also demonstrates the benefit to society of developing modern applications to exploit power-efficient and highly parallel CPU technology.

Such detailed computer simulations allow researchers to study earthquake mechanisms in a virtual laboratory. These two studies open the door for the next-generation of seismic simulations using the latest and most sophisticated software, said Yifeng Cui, founder of the HPGeoC at SDSC and director of the Intel PCC at SDSC. Going forward, we will use the new codes widely for some of the most challenging tasks at SCEC.

The multi-institution study which led to the record results includes Breuer and Cui; as well as Josh Tobin, a Ph.D. student in UC San Diegos Department of Mathematics; Alexander Heinecke, a research scientist at Intel Labs; and Charles Yount, a principal engineer at Intel Corporation.

The titles of the respective presentations and publications are EDGE: Extreme Scale Fused Seismic Simulations with the Discontinuous Galerkin Method and Accelerating Seismic Simulations using the Intel Xeon Phi Knights Landing Processor.

Stem Cell Therapy – painreliefcenterstx.com

Posted on March 8, 2017 by Danzig

At Neuropathy & Pain Centers of Texas, non-invasive medical procedures are the mainstay of our practice. Using the most up to date techniques, our staff treats patients as whole people, providing a comprehensive diagnostic assessment in order to design a customized strategy for relief from medical concerns in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. The technology has advanced to a point that, at Neuropathy & Pain Centers of Texas, we apply stem cell treatments designed to help our patients attain their wellness goals and achieve a higher quality of life.

For instance, until recently, treatment options for people with osteoarthritis of the knee were limited. Steroid injections, joint replacement surgery, and physical therapy were often the only treatment options. Now, regenerative injections for knee osteoarthritis are available at Neuropathy & Pain Centers of Texas. Regenerative cellular therapy also has applications for treating Achilles tendonitis, rotator cuff tendonitis, and degenerative arthritis.

These injections work with the bodys natural ability to heal itself. Unlike treatments that simply address the symptoms, stem cell therapy actually promotes repair of the body, restoring degenerated tissue. Stem cell injections also contain hyaluronan, which eases pain and restores mobility by lubricating joints and tendons. This therapy fits well with Neuropathy & Pain Centers of Texass integrated approach to wellness, addressing the source of issues, rather than just treating the symptoms.

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Stem Cell Therapy - painreliefcenterstx.com

Stem Cell Therapy receives FDA Boost to enter the US Market – Labiotech.eu (blog)

Posted on March 8, 2017 by Danzig

TiGenix has receivedpositive feedback from the FDA on an improved global phase III trial protocol for its lead candidateCx601 for Crohns disease. This is expected tospeed up US approval.

TiGenix is a Belgian companydevelopingstem cell therapies. The biotech is currently pushing its lead candidateCx601to the market for the treatment ofcomplex perianal fistulas in Crohns disease patients. Cx601 recently revealedpositive resultsin a European phase III study.

Following these results, the company submitted a number of technical adjustments for itspivotal phase III study for Biologics License Application (BLA) in the US, which were now approved by the FDA and are expected to acceleratethe process to US marketing authorization.

TiGenix is wellknown for its productChondroCellect, which was the first cell therapyto reach approval on the European market for the repair of knee cartilage.After the companyrecently withdrew its market authorization for this product, due to a lack of reimbursement, the biotech is focusing on its new leadCx601.

Thisproduct, currently awaiting EMA approval, consists ofallogeneic expanded adipose-derived stem cells (eASC), which are indicated for the treatment ofperianal fistulas in Crohns disease. The therapeuticeffects of eASCs are based on immunomodulatory abilities of these stem cells, which canrestore immune balance by suppressing a variety of immune cell subsets and inducing the generation of regulatory T cells.

Areas of the colon commonly affected duringCrohns disease

The current approval from the FDA will allow TiGenix to file the BLAbased on the efficacy and safety follow-up of patients at week 24, instead of week 52.The FDA has also agreed to accept fewer patients than originally planned in the study and endorsed a broader target population that will ultimately facilitate the recruitment process.

We believe that this revised protocol will allow us to file for approval one year earlier than we had originally plannedconcludedMaria Pascual, VP Regulatory Affairs & Corporate Quality of TiGenix

The current amendments will allow TiGenix to push its therapyto the US market even faster, which might pivotal for the company in light of its financial situation. After its shares had reached a low of22 cents back in 2013, the share price is currently still under 1. Withits low 34M IPO on Nasdaq in the end of last year, its market cap is stillonly at 191M. A low sum for a late stage clinical company.

As the EMAapproval forCx601 is expected soon, which will then be commercialized by Takeda, the company may actually be underestimated. The biotech recently started a new Phase Ib/IIa trial to testCx611 as a treatment for sepsis in patients with pneumonia.

Asecond platform consisting of transplanted allogeneic cardiac stem cells (AlloCSC)is currently in Phase II for acute myocardial infarction. It seems like TiGenix is definitely clinging toits position as one of the pioneers in stem cell-based therapies.

Images via shutterstock.com / CI Photos and CC 3.0 /RicHard-59

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Stem Cell Therapy receives FDA Boost to enter the US Market - Labiotech.eu (blog)

Unfortunate to link spirituality with religion: PM Modi – Times of India

Posted on March 8, 2017 by Danzig

NEW DELHI: Hailing spirituality as India's strength, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday lamented that some people tend to link it to religion and asserted that the two are very different.

Addressing a function here to commemorate the centenary celebrations of the Yogoda Satsanga Society of India (YSS), he said Yoga is the first step towards the journey of spirituality.

Modi said the world compares India on the basis of its population, GDP or employment rate, but it has neither known nor recognised India for its spirituality.

"India's spirituality is its strength. But, it is unfortunate that some people link spirituality to religion. But both spirituality and religion are very different," he said.

The prime minister also hailed Yogi Paramahansa who left the shores of India to spread his message but remained connected to the country all the time.

Even for a second the Yogi was not away from his motherland, which he kept remembering even in his last words, the PM said.

Back from campaign trail in his Varanasi constituency, Modi recalled how the Yogi is still remembered in Kashi and his teachings, "which are as pure as Maa Ganga", continue to flow within many in the holy city where he spent his childhood.

Modi's remarks come in the backdrop of a raging debate over attempts by political parties to polarise society on the lines of religion, especially during elections.

The Yogoda Satsanga Society was founded by Paramahansa Yogananda in 1917.

A special postage stamp on Yogoda Satsanga Society was also released by Modi to commemorate the occasion.

Recalling the words of former President APJ Abdul Kalam who felt that India's spiritualness is its strength and this process should continue, he said that the spirituality of the country has been strengthened by India's sages and saints.

Talking about Yoga, he said it is simple an entry gate to the spiritual world.

"Yoga is the entry point to spirituality. Yoga is the entrance point to one's spiritual journey. One should not consider it as the last point, as it is simply the entry gate to the spiritual world," he said.

"Once an individual develops an interest in Yoga and starts diligently practicing it, it will always remain a part of his or her life," he added.

The prime minister also recalled that the path shown by the Yogi was not about "mukti" (salvation) but "antaryatra" (quest within).

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Unfortunate to link spirituality with religion: PM Modi - Times of India

Zen Lessons for All of Us: Everyday Spirituality – Patheos (blog)

Posted on March 8, 2017 by Danzig

Sit down.

The Buddha said there are four ways to meditate. Sitting, standing, lying down, and walking. So, by sitting down, what Im saying is marking out a time and a place and give your body as well as your mind that space and that period of time dedicated to exploring the wisdom of your body, heart, and mind.

Shut up.

Meditation is one of those words that has too many definitions, basically it only means doing something with your mind. That doing something may be useful, and it may not. Among those kinds of meditation that can be called useful as far as finding our hearts goal is concerned, the range of possibilities remains large. However, they share some commonalities. Learning to be quiet is the most important thing. Although theres a critical point in understanding what quiet means. There are those who say being quiet is stopping the mind. And, yes, there is a sense in which this is true. That phrase, at is truest, is a pointing to something about our consciousness, how we can meet our thoughts and feelings. But its an invitation into something, not an assertion to step away from something. Too many people hear these words, sometimes even say them to others meaning physically stopping the movement of the mind. That is a mistake. The invitation is to see the thoughts arise, and not follow them.

Pay attention.

Bringing ones whole body consciousness to the matter is the heart of the practice. This is a difficult thing. The mind wanders. We are filled with regrets and longings. We plan. We fret. We scheme. So, heres the secret ingredient. Our invitation is into the heart of curiosity. The practice is to notice whats going on, whether it is regret or longing while adding nothing to the fire. Just notice. And. Be curious without entanglements in the content of the thought. Thoughts rise. You dont have to follow them. But, notice. Be curious. That curiosity can be a burning coal in our gut. It can be diluted and simply hanging a hint in the air in an open minded, mind like the sky, sort of way. Just notice/be curious. Is that one? Is that two? Pay attention.

Notice the connections.

Doing this you will learn much about yourself. Sometimes our thoughts are filled with desire. Sometimes our thoughts are overtaken by resentment, anger, hatred. Sometimes we obsess with an idea, seeing how it has put everything into place. And then as we watch we see how these thoughts are themselves insubstantial, they rise, they try to take us with them, but if we let them go as they rise, we open doors. The invitation is to not stop here or there. Bring your curiosity to the rising and falling of your mind. And then the next iteration of your mind. And the next. Hold on to nothing. Just notice. Just be curious. Perhaps you will at some point notice how vague and permeable the boundaries of your mind and life are. Keep looking. Where is the solid line? Keep looking. When do you and another in fact separate? Notice how cause and effect relate. Be curious. How are these two things different? How are these two things one? Be curious. Is there another way, as well?

Get up and do something.

Ive noticed how often this step is missed by spiritual practitioners. One of my favorite stories about the Buddha is how after achieving his great insights into the nature of things, resolving his pain, and finding the wise heart, Mara the incarnation of chaos whispered in his ear, you have won liberation. Go, now, and retire to a cave and enjoy the bliss of the cosmos for the rest of your natural days and then with your last breath pass into the great empty. You can call this the Buddhas last temptation. Now, this can be missed because he had been a renunciant, and he continued as a monk after his awakening. But at the heart of the matter, what he did was return to the world with his saving message. He spent the next forty years of that natural life guiding, giving counsel, pointing to the deeper matters, and the larger possibilities.

We sit for half an hour, an hour, whatever. Perhaps we engage in intensive periods of training. A week. Three months. A decade. We walk with a guide and we explore the fundamental matters of mind and heart. If we are just a little lucky we discover our hearts longing. The great way becomes no different than our own.

And, and this is critical at some point the fullness of our opened heart and mind contains within it an invitation to return to the world in one felicitous phrasing, with bliss bestowing hands.How we do this is going to be different at different times in our lives and within different lives. There is no judgment here. The simple call is to open our hearts and minds and to respond as is appropriate. Life a box and its lid.

As natural as natural can be.

Everyday spirituality

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Zen Lessons for All of Us: Everyday Spirituality - Patheos (blog)

Kane explores Lynch’s timely Ignatian spirituality – National Catholic Reporter

Posted on March 8, 2017 by Danzig

BUILDING THE HUMAN CITY: WILLIAM F. LYNCH'S IGNATIAN SPIRITUALITY FOR PUBLIC LIFE By John F. Kane Published by Pickwick Publications, 292 pages, $35

Fr. William Lynch has to be one of the most unjustly neglected of 20th-century American Jesuit scholars, but John Kane has spent a goodly portion of his life preparing to change that. The result is a remarkable book that should have the eminently desirable effect of bringing renewed attention to Lynch's work.

Lynch, longtime editor of Fordham University's flagship journal, Thought, is known for several fairly short books, especially Christ and Apollo: The Dimensions of the Literary Imagination, Images of Hope: Imagination as Healer of the Hopeless and Christ and Prometheus: A New Image of the Secular. Ranging across philosophy, psychology, theology and classical studies, Lynch was widely recognized in his day but never widely read. His books are not easy and few scholars have the same range Lynch had. Of course, by the same token, few readers could finish any one of the books without having learned something new.

Since his death in 1987, Lynch has been pretty much in eclipse. What is so immediately striking about Kane's presentation inBuilding The Human City is the extraordinary timeliness of Lynch's insights for public life today.

For example, Kane's introductory chapter stresses Lynch's concern to overcome polarizations, to combat the "totalizing sensibility" that he thought affected church and world in his own times. This determination to address the problem of demonizing the adversary runs through all Lynch's work and, as Kane points out, "has recently been seconded by a now more famous Jesuit," Pope Francis himself. If you re-read Francis' address to the U.S. Congress with some knowledge of Lynch's convictions, you may wonder if the current pope is one of those few who have read Lynch's work.

Begin the Year of Grace with a free booklet of formation and feature articles on migration from Celebration Publications.

One of Lynch's less well-known works, the 1962 collection of essays The Integrating Mind, explores in depth the dangers of totalizing and, without using the word much if at all, the importance of employing an analogical approach. This extends beyond mere disagreements to more fundamental but illusory separations between art and life or transcendence and immanence or, in some ways, what Lynch considers to be the most serious of separations, between society's intellectual and cultural elites and the great mass of ordinary people.

All such dichotomizing misses the vital importance of connection to real life, to virtues and even hopes and fears that are first and last embodied. Even God is encountered in the secular, as Lynch makes clear in Christ and Prometheus, and Kane is extraordinarily good on exploring the incarnational roots of Ignatian spirituality and sensibility that lie within Lynch's thought. "Finding God in all things" is, of course, finding God in the world.

Lynch's other great theme is the role of imagination, but here again it is a grounded and embodied, not a purely romantic imagination, that he values. The imagination at work in the arts, especially the dramatic arts, is vital to restoring "confidence in the fundamental power of the finite."

The separation Lynch laments between elites and "ordinary people" is not so much a critique of the masses as it is of the failure of the arts to connect to real life. The arts need to conspire with faith and theology, summarizes Kane, in "a new movement towards the definite."

All of this in the end is an argument for the ubiquity of divine grace. God and grace are not absent from the secular or to be injected in it, but to be found there. Finding God in all things implies for Lynch that in exploring and encountering the meaning of all things, their intrinsic and indeed secular meaning, we find God and grace in them. The grace of God is revealed in the beauty of the secular, in all its secular integrity.

Kane's synthetic presentation of Lynch's work makes it clear how important a thinker he was and remains. Of course, Kane's success in this book in a way impedes his objective in writing it. It is so clear and compelling that I wonder how many of his readers will do what Kane hopes they will do, go back to Lynch himself to explore the ideas in greater detail.

In fact, though there is much rich discussion of classical literature that cannot be summarized in Kane's treatment, I am quite positive that the overall intent of Lynch's corpus of writings had to wait for Kane to come along and explain it. Even those of us who have read Lynch at any length will benefit enormously from Kane's explanation of why he remains so important.

[Paul Lakeland is the director of the Center for Catholic Studies at Fairfield University. His latest book, The Wounded Angel: Fiction and the Religious Imagination, will be published by Liturgical Press in the spring of 2017.]

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Kane explores Lynch's timely Ignatian spirituality - National Catholic Reporter

Art show taps Eastern spirituality – Prince George Citizen

Posted on March 8, 2017 by Danzig

The pathway between conscious life and the subconscious world leads over a bridge. Its name is Nicky Kumar.

She is a Prince George artist harnessing the shades of darkness and light that propel our minds into meditative states, if we look upon the lines and curves of consciousness. There are many paths to enlightenment, but she has focused on seven: the primary chakras of ancient eastern spirituality.

These chakras are energy centres within the body. They each have their own realm of influence on the physical and mental state we are in, and they each have their own symbol like a letter or numeral. Kumar is treated to meditation as she works through the elaborate detail of each chakra symbol, and she is treated to meditation as she looks upon each completed symbol. It is a circle of health and wellness.

These seven exquisite works of art will go on public display this week at the Community Arts Council feature gallery where the general public can share in these portals to the mind, body and soul.

"The Community Arts Council has been excited for a long time about Nicky's work," said Lisa Redpath, manager of events and projects. "I know I'm a huge fan. It's so beautiful, exacting, and really holds your attention. It has a unique power. She's a really gifted artist and we are lucky to have her in Prince George."

The chakra symbols are a departure of sorts from Kumar's usual work. She is a seasoned professional at a related form of drawing: mandalas. These patterns are also ancient spiritual symbols that are often breathtakingly detailed but also rooted in free-form expression.

"Mandalas are circular drawings with origins in Buddhism and Hinduism," Kumar said. "Creating them is spiritual. There is a belief that in the creation of a mandala is the expression of what is going on inside you. It is a pure representation of the universe through you, so it's a way of communicating between your own personal self's power and the higher power of the infinite universe. Monks will often do mandalas, sometimes drawn in sand and when they are finished they will sweep it away and start again, to symbolize the constant motion of existence. Even just looking at mandalas brings a sense of calm. There is something about the circular shapes and repetitive patterns that can centre the mind and help clear the mental clutter."

After years of internationally acclaimed mandala art, she felt moved to try other forms of drawing that were related but down new paths of creative thought.

The chakra symbols emerged from that newfound confidence and exploration.

"My agent knew me well, knew I'd be open to the chakra symbols, so when we were discussing my art, that was suggested," said Kumar who works as a contract creator for American company Art Licensing International.

"When my agent asked me to make Zen art I was ecstatic. Because it gave me an excuse to take a break from commissions and work on something that I was very passionate about and wanting to learn more about."

She has fallen somewhat behind in her busy schedule of filling commissioned artwork orders.

The seven chakras were consuming endeavours, but she can now return to that stream of creative consciousness.

The exhibition opens on Thursday with a 7 p.m. reception open to all at 2880 15th Avenue. The exhibition will be on display until April 3 and also incorporates the smells of incense, sounds of soft eastern spiritual music, Himalayan salt rock lamps courtesy of Three Sisters Rock'n Gem Store.

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Art show taps Eastern spirituality - Prince George Citizen

This Hospital Bridges Traditional Medicine With Hmong SpiritualityAnd Gets Results – Co.Exist

Posted on March 8, 2017 by Danzig

In the 1980s, Lia Lee, a child born to Hmong parents in the Northern California city of Merced, had her first seizure at three months old. She was brought to a community medical center, but there were no Hmong translators to communicate with her parents and explain how to administer her medication properly. And the hospital staff didnt understand the Hmong spiritual remedies the Lees wanted for their daughter; Hmong shamans were not allowed to perform their rituals in the hospital. Meanwhile, Lias condition persisted: By the time she was four-and-a-half years old, shed been admitted to the hospital 17 times.

The story of cross-cultural communication breakdown in the Merced medical system is the subject of Anne Fadimans widely acclaimed 1997 book, The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down. The hospital where Lia was treated is now called the Mercy Medical Center, and since the publication of Fadimans work, much has changed. Bob McLaughlin, a spokesperson for the hospital, tells Co.Exist that Mercy Medical Center recently invited Fadiman back for a visit. "She told us, I wrote this book because I knew it was an important story; I had no idea that 20 years later, people here would be using it as a textbook."

Fadimans work was the basis for a novel policy that Mercy Medical Center has introduced to allow Hmong shamans to come into the hospital and perform traditional ceremonies for patients that request them. The shamans, over the course of a six-week training, learn hospital protocols; Mercy Medical doctors and staff are also educated in the Hmong ceremonies.

Hmong families fleeing the Vietnam War first settled in Merced in 1976. With a population of over 7,000, Merceds Hmong community is the third largest in California, after Sacramento and Fresno.

The Hmong Shaman Visitation Policyto McLaughlins knowledge, the only one of its kind in play at a hospitaloutlines nine ceremonies that Hmong shamans are allowed to perform at the patients bedside, ranging from a 10-minute chant that's designed promote healing after loss of blood to a ritual involving tying a red string around the patients neck, which is supposed to encourage the body to mend. Sometimes, a shaman will recommend a longer or more involved ceremony, perhaps involving animals or fire; for those rituals, the shaman can negotiate on a case-by-case basis with hospital staff for approval. Janice Wilkerson, who directs the Mission Integration team for Mercy Medical Center, tells Co.Exist that she recalls some more elaborate ceremonies taking place in the hospitals parking lot.

Integrating the Hmong rituals with the mainstream hospital care at Mercy Medical began, almost by chance, in 1998. A Hmong patient in the hospital was slowly dying; his body was shutting down, and the physicians had done everything they could, Wilkerson says. Marilyn Mochel, a registered nurse at the hospital, and Palee Moua, the wife of a Hmong clan leader, approached the hospital administration to ask, on behalf of the family, if a shaman could be brought on the premises to perform a ceremony for the patient. It would be a fairly protracted ritual, involving long knives, but there was a wing of the hospital that was under construction at the time and mostly empty; the Mercy Medical staff agreed to move the patient there for the ceremony, and bring the shaman in. After the ceremony, the patients health turned around. He made a full recovery, and is still active in the Merced Hmong community.

"Physicians experience these miracles from time to time," McLaughlin says, "but this case really illustrated to them the power of these ceremonies. Healing isnt just about medicine, its about people."

Mochel and Moua worked with a nonprofit to develop and formalize a training program to facilitate more Hmong shaman hospital visits; the nonprofit began educating shamans in 2000. When funding for the nonprofit began to slip in 2012, McLaughlin and Wilkerson stepped up to fund the program directly through Mercy Medical. To date, almost 140 shamans have gone through the six-week course, and "graduates" of the program reconvene once a month to stay in touch and share learnings.

"Shamans used to be very secretive about their ceremonies; they felt that their culture was not understood," Wilkerson says. "Now, they come into the hospital with an official badge; they feel they are very much respected and know that we understand that their work is important."

In turn, the program has strengthened the Hmong communitys trust in mainstream medicine: Shamans are able to communicate with patients who may otherwise be skeptical of hospital procedures. "We see this all the time," McLaughlin says. "A doctor might want to do a CT scan, but the patient will say, Im not doing that until the shaman says its okay. But because the shamans are informed about the equipment and procedures through the course, theyre able to tell the patient that its okaythe doctors are trying to help them," McLaughlin says. Since the policy and program were introduced, Mercy Medical has seen members of the Hmong community coming to the hospital for help right away, as opposed to only when an illness reached crisis point.

Though McLaughlin and Wilkerson say theyve heard from other medical institutions looking to implement the program, or similar policies with other spiritual practices, they havent seen any other initiative really take hold in the same way as the Hmong shaman program. McLaughlin credits the programs success to the hospitals mission of treating people with dignity and prioritizing humanity. Every time a new employee starts at Mercy Medical, McLaughlin walks them through the policy, and always says the same thing. "What we do here is take care of people: If its the right thing for the patient its the right thing for us to do."

[All Images: via Upworthy]

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This Hospital Bridges Traditional Medicine With Hmong SpiritualityAnd Gets Results - Co.Exist

Religion and Spirituality Events: 3/8 – Cecil Whig

Posted on March 8, 2017 by Danzig

Low-cost, local events happening this week. To be included, your event must be family friendly, cost less than $25 per person and take place in Cecil County as well as adjoining areas within a 20-minute drive. Please submit the event title, time, address to accent@cecilwhig.com. Once approved by an editor, the event will be listed until its completion date. It will run in the print edition as space allows. You can also submit to a separate online calendar at cecildaily.com.

YOGA, 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. at Painted Turtle Arts Studio, 13 N. Main St., North East. Ongoing $15 drop-in. Multi-level for everyone. Call instructor Laura Hannan at 1-540-421-0296.

CLUTTERERS ANONYMOUS, 6 to 7 p.m. at Janes United Methodist Church, 213 N. Walnut St., Rising Sun. Clutterers Anonymous is a 12-step program to help people solve their problems with clutter/hoarding. There are no dues or fees. Contact Martha H. 443-350-1483.

YOGA, 7 p.m. weekly classes at Cecil County Arts Council, 135 E. Main St., Elkton. Intro class is free. Then pay $10 per class or buy five classes for $45. Classes are designed for new and experienced yogis. Contact class instructor Sarah Mester at smester@comcast.net.

IMPROVE MENTAL HEALTH, 7 p.m. at 229 E. Main St., Elkton. Panic, fear, anxiety, depression. Attend a free weekly meeting with Recovery International.

FREE LUNCH, 12 to 1 p.m. every Friday at Elkton Presbyterian Church, 209 E. Main St. provided by Elkton Community Kitchen. All are welcome. For more information contact elktoncommunitykitchen@gmail.com.

YOGA, 9 a.m. every Saturday at Gracies, 213 North St., Elkton. $5 per class. Community Yoga Class. For more info call 443-257-0743.

SMART RECOVERY, 10 to 11:30 a.m. at Janes UMC in Rising Sun. This meeting is for those recovering from the disease of addiction. This is an open support group that meets every Saturday.

CABIN FEVER, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Moore's Chapel UMC, 392 Blake Rd., Elkton. Dozens of outdoors-minded nonprofits will attend, including Freedom Hills Therapeutic Riding Program, Plumpton Park Zoo and Cecil County 4H (there are many, many more). The chapel's youth group will be selling lunch and refreshments to support their summer mission trip to South Dakota. For more information, contact Jane Bellmyer at 443-553-8420. Non-recurring.

SATURDAY EVENING SERVICE, 5 p.m. at Trinity Episcopal Church, 105 N. Bridge St., Elkton. Will recur every week at this time.

GOSPEL SINGING, 6 to 8 p.m. at Faith Baptist Church on Singerly Road in Elkton.

COFFE & CONVERSATION, 9:15 to 10:15 a.m. at Trinity Episcopal Church in Elkton. A special program of videos will be shown on Lenthen Sundays that features "An Introduction to Lent," "Lenten Christian Pilgrimages" and "The Stations of the Cross," with unique contemporary art. Recurs weekly until the end of Lent.

BALDWIN UMC, 9:15 a.m. service and Sunday school at Singerly Fire Hall in Elkton. Each Sunday until further notice.

PARISH SUNDAY SCHOOL, 9:45 a.m. at Zion UMC in Cecilton. Recurs weekly.

LOVE YOUR LIFE WORKSHOP, 10:30 a.m. at Gracies 213 North St., Elkton. Free. Every Sunday. An alternative to traditional Sunday morning churches, an open honest discussion of life and faith. Come to listen or participate and share your story. facebook.com/theloveyourlifeworkshop or 443-257-0743.

DEEPER LIFE CRUSADE 2017, starting at North East United Methodist Church with a potluck supper at 6 p.m., then a praise, worship and message at 7 p.m. With Revs. John Hobbs and Kenny Davis. The church is located at 308 S. Main St., North East. Call 410-287-2220 or office@northeastumc.org for more. Non-recurring after Wednesday.

DEEPER LIFE CRUSADE 2017, starting at North East United Methodist Church with a feedback session at 9:30 a.m., then a praise, worship and message at 7 p.m. With Revs. John Hobbs and Kenny Davis. The church is located at 308 S. Main St., North East. Call 410-287-2220 or office@northeastumc.org for more. Non-recurring after Wednesday.

DEBTORS ANONYMOUS, 6 to 7 p.m. at Janes United Methodist Church, 213 N. Walnut St., Rising Sun. Debtors Anonymous is a fellowship of men and women who help each other solve their problems with debt. DA is a 12-step program. There are no dues or fees. Contact Martha H. 443-350-1483.

NARANON MEETING, 7 p.m. at Bethel Lutheran Church, North East. Hope and Peace every Monday. Contact Lorri: 443-250-0909.

WOMENS NA MEETING, 7 p.m. at Bethel Lutheran Church, North East.

YOGA 4 SENIORS, 9 to 10 a.m. at Painted Turtle Arts Studio, 13 N. Main St., North East. Pre-registration is required. Call instructor Laura Hannan at 1-540-421-0296. $12 per class if all six are pre-paid or $15 drop-in.

SENIOR MEETING, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Tuesday at St. Stephens Church in Earleville. Anyone 50 or older is invited to attend. No registration or member fee. Lunch is served for $5. Come for the fellowship, speaker, see what events we are planning. Questions call 443-207-2011.

MENS YOGA CLASS, 11 a.m. at Painted Turtle Arts Studio, 13 N. Main St., North East. Pre-registration is required. Call instructor Laura Hannan at 1-540-421-0296. $12 per class if all six are pre-paid or $15 drop-in.

COMMUNITY ARTS AND CRAFTS, 1 p.m. free instruction at St. Stephens Church, 10 Glebe Road, Earleville. Ongoing drawing and painting classes for beginner or serious artists. bspelled123@gmail.com. http://www.communityartandcrafts.com. Call Jerry at 410-275-2945.

TOPS, 5:30 p.m. at Rosebank UMC, Rising Sun. Nonprofit weight-loss support group, meets weekly. $6 monthly fee. First meeting free. topsrosebank@gmail.com.

NARANON, 7 p.m. every Tuesday at Church of God, 1121 Singerly Road, Elkton. A Nar-Anon adult support meeting for those with addicts in the family.

MEDITATION, 7 p.m. every Tuesday with Three Roots Wellness at Painted Turtle Arts Studio, 13 N. Main St., North East. Learn basics of meditation practices and how to make it useful in your everyday life. Donation based. Registration is required email to angela@threerootswellness.com.

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Religion and Spirituality Events: 3/8 - Cecil Whig

Good riddance, NDC copycats! – GhanaWeb

Posted on March 8, 2017 by Danzig

Feature Article of Wednesday, 8 March 2017

Columnist: Okoampa-Ahoofe, Kwame

NDC flag

By: Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe, Jr., Ph.D.

Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta says that when the National Democratic Congress parliamentary minority members shoved up placards calling his 2017 maiden budgetary presentation 419, a rather intellectually and morally regressive evocation of a Nigerian military-era edict dealing with fraudulent commercial acts of criminality, he felt even more emboldened and righteous in his cause because the figure 419 reminded him of the Biblical scripture of Philippians Chapter 4 Verse 19, which tersely and poignantly reads as follows: And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. Now, that is a creatively constructive way to wear down ones cynical political opponents: meet infantile imbecility with wisdom and spiritual enlightenment.

This is likely what might have provoked Mr. Kwesi Pratt, the faux-socialist National Democratic Congress propagandist, to bitterly complain to the host of an Accra-based radio station that he was annoyed by Mr. Ofori-Attas constant references to Biblical scriptures during his budgetary reading in Parliament recently. Well, I just finished reading the full-text of the Finance Ministers 2017 Asempa or God News budgetary statement and find absolutely no untoward or inordinate references to the Christian Bible in it, other than during the first few opening paragraphs of the same.

At any rate, this is a patent non-issue and squarely reflective of the sour-grape attitude of a political sponge and a veritable parasite whose political and economic feeding trough and paymaster just got electorally jack-booted out of the Flagstaff House. Besides, if he were that particular about Ghanas being declared a secular democracy, Mr. Pratt would have vigorously campaigned to have the name of God removed from our National Anthem. But what is even quite remarkable about the undeniably uncouth flashing of placards labeling Mr. Ofori-Attas budgetary presentation a 419 scheme, by people who ought to know better, regards the fact that we are reliably informed that the Haruna Iddrisu Group of Certified Political Charlatans had earlier on come to a mutual agreement with their parliamentary majority counterparts that they were going to avoid precisely this act of gross infantility.

Knowing their past gross misbehavior in the august House on such occasions, especially when the New Patriotic Party operatives held the reins of governance, I wouldnt have expected any better, let alone waste precious time striking any sort of a gentlemans agreement with these notorious pathological scofflaws and political scam-artists. We must also underscore, in no uncertain terms, that notwithstanding the fact of Vice-President Mahamudu Bawumias being a bona fide Muslim, albeit a very liberal Muslim, Ghana is a predominantly Christian nation whose Christian majority are intent on maximizing our inalienable right to free-speech without any let or hindrance, just as we have solemnly respected and staunchly supported the Vice-Presidents right to the democratic expression of his religious beliefs. For at the end of the day, both major religions are rooted in Judaic moral principles and cultural values. Two faces of the same coin, fundamentally speaking.

We also know Mr. Pratt to be a self-proclaimed socialist and a diehard Nkrumacrat; and we absolutely do not begrudge him his inalienable right to confess, profess and espouse his faux-Marxian political beliefs. By the same token, Mr. Pratt would be grossly remiss to suppose that he could lecture the Christocentric likes of Mr. Ofori-Atta on how to rhetorically conduct themselves privately or publicly, even in the august House of Parliament. I also dont know about what Mr. Pratt thinks about Speaker Michael Aaron Oquaye, the distinguished legal scholar and retired Dean of the University of Ghanas Faculty of Law, who is also an ordained evangelical Christian priest.

And would Mr. Pratt, himself a Presbyterian by baptism and schooling, have felt annoyed if Mr. Ofori-Atta had presented an extensive disquisition on Marxian Economics or Nkrumaism before the plenary session of the august House? I have said this many times before and, here again, reiterate the same: that if any of the key operatives of the main opposition National Democratic Congress and their media shills want Ghanaians to take them seriously, they would have to put on their thinking caps, if they really have any, and begin debating their majority counterparts of the ruling New Patriotic Party on the issues, rather than acting and behaving facilely like some disgruntled teenagers who just got their Junior Drivers License taken away from them by one of their parents.

By: Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe, Jr., Ph.D. English Department, SUNY-Nassau Garden City, New York E-mail: [emailprotected] *Visit my blog at: kwameokoampaahoofe.wordpress.com Ghanaffairs

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Good riddance, NDC copycats! - GhanaWeb

Ani Choying Drolma: Nepal’s rock star nun | GantNews.com – Gant Daily

Posted on March 8, 2017 by Danzig

Ani Choying Drolma was not stabbed as a teenager by her Tibetan sculptor father in one of his many fits of rage.

That, says Drolma, is an urban legend which has been amplified during the two decades in which she has been telling her incredible story to journalists around the world.

Not that her biography needs exaggeration.

Born in Nepal to Tibetan refugee parents, Drolmas rise from teenage nun to international music star is the stuff of fairytales. Her prolific philanthropic work and subsequent role as Nepals first UNICEF national ambassador has earned her comparisons to Indias Mother Theresa.

But with 12 pop albums to her name Drolma is arguably a more unusual, groundbreaking figure.

Unmarried and child-free, when Drolma, 45, drives herself around the chaotic capital of Kathmandu in her saffron robes honking her horn as her songs blast from the radio, she is defying just about every expectation of women in Nepal.

I have been the most revolutionary person I can think of in my society, Drolma tells CNN.

She isnt exaggerating.

Tough beginnings

Drolmas father did hit her.

Small things irritated him and hed beat me and my mum, she says. Today, I see it as a disease he was suffering from. But in those days we all suffered because of it.

Aged 10, full of anger and fear, Drolma resolved to become a Buddhist nun in Nepal, nuns are not permitted to marry or have children.

I thought, If I grow up and get married that man will treat me the same way. Domestic violence is a big problem in our society.

Her parents were approving of Drolmas decision our cultural belief is that when someone becomes a nun they are going to live their life more positively and three years later she was accepted by a local monastery.

Without hesitation, Drolma shed her hair, everyday clothing and birth name, Dolma Tsekyid.

When I first got (my head) shaved I felt so free, I could feel the breeze.

Nagi Gompa monastery was located on a mountaintop in the Kathmandu Valley, and to Drolma it was paradise.

The whole environment there was beautiful. Everyone was kind, and I never got beaten, or had to carry my two younger brothers on my back. Or do the cleaning.

I was given my childhood back.

In Nepal, where 37% of girls are married before age 18, according to Human Rights Watch, Drolma had bought herself valuable time.

Outside influence

Foreigners would often visit Nagi Gompa seeking spiritual enlightenment.

In 1993, American record producer Steve Tibbetts turned up at the hilltop retreat with his wife to learn meditation under Tulku Urgyen, who he described as a greatmeditation master and Drolmas main teacher.

On their last night, a translator at the monastery asked Tibbetts to record Drolma, then aged 22, singing.

She sort of rolled her eyes Whois this guy with his cassette recorder? took a deep breath, and sang somelines from Leymon Tendrel. Iwasamazed, dumbfounded, Tibbetts says.

So dumfounded, in fact, that Tibbetts forgot to press record.

Theres a quality in her singing that cutsto the heart of what its like to be human, he says.That quality, that tonality, justgoes right to the centerof your chest.

Tibbetts returned a few days later and captured Drolmas voice. On returning to the US, he set her haunting Buddhist hymns to a guitar track, and sent the recording to Nepal, suggesting the pair collaborate on an album.

Without calculation, I just did it, Drolma says, and later on it created some kind of a miracle in my life.

While Drolma attributes her big break to Tibbetts, he is adamant the opposite is true.

Just to be clear, she wouldnt be denied, he tells CNN, via email from the United States. If I hadnt have met her and started her off, she would have found someone else.

The singing nun

The first album was called Cho.

The vocals were recorded at the nunnery in Nepal, and Tibbetts brought on board the legendary American hit maker Joe Boyd, who has worked with Pink Floyd, Nick Drake and Billy Bragg, to produce the album.

Cho sold well although Drolma refuses to disclose the figures; I dont think about numbers and a U.S. tour was planned.

In a country where getting a visa to travel is described by many citizens as being nearly impossible a Nepal passport ranked 98th in the world, alongside Sudan, Iran and Eritrea in the 2016 Visa restrictions Index, which measures how many countries citizens can travel to visa-free Drolma was given permission to enter the US for a 22-city tour.

I had two other nuns on stage with me, along with Steve and a guy on sound. We had a huge bus and we toured, she remembers. In New York we played (Brooklyn venue) the Knitting Factory. The fans were all Americans, there wasnt a Nepali face in sight.

Along with fast food, American women were a culture shock.

I was surprised by the independence and confidence the women there carried, she says. They all drove. They were educated. I was inspired.

Back in Nepal, Drolma bought a computer, installed an internet connection at the monastery, and opened a bank account.

More money, less problems

The financial resources from the tour gave Drolma the chance to realize her dreams.

In 1998, she founded the Nuns Welfare Foundation (NWF).

Two years later, she opened the free Arya Tara boarding school in Kathmandu, which today is home to almost 80 young nuns from poor backgrounds in Nepal and India, and run entirely by female nuns.

Unlike at the monastery where Drolma grew up, in addition to religious teachings, the girls receive lessons in English, Nepali, mathematics, science, and computing subjects to prepare them for careers. Many have gone on to higher education.

Some of the nuns later quit being nuns, she explains. At that point, a secular education helps them survive a modern life.

I remember (receiving) a letter from Ani after our first tour, says Tibbetts. She said shed realized that there was a chance to make some real money on the road and fulfill her dream of creating a school for young girls in difficult circumstances. She told me she wanted to do more tours.

In reality, Tibbetts thought she was probably more interested in getting a jeep, or a flat somewhere in Kathmandu.

He was wrong. She did exactly what she said she was going to do, he remembers, and she smashed through a lot of barriers in the process:religious, cultural, patriarchal.

Im the first nun in Nepal sending children in nuns robes into normal colleges, Drolma tells CNN. Theyve never had that type of encouragement before.

Fame and fortune

Over the next decade, Drolma made nearly an album a year: in 2002, her and Tibbetts even recorded in a cave believed to have once been home to 8th century Buddhist guruPadmasambhava.

She has performed around the world including to an audience of 20,000 people in Tibet last Easter counts superstars like Tina Turner and Tracy Chapman among her fans, and her biography Singing For Freedom, first published in French in 2008, has been translated into 15 languages.

Drolma has used her position to benefit those less fortunate than herself.

In 2010, the NWF opened the Aarogya Foundation, which provides medical services to those with kidney problems and has successfully lobbied the government to provide free dialysis to poor people in Nepal.

I lost my mother to kidney disease, Drolma says. When she was suffering I took her to India twice, but I still couldnt keep her alive.

In 2014, Drolma was made Nepals first UNICEF national ambassador. In a country where more than 33.9% of children in rural areas and nearly 9.1% in urban settlements are doing some kind of economic work, she was assigned to protect young Nepalis from violence.

Brave nun

In 2011, Drolma showed her willingness to challenge the establishment when she offered sanctuary to a 21-year-old nun who had reportedly been gang raped and ostracized from her religious community.

She is a human being like everybody else. This could have happened to anybody, Drolma said at the time.

It could have happened to me, to my sister. The most important thing is to treat her like a human being and then later we can look into the matter of whether she is still a nun.

If Drolma risked being ostracized by speaking out she didnt seem to care.

She had long been criticized in conservative Nepal for appearing in liberal Western magazines like Marie Claire, her love of Hindi films and her global pop career all deemed inappropriate for a nun.

As a nun, Drolma says, Im supposed to be living in a very limited way. Nuns are not supposed to do this, to go there, to say that. They even think a nun should not sing.

Yet I am someone who has come out and done everything to shock people.

She pauses, and moderates her comments slightly: I mean, I never sing tragic love songs, they are all meaningful spiritual hymns.

In a patriarchal country, Drolma is unique in having achieved total independence. In Kathmandu she lives in her own flat, drives her own car, and has a successful career.

I have never regretted my decision to become a nun, she says, with confidence. Yes, I missed out on the complicated married life. But some married women seem to regret not being able to go here or say this.

For me, Im completely enjoying my freedom. In fact, I am grateful for my childhood, even for my father.

It has all been a blessing in disguise.

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Ani Choying Drolma: Nepal's rock star nun | GantNews.com - Gant Daily

Getting real on resolutions for 2017 – Big Issue North

Posted on March 8, 2017 by Danzig

For Christmas 1991 my parents bought me a diary. It was an important looking hardback number with The Dahl Diary 1992 scrawled across the top in Quentin Blakes familiar style and a drawing of the author with some of his beloved characters. The character I identified with most was Matilda, a bookworm whose talents are woefully undervalued by her mean, TV-obsessed parents. On reflection this does seem fairly deluded of my eight-year-old self when evidently her parents didnt think she was bookish enough, or they might not have encouraged their daughter to self-reflect in an expensive book with characters from books on the cover.

There, surrounded by discarded wrapping paper, satsumas and Sindy dolls, I made my very first new years resolution: to keep a diary.

I set to it right away. I dont know if I realised that diary-keepers tend to jot down experiences as they happen but I shunned this more conventional diarising in favour of filling in The Dahl Diary 1992 completely on 25 December 1991. See, I told you I was unusually clever.

In particular I remember leafing through and every few pages pencilling in Be nice to Daniel.

Dan (I used his full name because writing in a book felt Very Important) is my eldest brother.

So my first new years resolution was a great success, if you accept my interpretation of this task as one 10 minute job undertaken between scoffing chocolate coins. Presumably I was being a complete shit to Daniel, within a few hours though.

I have never heard of a (valid) new years resolution that worked out. They seem wholly designed as a tool of self-flagellation for when you fail to lose weight/quit Candy Crush/do something uncharacteristically worthy but boring and time-consuming every single day (say, being nice to Daniel).

This year I have come up with a solution. That is not to have any new years resolutions. This probably doesnt sound that odd but the next sentence might A Buddhist monk I met in Keighley suggested what I might do instead: If you dont like something in your life you can change that instantly. Just change your mind.

I think he might be on to something. Scientific studies have proved that we literally see something differently when we are in an optimistic mood to when we are pissed off. An American experiment found that baseball players perceive the ball to be larger when theyre hitting well and smaller when theyre hitting badly. Reality and our perception of it are way off since our perception is more flexible than Louis Smith in a wind tunnel.

No one can really be objective because its all based on your own subjective experience and your mood at any given time. Buddhism and neuroscience agree on this one there is no fixed self. We can be several selves all at once in our own and other peoples minds: sister, daughter, fat, thin, interesting, dull and so on. Its really just a question of perception. The same goes for something so apparently fixed and tangible as your environment. Some might consider Keighley a boring little town with nothing going for it; some might see it as a large, well-connected and friendly place with a surprising sideline in spiritual enlightenment. Many will have had both perceptions at different times.

Our reality only exists to us. Someone thinks youre fine as you are somewhere even if that is just in your mind.

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Getting real on resolutions for 2017 - Big Issue North

Coldest Spot in Universe Should Soon Be Aboard International Space Station – Space.com

Posted on March 8, 2017 by Danzig

The International Space Station (ISS) will soon host the coldest spot in the entire universe, if everything goes according to plan.

This August, NASA plans to launch to the ISS an experiment that will freeze atoms to only 1 billionth of a degree above absolute zero more than 100 million times colder than the far reaches of deep space, agency officials said.

The instrument suite, which is about the size of an ice chest, is called the Cold Atom Laboratory (CAL). It consists of lasers, a vacuum chamber and an electromagnetic "knife" that together will slow down gas particles until they are almost motionless. (Remember that temperature is just a measurement of how fast atoms and molecules are moving.) [Watch a video about the CAL]

If successful, CAL could help unlock some of the universe's deepest mysteries, project leaders said.

"Studying these hypercold atoms could reshape our understanding of matter and the fundamental nature of gravity," Robert Thompson, a CAL project scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, said in a statement. "The experiments we'll do with the Cold Atom Lab will give us insight into gravity and dark energy some of the most pervasive forces in the universe."

Artist's illustration of an atom chip for use by NASA's Cold Atom Laboratory (CAL), which will use lasers to cool atoms to ultracold temperatures. CAL is scheduled to launch to the space station in August 2017.

Attempts to create Bose-Einstein condensates on Earth have been only partially successful to date. Because everything on Earth is subject to the pull of gravity, atoms and molecules tend to move toward the ground. This means the effects can only be seen for fractions of a second. In space, where the ISS is in perpetual freefall, CAL could preserve these structures for 5 to 10 seconds, NASA officials said. (Future versions of CAL may be able to hold on for hundreds of seconds, if technology improves as expected, officials added.)

The researchers hope CAL observations will lead to the improvement of several technologies, such as quantum computers, atomic clocks for spacecraft navigation and sensors of various types including some that could help detect dark energy. The current model of the universe suggests we can only see about 5 percent of what's out there. The remainder is split between dark matter (27 percent) and dark energy (68 percent).

"This means that even with all of our current technologies, we are still blind to 95 percent of the universe," JPL's Kamal Oudrhiri, CAL deputy project manager, said in the same statement. "Like a new lens in Galileo's first telescope, the ultra-sensitive cold atoms in the Cold Atom Lab have the potential to unlock many mysteries beyond the frontiers of known physics."

CAL, which was developed at JPL, is scheduled to fly to the ISS this August aboard SpaceX's robotic Dragon cargo capsule. Final testing is underway ahead of CAL's shipment to the launch pad in Cape Canaveral, Florida, NASA officials said.

Follow Elizabeth Howell @howellspace, or Space.com @Spacedotcom. We're also on Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.

Coldest Spot in Universe Should Soon Be Aboard International Space Station - Space.com

Hatch to host space station downlink chat for valley schools – The Herald Journal

Posted on March 8, 2017 by Danzig

In a unique opportunity this coming spring, Cache Valley public school students will be able to speak a U.S. astronaut currently aboard the International Space Station.

On May 19 at Utah State University, public school students interested in science, technology, engineering and math will be able to ask questions for approximately 20 minutes via video conference with NASA Astronaut Jack Fischer.

The event was announced in a news release by U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatchs office. The senior Republican senator worked with the Space Dynamics Lab and Utah State University to develop a proposal for the event and NASA approved it, the release states.

Story continues below video

NASA conducts no more than three In-flight Education Downlinks each year, so this is indeed a rare opportunity for students throughout Utah, wrote Hatch spokesman Matt Whitlock in an email to The Herald Journal. Senator Hatch hopes that, through this event and other pre-event activities, students will be excited about STEM education and STEM careers.

Eric Packenham is director and principal investigator of USU STARS! GEAR UP, a program designed to help students prepare for college.

Packenham talked about what he hopes students get out of participating in the space station downlink event.

Who knows? These students could be the ones leading us to missions on Mars or other explorations in the future, he said. We want to make sure the students have their curiosity piqued and have the opportunity to ask those burning questions about things they want to know more about.

Whitlock said NASA TV will livestream the event, so it will be available for viewing by anyone who has access to the internet or NASA TV.

The spokesman for Hatch also said there will be coordination with schools and stakeholders so that high school and middle school students across the state will also be able to view the event.

More details about this event will be announced closer to the scheduled date of the downlink.

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Hatch to host space station downlink chat for valley schools - The Herald Journal

Chanel Space Station Fall 2017 Show Paris Fashion Week – Chanel … – HarpersBAZAAR.com

Posted on March 8, 2017 by Danzig

You can always count on an out-of-this-world runway set at Chanel but today, Karl Lagerfeld quite literally took things out of this world at Paris Fashion Week. For its Fall 2017 show, Chanel created its own space station inside Paris's iconic Grand Palais and it was nothing short of epic.

The show was heralded by a life-size Chanel rocket ship stationed at the center of the runway, which made for the perfect backdrop to Lagerfeld's futuristic, galactic-inspired set.

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Below, here's what to know from the #ChanelGroundControl show:

1) For the finale, the Chanel rocket actually blasted offsmoke includedfollowing a dramatic 10-second countdown. Models lined up and Elton John's "Rocket Man" played (which I imagine is the only song NASA uses for takeoff as well) as the Chanel branded rocket took off.

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2) Chanel ambassadors Pharrell Williams, Cara Delevingne and Lily-Rose Depp sat next to each other front row.

Getty

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Chanel Space Station Fall 2017 Show Paris Fashion Week - Chanel ... - HarpersBAZAAR.com

Lightning mapper beams back first views from space – Spaceflight Now

Posted on March 8, 2017 by Danzig

A sensitive infrared camera mounted on NOAAs new GOES-16 weather satellite has captured its first astounding images of lightning flashes from a perch more than 22,000 miles (nearly 36,000 kilometers) out in space.

The first-of-its-kind imager can detect in-cloud, cloud-to-cloud and cloud-to-ground lightning strikes, giving weather forecasters an inventory of the location, frequency and intensity of lightning activity that could help warn the public of severe storms.

A video released Monday by NOAA shows a 30-second view of lightning activity in a severe storm complex Feb. 14 over southeast Texas. The green cross indicates the location of Houston, and the green lines illustrate the Gulf Coast.

The lightning flashes are overlaid on an image from GOES-16s primary camera, the Advanced Baseline Imager, which produces high-resolution infrared and visible pictures of cloud movements, storm tracks, tropical cyclones and smoke plumes.

GOES-16 is the first geostationary weather satellite to carry such an instrument, which is sensitive to lightning flashes day and night. Research satellites in lower orbits have flown with lightning cameras, and a lightning sensor launched to the International Space Station last month, but those detectors do not have the wide coverage of a high-altitude geostationary observatory.

NOAA says the lightning mapper on GOES-16, and aboard follow-on GOES satellites, will deliver data to weather forecasters within 20 seconds, offering near real-time snapshots of severe storm activity, often outpacing the availability of conventional satellite and radar imagery. The lightning instrument collects observations at 500 frames per second,distinguishing the location, intensity and horizontal propagation of individual strokes within each lightning flash, according to NOAA.

Lightning data currently incorporated into weather imagery and forecasts usually comes from ground-based detection networks.

GOES-16 launched on Nov. 19 from Cape Canaveral on-board a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket. Lockheed Martin manufactured the weather satellite the first in a new generation of NOAA weather sentinels and the Geostationary Lightning Mapper.

NOAA says GOES-16 will enter service by November after completing calibration and commissioning. The weather agency will announce in May whether GOES-16 will be stationed over the Pacific Ocean or the Atlantic Ocean.

Email the author.

Follow Stephen Clark on Twitter: @StephenClark1.

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Lightning mapper beams back first views from space - Spaceflight Now

Environmental sentinel launched from French Guiana – Spaceflight Now

Posted on March 8, 2017 by Danzig

The Vega rocket took off from the Guiana Space Center at 10:49 p.m. French Guiana time Monday. Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace Photo Optique Video du CSG G. Barbaste

A European environmental satellite rode a solid-fueled Vega launcher from a tropical spaceport at the edge of the Amazon jungle into polar orbit Monday night, adding a new eye in the sky to check on the health of crops and forests from space.

The Sentinel 2B Earth observation spacecraft, packaged inside the nose cone of the 98-foot-tall (30-meter) Vega booster, blasted off at 0149:24 GMT Tuesday (8:49:24 p.m. EST Monday) from the Guiana Space Center on the northern shore of South America.

Moments after clearing the launch pads four lightning towers, the Vegas first stage motor swiveled to steer the rocket on a trajectory north from the European-run space base, soaring over the Atlantic Ocean and passing east of the Lesser Antilles as its three Italian-made lower stages fired in quick succession.

A liquid-fueled fourth stage engine built in Ukraine fired two times to maneuver the 2,491-pound (1,130-kilogram) Sentinel 2B satellite into an on-target orbit around 488 miles (786 kilometers) above Earth.

The Vega rockets navigation computer aimed for a ground track tilted at approximately 98.5 degrees to the equator, a sun-synchronous orbit that will allow Sentinel 2B to image strips of territory at the same time each day.

Sentinel 2B separated from the Vega rockets upper stage around 58 minutes after liftoff.

Arianespace, the French company which manages Vega launch operations, declared the launch a success, making the Vega rocket nine-for-nine since its debut flight in February 2012.

Controllers at the European Space Operations Center in Darmstadt, Germany, established communications with Sentinel 2B as planned through a series of ground antennas in Australia, Antarctica and Alaska. The ground team verified the satellites health, and confirmed the crafts power-generating solar panel unfurled and began tracking the sun, a key step in stabilizing the observatory and readying it for tests and commissioning.

Built by Airbus Defense and Space, Sentinel 2B joins an identical twin satellite launched in June 2015 for the European Commissions Copernicus program, a multibillion-dollar network that will eventually consist of at least 15 spacecraft scanning the planet with radar, optical, infrared, microwave and laser instruments.

The comprehensive satellite fleet, coupled with sophisticated data processing equipment on the ground, will keep track of changes in Earths land surfaces, oceans, ice sheets and atmosphere.

The Sentinel 2 satellites provide the Copernicus programs optical component, specializing in mapping land surfaces, monitoring crops and forests, and detecting pollution in lakes, streams and coastal waters. Sentinel 2A and 2B are roughly analogous to the U.S. governments Landsat satellite series, but with the ability to image the entire planet at faster tempos, a characteristic known as revisit time.

Sentinel 2 is very unique, said Philippe Goudy, head of Earth observation projects at the European Space Agency. As we are changing the environment, we need to have more and more data about these changes we are putting on the environment. There is no similar mission that would give us the revisit, the coverage and the precision that Sentinel 2 will give us.

Sentinel 2Bs orbit is positioned 180 degrees away from Sentinel 2A, and the satellites together will see every point on the planet at least once every five days. The revisit time will be cut to around three days at Europes latitude, and as short as one day in parts of Scandinavia and Canada, according to Bianca Hoersch, ESAs Sentinel 2 mission manager.

The Sentinel 2B mission valued at more than $150 million when combining the cost of the satellite and the launch is the fifth Copernicus satellite to launch since deployments began in 2014.

With this launch we are taking another step toward advancing the Copernicus program, which is the most sophisticated Earth observation system in the world, said Jan Woerner, ESAs director general. And we are planning to add two more satellites to the constellation in the next months: with Sentinel 5P and Sentinel 3B.

Sentinel 2B will be fully operational in three or four months, according to ESA, which manages the Copernicus satellites for the European Commission, the European Unions executive body.

The observatorys camera can see in 13 colors, giving it the sensitivity to distinguish between plant types, vegetation health, leaf area and chlorophyl and water content. During each orbit, the camera will take images in swaths 180 miles (290 kilometers) wide, resolving blocks of land as small as around 30 feet (10 meters).

The main motivation behind this, obviously, is to keep track of how the landscape changes over time on a continental scale, said Mtys Rada, a scientist at the European Environment Information and Observation Network, part of the European Environment Agency, based in Budapest, Hungary. For example, urban sprawl at the expense of agricultural land, deforestation, things like that.

Thanks to the Sentinel missions, now we have the capacity to build entirely on European data inputs, and these maps can drive policies, function as a policy feedback, help spatial planning and decision-making, Rada said.

Like other Sentinel satellites, Sentinel 2B carries a high-speed laser communications terminal to link up with relay satellites in geostationary orbit, hastening the delivery of data to end users.

Anne Schucknecht, a scientist at the European Commissions Joint Research Center in Ispra, Italy, uses Sentinel satellite data in her work.

We monitor agriculture resources with satellite data aiming for early warning of droughts and crop failure, so that the responsible authorities can take action to prevent potential famine, Shucknecht said in an ESA interview. Just as were talking here, there is a severe drought ongoing in Somalia, and the most recent drought was just four years ago and cost the lives of 2,500 people. We use the satellite data to see where the cropland is, how the vegetation is developing, and then compare it to the long-term average so we can see if this season is going well or are there some problems.

For Somalia, we saw the first signs of the drought in October, and now as the season is finished, we know that there was crop failure in many parts of the country, she said. At the moment, we use moderate resolution data, so we can have a regional assessment, but if you wanted more higher-resolution data or information, you can use the Sentinel 2 data to even have field information.

We provide the maps and outlook for the future, and then the governments or other authorites can take action, Shucknecht said. With this timely information, in the end, lots of lives can be saved.

Next up for the Copernicus program is the launch of the Sentinel 5P satellite designed to monitor air quality and the ozone layer. It is currently scheduled to take off in June aboard a Russian Rockot vehicle.

More satellites will launch in the coming years to fill out the Copernicus constellation, and officials have already ordered replacements for some of the first-generation Sentinel observatories. For example, the Sentinel 2C and 2D satellites to take the place of Sentinel 2A and 2B will launch starting in 2021.

This goes far beyond admiring technological prowess because, after all, its not just art for arts sake, said Philippe Brunet, director of space policy, Copernicus and defense at the European Commission. Its not just to put stuff out into orbit, its in order to allow society to enjoy benefits, and if we take a look at the different challenges facing Europe climate change, security challenges, and perhaps in the future border monitoring issues I think that programs such as Copernicus will provide far more than just technical prowess.

Monday nights launch of Sentinel 2B was the third of up to 12 Arianespace missions planned this year.

Arianespaces next flight is scheduled for March 21, when a heavy-lift Ariane 5 rocket will loft a Brazilian government communications satellite and the Koreasat 7 video and television broadcasting station.

The next Vega launch is set for no earlier than August with a French-Israeli vegetation mapping satellite and an Israeli-built surveillance craft for the Italian military.

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Environmental sentinel launched from French Guiana - Spaceflight Now

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