#what did people expect to happen when we started dumping sewage in the water???

[useless-englandfacts]

come to england! where we'll give you e coli after letting you swim in literal human shit! (x)

[twothreephofive-blog]

Final Project Research #2

Background research on the coral reef

Florida’s coral reef is the only tropical reef in the continental United States and is a major source of food for both marine life and humans. This reef is essential to the marine ecosystem, as it serves as a habitat for aquatic creatures and provides them with grounds to reproduce and grow. It is also estimated to be worth $7.6 billion from tourism and the commercial seafood industry. However, the reef is disintegrating at a rapid rate due to the increasing acidity in the oceans, which could hurt the marine life and economy drastically.

Main causes of reef dying:

Runoff sediment from mining, climate change, sewage dumping, and fishing all play a large role in the increasing decay of the Floridian reef.

Due to factors such as burning fossil fuels and deforestation, climate change is increasing the amount of carbon dioxide gas in the atmosphere. The oceans absorb a large amount of this excess gas and causes the water’s pH level to decrease, becoming more acidic. This acidic water breaks down the skeleton of the coral reef, this process is known as acidification. Climate change also cause coral bleaching, which occurs when the reef is put under climate stress and refuses the help of zooxanthellae algae that provide food, energy and beautiful colours. It is possible for corals to recover from bleaching with the return of normal weather conditions, but with climate change increasing, this will prove to be difficult. Together, ocean acidification and coral bleaching are the largest chronic cause of the decay of the coral reefs.

Sewage dumping also contributes to the pollution and acidification of the ocean. Without the proper disposal methods, sewage being dumped into the ocean poses a large threat to the coral reef as it increases the acidification and bleaching processes.

The fishing industry also plays a role in the decline of the Floridian reef. Aside from removing large amounts of fish and marine life from the reef, the equipment that fishermen use pose just as big of a threat to the ecosystem. These fishermen use cyanide to kill living organisms and explosives to destroy colonies. They also drag their large equipment along the bottom of the ocean floor, dislodging and destroying parts of the reef.

What happens if there is no coral reef?

A healthy marine ecosystem relies on a healthy coral reef, but if the reef decays completely, the fish population and industry would suffer drastically. 38 million people worldwide would be unemployed and hunger, poverty, and instability would set in. The marine life would be in danger with no spawning or feeding grounds, and no protection from the surrounding environment. On top of all of this, the atmosphere would experience a drop in oxygen levels without the reef to convert carbon dioxide into oxygen.

Human Systems

Humans are contributing to the decline of the coral reef in various ways. Climate change causes acidification and bleaching, which we contribute to through things such as faecal waste, burning fossil fuels, deforestation, and soil fertilization. The fishing industry also removes large amounts of fish from the ocean and destroys the structure of the reef through the dragging of gear on the ocean floor. Humans are not just the cause of the problem; they are also affected by it. With less marine life, the fishing industry struggles and the economy suffers. Employment and tourism will also decrease, further damaging the economy. If the government were to attempt to save the reef through better sewage filtration systems, the economy would still suffer from the large costs.

Environmental Systems

Natural events and climate change such as heat waves and earthquakes are the major reasons for causing the coral reef to decay and decline in numbers. Heat waves drastically increases the temperature of the water, therefore causing coral bleaching. Coral reefs can recover from bleaching events, but as the climate warms ocean acidification is also expected to increase. Earthquakes can physically push the reef into deep waters, causing something resembling to an avalanche. The entire marine ecosystem suffers from the shrinking coral reef, as the marine life lose their homes and populations start to decrease. The cause of this can lead to the extinction of underwater species. Without the coral reefs, the conversion of carbon dioxide to oxygen would also decrease, causing an imbalance within the entire world’s ecosystem.

Technological Systems

Technological systems such as waste disposal and burning fossil fuels are also a large cause for water pollution surrounding the coral reefs and the decay of the reef. Poorly filtering outfall pipes dumping waste into the ocean only add to the rise in pH levels making ocean more acidic, resulting in ocean acidification, one of the largest causes of reef destruction.

Precedents

Hawaii’s coral reef is also experiencing a great decay due to increased temperatures causing discoloration and bleaching. Nearly half of it was bleached during the heat waves in 2014 and 2015. 56% of the Big Island’s reef was bleached, along with 44% along the west of Maui and 32% around Oahu. While some of the coral reefs made a healthy recovery the temperatures didn’t cool fast enough for the entire reef to come back. Similar to Hawaii’s coral reefs, The Great Barrier Reef in Australia also experienced two devastating bleaching events back to back in 2016 and 2017. This resulted in the destruction of 50% of the entire Great Barrier Reef.

Challenges

The environment in general and the coral reef face many challenges as it declines. The increase in ocean water temperature due to climate change will not only cause bleaching, but if it continues to maintain such a high temperature, the corals and their symbiotic algae will be unable to recover. These high temperatures also put the corals at higher risk of becoming sick, making it easier for disease-causing organisms to grow. There are various diseases corals can experience, some of which include the black band, white band, white spot, and purple blotch, which are all named for how they affect the coral’s appearance. Runoff also poses a threat to the reef, as it lowers the quality of the water and can overpower and smother the reef’s organisms due to the large amount of sediment. It also reduces the light available for coral and seagrass photosynthesis and generally weakens the health and resilience of the reef and its organisms, making them more susceptible to disease outbreaks.

Past Solutions

Everyone can have an impact on reef health and conservation not matter how close you actually live to the reefs. Conserving water will result in less runoff and wastewater that will make its way into the ocean. Marine biologists also have had some success in reviving coral reefs through methods such as coral reef transplants and sun shields. David Suggett from the University of Technology Sydney grew fragments of healthy coral on mesh platforms adjacent to the original reef. After the fragments retained growth and stabilization, they were planted and added to the reef. Sun shields have also been invented to help prevent bleaching. They are 50,000 times thinner than human hair, and sit on the surface of the water directly above the corals. This thin film is meant to act as an umbrella to partially block out the sun rays.

Examples of approaches to Data & Visual Representations

( Atlantis World’s Fair: http://lostworldsfairs.com/atlantis/ )

Atlantis World Fair is a website that shows a character moving through a virtual world as the browser is being scrolled. It represents data in small “did you know” bubbles.

( Every Last Drop: http://everylastdrop.co.uk/ )

Every Last Drop is an animation based website that goes through a series of animations when the user is scrolling. Data is represented with graphics that are relevant. For examples, when data is shown about how many litres of water a shower uses, a graphics of a water droplet is used.

( Les Animals: https://2019.lesanimals.digital/en )

Les Animals is a website that goes through a series of stages by holding the spacebar. Each stage is a wish that shows contrasting subjects. The square showing the subject is movable between the two sides and each side is an opposite to the other side.

Examples of Potential Wireframes

Example 1:

Example 2:

Example 3:

[comebeonetwothree]

Blog #4: Red Rocks and More Red Rocks

06/16/2021

This blog was probably the most challenging to write yet, considering we have just been hiking a lot and seeing a fuck ton of red rocks everywhere.

They all look different, but they are all just red rocks. Round, sharp, big, small, dirt-like rocks… its all the same, but different.

Throughout all the states we have seen, the terrain has changed drastically as we pass over each border. New Mexico was straight white desert land, Texas was flat as fuck with windmills everywhere, and Arkansas was even more flat but without windmills.

Colorado, however, was very different throughout each region. We started in sand dunes and deserts and worked our way up to the mountains with lots of rain and snow run off. Then being in Colorado Springs, there was a mix of desert and moist mountains, plus some massive red rocks.

Traveling into Utah, there was not much difference in terrains, just some different shades of the red rocks.

Zion National Park was the ultimate red rock arena. Ironic, since we started off seeing Garden of the Gods -both are red rocky parks- but completely different.

Who

Who are the New York girls…

This chapter of traveling includes less new friends, but more last-minute links with old pals from college. It seems like it was just yesterday we were out in Oneonta… oh wait.

Myrene was a family friend of Mary. She opened her house up to us three, as a nice break up between campsites.

We got to wash our clothes and shower; you’ll never know how satisfying a shower is until after living without one for a few days.

Her house was in Colorado Springs, about 30 minutes away from Garden of the Gods.

They chefed up for us the first night with a little surf and turf; steak and salmon with a bombass salad.

Thanks, Myrene.

My dear friend Dee Jay, also known as, Daniel Joseph McDonnell, aka DJ, happened to be camping out in the same area as us in Blue Lakes Colorado. However, due to of lack of service, we had no idea.

Being in such close proximity of us, he sent it to Utah to come hang and meet up with his friend Kailen.

Kailen visited Oneonta this past semester. After meeting him, I mentioned this trip.

He was so welcoming to take us out with him while in Salt Lake City, and give us a locals only tour.

Upon arrival in Orem, Utah, Kailen gave us some good recommendations for hiking and an invitation to a house party being thrown that night… a house party in Utah??? Yah, not what we expected either.

At the party we caught up with DJ and his buddy Brad who was on the cross-country excursion with him.

Brad was a cool quiet dude; he goes to Buffalo State for engineering. He is also in classes to become a pilot…pretty dope.

At the party, we were constantly being asked if we were the girls from New York. Yes, yes, we are.

I guess everyone else there was a part of a friend group or Mormons.

What

What are you doing here…?

Bottom line, there is a fuck ton of red rocks, if you couldn’t tell from the beginning of this.

While in Colorado Springs, we got to experience the Garden of the Gods. It is this beautiful State Park with crazy large rock formations. They were smooth red rocks.

Before the sun set, we drove down the block to a LEGAL marijuana dispensary and acquired some flowers ;)

One pre-roll, and two chocolate bars later we returned to the Gardens of the Gods for a fiery sunset.

The atmosphere around the area already appears to have a sunset hue throughout the day, guess why??

Yup, the red rocks.

But it gives the sunsets this crazy enhanced color, with a little joint it make the sunset even more spectacular.

The following day in Colorado Springs, we went to visit this town that the locals call, “the town stuck in time,” also known as Manitou.

It was this super cute hippy dippy town with herbal Apothecary’s, glass shops, and bohemian little boutiques.

After, we stumbled across this crazy dope bar in Downtown Colorado Springs. It was an instillation art museum bar, and the main exhibit at the time was based on the Netflix original The Queens Gambit.

This giant bar had about seven different bar areas within the one location. Each spread out and each with their own vibes and aesthetics.

The vibes ranged from the specific beers they had on tap and the cocktails they offered, to the wood used for the bar top and lighting. There was even an upstairs with neon paintings, where you were provided with 3-D glasses to get the full effect.

There was an outdoor area with cornhole and an indoor game room with every board game you could imagine.

I could live in that bar forever… I peeked on a Wednesday night <3

In Utah, we rented a cute barn Air bnb for three nights, in a lovely air-conditioned upstairs unit.

We cleaned all our camping dishes as soon as we arrived, utilizing the water as much as possible.

The following day we went on this lovely hike to see some great views, and yup, you guessed it… some more red rocks!!!

After the hike in 100-degree weather, we decided to look for the nearest body of water to submerge in.

We went to Utah Lake State Park, a body of water that does not exceed 9 feet at its highest water level (and it stains your skin).

I thought I’d seen the nastiest water in the Hudson River, but nope, this shit was so dirty I could not see my toes when the water level was at my ankles.

Post standing in the water for 20 minutes questioning if we should go in, we indeed did not fully submerge, thank god because Maya informed us Utah often dumps sewage in the lake to dispose of it.

I instantly felt like I was in the lake in the Simson’s movie that stored Spidey Pig’s halo of shit.

That night we went to the Utah house party. We had no idea what to expect going in. Usually, house parties are small gatherings, but here we were the bitches from New York.

A small gathering is indeed what it was.

The following day we set off for a hike to some hot springs. Hot springs are natural hot water pools often off the side of a river or creek.

These hot springs were different from the ones we saw in New Mexico, it was about a mile long of multiple hot pools. The farther up we went the hotter the springs got.

After hiking two miles in 105-degree weather, the heat from the water was our enemy. It also smelled like rotten eggs?? I guess they forget to warn you of these things before you start the hike.

Post hike we picked up some Chinese takeout food and went on our way back home to pack up for our departure.

Driving to Zion area, we passed some new textured red rocks, these were sharper and more linear.

We spent two days there, because it is near impossible to see the whole park in that heat, let alone in a day.

At nights, we would cook dinner on our portable propane stove. The first night we chefed up turkey burgers, with sauteed onions and zucchini. The second night we made camping mac and cheese… boxed mac, cheddar hot dogs, and grilled chicken with a side of roasted veggies. The last night we ate the left-over chicken in a southwestern salad wrap.

Cooking in the woods is probably my favorite part of camping because you reinvent ways to create easy meals that satisfy your every need.

Where

Where to next…

Colorado Springs was a gorgeous area with a very large city and hikes everywhere. It was the best combination of hmm I want to go out on the town for some drinks, and hey let’s get lost in the woods and hope a bear doesn’t attack us.

The quote, “take a hike!” really applies here. You can get annoyed at someone in a bar and say, “take a hike” and it is very possible for them to just walk outside and take a fucking hike.

Post springs, we hit up Utah.

We set off on our 9-hour drive to Utah!! The home of Mormons and more red rock mountains.

In Utah there is a surplus of children. I know this sounds like it would be anywhere like the baby boom, but this shit is super locational.

Specifically in Orem, which is right outside of Salt Lake City, their target audience in stores is children and parents.

The Walmart there was divided up between 25% of food items, 25% household items, and 50% baby accessories and food.

While out on the town, basically every person has a baby or kids in bulk. About 5-6 is the average amount of kids per family.

Within Utah we stayed in Orem and Virgin (which is right outside of Zion National Park).

The town of Virgin was exactly how it sounds, prudent, quiet with little to no action.

While camping there for three nights, we traveled to Zion National Park for the day. Zion was this gorgeously large area of BIG red rocks.

So, my question is, why is that one area of red rocks considered a national park? What makes that area better than the other red rock areas for the national parks to take ownership of it?

When

When the fire starts to burn…

While in Colorado Springs for two nights, we caught up on laundry and energy, in a nice, air-conditioned house.

We drove to Utah and stayed there for six nights, three nights were spent in a loft Air bnb, and the other three were spent camping out in the desert in our tent, while DJ and Brad slept in their hammocks.

We were lucky enough to get some shade within the average 100-degree weather of the deserts. But not lucky enough to have a campfire, since there was a fire ban in effect, due to the lack of rain fall which hasn’t happened in weeks and wont for longer.

We are now back on the road…

Why

Why is it so hot out…?

I never thought I would enjoy a super-hot atmosphere, but with dead heat like this, it doesn’t feel too bad… plus my tan is coming in faster than ever before.

The weather consists of dry heat. So dry and hot that you kind of feel cold sometimes. It’s the kind of heat that makes you sweat, but the sweat is evaporated off your body before you realize it exists.

It’s not too bad… next week it will be 116-degrees in Utah. I don’t know how people live here without pools.

How

How you doinnnnn…

Being that bitch from New York comes with a lot of questions… How did you guys plan this? Why now? Where to next?

All I can say is we just out here doing our best… we made it this far, wish us best of luck and follow my blog for updates

[optforrvliving-blog]

Good and bad effects of RV Living

Before getting into our Airstream, we had no idea what to expect. The only things we knew about RVing was from TV or the movies. Needless to say, as excited as we were about the adventures we’d go on, we were extremely nervous to find out whether we could handle life on the road. It’s easy to romanticize what it’s like to RV or travel full time, but sometimes the reality is far less glamorous.

Dumping Your Poop

This was the thing we dreaded the most. Yes, everybody poops, but I like that in a regular toilet it can disappear, and you never have to see it again. In an RV, you poop and then the RV poops. Before our very first black dump, we would try our best to use the bathroom anywhere else but in our Airstream. Turns out, unless something goes horribly wrong, it’s a painless process (here’s Jacob’s no-poop-on-me-dance!). You never actually make contact with your poop, and the chemical you put in the toilet turns everything into an unidentifiable green liquid. rv bathroom accessories https://www.rvlivingusa.com/rv-bathroom-accessories-you-shouldnt-do-without/

Limited Space

This challenged how minimal we could live. Sure, we practiced living minimally in our home and then when we started moving into smaller and smaller apartments, but this took it to the next level. The closet could only hold so many clothes and the fridge could only hold so many groceries (or in my case, diet cokes). Ultimately, it was nice to see that we could make it work. Now, we’re going through another huge purge after seeing what we could live without for 3 months.

Needing Separate Quarters

The even bigger challenge was not getting constantly pissed off at each other. Since we work together, play together, and live together, there aren’t many days (or even minutes in a day) that we spend apart. It might seem nice getting to spend 24/7 with your spouse, but if you do, you’ll soon realize that alone time can be so precious! In San Diego, we had a pretty sweet setup with our giant monitors back to back, so that during work hours we couldn’t see each other. In the Airstream, we couldn’t quite figure out a good system, which led to lots of fights over lots of stupid little things.

Why Do the Cats Poop So Much?!

I’m sure they are probably going a normal amount, but in a smaller space, we notice everything they do! We felt like we were constantly cleaning up after them. It’s a good thing we like them. ;) If you have cats, here are some tips on easing them into RV life.

Cooking with Fewer Ingredients

We met a few full-timers who still cooked extravagant meals, but most people we met had to simplify their meals. We did a lot of one pot meals. They were easier to cook and required less ingredients. Eating easier meals also meant we were eating a lot of carbs when we cooked though. Alternatively, we loved having Soylent as a meal replacement on our busy days, especially when we’re driving to a new state or when we’re out all day hiking. I think

having the Soylents evened out our bad eating habits and kept us at a decent health. Next time we go out on the road, we need to practice making more easy, healthy meals. storage ideas for rv closets https://www.rvlivingusa.com/20-storage-ideas-for-rv-closets-with-pictures/

Always Changing Community

Living on the road means you get to meet a lot of interesting people! We had great conversations, shared meals and campfires, and heard so many amazing stories. We always thought we were on the adventurous side, but we were surprised to find so many people who were far more adventurous (and might I add, much older). That gives us hope knowing that age ain’t nothing but a number. On the other hand, because we were meeting so many new people, we also ran into a handful of people who were not so pleasant. Luckily, our encounters with people were mostly positive, and it was fun seeing our Airstream friends again down the road. Even with the Airstream or RV community, though, we still missed having a stable community of friends. You can potentially find people to caravan with, but that was a rare case from what we saw.

Internet Speeds

This was easily the most painful adjustment for us since we were working from the road and handling large photo and video files. Our last home in San Diego had on average 40-50 Mbps for internet speed. Now that we look back, it’s funny that we sometimes complained about that. On the road, we were seeing a lot of 0-3 Mbps from RV parks that claimed they had internet, which had us even missing the dial up days. One of Jacob’s videos took 18 hours to upload. We started getting excited when we could find consistent speeds over 4 Mbps, which is really sad since internet in the real world starts at 5! On our last month, we finally got another hotspot, which made working a little easier but nothing compared to what we had when we were grounded. rv lighting ideas https://www.rvlivingusa.com/15-rv-lighting-ideas-for-a-more-homey-rig/

Function AND Form

Since our home was now on wheels, we couldn’t just buy things that were pretty, we had to make sure they could be packed away easily and weren’t breakable. Say goodbye to your fine china.

Flexibility

As much as you want to plan your trip, a lot can happen on the road. You have to learn to be flexible and roll with the punches. There were many places where we went mid-June and July that we had no idea was still snowed in. On the flip side, if the weather is bad, you can always move to another place and you may find new places you completely fall in love with!

Size Restrictions and Mobility

Now that we were in a big Ford F150 and Airstream, we weren’t as mobile as we were with a regular sedan. Even our Ford F150 with the hitch could not park in a single parking spot. You can forget about drive-throughs and narrow roads in a city. You also need to watch out for signs that say no trailers, trucks, etc, because sometimes those signs come out of nowhere when you’re driving (GPS doesn’t exactly exclude those roads for you). If we wanted to stop, we had to look for larger parking spots, and you definitely didn’t want to get stuck down a small road with no space to turn around.

One day we were thinking about dropping off a trailer near our friend’s place in LA, but then realized that if someone parks in front of you, you can’t hitch it back and leave. So many things we had to think about that we’d never experienced before. It was an adjustment on how you drive and where you can stop, but luckily our size trailer still allowed us to camp at National Parks and it didn’t hold us back too much. It just requires a little more patience.

Shorter Showers and Working in the Dark

There are two kinds of camping in an RV. The first is full hookups where you can plug into electric, water, and sewage. The other is dry camping, or boondocking, where you rely on the tanks and batteries you have on board. During our trip, we never learned to be efficient boondockers. We tried to charge our laptops in the truck and work on them in the dark, but between our camera gear and everything else that needed to be charged up, we were constantly running out of juice. 90% of the time, we camped in RV parks with full hookups, but even then, you have a much smaller water heater than a house or apartment, so you can’t take long hot showers. I know it’s good to conserve water, but some days when you’re sticky because you were out hiking all day, you just want a shower that lasts longer than 10 minutes. Now, we were far from roughing it and we still had all the comforts from home that we needed, but it was just in smaller quantities. rv toothbrush holder https://www.rvlivingusa.com/best-wall-mounted-toothbrush-holder-for-rv-bathroom-that-never-fails-to-impress/

All in all, this was a great test on whether RV life was for us, and we are happy to report that despite the challenges, we loved the overall experience. We’re hoping to get one of our own in the future. P.S. if you’re thinking about getting a trailer and in the market to buy a new car, don’t forget to look at tow capacities! We never imagined ourselves as truck drivers before.

When we decide to stop moving to a new city every year, we love the idea of having a home base for half the year and exploring the US the other half. Then again, who knows what life will bring!

[positivepsychologyinterventions]

My Local Town Facebook Groups are a Hot Mess

Back in the 1990s when I first got my start publishing mental health resources, it was my firm belief that the internet was a wonder that could help anyone who had access to it. I was a true believer, and it was my job to help convert not only my profession, but everyone I met.

In the 2000s, when social networking sites began to take hold, I again held out hope and expressed optimism. “Such services allow us to better keep in touch with our loved ones.”

Over the past few years, however, my optimism and faith in the internet to help bring us all closer together is beginning to slip. Seriously slip. And what is bringing me down most of all are the Facebook groups I subscribe to for each of the little local towns I live by.

Facebook is no stranger to controversy and hot water. It’s always had a very lax relationship with personal privacy, and has a history and track record that, in my mind, clearly demonstrate they don’t give a shit about you personally. I, like most people, understand that point yet still continue to use the service.

The Intent of Facebook Groups

Facebook Groups were meant to help expand the social networking giant’s reach into our lives. Introduced in 2010, they were originally intended to help friends create new social groups focused around shared interests or locales. Since that time, millions of new Groups have been created for every hobby, health condition, and town in the world. In fact, some towns around me have more than one Group devoted to them, so that residents can share local gossip and talk about local happenings and interests.

It sounds great. At the time of their introduction I thought, “What better way to enhance the feelings of connectedness with the people who live in the same town than to provide them a nice, easy-to-use platform on a service that most people already have an account with anyway?”

People will share town happenings, get excited for an upcoming art show or event, and talk about memories of the town they grew up in. If some elderly citizen’s driveway needs a quick shovel, we’d all pitch in to ensure it got done. And when that new restaurant or gift shop opens up downtown, we’d all rally around to show our support. Just found a sale going on in your favorite store, you’d share it. The local coffeeshop is selling pastries at half off, you’d post it.

Those were my perhaps unrealistic expectations when I joined my first town group.

The Reality of Facebook Groups

The reality, however, is far different.

At first, I thought that what I was seeing must’ve been an anomaly after subscribing to two different town groups. So I did what my scientist brain always tells me to do — increase the sample size.

So over the past two years, I’ve subscribed off and on to over a dozen different town groups in my region. I saw the same behavior on all of them, to varying degrees. In fact, the behavior I observed is so common across town groups, enterprising souls have made up “town bingo” cards that you can play along with, waiting for people to talk and complain about the exact same things on a regular basis.

One of the towns (more of a small city) loves to talk about police sirens in a certain bad section of town. “What are the cops doing there, anybody know?” “I hope they’re arresting those dealers down on the corner finally!” Which is exactly what I would expect of a town group. Except this conversation repeats itself nearly every week. It’s like we’re living in our own version of the movie Groundhog Day. More grimly, perhaps the drug/crime problem is really that bad — a unique warning sign to the town’s mayor.

The color of the town’s water is a big deal in many of these groups, too. It’s no wonder, since all of the towns reside along the Merrimack River, one of the most polluted rivers in New England due to cities being allowed to dump overflow sewage into it when it rains a bit too much. It also doesn’t help that many of the towns around here date from the 1700 and 1800s, with sewer and water systems that are none too young either.

Helicopter flying overhead or a plane that seems to be flying too low? Facebook Groups has got you covered! Someone will inevitably remind us that technology is in our skies, as though helicopters and planes were invented just yesterday. The fact that there is daily business being carried out in our skies that ordinary citizens generally don’t know, much less care about, seems to be a true wonder to some people.

Oh no, a new business wants to open in our historic little town! Somebody wants to build a new building? Instead of welcoming new businesses and industry, most of these town group’s members seem intent on keeping all change away. Not understanding that change is what makes diversity and growth possible (the opposite of stagnation and decline), too many of these citizens see any change to their town as a negative. Nearly always, these conversations start with, “How can we stop so-and-so from coming here?”

You wouldn’t live in New England if you didn’t have a post at least once a week noting some sort of wildlife the person saw. “I just saw a coyote, watch out, be safe, and keep your pets indoors!” It’s as if people don’t realize that most people aren’t using Facebook as a real-time social alert system any more. (And if you are, shame on you! Turn off all Facebook notifications that aren’t private messages to you. Whatever that’s going on on Facebook is not more important than what’s going on in your real life right now in front of you.)

No Way to Fix Facebook Groups for Towns

I’ve spent some time thinking about this issue and whether there’s some way to reinforce or encourage more positive behavior in Facebook groups for towns.

I’m not sure that it’s possible. Sometimes the loudest people are the ones who have the least interesting thing to say. There’s virtually no policy or guideline you could implement, even if you were an admin of one of these groups, that wouldn’t be heavy-handed and impossible to enforce.

Complaining, for better or worse, is a natural part of the human condition. It’s one of the things that brings us together. I’m just not sure it draws us closer to one another in any meaningful way, because its based in negativity.

In short, people will complain and talk about whatever is on their mind. Some people have no filter, and Facebook groups is simply a reflection of that reality. Most of us probably didn’t realize our town was full of such a diverse group of individuals until Groups made that clear. We have to take the good along with the bad, since that’s what makes a group of people potentially interesting.

The never-ending negativity, however, is grating. And since my little observational study has ended, I’m going to remove myself from some of the most negative of these groups. I’ll stay in the ones where beautiful photos of the town and surrounding views are regularly shared, and steel myself against the weekly complaints of “over development” whenever someone proposes a new business or building in town.

The intent of Facebook Groups was good. But when it comes to towns, perhaps we see a little more of our fellow citizens than we had expected.

from World of Psychology http://bit.ly/2DfkUWV via IFTTT

[psychotherapyconsultants]

My Local Town Facebook Groups are a Hot Mess

Back in the 1990s when I first got my start publishing mental health resources, it was my firm belief that the internet was a wonder that could help anyone who had access to it. I was a true believer, and it was my job to help convert not only my profession, but everyone I met.

In the 2000s, when social networking sites began to take hold, I again held out hope and expressed optimism. “Such services allow us to better keep in touch with our loved ones.”

Over the past few years, however, my optimism and faith in the internet to help bring us all closer together is beginning to slip. Seriously slip. And what is bringing me down most of all are the Facebook groups I subscribe to for each of the little local towns I live by.

Facebook is no stranger to controversy and hot water. It’s always had a very lax relationship with personal privacy, and has a history and track record that, in my mind, clearly demonstrate they don’t give a shit about you personally. I, like most people, understand that point yet still continue to use the service.

The Intent of Facebook Groups

Facebook Groups were meant to help expand the social networking giant’s reach into our lives. Introduced in 2010, they were originally intended to help friends create new social groups focused around shared interests or locales. Since that time, millions of new Groups have been created for every hobby, health condition, and town in the world. In fact, some towns around me have more than one Group devoted to them, so that residents can share local gossip and talk about local happenings and interests.

It sounds great. At the time of their introduction I thought, “What better way to enhance the feelings of connectedness with the people who live in the same town than to provide them a nice, easy-to-use platform on a service that most people already have an account with anyway?”

People will share town happenings, get excited for an upcoming art show or event, and talk about memories of the town they grew up in. If some elderly citizen’s driveway needs a quick shovel, we’d all pitch in to ensure it got done. And when that new restaurant or gift shop opens up downtown, we’d all rally around to show our support. Just found a sale going on in your favorite store, you’d share it. The local coffeeshop is selling pastries at half off, you’d post it.

Those were my perhaps unrealistic expectations when I joined my first town group.

The Reality of Facebook Groups

The reality, however, is far different.

At first, I thought that what I was seeing must’ve been an anomaly after subscribing to two different town groups. So I did what my scientist brain always tells me to do — increase the sample size.

So over the past two years, I’ve subscribed off and on to over a dozen different town groups in my region. I saw the same behavior on all of them, to varying degrees. In fact, the behavior I observed is so common across town groups, enterprising souls have made up “town bingo” cards that you can play along with, waiting for people to talk and complain about the exact same things on a regular basis.

One of the towns (more of a small city) loves to talk about police sirens in a certain bad section of town. “What are the cops doing there, anybody know?” “I hope they’re arresting those dealers down on the corner finally!” Which is exactly what I would expect of a town group. Except this conversation repeats itself nearly every week. It’s like we’re living in our own version of the movie Groundhog Day. More grimly, perhaps the drug/crime problem is really that bad — a unique warning sign to the town’s mayor.

The color of the town’s water is a big deal in many of these groups, too. It’s no wonder, since all of the towns reside along the Merrimack River, one of the most polluted rivers in New England due to cities being allowed to dump overflow sewage into it when it rains a bit too much. It also doesn’t help that many of the towns around here date from the 1700 and 1800s, with sewer and water systems that are none too young either.

Helicopter flying overhead or a plane that seems to be flying too low? Facebook Groups has got you covered! Someone will inevitably remind us that technology is in our skies, as though helicopters and planes were invented just yesterday. The fact that there is daily business being carried out in our skies that ordinary citizens generally don’t know, much less care about, seems to be a true wonder to some people.

Oh no, a new business wants to open in our historic little town! Somebody wants to build a new building? Instead of welcoming new businesses and industry, most of these town group’s members seem intent on keeping all change away. Not understanding that change is what makes diversity and growth possible (the opposite of stagnation and decline), too many of these citizens see any change to their town as a negative. Nearly always, these conversations start with, “How can we stop so-and-so from coming here?”

You wouldn’t live in New England if you didn’t have a post at least once a week noting some sort of wildlife the person saw. “I just saw a coyote, watch out, be safe, and keep your pets indoors!” It’s as if people don’t realize that most people aren’t using Facebook as a real-time social alert system any more. (And if you are, shame on you! Turn off all Facebook notifications that aren’t private messages to you. Whatever that’s going on on Facebook is not more important than what’s going on in your real life right now in front of you.)

No Way to Fix Facebook Groups for Towns

I’ve spent some time thinking about this issue and whether there’s some way to reinforce or encourage more positive behavior in Facebook groups for towns.

I’m not sure that it’s possible. Sometimes the loudest people are the ones who have the least interesting thing to say. There’s virtually no policy or guideline you could implement, even if you were an admin of one of these groups, that wouldn’t be heavy-handed and impossible to enforce.

Complaining, for better or worse, is a natural part of the human condition. It’s one of the things that brings us together. I’m just not sure it draws us closer to one another in any meaningful way, because its based in negativity.

In short, people will complain and talk about whatever is on their mind. Some people have no filter, and Facebook groups is simply a reflection of that reality. Most of us probably didn’t realize our town was full of such a diverse group of individuals until Groups made that clear. We have to take the good along with the bad, since that’s what makes a group of people potentially interesting.

The never-ending negativity, however, is grating. And since my little observational study has ended, I’m going to remove myself from some of the most negative of these groups. I’ll stay in the ones where beautiful photos of the town and surrounding views are regularly shared, and steel myself against the weekly complaints of “over development” whenever someone proposes a new business or building in town.

The intent of Facebook Groups was good. But when it comes to towns, perhaps we see a little more of our fellow citizens than we had expected.

from World of Psychology https://psychcentral.com/blog/my-local-town-facebook-groups-are-a-hot-mess/

[thechasefiles]

The Chase Files Daily Newscap 9/30/2018

Good MORNING #realdreamchasers! Here is The Chase Files Daily News Cap for Sunday September 30th 2018. Remember you can read full articles by purchasing Sunday Sun Nation Newspaper (SS), via Barbados Today (BT) or Barbados Government Information Services (BGIS).

BARBADOS' INFRASTRUCTURE IS IN A WOEFUL STATE – Barbados’ infrastructure is in a “woeful state,” and while the Government does not have the finances to deal with all the issues it will prioritize the critical needs, Prime Minister Mia Mottley has said. She made the comment following a day-long tour of flood-affected communities following the passage of Tropical Storm Kirk. The system dumped heavy rain on the island over a 12 hour period — from Thursday night into the wee hours of Friday morning.  “The . . . truth is that we have found a deficit in the country’s infrastructure. Our country’s infrastructure is in a woeful state and we need to be able to deal with it. We don’t have the money to deal with all at once but we have to prioritize what we need to and between the various ministries we are going to go after it systematically. “We also have some development work that we have to do with respect to loans that will be critical,” Mottley who was accompanied by several Cabinet Ministers and other officials told reporters. She further explained that the biggest claim on public infrastructure was water and sewage, followed by drainage and roads. “You can’t ignore [the] infrastructure for as long as we have been ignoring it and expect that it is still going to function in the same way. So when we say sometimes to people that we are focusing on needs, and not wants, it’s because we understand that the needs of the country in terms of public spaces is able to avert drainage problems . . . able to avert flooding . . . able to avert problems with the roads . . . . All of these things are as a result of a lack of attention to detail and not prioritizing how we spend public money,” Mottley added. The Prime Minister who arrived in the country early this morning, after cutting short her attendance at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, said her administration and other Government agencies will meet on Monday afternoon to get formal reports on the level of damage done by Tropical Storm Kirk. “The problems that we have are not insurmountable but we have to deal with them. In some cases there were fixes that can be dealt with immediately by the Ministry of Public Works and the Drainage Division. In other cases we will have to assist those that have been very badly affected through the Government agencies that are set up to do that. In other cases we will need to have more medium term to long term solutions,” the Prime Minister said even as she urged residents to keep their surroundings clean. “I want to be able to meet with Cabinet for us to discuss how we can have a better decentralized system where communities and households, and not just Government, can help us in this effort to be able to keep Barbados clean,” she revealed. Mottley also disclosed plans for a “major national preparation exercise” when the 2018 hurricane season comes to a close. “We are not waiting until next June because these things are affecting too many people and in ways that are substantive. So early in the new year we are going to have some . . . simulation exercises . . . .because the bottom line is that if we don’t take care of each other in preparing for this, then what happened in other jurisdictions will cause too many people regrettably to die. Most people don’t die from the water itself, they die from the consequences of it and then the other big problem afterwards is security. So these are the things that we have to get right,” the Prime Minister explained. (BT)

HIGHER FEES LIKELY – Increased user fees and staff cuts could be in the offing as local banks and insurance companies seek to recoup their losses suffered under Government’s debt restructuring programme. That programme offers to swap Government’s financial instruments on which it has defaulted – Treasury Bills, Treasury Notes, debentures, bonds and loans – for new debt instruments which maintain payment of creditors’ principal, but will pay less interest and take longer to mature. Though president of the Barbados Bankers Association Donna Wellington said she was “not at liberty to discuss this at this time”, veteran banker Harold Russell said the banks are incurring heavy losses from the debt restructuring and would seek to recoup that money. “They will try to make it up . . . by increasing their fees, by reducing their branches, by reducing their staff, by improving on their computerisation; things like that,” said Russell.  (SS)

GOVT STARTS TALKS WITH DEBTORS - Government has started to have preliminary discussions with several entities it is indebted to. Minister in the Ministry of Finance Ryan Straughn told the Sunday Sun that after these discussions reach an advanced stage, priority would be given to repayment but it would be a phased process since the country is $1.2 billion in debt, dozens of agencies are owed, and the adjustment period under the Barbados Economic Recovery Transformation (BERT) programme is underway. The minister was reluctant to provide a list of the entities owed, saying they wanted to treat to the debt as equitably as possible.  “The truth is the debt is over a billion dollars. The Government owes almost everyone in Barbados,” he admitted. (SS)

NEW NATIONAL INSURANCE BOARD – The chairman of the National Insurance Board is Ian Gooding-Edghill, while Professor Avinash Persaud is the deputy. Queen’s Counsel Leslie Haynes, and a representative each from the Barbados Workers’ Union, the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association, and the Barbados Employers’ Confederation are members. In addition, the Chief Labour Officer, the Director of Finance and Economic Affairs and the Permanent Secretary (Finance) in the Ministry of Finance, Economic Affairs and Investment, or their nominee, are on the Board. The board has been appointed for a period of two years, with effect from July 1. (BGIS)

SENATOR WIGGINS TAKES OATH – Independent Senator Alphea Margot Wiggins says her new position is a testimony to how far women have come in earning political positions. Wiggins, the outgoing deputy High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, was sworn in yesterday at Government House, Pine Hill, St Michael, 117 days after the other six Independent senators took their oaths of office on Monday, June 4. Yesterday, after the brief ceremony, Wiggins said:  “It is a privilege to be chosen by Her Excellency[Governor General Dame Sandra Mason] to serve. “And over the years, the number of women in key positions has been increasing. Women, in general, have been taking leading roles here in Barbados, but we women are coming of age,” she said. General secretary of the Barbados Workers’ Union (BWU), Toni Moore, attorneys-at-law Monique Taitt and Kevin John Boyce, Reverend Michael Bruce St John Maxwell, Lindell Elon Nurse and Christopher Maynard were the other Barbadians selected by the Governor General to be Independent senators. (BGIS)

BAR BATTLE - The fight for determining if compulsory membership to the Bar Association is unconstitutional is just getting started. That’s because former Bar Association president Tariq Khan, on behalf of his client who he did not want to identify, last week filed an application to the High Court seeking leave to appeal a recent decision by High Court judge Pamela Beckles. In a 19-page judgement handed down by Beckles last month, she had ruled that no law, inclusive of the Legal Profession Act, was more supreme than the Constitution, which provides a freedom to associate, thus determining that compulsory membership to the Bar Association was in itself, unconstitutional. Khan plans to challenge that without a doubt.  (SS)

TEEN CHARGED IN SHOOTING INCIDENT – Eighteen-year-old Mahindra Alexander Thomas of Redman Road, Deacons, St Michael has been charged in connection with last week's shooting incident in New Orleans, St Michael.  Thomas is expected to appear in the District "A" Magistrates' Court today charged with unlawful use of a firearm, use of a firearm without a license and three counts of criminal damage all allegedly occurring between September 23 and 24, 2018 at New Orleans.   One woman was slightly injured in the incident in which police said a number of spent shells from various firearms was recovered.   Investigations are continuing into the matter and police are appealing to anyone with information that can assist in solving the matter to contact them.  They are asked to contact police Major Crime Department at 430-7193 or police emergency at 211, Crime Stoppers at 1-800-8477 or the nearest police station. The police are reminding members of the public that it is a serious us offence to harbour or assist wanted persons. Anyone caught committing the offence can be prosecuted. (SS)

BIG PARADE TO END TOURISM WEEK - Tourism Week ended with a bang on as thousands danced and sang through the streets of Bridgetown on Saturday morning.  The parade highlighted numerous elements of Barbados’ tourism product including our hotels, beaches and Crop Over.  It left Queen's Park around 10:30 a.m, led by the Barbados Defence Force Band and featured performers from groups. They included cheerleaders, excited masqueraders, jet ski operators and representatives of the Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc. and the Grantley and Adams International Airport.  The event ended at Independence Square with a prize-giving ceremony.  (SS)

For daily or breaking news reports follow us on Instagram, Tumblr, Twitter & Facebook. That’s all for today folks. There are 93 days left in the year. Shalom! #thechasefilesdailynewscap #thechasefiles# dailynewscapsbythechasefiles

[hellobazilpatel-blog]

Shocking Stories From Slums In Africa

Slums in Africa

“The train bore me away, through the monstrous scenery of slag-heaps, chimneys, piled scrap-iron, foul canals, and paths of cindery mud criss-crossed by the prints of clogs. This was March, but the weather had been horribly cold and everywhere there were mounds of blackened snow. As we moved slowly through the outskirts of the town we passed row after row of little grey slum houses running at right angles to the embankment. At the back of one of the houses a young woman was kneeling on the stones, poking a stick up the leaden waste-pipe which ran from the sink inside and which I suppose was blocked. I had time to see everything about her—her sacking apron, her clumsy clogs, her arms reddened by the cold. She looked up as the train passed, and I was almost near enough to catch her eye. She had a round pale face, the usual exhausted face of the slum girl who is twenty-five and looks forty, thanks to miscarriages and drudgery; and it wore, for the second in which I saw it, the most desolate, hopeless expression I have ever-seen. It struck me then that we are mistaken when we say that ‘It isn’t the same for them as it would be for us,’ and that people bred in the slums can imagine nothing but the slums. For what I saw in her face was not the ignorant suffering of an animal. She knew well enough what was happening to her—understood as well as I did how dreadful a destiny it was to be kneeling there in the bitter cold, on the slimy stones of a slum backyard, poking a stick up a foul drain-pipe.” George Orwell, The Road to Wigan Pier. The scenario George Orwell described is exactly how life in a slum is like. If you think that the places shown in Slum Dog millionaire were just a part of some set and made to get sentiments from the audience than you need to think again because all that is real. Today even in 2017, places like that still exist and for hundreds of individuals those slums are home. Most of the countries in Africa fall below the poverty line and so slums are quite common. Slums grow as they offer something that the poor masses require, affordable system of housing near to work, public transport and school. The cities in Africa are sprawling and insanely car dependent. From Lagos to Lusaka, shopping malls and suburban housing estates which are seemingly transplanted from Atlanta or Houston are rising up at the edge of cities. But most of the African population is unable to afford cars. In Nairobi, Kenya the slums are among the very few areas that are close to jobs where it is also possible to go watch a film, go shop and get a street side meal, all without owning a vehicle.

Kibera is the largest urban slum in all of Africa, it is located in Nairobi. Sources suggest that the population of this place is well over one million people, depending on which slums are included in defining Kibera.  

Most of the residents of the slum Kibera live in extreme poverty and earn less than 1 dollar a day. The unemployment rates are sky high. Most of the residents have been infected with HIV or AIDS. Cases of rape and assault are quite common. There are a few numbers of schools and most of the people cannot afford to educate their children. As expected the sewage system is dreadful and clean water is scarce. Diseases are very common due to the poor hygiene. A majority of the people living in the slums do not have excess to basic living necessities such as running water, electricity and medical care. The neighborhood is divided into a number of villages, including Gatwekera, Lindi, Kisumu Ndogo, Kianda, Sowete East, Makina, Mashumoni, Siranga and Laini Saba. “Look, this boy's been kicked around all his life. You know-living in a slum, his mother dead since he was nine. He spent a year and a half in an orphanage while his father served a jail term for forgery. That's not a very good head start. He's had a pretty terrible sixteen years. I think maybe we owe him a few words. That's all.” Reginald Rose, Twelve Angry Men. Other slums in Africa include:. Alexandra, Gauteng in South Africa. It is more famously known as Alex and is a township. The slum if a part of Johannesburg and is considered one of the poorest urban slums in South Africa. The place has more than twenty thousand dwellings or shacks. The Nima Slum in Ghana. It is a residential town in the Greater Accra Region and the biggest slum in Accra. The people who reside in this slum find it very difficult to get cleaning water and live with very poor sanitation facilities. Shomolu is Nigeria is another slum that is an unsophisticated neighborhood in the Ikeja Division of Lago State. It is very famous because of its poor infrastructure. Agbogbloshie is located in South Ghana. It is more popularly known as Gomorrah or Sodom. It has been considered to be the largest waste dumping site in the whole world. The slum dwellers face fatal health risks from the electronic dump site located there. Approximately eighty thousand squatters deal in scrap metals from this site. The slum situation in Africa grows worse year by year, this is because these areas are neglected by the African governments and the poor cannot help themselves, they are helpless. With the growing population there seems to be little or no good news in the future for these slums. “I was born in a slum, but the slum wasn't born in me.” Jesse Jackson If you like what you read please share it with your friends and do keep on revisiting as there is way more than where this came from. Bye. Click to Post