#our chief health officer everybody

[stormy-river]

Transcripts from the Humanity Hotline 3

Third post in three days, I will probably slow down a bit after this. I'm glad people seem to be liking them, thanks everybody!

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Operator: "Hello, thank you for holding. My name is Mindy. What can I help you with today?"

Caller: "Hello, Mindy! I am [unintelligible hissing], but most humans call me Doc Mantis. I am the Chief Medical Officer on the ship, and we've had a few incidents recently regarding one of our newer humans."

O: "Alright. I must preface that I am not a medical professional, so depending on the situation I may be able to answer, or I may need to refer you to additional resources."

C: "Anything you can do will be appreciated. Approximately five days ago, shortly after the midday meal, one of our humans was brought in with a severe injury to one of their limbs caused by, what the others called, a 'dare.' The patient made many short, sharp sounds in response to this injury. Earlier today, all three humans on the ship were making the same sounds while observing something on one of the monitors. Medical staff immediately ordered them to come for check-ups and necessary medication, and I notified the captain to prohibit all media related to what they were watching."

O: "I'm guessing the humans weren't very happy about that?"

C: "That is correct. We followed protocol to protect the health of all crewmembers, yet the humans seemed angry that we removed the source of their pain. Is this common for humans? It seems unlikely that a single ship hired three humans that all have the same rare trait."

O: "That depends on the actual trait. I think I know what is happening, but I'd like to clarify something first. You described the noise as short and sharp, and I'm guessing that they were also repetitive? Do you mind if I try to recreate the noise?"

C: "By all means."

O: "Hahaha!"

C: "Yes! That is it."

O: "And the media they were watching, did it involve domesticated Earth animals?"

C: "Actually, I believe it did. One of the humans mentioned 'cats' after the incident."

O: "Great, I know what this is. The sound is called 'laughter', and is usually a sound of joy. Humans often laugh in response to humor, though occasionally someone will laugh when they are uncomfortable or in pain. It seems that one of your humans has a laugh response to pain, and the second incident with the cat videos was a normal humor response."

C: "So our response was unnecessary, and potentially lowered the humans' morale by prohibiting humorous media."

O: "Yeah, you should probably lift the ban on cat videos."

C: "I will notify the captain immediately. Thank you, Mindy."

O: "Happy to help."

End Transmission

[rjzimmerman]

Photo of my hand holding a baby desert tortoise at the Desert Tortoise Research Center at the Twenty-Nine Palms Marine Base in Twenty-Nine Palms, California:

Excerpt from this story from the LA Times:

A 3.5-million-acre swath of Mojave Desert between Ridgecrest and the Morongo Basin has received a new federal designation that advocates hope will help protect vulnerable wildlife like the Mojave desert tortoise.

The area has been named a sentinel landscape, a federally led effort to promote sustainable land-use practices near military installations.

“It’s built on partnerships,” said Phil Murray, encroachment manager for the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms, one of five installations that surrounds the newly designated land. “A lot of the conservation work that’s done around the Morongo Basin or Mojave Desert is coordinated through different federal agencies, NGOs and private partners.”

The goal is to encourage a more collaborative approach, and to streamline federal assistance to the various agencies, groups and people involved, he said.

The designation doesn’t change who owns or manages the land and does not come with dedicated funding, aside from money for an implementation plan and a coordinator, Murray said. But sentinel landscapes are prioritized for funding through certain grants, he said.

The coalition is expected to support conservation efforts such as erecting desert tortoise fencing to reduce vehicle strikes, creating wildlife crossings, propagating seeds and rehabilitating habitat, including areas that have burned in wildfires, Murray said.

The Mojave Desert Land Trust expects to do much work on the ground, including helping with seed collection and outreach, said Cody Hanford, deputy executive director and chief conservation officer of the nonprofit dedicated to protecting the California desert.

“It will elevate our projects, elevate our goals, which I think in the end will help them become more accomplishable,” he said.

Other partners include various federal and state agencies, conservation groups and San Bernardino County.

The expanse of desert that received the designation is ringed by the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, National Training Center Fort Irwin, Edwards Air Force Base, Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake and Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow.

It’s also the heart of desert tortoise habitat in California, said Ken MacDonald, board member at-large and former president of the Desert Tortoise Council conservation group, a partner in the new effort.

“There’s recreational interests, tribal interests, local community interests,” he said. “So coming together as a partnership, we thought, would make the coalition and the cooperation more effective than everybody chipping away and working independently in their own backyard.”

“And so really, it’s to manage the whole 3 million acres cooperatively and collaboratively and be more effective in conserving and recovering the desert tortoises, and that’s pretty much it,” he said. “Just team up and take care of these critters.”

The stretch of desert includes at least 40 other protected species, including the Western Joshua tree, which California has protected with a conservation plan, and the Mohave ground squirrel, which the state lists as threatened.

But perhaps none is as imperiled as the desert tortoise, which California recently listed as endangered.

The species is facing pressure from a number of fronts, MacDonald said. The slow-moving reptiles are vulnerable to being hit by cars. Development has carved up previously wide-open stretches of desert into parcels that are in some cases too small to allow for the breeding and genetic diversity needed to sustain their population health. Drought conditions meant the wildflowers they like to eat never grew some years, and invasive species outcompeted them in other years.

[culturehause]

PLANET FITNESS DEBUTS EMPOWERING PARTNERSHIP WITH MEGAN THEE STALLION, DUBBING HER AS 'MOTHER FITNESS' IN A DYNAMIC COLLABORATION FOR THE NEW YEAR

HAMPTON, N.H., Dec. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Planet Fitness, one of the largest and fastest-growing franchisors and operators of fitness centers with more members than any other fitness brand, announces today its partnership with three-time, Grammy award-winning artist, entrepreneur, philanthropist and health advocate Megan Thee Stallion. The bold new campaign features Megan as 'Mother Fitness,' encouraging gym goers to leave behind the barriers, including intimidation and high prices, commonly found at other gyms and join Planet Fitness, home of the Judgement Free Zone®, to find their Big Fitness Energy™.

As a musician who is constantly on the road, Megan prioritizes a fitness routine that's both mood enhancing and fun, especially as mind and body wellness takes center stage in the new year. The new partnership seamlessly connects the two worlds of music and exercise, which combine to create the ultimate energy boost and manifests in a multi-faceted fully integrated marketing campaign that includes: advertising and commercial spots, a unique AR filter, charitable co-branded merchandise and free in-app Planet Fitness workouts, inspired by Megan and her passion for fitness. To access the partnership in its entirety, visit MotherIsHere.com. 

Inspired by a fierce fitness goddess-like persona, Megan is the star of the brand's ad spots premiering nationwide today. Directed by filmmaker Calmatic, the spot captures her as she senses negative gym behavior and vanquishes it by harnessing the power of the Judgement Free Zone®, a feel-good environment that's both rewarding and supporting.

In addition, Planet Fitness and Megan have joined forces to create a co-branded exclusive merchandise line available online at the Planet Fitness store website, with all proceeds benefiting the Pete & Thomas Foundation, the non-profit organization Megan founded that focuses on uplifting and assisting women, children, senior citizens, and underserved communities in Houston, Texas and across the world through education, housing, health and wellness.

The limited-edition line includes:

Crew neck sweatshirts that proudly declare Big Fitness Energy™ for Everybody (-ody-ody)

Bucket hats and water bottles emblazoned with 'Real Hot Girl Fit'

Sticker sheets

Megan shared, "Working out is such an important part of my routine, so this partnership with Planet Fitness genuinely embodies my personal values. We want to encourage everyone to prioritize their physical and mental health heading into the New Year, so they can reach new heights in 2024 and continue to grow into the best version of themselves."

Planet Fitness is once again a presenting sponsor of the Times Square New Year's Eve celebration, and to kick off the partnership, Megan will be the first performance of the new year on the Planet Fitness stage in Times Square at this year's "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2024" airing on ABC.

"Music plays a huge role in any fitness routine, so Planet Fitness is thrilled to be teaming up with Megan Thee Stallion to break down the barriers of fitness, help everyone focus on their fitness journeys, the 'Judgement Free' way, and channel their Big Fitness Energy™," said Jamie Medeiros, Chief Brand Officer at Planet Fitness. "Megan Thee Stallion celebrates all the values of Planet Fitness through her dedication to physical and mental wellness, plus her powerful message of body positivity, which makes her an incredible partner for our brand."

Planet Fitness offers extremely low prices and a variety of benefits, including a hassle-free environment, brand name cardio and strength equipment, fully equipped locker rooms, flat screen televisions and much more. To help jumpstart fitness goals, join Planet Fitness with a limited-time offer* from Dec. 30 – Jan. 12 for $0.24 down and no commitment.

The free Planet Fitness App is also available to members and non-members alike and puts hundreds of on-demand digital exercises in your pocket – including workouts ranging from cardio, to yoga, to strength and more. Beginning today, anyone can access exclusive workout content inspired by Megan herself, via the PF App – follow along at home, or at a local Planet Fitness.

[ear-worthy]

Three Ear-Worthy Podcasts: Crow's Feet; No Place Like Home; Sound Influence

Crow's Feet: Life As We Age December podcast episodesannounced CROW'S FEET: LIFE AS WE AGE offers listeners two December Podcasts featuring the Author of "Two Envelopes" Rusty Roman on December 11, and Dale Atkins, relationship expert and author, on authentic kindness and aging on December 25.

 Rusty Rosman spent years helping her parents and in-laws as they aged. She saw many of their friends and family conflicted over final arrangements. She encouraged her parents to write down their wishes for their funerals, mourning periods, and belongings that weren’t covered in their legal documents. From this experience, Rosman’s book, “Two Envelopes,” was born, which contains helpful advice for making the heartbreaking experience of a loved one’s passing easier to navigate. Melinda Blau hosts this important discussion on the December 11 “Crow’s Feet: Life As We Age” podcast.

On December 25, join host Jan M. Flynn and her guest, licensed psychologist, author of seven books, and relationship expert, Dale Atkins, as they discuss kindness,  what authentic kindness means, and how it can show up in deeper and richer ways as we age.

These podcasts are part of a series featuring Crow’s Feet writers and others who talk about their experiences with aging. The series premiered on June 15, 2022. Look for the “Crow’s Feet” podcast on YouTube, Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. New episodes are released on the second and fourth Wednesday of each month.

*************************************************

No Place like Home Podcast Premieres

 Arts for EveryBody launched a new podcast No Place Like Home narrated by award-winning spoken word, performer, writer and librettist, Marc Bamuthi Joseph.

 No Place Like Home is the story of one of the largest public art campaigns in American History: Arts For Everybody. On July 27th, 2024, 18 communities across the country staged simultaneous performances hoping to answer one big question: can art help heal our divided nation? 

This documentary podcast goes inside these communities, speaking with artists, leaders, and public health experts to learn how they are using art to transform society, with surprising results. 

The first episode has been released and dives into Arts for EveryBody in Phillips County, Arkansas - check it out HERE or wherever you listen to podcasts. New episodes will drop weekly on Wednesdays. 

*********************************************

 Sound Influence four-part podcast on the Art & Soul of Puerto Rico

Talkhouse and Atlas Obscura have launched a brand-new podcast Sound Influence: The Art and Soul of Puerto Rico, a celebration of Puerto Rico’s power to inspire. This four-part series pairs stories from some of the Island’s most exciting musicians, including Los Rivera Destino, Pachyman, and Andrea Cruz, with major artists outside of music, such as Hollywood film director Miguel Arteta, Oscar-nominated screenwriter Jose Rivera, author Jaquira Diaz, and legendary EGOT Rita Moreno. The project was produced in partnership with Discover Puerto Rico, the official destination marketing organization of the Island. “Our goal with this project was to produce a new kind of audio portrait using field recordings, sound design, and original composition to create a deeper intellectual understanding and emotional connection with Puerto Rico,” said Doug Baldinger, Chief Content Officer at Atlas Obscura. “With the ultimate goal of encouraging listeners to visit and experience it for themselves.” Puerto Rico has long been a hub of passion, culture and creativity, influencing artists across the globe. Through conversations with some of the Island’s most famous and talented artists, listeners will get to know Puerto Rico’s incredible towns, cities, beaches, rainforests, mountains, bars, and dance clubs that not only shaped their work but ultimately influenced global culture. Listeners will hear how places across the Island – from San Juan to El Yunque, from Ciales to Vieques – played a crucial role in the creation of their art. Their words are accompanied by archival songs, innovative sound design, and original music, creating a memorable and distinctive listening experience that will evoke the beauty and vividness of Puerto Rico for listeners everywhere. “At Discover Puerto Rico, we believe our Island is a living canvas, painted with the vibrant strokes of our culture, creativity, and passion,” said Leah Chandler, Chief Marketing Officer of Discover Puerto Rico. “‘Sound Influence: The Art and Soul of Puerto Rico’ offers an extraordinary journey, inviting listeners to immerse themselves in the stories and sounds that pulse through our streets and landscapes. This podcast beautifully captures the spirit and artistry that thrive in every corner of Puerto Rico, showcasing the authentic essence of our Island.”

[mariacallous]

NEW YORK -- New York City Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Philip Banks III is among the latest members of Mayor Eric Adams' inner circle to step down.

His departure comes amid a shakeup at City Hall and multiple federal investigations into the mayor's administration. Sources tell CBS News New York's Political Reporter Marcia Kramer three other officials are also leaving: Rana Abbasova, who has been terminated, and Winnie Greco and Mohamed Bahi, who have both resigned.

Banks' attorney, Benjamin Brafman, said in a statement Monday federal authorities informed them he is not a target of their investigation and "nothing about his resignation changes that fact."

"He sat down with me around about six months ago and stated that, 'Look, I'm looking to transition, Eric.' And I said, 'Listen, we've got a couple of things in the pipeline. Can you please hold on and get them done?' And he was willing to do that," Adams said Monday in an interview with NY1. "A long-time great public servant -- from the chief of department to the deputy mayor of public safety, all the initiatives, and even the last initiative he's doing with removing the ghost cars off our streets. I wish my good friend well."

Banks was appointed deputy mayor for public safety in January 2022. He previously served 28 years with the NYPD, becoming chief of department before stepping down in 2014. 

Abbasova worked in the mayor's international affairs office and has reportedly been cooperating with the feds after sources said they searched her home last fall. Greco, a former Adams fundraiser who served as the mayor's director of Asian affairs, also had her home searched this spring. Bahi was a senior liaison with the community affairs unit.

"Both Winnie Greco and Mohamed Bahi today tendered their resignations. We thank them for their service to the city," a City Hall spokesperson said in a statement.

Banks among Adams' administrators raided by the feds

Philip Banks III is the brother of Schools Chancellor David Banks, who said last month he would retire at the end of the calendar year and then later announced he would actually be leaving in mid October. 

Philip and David Banks had their phones seized by federal agents on Sept. 4, along with David Banks' now-wife Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright, who also plans to resign, according to reports. Philip and David Banks' other brother, Terence Banks, was also visited by investigators. 

Adams has not commented on reports Wright allegedly plans to step down, only saying personnel changes are done in an organized manner.

Several other key members of the mayor's administration have stepped down in the weeks following the raids, including former NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban, senior advisor Timothy Pearson, Health Commissioner Ashwin Vasan and Chief Counsel Lisa Zornberg.

"No one stays in government forever. People transition in and out," Adams has said.  

David Birdsell, provost and senior vice president of academic affairs at Kean University, said the mass exodus from the Adams administration is likely based on many factors.

"Yes, people do move on. Even in the squeakiest-cleanest administrations, you have people as you move toward the last year of an administration seeking to exit before everybody seeks to exit," Birdsell said. "That's, of course, what's not happening here. We have a mayor who is eligible to run for reelection and he's going to face an uphill battle."

Adams was indicted last month on federal charges of bribery, conspiracy and soliciting campaign contributions from foreign nationals. He pleaded not guilty and has maintained his innocence and his ability to continue running the city.

"The question is can he put together a team and remain persuasively in charge of that team, arguing a vision for outcomes in the city that he can see through to term, and right now all of those questions are very much in doubt," Birdsell said.

So far, no one else has been charged with a crime, but the feds said it is "quite likely" they will file a superseding indictment, which could include more charges against the mayor or other defendants. 

[module9]

AI-Powered Healthcare Accessibility Transformation: In HealthWave’s Vision the CTO

I am the Chief Technology Officer of an emerging healthcare company HealthWave, and I am honored to lay out our strategy, proposing to use artificial intelligence (AI) to solve one of the modern society’s most pressing issues – a lack of affordable and efficient healthcare. Today, we live in an information society and the amount of data is increasing constantly, therefore, support of information storage and processing and data analysis is crucial. It is at HealthWave that we seek to employ blockchain, big data, and artificial intelligence in order to bring justice in the process and effectiveness in the sphere of healthcare.

Diagnostic is one of the most promising fields of Artificial Intelligence application in healthcare. By applying the big data mechanisms and decision-making trees, it is possible to review great amounts of medical information to identify patterns and predict diseases at early stages. For instance, AI may be trained on features such as symptoms that precede diseases like diabetes and cancer from medical images and patients’ EHRs. This helps in early treatments and improved patient health since diagnosis takes little time and is accurate.

Big data is critical for our objective because it enables the examination of various datasets of diverse origin, including PHD, genomic information, and EHRs. It allows for the integration of these statistics for the formulation of individual treatment programs for the patients in question. Artificial intelligence and big data applied to personalized medicine looks at the individuals’ genomic characteristics, the individual’s daily routine and his medical history in order to tailor made and more accurate treatment. This approach reduces guesswork interventions, thus reducing costs for healthcare while at the same time positively enhancing a patient’s experience.

Some examples of issues that can be vital in this sphere are data security and protection of patients’ personal information. To address these concerns, we are implementing blockchain technology to our site. Blockchain contributes to data security and custody by providing decentralised and immutable records of the patients’ data in the medical dataset. The patient data will belong to the patient concerned and doctors, nurses, and any other authorized personnel will access the data as may be necessary. Transparency breeds confidence and increases exchange of more extensive medical data which are requisite for ideal AI studies and patients’ efficient treatments.

At HealthWave the goal is to reduce the accessibility gap in health care. So, there is the idea that underprivileged citizens can be targeted and provided with high-quality, remote healthcare services with the help of AI telemedicine solutions. Through the appointment scheduling, patient classification, and the initial consultations offered by AI chatbots and virtual assistants, the burden on the healthcare facilities is not compounded and ensuring that everybody reaches for their appointment on time receives their care on time.

In summary, it is rather possible to state that the application of blockchain, big data, and AI is capable of renewing the entire healthcare system. All these technologies are employed at HealthWave as our top core competency to strive and develop a better healthcare system that’s easily accessible, efficient, and patient centered. Early diagnosis, individualized therapy, as well as safe data exchange can create significant value, both for the patient’s outcome and regarding the availability of healthcare services.

[jcmarchi]

Remembering Chasity Nunez, a shining star at MIT Health

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/remembering-chasity-nunez-a-shining-star-at-mit-health/

Remembering Chasity Nunez, a shining star at MIT Health

On March 5, the MIT community lost one of its shining stars when Chasity Nunez passed away. She was 27.

“Chas,” as her friends and colleagues called her, served as the patient safety and clinical quality program coordinator at MIT Health. In her role, Nunez helped MIT Health maintain its high safety standards, working to train staff on reporting procedures and best practices for patient safety.

Director of Clinical Collaborations and Partnerships Elene Scheff was Nunez’s hiring manager and remembers her as a “perpetual learner.” Nunez put herself through both college and graduate school and was working on a graduate degree in informatics — her second master’s degree. “She loved to be challenged … She also loved collaborating with everybody,” Scheff remembers.

“Chas was passionate about the health and well-being of the MIT community,” adds MIT Chief Health Officer Cecilia Stuopis. “She was beloved by the colleagues who worked closely with her, and her dedication to our patients was powerful and impactful.”

Nunez’s dedication to helping patients within the MIT community was only matched by her desire to give back and be of service to her country. She was an active member of the U.S. Army National Guard, where she was stationed in Connecticut and served as an IT support specialist.

“[Chas] was always looking to improve upon herself,” says Janis Puibello, Nunez’s manager and MIT Health’s associate chief of nursing and clinical quality. “[She] was hungry for what we had to offer.”

Michele David, chief of clinical quality and patient safety, agrees. David recalls Nunez’s can-do spirit: “If she didn’t know how to do something, she would tell you, ‘I don’t know how to do it, but I will find out!’”

“She brought a lot to MIT Health and will always be with us,” says Puibello.

Nunez is survived by her mother and a daughter. To honor Nunez, MIT Health set up a GoFundMe campaign to help raise funds for her surviving daughter. The $5,000 campaign exceeded its goal by more than $3,000. All proceeds collected were donated to Nunez’s family to be used toward her daughter’s future education.

[atlanticcanada]

This New Brunswick town was crowned Canada’s most active community for 2023

While they might be small, the Town of Salisbury, N.B., has proven they are mighty.

With a population of just 7,800 people, Salisbury has been crowned Canada’s most active community for 2023.

“I think it speaks volumes to our community spirit here in Salisbury and shows just how active our community is, the fact that we can compete with municipalities that are even more populated than our entire province,” said Austin Henderson, the chief administrative officer for the town.

Throughout the month of June, over 750 community members got moving for ParticipACTION, a national physical activity and sport initiative that aims to make exercise a part of every-day life.

“I never knew how much I did in a month until I filled everything in that I had to do and that I did do and it was great,” said Bill Thurber, one of the local participants.

“We’d walk and walk and walk and when it was raining, we went around 10x around the loop in the home and we played with the young kids that would come over on Fridays, we loved that. We’d play axes, and throwing the bean bags,” added Alice Jones, another participant.

During the challenge, the town held over 70 free events to encourage everyone to get involved, including walking groups, Learn to Play Clinics, and age-friendly activities at local nursing homes.

Between organized activities and people tracking their individual exercise, officials say Salisbury held the number one spot in New Brunswick for the entire month starting June 2 and fluctuated from first to fifth place nationally before clinching the gold at the end.

“I think it’s great. I think it’s the greatest thing that’s happened,” said Thurber.

In total, Salisbury residents and organizations had over 10.4 million minutes of physical activity for the month of June.

“Just really proud of everybody and super excited about how everybody came together,” said Donna Hunswick Hopper, the Recreation Coordinator for the town.

“I guess it kind of gives you goosebumps.”

While the town has definitely earned bragging rights, the first place win also came with a $100,000 prize. Officials say that money will now be added to the $15,000 prize Salisbury won last year for being number one provincially.

“It will make a huge difference here in a small community… and ultimately, because our residence won this challenge collectively, we’re going to see what they want to do with this money,” said Henderson.

“We’re hoping to put together five or six [options], everything from trail connectivity, to upgraded playgrounds, to maybe even an upgraded outdoor skating rink and then we’ll ask them to rank them and hope that they have their say and see what the community wants us to spend their money on.”

He adds the hope is to put money towards multiple projects in order to spread it as far as they can.

“It just showed me how many people in Salisbury are willing to get out and be active and that we can just grow it and grow it from here because I think everybody should be active, it’s the best thing you can do for your health,” said Fran Bowdrige, another participant.

While the town is currently focusing on celebrating, there is already ambition growing when it comes to next year’s ParticipACTION competition.

“Part of me said ‘yay we won, we don’t have to do it next year,’ but now I realize that we can win two years in a row. So it’s like ‘bring it on, we can do this again,’” said Bowdrige.

For more New Brunswick news visit our dedicated provincial page.

from CTV News - Atlantic https://ift.tt/B6mS2Ju

[qocsuing]

After three years of covering covid, I built my own air filter

After three years of covering covid, I built my own air filter

Covid is not going away for the foreseeable future. Vaccination, rapid tests and appropriate masking are important ways to protect against getting sick and spreading the virus.Get more news about home air filter,you can vist our website!

So is better indoor air quality.

As we enter Year 4 of this pandemic, with new variants popping up, I want to be able to gather more often — and safely — with family and friends. I want to host regular dinners featuring sour cherry pie, like the one I made for fellow health reporters after we had been working remotely — pretty much around-the-clock — for more than a year.

And I want to feel safe at work, where, like most reporters, I don’t have my own office. I can’t just close the door to keep out colleagues’ germs. Or open windows for fresh air.

So, as someone who likes to seize control of seemingly uncontrollable situations, I resolved to build my own DIY portable air cleaner.Generating cleaner indoor air at home and at work reduces everybody’s risk of being sickened by airborne pathogens such those that cause covid-19 and the flu.

While I’m pretty good at following recipes, I don’t have a lot of confidence in my ability to build stuff from scratch. Not even with Legos when my son was little. Forget about Ikea furniture.

But I decided to give this Corsi-Rosenthal Box a try because we would be gathering with lots of loved ones heading into the new year.The Corsi-Rosenthal Box is named for its two inventors, who were looking for a cost-effective way to build something that performs the same functions as costlier air-purification devices. They came up with the idea in August 2020, five months into the coronavirus pandemic.

Richard Corsi, the dean of the College of Engineering at the University of California at Davis, and Jim Rosenthal, the chief executive of Tex-Air Filters, teamed up to create the easy-to-assemble, inexpensive air cleaner using materials found at hardware stores or online. The box uses four common household air filters for the sides — the kind you use for a home HVAC system — a 20-inch fan on top, cardboard, scissors, and duct tape to hold it all together.

When the fan is turned on, air is pulled through the four sides of the box. The filters trap contaminated particles, allowing clean air to flow into the middle of the box and be pushed back out into the environment through the fan. The fan just needs to be plugged into a normal electrical outlet. Not only can the boxes reduce the spread of pathogens such as the coronavirus, they also can reduce other particles, such as those generated by wildfires, as well as dust and pollen.

The box removes all kinds of other pollutants, like “allergens, tiny particles created by chemical reactions to ozone or cleaning chemicals,” said Don Milton, an environmental and occupational health professor at the University of Maryland’s School of Public Health, who came up with the name for the box.

[captainmdhridoyhossain-blog]

[ad_1] Six teenage women had been killed Tuesday when their automobile with most effective 4 seats crashed into a big truck hauling rocks, the Oklahoma Freeway Patrol stated Wednesday.The prime schoolers had been on their lunch spoil when their 2015 Chevrolet Spark collided with a semitruck at about 12:30 p.m., in keeping with Oklahoma Freeway Patrol spokesperson Sarah Stewart.Those that died incorporated the 16-year-old motive force, 3 15-year-olds and two 17-year-old passengers, the patrol stated. Their names weren't launched as a result of they're juveniles. The driving force of the passenger car was once pronounced lifeless on the scene of the crash, along side 3 different sufferers. Two died after being transported to a health center, in keeping with the Oklahoma Freeway Patrol.The driving force of the semi was once no longer injured.The crash file, launched Wednesday morning, stated the cases of the spoil remained underneath investigation.Simplest the 16-year-old motive force and front-seat passenger had been dressed in seat belts when the passenger car collided with the semi, in keeping with the Freeway Patrol.“The unbelted other folks put everybody in peril," stated William Van Tassel with AAA’s nationwide place of work. "In a crash, the unbuckled other folks fly round in all places,” injuring others throughout the car.Oklahoma is the one state the place passengers who're older than 7 years outdated and within the again seat of a automobile shouldn't have to put on a seat belt, stated Leslie Gamble, the chief of public and executive family members for AAA-Oklahoma.Photos printed by way of an area TV station KJRH -TV confirmed a crumpled black car with its roof ripped off. What gave the impression to be a crimson steerage wheel was once separated from the car and mendacity at the floor.FACT? CHECKED.Make sure to have the actual tale with the Checking the Info e-newsletter.Tishomingo Public Faculties launched a letter to oldsters and the varsity group Tuesday afternoon. "We really feel it's crucial that we tell you that our district has suffered an ideal loss lately," stated Tishomingo Public Faculties Superintendent Bobby Waitman in a letter to the group. "Our hearts are damaged, and we're grieving with our scholars and body of workers."The crash came about a few mile clear of Tishomingo Top Faculty."We are simply praying for energy, praying for grace and for our scholars and their households," Waitman informed The Oklahoman, a part of the US TODAY Community.WATCH:LA police search Tesla motive force in boulevard stunt crashTEXAS CRASH:13-year-old boy was once using truck that crashed into golfing group's van, killing 9 in Texas, officers sayState Sen. Frank Simpson broke the inside track of the crash to colleagues within the ultimate moments of a Tuesday assembly."Tishomingo is an excessively shut knit group, and I do know this afternoon that little the city is in sorrow," Simpson stated because the Senate joined in prayer.The small the city of about 3,000 is set 100 miles southwest of Oklahoma Town.The Oklahoma crash got here precisely one week after 9 other folks died, together with six faculty scholars and their trainer, in a Texas crash the place a 13-year-old boy was once using the pickup truck concerned within the collision. Contributing: Hogan Gore, Oklahoman; The Related Press [ad_2] #scholars #lifeless #wore #seatbelts

[the-firebird69]

My son has some pretty serious issues in his life most of them are derived by warlock credit cards and it's out there somewhere and is in fort Myers post office it says to the police station and it's not and there's idiots who keep talking about it in a bad way and like that lady and we're taking her stuff and also is health issues and bills that they try and haunt him with and we need to take over those places it takes too much time and we're pint or a nickel and dining ourself to death and the guy said it too we're doing all this s*** and these assholes just won't stop doing it cuz it's locate where they are and God hit groups they'll send big groups here eventually they'll be gone so they suggested that to me and said that's a great idea and we could do it elsewhere and it was starting to gear up for it it's about time and yeah that's how they say that the stuff sometimes but seriously they needed that from you for ages and you're doing nothing else when I was in his wipe them out so we're going ahead with that but right now we have an issue with this huge Army that's gathering it's too big they want to press in and we don't want to go through it again and they're disgusting it in a meeting and would it be called in after it's like the general troops and we're waiting and Max are with us and they're saying we're going to go after them and they hear okay and he doesn't sensitive that's a lot of troops a lot of people who doesn't know how many there are out there so we do see what you're saying if we have something to say about we should because he can't develop a strategy because he doesn't have information if they have five times as many as that out there you know it's different than if they have one so we're proceeding that way that we know and in a moment

Thor Freya

So we're going to have that meeting in a second you are here but I see what I'm saying there's a version of me here too so we really have to do something like we did before thanks a lot of sense I drove me a little nutty with riding around me and you it worked so I'm going to try stuff and you're thankful and I get the idea. It's very happy day for me what happened are you supposed to know what the plan is I do but I'm happy I'm reminded good and we're moving on and that will attract what the troop raising or something and he's going oh my God. You're right that's ridiculous. We are going to the meeting now

Hera

Good luck everybody God bless

Zues

Thank you Chief we're going to do our best

Frank Castle hardcastle

I know we're not going to knock them dead let's look at the facts we do know what the issues are

Duke Nukem Blockbuster

We approve this message to go out

Olympus

[college-girl199328]

The messages from Audrey Hale, 28, who was shot dead by police responding to 911 calls from the Covenant school in Nashville, were “basically a suicide note, the killer wrote, and “you’ll probably hear about me on the news after I die.”

But the friend who shared the Instagram exchange with Nashville’s News Channel 5, Hale’s former middle school basketball team-mate Averianna Patton, said police showed a lack of urgency after she alerted them.

Patton said she called 911, was told to call another police department’s non-emergency number, was placed on hold for almost seven minutes, then was promised a visit from an officer only five hours after the shooting.

“I learned Audrey was the shooter and that she had reached out to me before the shooting,” Patton said to Hale, who identified as transgender. “My heart is with all devastated by what has happened.”

Police on Tuesday released body-worn camera video of officers moving through the school and confronting and killing the shooter. Later, Joe Biden repeated his call for lawmakers to pass an assault weapons ban.

“I have gone the full extent of my executive authority on my own,” the president told reporters at the White House, adding that he had spoken with community members in Nashville. “I think it’s about time.

“The Congress has to act. The majority of the American people want an assault weapons ban. I can’t do anything except plead with Congress to act.”

Last year only expanded background checks for the youngest gun buyers and funded mental health and violence intervention programs.

Meanwhile, detectives continued to piece together a motive for the murders by Hale, a former student at the community who began to grieve the dead with prayer vigils and a growing memorial of flowers and soft toys.

The victims were Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs, and William Kinney, all aged nine; substitute teacher Cynthia Peak, 61; head of school Katherine Koonce, 60; and Mike Hill, 61, a custodian.

Their murders were, according to the Gun Violence Archive, the 129th mass shooting in the US this year. The archive defines a mass shooting as one in which four or more people are shot or wounded, not counting any attackers.

The Metro Nashville police department’s chief, John Drake, said Hale left a “manifesto” before shooting her way into the school armed with two “assault-style” weapons.

“There was possibly some resentment for that school,” he told CBS News. “We have a booklet that shows the entry point into the school, the weapons that were going to be used, and the clothing that she was going to wear, and she had drawn it up almost like a cartoon character.

The mayor of Nashville, John Cooper, praised the speed of the police response to the shooting, which he said: “was dealt with in only 14 minutes”. The Metro Nashville officers located and fatally wounded Hale on the second floor of Collazo.

The two, Cooper said in an interview on CNN, “were running into gunfire and under a lot of gunfire. “This is our worst day,” Cooper said. “But it could have been worse without this great response.”

As well as the body-cam footage released on Tuesday, separate surveillance footage published on Monday night showed Hale arriving at the school in a vehicle, shooting through the school’s glass entry doors, then wandering around hallways with a rifle raised.

Cooper echoed the call for lawmakers to pass assault weapons ban to counter an epidemic of gun violence that the president said on Monday was.

“The public is going to go back to questioning why we have so few restrictions on guns, particularly assault-level type guns, and that guns and gunfire are the number one cause of death with children,” he said.

“We really can’t tolerate that anymore. Everybody attending every vigil in Nashville to be a public response to this kind of and to say enough is enough.”

The Democratic state legislator John Ray Clemmons condemned Tennessee’s broad loosening of gun laws in 2021, which included allowing anybody over 18 to possess and carry weapons without training or a permit.

“This is my ninth year in the state legislature piece of legislation need is the gun sense,” he told CNN. “We’ve been banning books up here, not guns. We make it harder to vote than to buy an AK. We allow permit-less carry in Tennessee our governor had the gall to sign that bill at a Beretta manufacturing plant. That’s the battle I’m fighting.”

A memorial to the victims, including balloons, flowers, and soft toys, was growing at the school Tuesday, and flags were ordered to half-staff throughout the state.

Leaders of the Covenant school asked for privacy in a statement. “Our community is heartbroken,” they said. “We are grieving tremendous loss and are in shock at the terror that shattered our school and church. We are students, our families, faculty and staff, and beginning.”

Koonce had worked at the school for seven years after moving there from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The other two adult victims were both employed there.

Scruggs was a third-grade student at the school and the daughter of the Covenant Presbyterian Church lead pastor Chad Scruggs. Dieckhaus was also a third-grader Tennessean newspaper reported family attended a memorial for the victims on Monday night at Woodmont Christian church, one of several prayer vigils in Nashville.

Her older sister, a fifth-grader, broke down in tears as she remembered her sibling. “I don’t want to be an only child,” she said.

[bcnes-archived]

"I am." He stares resolutely ahead, like he's trying to burn holes into the side of the pavilion, or maybe trying to mentally will Spock to come out here and save him from blundering any more questions. "I'm the chief medical officer on board our vessel; the health and well-being of the crew is my number one priority. That includes him."

Perhaps especially, given both Kirk's position on the Enterprise and his idiotic tendency to downplay his own needs in favor of everybody else's. He gets it, being in charge comes with a certain level of responsibility you must take for those under your command. But for god's sake, it shouldn't leave passing out on a bench his only option for getting real rest. That's just dangerous. McCoy swears if he ever makes Admiral his first order of business will be ensuring there's better emotional and mental support available for those in command. Everybody else, too, but... no one on the Enterprise is wasting away from the inside-out quite like Kirk is.

He realizes then that he's not really selling the whole concerned healthcare professional shtick when he's sitting there staring at Kirk in absolute rigid silence for so long. He didn't even consciously realized he'd turned back to the man. McCoy whips back around so fast he almost gives himself whiplash.

"Wherever the alcohol is," he answers quickly, and then points off across the way towards the lagoon and all the little miniature countries that surround it. "I'm sure he's having plenty of fun without us, but I'd rather not see his hindquarters in my sickbay after all this on account of he's suffering from alcohol poisoning." It's an unlikely concern. He's seen the man down four bottles in one sitting before. But when you add the temperature into account— well, McCoy's just paranoid. Perpetually anxious, he calls it. "So if you see a drunk Scotsman, call me." Then he pauses and makes a face, borderline sympathetic. "Though I don't suppose they'd let you have communicators when you're all caught up in pretending to be a princess, would they?"

" Oh! Okay then, Dr. McCoy! Next time! " The princess hummed at the implied offer of a story or two in the future. She was usually the story teller, so any chance she got she was more than happy to sit and listen for a change. Snow sees hundreds, if not thousands of faces every single day, but something tells her she won't be forgetting this particular set of people.

" Oh yes, I'm sure!! You're a very worried healthcare professional! "

Snow White didn't know how else she could possibly convey their, ahem, shared ideas without outwardly saying it, but it was quickly becoming her internal mission. It's like seeing someone wearing the same shirt as you from across the room, if you will.

" Should I be keeping an eye out for this ' Mr. Scott anywhere in particular? Something to note ? "

[thatweirdaustralian]

🍩

[beardedmrbean]

Brits have been urged to “drink responsibly” and avoid “risky activities” during pre-Christmas celebrations to avoid trips to the emergency room as thousands of ambulance workers take strike action over pay disputes.

“There is no doubt that the NHS is facing extreme pressure and industrial action will add to the already record demand we are seeing on urgent and emergency care,” said NHS Medical Director Professor Stephen Powis. He added that the public can help in several ways including “drinking responsibly” to ease strain on emergency services.

Speaking on BBC radio, Powis said, "Don't get so drunk that you end up with an unnecessary visit to A&E."

Over 10,000 emergency workers and NHS staff across England and Wales are expected to partake in two days of industrial action over an ongoing pay dispute. The strikes are part of Britain’s most significant wave of industrial action in a generation, with mail workers, rail workers, barristers and other public service workers all holding walkouts this winter demanding pay rises in line with inflation.

“On health grounds alone, it is clear we have entered dangerous territory,” says Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation. “There is now deep worry among NHS leaders about the level of harm and risk that could occur to patients tomorrow and beyond.”

Nurses in Scotland also said on Wednesday that they will announce dates for strike action in 2023 after 82% of members of the Royal College of Nursing “overwhelmingly” rejected the Scottish government’s pay offer.

"Critical incidents" have been declared by ambulance and hospital trusts across the country, allowing the services to prioritize those who are most in need.

“Our service is under unprecedented pressure,” said Stephen Segasby, Chief operating officer of the North East Ambulance Service -- one of the eight NHS trusts declaring critical incidents. “Declaring a critical incident means we can focus our resources on those patients most in need and communicates the pressures we are under.”

Seagsby added that the trust has been operating at its “highest level of operational alert” since the start of the month.

Speaking at Liaison Committee on Tuesday, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak defended NHS’s pay offer, saying “I’ve always been very clear in expressing my gratitude and admiration for our NHS workers and indeed our public sector workers across the board”

“I’ve acknowledged it is difficult for everybody because inflation is where it is. And the best way to help them and help everyone else in the country is for us to get a grip and reduce inflation as quickly as possible.”

Brits have also been urged to exercise caution partaking in “risky activities” including cycling and contact sports: “If there is activity people are undertaking tomorrow, whether it’s for example contact sport or other things they may want to review that,” said Health Minister Will Quince speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live.

The NHS has also urged the public to use services “wisely” at this time to ensure patients who need care the most get access to healthcare.

“There is no doubt that the NHS is facing extreme pressure and industrial action will add to the already record demand we are seeing on urgent and emergency care,” Powis said.

He added, “NHS staff have worked hard to minimise disruption but it is inevitable as with any industrial action that we will see an impact on services but it is vital if you need lifesaving care, to continue to come forward.”

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

September 5, 2021

Heather Cox Richardson

On March 25, 1911, Frances Perkins was visiting with a friend who lived near Washington Square in New York City when they heard fire engines and people screaming. They rushed out to the street to see what the trouble was. A fire had broken out in a garment factory on the upper floors of a building on Washington Square, and the blaze ripped through the lint in the air. The only way out was down the elevator, which had been abandoned at the base of its shaft, or through an exit to the roof. But the factory owner had locked the roof exit that day because, he later testified, he was worried some of his workers might steal some of the blouses they were making.

“The people had just begun to jump when we got there,” Perkins later recalled. “They had been holding until that time, standing in the windowsills, being crowded by others behind them, the fire pressing closer and closer, the smoke closer and closer. Finally the men were trying to get out this thing that the firemen carry with them, a net to catch people if they do jump, the[y] were trying to get that out and they couldn’t wait any longer. They began to jump. The… weight of the bodies was so great, at the speed at which they were traveling that they broke through the net. Every one of them was killed, everybody who jumped was killed. It was a horrifying spectacle.”

By the time the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire was out, 147 young people were dead, either from their fall from the factory windows or from smoke inhalation.

Perkins had few illusions about industrial America: she had worked in a settlement house in an impoverished immigrant neighborhood in Chicago and was the head of the New York office of the National Consumers League, urging consumers to use their buying power to demand better conditions and wages for workers. But even she was shocked by the scene she witnessed on March 25.

By the next day, New Yorkers were gathering to talk about what had happened on their watch. “I can't begin to tell you how disturbed the people were everywhere,” Perkins said. “It was as though we had all done something wrong. It shouldn't have been. We were sorry…. We didn't want it that way. We hadn’t intended to have 147 girls and boys killed in a factory. It was a terrible thing for the people of the City of New York and the State of New York to face.”

The Democratic majority leader in the New York legislature, Al Smith—who would a few years later go on to four terms as New York governor and become the Democratic presidential nominee in 1928—went to visit the families of the dead to express his sympathy and his grief. “It was a human, decent, natural thing to do,” Perkins said, “and it was a sight he never forgot. It burned it into his mind. He also got to the morgue, I remember, at just the time when the survivors were being allowed to sort out the dead and see who was theirs and who could be recognized. He went along with a number of others to the morgue to support and help, you know, the old father or the sorrowing sister, do her terrible picking out.”

“This was the kind of shock that we all had,” Perkins remembered.

The next Sunday, concerned New Yorkers met at the Metropolitan Opera House with the conviction that “something must be done. We've got to turn this into some kind of victory, some kind of constructive action….” One man contributed $25,000 to fund citizens’ action to “make sure that this kind of thing can never happen again.”

The gathering appointed a committee, which asked the legislature to create a bipartisan commission to figure out how to improve fire safety in factories. For four years, Frances Perkins was their chief investigator.

She later explained that although their mission was to stop factory fires, “we went on and kept expanding the function of the commission 'till it came to be the report on sanitary conditions and to provide for their removal and to report all kinds of unsafe conditions and then to report all kinds of human conditions that were unfavorable to the employees, including long hours, including low wages, including the labor of children, including the overwork of women, including homework put out by the factories to be taken home by the women. It included almost everything you could think of that had been in agitation for years. We were authorized to investigate and report and recommend action on all these subjects.”

And they did. Al Smith was the speaker of the house when they published their report, and soon would become governor. Much of what the commission recommended became law.

Perkins later mused that perhaps the new legislation to protect workers had in some way paid the debt society owed to the young people, dead at the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire. “The extent to which this legislation in New York marked a change in American political attitudes and policies toward social responsibility can scarcely be overrated,” she said. “It was, I am convinced, a turning point.”

But she was not done. In 1919, over the fervent objections of men, Governor Smith appointed Perkins to the New York State Industrial Commission to help weed out the corruption that was weakening the new laws. She continued to be one of his closest advisers on labor issues. In 1929, when Franklin Delano Roosevelt replaced Smith as New York governor, he appointed Perkins to oversee the state’s labor department as the Depression worsened. When President Herbert Hoover claimed that unemployment was ending, Perkins made national news when she repeatedly called him out with figures proving the opposite and said his “misleading statements” were “cruel and irresponsible.” She began to work with leaders from other states to figure out how to protect workers and promote employment by working together.

In 1933, after the people had rejected Hoover’s plan to let the Depression burn itself out, President-elect Roosevelt asked Perkins to serve as Secretary of Labor in his administration. She accepted only on the condition that he back her goals: unemployment insurance; health insurance; old-age insurance, a 40-hour work week; a minimum wage; and abolition of child labor. She later recalled: “I remember he looked so startled, and he said, ‘Well, do you think it can be done?’”

She promised to find out.

Once in office, Perkins was a driving force behind the administration’s massive investment in public works projects to get people back to work. She urged the government to spend $3.3 billion on schools, roads, housing, and post offices. Those projects employed more than a million people in 1934.

In 1935, FDR signed the Social Security Act, providing ordinary Americans with unemployment insurance; aid to homeless, dependent, and neglected children; funds to promote maternal and child welfare; and public health services.

In 1938, Congress passed the Fair Labor Standards Act, which established a minimum wage and maximum hours. It banned child labor.

Frances Perkins, and all those who worked with her, transformed the horror of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire into the heart of our nation’s basic social safety net.

“There is always a large horizon…. There is much to be done,” Perkins said. “It is up to you to contribute some small part to a program of human betterment for all time.”

Happy Labor Day, everyone.

—-

Notes:

https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1933-02-19/ed-1/seq-23/

https://francesperkinscenter.org/life-new/

https://trianglefire.ilr.cornell.edu/primary/lectures/

https://www.ssa.gov/history/perkins5.html

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON