“Always dream and shoot higher than you know you can do. Don’t bother just to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors. Try to be better than yourself.”
William Faulkner
“Always dream and shoot higher than you know you can do. Don’t bother just to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors. Try to be better than yourself.”
William Faulkner
It is just a matter of personal preference but Opera is my favorite browser. The main reason that I mostly use Opera is that it is fast. The next development for Opera will come with malware protection:
“Opera, the Norwegian-based web browser, has struck a deal with Haute Secure to include malware detection and blocking in the browser’s new 9.5 release. The new version is currently available as a beta, with a final release imminent.”
link: Opera Browser Integrates Haute Secure to Block Malware
You may want to give Opera a try. It claims that it is the fastest and “most secure free Web browser available“. I gave it a try many years ago and it has found itself on every computer I use regularly.
Catherine Forsythe
Director of Operations
FlyingHamster: http://flyinghamster.com/
In Game One of the NBA finals, Sasha Vujacic was the first substitute off the L.A. Lakers bench. He came into the game in the first quarter and had Ray Allen to guard. That meant that Ray Allen ran Sasha Vujacic from one side of the court to the other and bounced him off numerous screens. For the night, Ray Allen scored nineteen points. And Sasha Vujacic had a rough introduction to the NBA finals:
link: Game One
Sasha Vujacic had eight points: two baskets on seven attempts. He also had four personal fouls. In twenty seven minutes of playing time, Sasha Vujacic had trouble at both ends of the court. The defensive assignment of covering Ray Allen may have diminished Sasha Vujacic’s effectiveness at the offensive end.
One of the keys to the Lakers’ success will be how effective they are in defending Ray Allen. Sasha Vujacic must see from the tapes of the game that this series means chasing Ray Allen through loads of Celtic traffic. Putting Ray Allen on the foul line or leaving him open momentary from three point range will make this a very difficult series for the Lakers. In Game Two, on Sunday, the Lakers simply need Sasha Vujacic to stay with one of the premier shooters in the NBA at the defensive end. With the Celtics having a one game lead now, Sasha Vujacic margin of error has decreased significantly. One has the feeling that Ray Allen is going to be happy to see Sasha Vujacic again.
Catherine
There is a movement in schools to test students for drugs. This appears in various forms across the country. Some schools require this for all extra after-class activities. Others educational institutions are doing random testing of all students.
The obvious reason is to identify those students who are using drugs. Further, the drug testing allows the students a reason to say “no” to any chemical experimentation. It is a reason that peers can understand. Few can argue with the positive intent of trying to safeguard children.
Nevertheless, the drug testing is a subtle paradigm shift in many ways. It is giving the schools the added responsibility of policing for drug use. Along with the safety and security aspects of the drug testing, there is the issue of privacy to consider. Communities must decide how much of the educational budget to spend on drug testing and protecting those data. Since educational budgets are limited, the next decision is what aspects of the school educational mandate to trim or to delay.
The drug testing also speaks to the issue of parenting. In effect, it is saying that parents are not doing an adequate job of preventing drug use. It then becomes the purview of the educational system. Some parents are raising objections to this. Other parents are welcoming any assistance that the schools can provide. Decisions by school districts across the country are saying that drug testing will become the norm, if it isn’t already.
The long term, sociological influence of such drug testing programs may not surface for years. This present generation of school children will become used to being monitored closely and assessed. From surveillance cameras, drug testing, GPS tracking of cell phones, there are a myriad of ways in which technological advancements are reshaping the notion of privacy. Further, it is reshaping the notion of civil liberties. For this present generation of school children, the concept of ‘innocent until proven guilty’ may become an antiquated notion. The working standard will be ‘here is evidence of my innocence’. Unless empirical data are presented, everyone is suspect.
Catherine Forsythe
Director of Operations
FlyingHamster: http://flyinghamster.com/
It is safe to say that most good dog trainers praise well. The praise must be well timed and this is where most people err. When teaching a behaviour, most people wait too long to praise and that leaves the dog guessing if it is doing the correct thing. It is a good rule of thumb to keep in mind, when teaching a behaviour, to praise early.
Perhaps this concept can be illustrated with the ‘come’ command. Most people will call their dog and wait (and wait) until the dog arrives and then praise. This is fine for a dog whose ‘come’ response is well established. However, in the initial stages of training, it pays to praise early. When you call your dog and the dog turns and takes the first step, praise. Do not wait. With the praise, you are saying to the dog, ‘You are doing the right thing.’. This will increase the speed of the behaviour, in this case, the recall. Further, it will decrease the dog’s anxiety and the dog will be able to learn the behaviour in a quicker, easier fashion.
Of course, you should praise when the dog also arrives. The arrival, though, is predicated on that very first step that the dog makes. That first step is crucial. If you are waiting to praise when the dog arrives, you are just hoping and placing all the responsibility upon the dog to figure out what the correct response is. Help the dog. Praise that first little bit of behaviour that results in a good end result. Look at it as a chain of behaviours, which, in the case of this recall example, begins with that first step.
Now you may ask what happens if the dog veers away in the recall. Well, it is no matter because you need that first step. That first step needs to be praised. When the dog goes off course, you can say “ack!” to let the dog know that it is doing something wrong. Let the dog know what pleases you and what doesn’t please you.
Remember, that the dog is processing information and trying to do its very best to please you. The praise is a guide and a tool for communication. It also adds to the dog’s self confidence and that will show in the way the dog responds. - Good; very good! I just knew you would understand!
Catherine
One organization in Canada has a report on the amount of screen time that children spend per day. That is the hours in front of a television or a computer monitor. The average is a staggering six hours a day:
“…The report says the average child in the 10-to-16 age group typically spends six hours a day in front of some type of screen.
That’s 42 hours a week, more than the standard adult work week.”
link: Kids spend ‘alarming’ amount of time in front of screens: report
Apart from the obvious implications upon health and physical fitness, this speaks to the development (or lack of development) of social skills. How much time is left in the day for human interactions?
Catherine Forsythe
Director of Operations
FlyingHamster: http://flyinghamster.com/
It is safe to say that most good dog trainers praise well. The praise must be well timed and this is where most people err. When teaching a behaviour, most people wait too long to praise and that leaves the dog guessing if it is doing the correct thing. It is a good rule of thumb to keep in mind, when teaching a behaviour, to praise early.
Perhaps this concept can be illustrated with the ‘come’ command. Most people will call their dog and wait (and wait) until the dog arrives and then praise. This is fine for a dog whose ‘come’ response is well established. However, in the initial stages of training, it pays to praise early. When you call your dog and the dog turns and takes the first step, praise. Do not wait. With the praise, you are saying to the dog, ‘You are doing the right thing.’. This will increase the speed of the behaviour, in this case, the recall. Further, it will decrease the dog’s anxiety and the dog will be able to learn the behaviour in a quicker, easier fashion.
Of course, you should praise when the dog also arrives. The arrival, though, is predicated on that very first step that the dog makes. That first step is crucial. If you are waiting to praise when the dog arrives, you are just hoping and placing all the responsibility upon the dog to figure out what the correct response is. Help the dog. Praise that first little bit of behaviour that results in a good end result. Look at it as a chain of behaviours, which, in the case of this recall example, begins with that first step.
Now you may ask what happens if the dog veers away in the recall. Well, it is no matter because you need that first step. That first step needs to be praised. When the dog goes off course, you can say “ack!” to let the dog know that it is doing something wrong. Let the dog know what pleases you and what doesn’t please you.
Remember, that the dog is processing information and trying to do its very best to please you. The praise is a guide and a tool for communication. It also adds to the dog’s self confidence and that will show in the way the dog responds. - Good; very good! I just knew you would understand!
Catherine Forsythe
Director of Operations
FlyingHamster: http://flyinghamster.com/
There is a saying that is attributed to a former L.A Lakers coach, Pat Riley. The saying is “no rebounds, no rings“. It was Pat Riley’s way of saying that winning basketball games relies on rebounding. In Game One of the NBA championship series, the Lakers were out-rebounded by the Boston Celtics: 46 - 33. Pau Gasol had a team high eight rebounds and Lamar Odom had six rebounds. When the Lakers have lost in the post season playoffs, Pau Gasol has had low rebound numbers. And the Lakers fell in Game One: 98 - 88.
link: Game One
Further, the Celtics were more efficient with the three point shot than the Lakers. Boston shot at a thirty one per cent efficiency ( 6 for 19 ) while the Lakers shot a lowly twenty one per cent ( 3 for 14 ) from three point land. Two of Boston’s three point baskets were made by Paul Pierce, after he returned to the count from his injury. That gave the Celtics the lead which they never relinquished. It seemed that the Paul Pierce injury was a greater distraction for the Lakers than the Celtics.
In the end, it is really back to basics for the Lakers. They need to rebound the ball, defend the three point line and make their foul shots. It may be, in this series, that the Lakers truly miss their young center, Andrew Bynum. A total of fourteen rebounds from the combined efforts of Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom is not going to be enough to beat the Celtics.
Catherine
There is a saying that is attributed to a former L.A Lakers coach, Pat Riley. The saying is “no rebounds, no rings“. It was Pat Riley’s way of saying that winning basketball games relies on rebounding. In Game One of the NBA championship series, the Lakers were out-rebounded by the Boston Celtics: 46 - 33. Pau Gasol had a team high eight rebounds and Lamar Odom had six rebounds. When the Lakers have lost in the post season playoffs, Pau Gasol has had low rebound numbers. And the Lakers fell in Game One: 98 - 88.
link: Game One
Further, the Celtics were more efficient with the three point shot than the Lakers. Boston shot at a thirty one per cent efficiency ( 6 for 19 ) while the Lakers shot a lowly twenty one per cent ( 3 for 14 ) from three point land. Two of Boston’s three point baskets were made by Paul Pierce, after he returned to the count from his injury. That gave the Celtics the lead which they never relinquished. It seemed that the Paul Pierce injury was a greater distraction for the Lakers than the Celtics.
In the end, it is really back to basics for the Lakers. They need to rebound the ball, defend the three point line and make their foul shots. It may be, in this series, that the Lakers truly miss their young center, Andrew Bynum. A total of fourteen rebounds from the combined efforts of Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom is not going to be enough to beat the Celtics.
Catherine Forsythe
Director of Operations
FlyingHamster: http://flyinghamster.com/
