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2016 is the U.N. International Year of Pulses, which will celebrate the sustainability of grain legumes. 2016 is the United Nations International Year of Pulses (IYP). Pulses, or grain legumes, include 12 crops such as dry beans, dry peas, chickpeas, and lentils, which  are high in protein, fiber, and micronutrients. In celebration of the global launch of IYP, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) created a short video highlighting unique opportunities for pulses to contribute to the future of food security. Pulses offer many opportunities for reducing the environmental footprint of food production, especially by fixing nitrogen to improve soil quality. Just 43 gallons of water can produce one pound of pulses, compared with 216 gallons for soybeans and 368 gallons for peanuts. And production of pulses emits only 5 percent of the greenhouse gas emissions associated with beef production. Furthermore, improvements in pulse productivity could be especially impactful i...

T his Christmas, in a tradition almost as hallowed as carol singing and turkey dinners, more than half of all the titles sold annually in the UK will have been traded in the frantic bazaar that dominates autumn business. This festive bonanza remains one of the few landmarks in an environment that, roughly since the millennium, has been rocked by a succession of seismic aftershocks, apparently threatening the very existence of Grub Street. This year, however, has seen a breathing space, a “year of print” ( Bookseller ), in which the end of the world was postponed yet again. For a nail-biting decade it was said that e-reading would spell death to the traditional book. Actually, the reverse has been true. A body of evidence now suggests that ebooks have actually stimulated the market for hardbacks.   Waterstones, once facing meltdown, has returned to profit ; independent bookshops are making money. So the seasonal glass turns out to be (just) half full, with all kinds of pri...

Episode 2 of a walk through the night... Jeff knew how to love a lady. Yes! And he does it effortlessly. It’s more like he was born with it. Every woman needs a man that can make her laugh, every woman also needs a man that can tease them and flatter them even when they both know it’s not the truth. Take for instance an occasion, Jeff and Joan woke up one Saturday morning and Jeff was just staring at Joan; a suspicious kind of stare. Joan of course knew that Jeff was thinking about something and that he wants to say and at same time he wouldn’t until he is asked. So she looked at him for few seconds and said “ok! What’s it? Be out with it right now” holding his neck in a playful way. “What are you ruminating in your mind say it the way it is on your mind” in his usual way, he hesitated and laughed. The kind of laughter that makes you want to strangle the person laughing. Of course he has all the time on earth. It was a Saturday morning, no work and one of those few Satu...

A walk through the night (part 1) … a tale of perseverance and persistence “ How was your night sweetheart?” Jeffery asked planting a kiss on Joan’s forehead amidst smiles. Joan woke up but didn’t respond immediately, she simply opened her eyes slightly, threw her hands into the air like she wants to catch something. “good morning your highness” she greeted “yea baby how was your night” he asked “couldn’t have been better with you by my side” she said smiling really hard and winking alongside. “see washy, nice to hear though” he said while kissing her on her lips. He was taking more time and was taking the kiss deeper before Joan pushed him aside. “You are gonna be late for work” she admonished. “Let’s pray dear” she said as she held his hands. They both shut their eyes and sang a few praises and then prayed together before Joan rounded up the prayers. “Go take your bath quickly if you don’t want a quarry from that your stubborn boss while I fix breakfast quickly; it w...

Library and Information Professionals Today (LIPT): Applications for Commonwealth Scholarships in Sout... : The Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) has launched a new international scholarships initiative in South Africa.  A ... culled from Mr. Alonge's blog.

Do read is free! I just stumbled on this piece and find it worth sharing: Love of learning is the key to success in the jobless future By Vivek Wadhwa Not long ago, school children chose what they wanted to be when they grew up, and later selected the best college they could gain admission to, spent years gaining proficiency in their fields, and joined a company that had a need for their skills. Careers lasted lifetimes. Now, by my estimates, the half-life of a career is about 10 years. I expect that it will decrease, within a decade, to five years. Advancing technologies will cause so much disruption to almost every industry that entire professions will disappear. And then, in about 15–20 years from now, we will be facing a jobless future, in which most jobs are done by machines and the cost of basic necessities such as food, energy, and health care is negligible—just as the costs of cellphone communications and information are today. We will be enteri...