CAROLINA NATURALLY

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

The Secret of Parenting, According to a Nobel Laureate

Want your kids to succeed in life? What parent doesn't? That's why we have helicopter parenting, Tiger Moms, Panda Dads and so on and so forth.
But what is the secret to creating happy children that grow up into successful adults? According to Nobel laureate and economist James Heckman, the secret to good parenting is actually less of it:

So what can parents do to help their children develop skills like motivation and perseverance? The reality is that when it comes to noncognitive skills, the traditional calculus of the cognitive hypothesis—start earlier and work harder—falls apart. Children can't get better at overcoming disappointment just by working at it for more hours. And they don't lag behind in curiosity simply because they didn't start doing curiosity work sheets at an early enough age.
Instead, it seems, the most valuable thing that parents can do to help their children develop noncognitive skills—which is to say, to develop their character—may be to do nothing. To back off a bit. To let our children face some adversity on their own, to fall down and not be helped back up. When you talk today to teachers and administrators at high-achieving high schools, this is their greatest concern: that their students are so overly protected from adversity, in their homes and at school, that they never develop the crucial ability to overcome real setbacks and in the process to develop strength of character.

Geology Ph.D. student and volcano blogger Jessica Ball recently took a detour away from volcanoes and into the world of awesome abandoned industrial sites.
Have I mentioned that I LOVE awesome abandoned industrial sites?
Ball went hiking around the former site of the Schoellkopf Power Station—a hydroelectric plant that once turned the force of Niagara Falls into electricity.

The ruins of this power plant were the second station built on the site, and were completed in 1895. Both buildings were constructed by Jacob Schoellkopf, who had purchased a hydraulic canal, the land around it and the power rights in 1877. The plant eventually became part of the Niagara Falls Power Company in the early twentieth century. But by 1956, water that had been seeping through the rock in the gorge wall behind the plant had weakened it. On June 7th, workers noticed cracks in the rear wall of the plant, and at 5 that evening a catastrophic collapse destroyed more than 2/3 of the station. One man died, several had to be rescued from the Niagara River, and debris from the collapse made it as far as the Canadian side of the Gorge.
Before the collapse, the plant was generating 360,000 kilowatts of power for the city of Niagara Falls; afterward plants on the Canadian side picked up the slack, and the destroyed plant was later surpassed by redevelopment of the hydropower infrastructure in the area, including the construction of the Robert Moses Generating Station farther downstream.

Check out her photo-filled tour of the site at the Magma Cum Laude blog

In Search Of … Glenn Miller

On December 15, 1944, big band pioneer Glenn Miller was flying from the UK to Paris to perform for soldiers. His plane reportedly vanished over the English Channel without a trace. There are many theories about what became of Glenn Miller. Some suggest that his plane was destroyed by RAF bombs jettisoned by warplanes short on fuel that were flying above Miller's single-engine plane. Another theory posits that Miller made it to Paris but died from a heart attack while having sex with a prostitute, leading the US government to let his death remain a mystery. Intrigued? For starters, check out the video above, a great episode of one of my favorite TV series. On March 7, 1980, Leonard Nimoy and team went "In Search Of… Glenn Miller."

Astronomical news

When Black Holes Feast on Screaming Stars

Sometimes, a star's final scream rips across light-years of spacetime at a very distinct frequency -- it's the frequency of black hole doom. Read more

Cassini Spots Clumpy Features in Saturn's Ring

A curiously mottled texture fills the outermost edge of Saturn's B ring in this image from the Cassini spacecraft. Read more

Curiosity Flips Powerful Camera's Dust Cap

NASA Mars rover has flipped the dust cap off a powerful camera mounted on its robotic arm. The first MAHLI photos are spectacular. Read more

Our Dangerous Galactic Passage

Our future in the galaxy is fraught with unpredictable danger, but doomsday is never right around the corner. Read more

Random Celebrity Photo

A would-be juror who claimed 'extremely homophobic and racist views' faces prosecution

A would-be juror faces prosecution after he claimed he was unable to fulfill his service due to his 'extreme homophobic and racist views'. A letter written by the man was read out in court after he was selected to serve on a case of a man on trial for assault and dangerous driving. Presiding Judge Gary Burrell QC read the letter out in open court in which the man said his extreme views made it impossible for him to be impartial. The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was due to serve at Southampton Crown Court in Southampton, Hants.

He wrote: "I strongly believe that it would be a serious injustice to the legal system to select me for jury service. I hold extreme prejudices against homosexuals and black/foreign people and couldn't possibly be impartial if either appeared in court. Therefore it would not be in the court's interest to have me a juror." He admitted that in his eagerness to bring any case to a swift conclusion, he would simply vote with the majority and not give his true opinion.

He added: "I would be more than happy to speak to a judge regarding my personal views on the legal system, which I do not hold in high regard." Prosecuting and defense barristers Rebecca Austin and Robert Bryan lodged a challenge to him as a juror. When questioned by Judge Burrell about whether these were his true beliefs he confirmed they were. He also added that he didn't think he had the right to 'judge anyone'. Judge Burrell concluded it was difficult to know for sure whether those were the man's beliefs or if he was simply trying to manipulate the system.

Either way, he said the opinions were not those held by the vast majority of the population and dismissed him from both the jury and the court building. Judge Burrell said: "If you do genuinely hold these views then you are someone who should not be on the jury. I also question whether you should be doing anything responsible in society at all." The man, who was escorted from the court, was warned he now faced prosecution under the Contempt of Court act for failing to serve on a jury.

A woman is arrested after forcing husband's mouth apart

A woman in Crestview, Florida, who said her husband was cheating on her was arrested after she allegedly jumped on his back and forced his mouth apart with her fingers. On Aug. 30 two Okaloosa County Sheriff's deputies were called to a residence about a disturbance.

Once there they interviewed a husband and wife, the apparent source of the disturbance. The man said he'd been involved in an argument with his wife over a text message. He came at about 8:30 that night and the argument continued, with his wife following him around the house, yelling in his face.

While in the bedroom, she allegedly jumped on his back and put her arm around his neck. He removed her arm, but then she grabbed him from behind and placed her fingers in his mouth, pulling his mouth apart, the arrest report indicated. This was said to have caused a small cut in his mouth.

The woman told deputies she had found out her husband was cheating on her and she'd told him not to come home. As they argued, somehow her fingers "ended up in his mouth," the deputy wrote. The woman was charged with misdemeanor battery. Her court date is Sept. 18.

A drunk man who wandered home in his underpants sparked lifeboat search

A drunk man wearing just his underwear sparked a coastguard search during the early hours after leaving his clothes and boots on Weymouth beach in Dorset.

Portland Coastguard feared the man had gone into the sea so two lifeboats were launched and lifeguards searched the beach for over an hour. Police found the man "a little worse for wear" at about 05:00 BST.

A coastguard spokesman said he had walked about a mile back to the house he was staying - in just his underwear. "When he was found he was a bit worse for wear," he said. "He turned up back safe at the house where he was staying and was slowly sobering up."

Dorset Police managed to track the man down after finding identification in his discarded wallet. His pile of clothes - including his jeans, boots and socks - had been found by street pastors who raised the alarm.

Three arrested at New Delhi airport after man found with slender loris in his underpants

Three Dubai-bound men were arrested on Sunday for allegedly smuggling rare species of small monkeys after a simian was found hidden in the undergarments of one of the accused at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport in New Delhi.

The passengers identified as Al Dhaheri Hamad, Al Shamsi Mohammed, Al Shamsi Rashid, were intercepted by CISF personnel during checking after they arrived from Bangkok and were proceeding to board a Jet Airways flight to Dubai. The security personnel were stunned to recover a monkey (species 'slender loris'), seven inches in length and 150gm in weight, hidden in the undergarments of one of the passengers, who were traveling in a group.

"On their direction another little monkey was recovered from a dustbin in the airport. They had abandoned him as they were unable to carry him," a senior security official said. Wildlife and Customs department officials were immediately called in and the three were handed over to them for further questioning. Sources said the trio have been booked under various sections of Wildlife Act and were handed over to the Customs authorities who later arrested them.

YouTube link.

The authorities will ascertain the details about the exact origin and status of the recovered monkeys, they said. This is a rare instance of smuggled endangered animals being recovered at the IGI airport. The CISF has decided to award its personnel who detected the incident.

Suspected gas leak turned out to be fermented herring

On Saturday, two fire trucks, two police cars and an emergency gas leak team all rushed towards the Stockholm neighborhood Södermalm, having been alerted by concerned neighbors who smelled gas in the stairwell, but the unpleasant smell turned out to come from something less dangerous.

“The person who called the police had spoken to several neighbors in the house who also thought it smelled like gas, and were worried,” said Stockholm fire fighter Björn Hörnsten. On the scene, however, emergency services were quickly able to classify the unpleasant smell as harmless, since it didn’t come from anything more dramatic than a traditional Swedish autumn party.

“I guess somebody didn’t know what surströmming smells like,” said Sven-Erik Olsson from the police’s command center. Surströmming, or fermented herring, is a traditional Swedish delicacy, but its odor is notoriously foul. In the beginning of fall, it’s not uncommon for Swedes to gather some friends and spend an evening together enjoying the smelly fish at what is called a surströmmingsskiva (fermented herring party).

But on this occasion, the smell spread from the apartment out to the stairwell, scaring the neighbors. “They’ve got gas in the building, so I find it a bit strange that they called us. They ought to know what it smells like when you turn on a gas stove. It doesn’t smell like surströmming at all,” said Hörnsten. According to the Stockholm fire department, this isn’t the first time they’ve rushed out to respond to an emergency call and ended up at a surströmming party.

Random Photo

bellabellaboutique:

Such a cute leopard print lingerie set.

The Dukha

The Tsataan Reindeer Herders of Mongolia have learned to co-exist with the reindeer. The Dukha (Mongolian: Цаатан, Tsaatan) are a small culture of reindeer herders living in northern Khövsgöl Aimag of Mongolia.

Fifteen Star-Shaped Forts From Around The World

Star-shaped forts are a particularly interesting type of fortification. They first appeared around the time that gunpowder became commonly used in warfare. The unusual shape of the forts and the fact that they were made of hard-to-shatter brick helped the forts stand up to cannonball fire.

These incredible structures are among the most memorable, the most beautiful, and the most historically important forts from around the world.

Medieval Shipwreck Found in Danube River

Partially buried in mud and gravel near the riverbank some 18 miles north of Budapest, the flat bottomed wreck is about 40 feet long. Read more

Awesome Pictures

Droughts are Pushing Trees to the Limit

As temperatures rise and droughts become more severe in the Southwest, trees are increasingly up against extremely stressful growing conditions ...

Caribbean Corals Mostly Dead

The Caribbean's coral reefs have collapsed, mostly due to overfishing and climate change, according to a new report released by the International Union for Conservation of Nature .
In the most comprehensive study yet of Caribbean coral reefs, scientists have discovered that the 50 to 60 percent coral cover present in the 1970s has plummeted to less than 10 percent. “I’m sad to tell you it’s a dire picture,” Carl Gustaf Lundin, director of IUCN’s Global Marine and Polar Programme, said at a news briefing Friday at the World Conservation Congress in Jeju Island, South Korea.

150 million years ago, a horseshoe crab found itself at the bottom of a lagoon without any oxygen in the water. It walked for at least 9.7 meters berfore collapsing and dying.
It is sad for the horseshoe crab, but of benefit to modern paleontologists because the crab and its final steps have been preserved in an excellent fossil record. Dean Lomax of the Doncaster Museum and Art Gallery describes the find:

"The lagoon that the animal found itself in was anoxic, so at the bottom of these lagoons there was no oxygen and nothing was living," Mr Lomax told the BBC.
"This horseshoe crab [Mesolimulus walchi] found itself on the lagoon floor and we can tell by looking at the trace that the animal righted itself, managed to get on to its feet and began to walk," he explained.
However, the anoxic conditions of the lagoon floor quickly proved fatal to the arthropod and it soon began to struggle.
"We started to study the specimen closer and saw that the walking patterns and the animal's behaviour started to change. The leg impressions became deeper and more erratic, the telson (the long spiny tail) started being lifted up and down, up and down, showing that the animal was really being affected by the conditions," he said.
"To find a trackway and its track-maker preserved together in the fossil record is extremely rare. Working out who made a trackway is normally like detective work. In this case, the suspect has been caught in the act," Dr Nic Minter, currently of the University of Saskatchewan, Canada, who was not involved in the study, told BBC News.