Wednesday, May 30, 2012

The Definition of Green

The word "Green" is not the omni-term for anything environmental although there is the tendency to substitute the word "Green" for "Environmental." Environmentalism is to grand topic that has several subdivisions. Under this grand topic o environmentalism, we will find Green, Sustainable, Pollution, and Conservation. Each one of these subdivisions are immense subject on their own.

In the mash-up of words and concepts, we have lost the fundamental meaning of Green. Environmental, Green, or Sustainable now blur into that ugly green color that we made in kindergarten when we slurred all the colors into one big blob. We cannot progress when confusion reigns, and every science starts out with a definition of terms.

Environmental

The best definition of Green refers to the health impact of what we do on living things. So Green is primarily a health-related issue. This is seen in the fact that cleaning products were the early Green issues. In fact, indoor air quality is a big factor in Green buildings. Sick building syndrome was the result of poor indoor air quality, which is the antithesis of Green.

The Definition of Green

Sustainability is also badly morphed into many applications, but essentially deals with the management of our resources. This is a complimentary issue to Green, so it a Green and Sustainable business means that the company considers the health of the workplace as well as the material demands of the business.

The health of the workplace can be impacted by cleaning products, building materials, furniture, as well as paint and carpeting. "Outgassing" is a well documented concern. The installation of new carpet, new furniture, new paint, and new wood leave residual fumes as these items continue to dry out. Your senses will betray you because we think that anything new is clean and healthy, but that is a huge mistake. The varnishes and additives to paint, carpet glue, and wood fall under the category of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) that are not good for you. If your health is comprised, these fumes can worsen your condition and hasten disease. If you are healthy, the long term exposure will wear you down in time.

Think of the dust that is recirculated that contains bacteria, virus, dust mite feces and scales, carbon from the copies, and so much more. It is a wonder that we aren't sick all the time except that we are generally healthy and able to live in hostile environments for a long time.

The people who are supposed to help clean our facilities and protect our health through sanitizing processes are the janitors, but clean does not mean healthy. The ammonia in the window spray is harmful, the zinc in the floor finish is bad for humans, the numerous chemicals in the cleansers add to a worsening situation.

Mold is a persistent problem for many buildings. The mold spores are never good for the workers, and can become a crisis concern if untreated. Latent issues remain the in the HVAC system as well. It is fair to say that the air of any building is a kind of "Ground Zero" for any office or business. If the employees are negatively impacted, productivity will fall. Afternoon headache, occasional nausea, and lethargy can be signs of an unhealthy indoor air quality. So, while your building may be energy efficient, and you may be conserving water as well as recycling your trash (sustainability issues), the building may be very un-Green because it is unhealthy.

The Green Business League believes that a Green office starts with an understanding of the healthy office and a serious look at the components that compromise indoor air quality. Consider using a Green certified janitorial service that also uses Green cleaning products, microfiber cloths, and HEPA vacuums. Do not let mold go untreated. Be mindful of all paint, carpet, and furniture used in the facility because they introduce a large volume of gases into the air.

Green is a primarily a health-related issue that blends into the other topics of sustainability, pollution control, and conservation. By dividing out the topics properly, the plan of attack seem much more clear. To attack the issue in a methodic manner, businesses should considering "Going Green" first then moving into the sustainable issues. The early disdain for the word Green comes from the anti-business attitudes of ultra-conservationists that needed a target for their vitriol. Green is not an anti-business concept when properly understood. A Green business is one that is a good place for living things in the workplace, in the community, and in the world.

The Definition of Green

R Michael Richmond is the director of the Green Business League, and trainer for the Certified Sustainability Officer course. If you serve in the capacity of a sustainable officer, certification is invaluable..

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Monday, May 28, 2012

What is Aspergers Disease

Aspergers is not actually a disease at all but more of a condition that many children have. The word disease itself can give the wrong impression of Aspergers and the many wonderful children who experience it. In this article I will give a simple explanation of some of the characteristics of Aspergers and then give some useful tips on how to manage challenging behaviours which are often associated with this condition.

Aspergers is a developmental disorder that affects a child's ability to socialize and communicate effectively with others. Children with Aspergers typically exhibit social awkwardness and an all-absorbing interest in specific topics. Signs and symptoms of Aspergers include displaying unusual nonverbal communication, such as lack of eye contact, few facial expressions, or awkward body postures and gestures. People with Aspergers will often show an intense obsession with one or two specific, narrow subjects, such as baseball statistics, train schedules, weather or snakes. They will appear not to understand, empathize with, or be sensitive to others' feelings and will have a hard time "reading" other people or understanding humor. When they speak it is often in a voice that is monotonous, rigid or unusually fast. They will sometimes appear to move clumsily, with poor coordination and display an odd posture or a rigid gait

Environmental

Children with Aspergers frequently display challenging behaviors as a response to a world which they cannot deal with effectively. Any attempt to discontinue the behaviors must first consider why the behavior is occurring. The best way to establish why the individual with Aspergers is displaying challenging behaviors is to complete an A-B-C analysis. This includes an analysis of the Antecedent, Behavior, and the Consequence. The antecedent is what happens before the behavior. The behavior is their response to the antecedent. The consequence, and this is the tricky one, is whatever immediately follows the behavior. Often the child with Aspergers will have limited ability to verbalize their needs; you can help them with this once you have identified the cause of the behavior. Remember it will be something that happens either before or after the behavior occurs. Once you have established the reason for the behavior, the child with Aspergers will need a consistent behavior program or method of intervention. Children with Aspergers crave consistency and routine and need to know what is coming, or you will simply create more challenging behaviors.

What is Aspergers Disease

For children with Aspergers, the behavioral intervention should include consideration of environmental changes that may need to be made. This may include removing items that may be over-stimulating or providing things that they appear to need. For the child with Aspergers, the behavioral intervention should also plan to provide the individual with a replacement behavior. Remember, if you eliminate the behavior without meeting the need, they will find their own replacement behavior! Autism and Aspergers are difficult to diagnose especially in young children where language and cognitive skills are still developing. All children are different, and many toddlers show a sign or symptom of Aspergers at some point.

It's natural for small children to be egocentric, and many little ones show a strong interest in a particular topic, such as dinosaurs or a favorite fictional character. These alone aren't reasons to be alarmed! However, if your child has frequent problems in school or seems unable to make friends, it's time to consult your pediatrician. These difficulties have many possible causes, but developmental disorders such as Aspergers shouldn't be ruled out. Hopefully this article will have provided you with some ideas of what to do next, where to seek help and how to manage your child's behaviors better.

What is Aspergers Disease

Dave Angel is a social worker with families who have children on the Autistic Spectrum and is the author of a new e-book that answers the 46 most asked questions by parents of children with Asperger’s. To claim your free 7 day Mini-Course for parents of children with Asperger’s Syndrome visit: http://www.parentingaspergers.com today.

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Thursday, May 17, 2012

Warhammer Invasion the Card Game: Deck Building Strategies

When looking through cards trying to decide what to put into your deck it is easy to be wowed by high cost cards. The trouble is without the right amount of low cost cards the big dogs will never see play.
You need a reasonable amount of cards that cost 3 or less resources with only one loyalty symbol on the board. Our play group has dubbed these First Turn Cards(FTCs)*.

In order to create a balanced deck you need to have a large foundation of low cost cards to allow you to start gaining cards and resources early. This is why cards like Warpstone Excavation(a zero cost neutral support card that provides 1 hammer) are on the restricted list.

Warpstone Excavation is a free hammer that when played early can net you 5 - 7 resources or cards within the scope of a game. Low cost cards are huge in helping you develop a board presence before your opponent. Below is my Dark Elf / Undead Deck I plan on taking to Gen Con for the tournament. This deck works off sacrificing its own units for effects so it has a bit more low cost than most, but it still serves as a good example.

Units(number x cost + loyalty, bold denotes FTCs)

3 x 0____ Veteran Sellswords
3 x 0 + 1L Walking Sacrifice
3 x 1 + 1L Dark Initiate
3 x 2____ Crypt Ghouls
3 x 2 + 1L Dwarf Slaves
3 x 2 + 2L Thief of Essence
3 x 2 + 2L Vile Sorceress
3 x 5____ Wight Lord
3 x 6 + 3L Monster of the Deep

21 FTC Units

Support
3 x 0____ Warpstone Excavation
3 x 1____ Contested Village
3 x 2 + 2L Slave Pen

12 FTC Support

Tactics

3 x 0 + 3L Lash the Prisoner!
3 x 1 + 2L Dark Visions
3 x 1____ Warpstone Experiments
2 x 2____ Burn it Down
3 x 2 + 2L Sacrifice to Khaine

As you can see, out of a 50 card deck 33 of the cards can be played on turn 1 to gain me resources and cards for future rounds. That is 66% meaning 4 - 5 cards out of my opening hand are likely to be playable not counting the mulligan. Dark Elves are an extreme example as I stated before since many of these units are sacrifice fodder. As a generic standby rule I would use the following numbers as a starting point:

26 units --- 13 FTCs
12 Support - 9 FTCs

This gives you 22 FTCs comprising 44% of your deck. On your first draw, 3 of your 7 cards should be playable not counting your mulligan.

When you start thinking about the odds of drawing the cards you need the importance of a 50 card deck becomes even more important. Always keep this in mind when building your decks and be selective when choosing your cards. You can always take it out and try something else, but throwing a bunch of cards together isn't really giving any of them a chance.

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