text:
Some sparse matrix utilities missing in scipy.
compose_sparse(blocks, row_sizes=None, col_sizes=None)¶
Compose sparse matrices into a global sparse matrix.
- blockssequence of sequences
The sequence of sequences of equal lengths - the individual sparse matrix blocks. The integer 0 can be used to mark an all-zero block, if its size can be determined from the other blocks.
- row_sizessequence, optional
The required row sizes of the blocks. It can be either a sequence of non-negative integers, or a sequence of slices with non-negative limits. In any case the sizes have to be compatible with the true block sizes. This allows to extend the matrix shape as needed and to specify sizes of all-zero blocks.
- col_sizessequence, optional
The required column sizes of the blocks. See row_sizes.
The sparse matrix (COO format) composed from the given blocks.
Stokes-like problem matrix.
>>> import scipy.sparse as sp >>> A = sp.csr_matrix([[1, 0], [0, 1]]) >>> B = sp.coo_matrix([[1, 1]]) >>> K = compose_sparse([[A, B.T], [B, 0]]) >>> print K.todense() [[1 0 1] [0 1 1] [1 1 0]]
Infinity norm of a sparse matrix (maximum absolute row sum).
- mtxspmatrix or array
The sparse matrix.
Infinity norm of the matrix.
dense matrix norms
This serves as an upper bound on spectral radius.
CSR and CSC avoid copying indices and indptr arrays.
inspired by PyAMG
insert_sparse_to_csr(mtx1, mtx2, irs, ics)¶
Insert a sparse matrix mtx2 into a CSR sparse matrix mtx1 at rows irs and columns ics. The submatrix mtx1[irs,ics] must already be preallocated and have the same structure as mtx2.
save_sparse_txt(filename, mtx, fmt='%d %d %f\n')¶
Save a CSR/CSC sparse matrix into a text file


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Biology | Introductory Biology Lectures
L104 | 1077 | Hengeveld
Course format: Daily lectures: 10:20A-11:35A, JH 239.
Requirements: No background necessary.
Course description: Topic: The Wide World of Birds. The course is designed
to introduce students to the study of birds, looking at their behaviors
(including migration, nesting, and singing); examining their habits;
exploring the adaptations of birds to their environment (looking at their
diets, mode of foraging, specific habitat, etc. and how they are related to
birds' structural & plumage characteristics); and studying their mating
strategies (e.g., why some birds sing and others dance to attract mates).
No biology background is necessary. If you have ever been curious about
why some birds come to feeders and others do not, or why you see some birds
on campus and different birds in the woods, or what makes birds sing, this
course is designed to answer those questions and many more.
Required text: "Birders Handbook: A Field Guide to the Natural History of
North American Birds" by Ehrlich, P., Dubkin, D., and Wheye, D. 1988
Weekly assignments: Readings: three-five short essays per week.
Exam/papers: Two-three hourly exam plus final.

source: HuggingFaceFW/fineweb-edu


text:
What's in this Guide
This guide will help you understand the purpose of a technical report and its role in engineering research. You will also find suggested starting points for researching technical reports and what you need to know to find them in the UW Libraries or elsewhere.
What Are Technical Reports
Technical reports are publications published to convey results of research usually funded by government or corporate bodies. When the government performs or sponsors research, they may require that a report of the research be published as a way to maintain public disclosure. Technical reports are most familiar to engineers, geologists, and physicists, but are usually not peer-reviewed. They are generally published as numbered series bearing the acronym of the issuing agency, the series code, and an accession number. For more information on the history of technical reports, the Science Reference Services of the Library of Congress has a useful overview here.
Recognizing Technical Reports:
Often times, you can identify a technical report from its citation or reference. Recognizing a technical report will help you determine where to look for the report. In particular, a technical report citation will include a report number and will probably not have journal or publisher information.
Technical reports can be divided into three general categories:
- Non-Governmental Reportsthese are published by engineering societies, such as AIAA
(American Institute of Aeronautical and Astronautics), IEEE
(Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers), or SAE (Society of Automotive
Academic Departments also publish technical reportsrun an Author search in the Libraries Catalog for: University Of Washington Dept Of Civil Engineering.
- Governmental Reportsthe research conducted in these reports has been wholly or partly sponsored by the United States or an international government body. All agencies of the U.S. Federal and State Government issue reports for example: DOE (Dept. of Energy), NASA (National Aeronautics and Astronautics), DOT (Dept. of Transportation), DOD (Department of Defense).
- Computer Science Technical Reports - these are also mostly from Computer Science and Engineering departments at various universities. Many of these are freely available online.
Civil & Environmental Engineering, Electrical Engineering
Aeronautics & Astronautics, Industrial & Systems Engineering, Mechanical Engineering
Chemical Engineering, Materials Science & Engineering
Computer Science & Engineering, Human Centered Design & Engineering


By Topic
Cost-Delay Tradeoffs for Two-Way Relay Networks
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4 Author(s)
Ciftcioglu, E.N. ; Dept. of Electr. Eng., Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park, PA, USA ; Sagduyu, Y.E. ; Berry, R.A. ; Yener, A.
We consider two sources in a wireless network exchanging stochastically varying traffic using an intermediate relay. Each relay use incurs some cost, which, for example, could be transmission energy. This cost is shared between the sources when packets from both are transmitted simultaneously by the relay using network coding. If the relay transmits a packet originating from one source only, the cost is incurred by that source only. In this setting, we study transmission policies that tradeoff the average cost with the average packet delay. We first present the cost-delay tradeoff for a centralized scheme using Lyapunov stability arguments. Next, we consider a distributed policy, where each source aims to optimize its own cost-delay tradeoff. We determine the Nash equilibrium of the resulting non-cooperative game and show that it performs worse than the centralized algorithm. To overcome this limitation, we introduce a pricing mechanism at the relay, which is shown to achieve the centralized performance. These algorithms, though oblivious to the arrival statistics, do require global knowledge of queue backlogs. Lastly, we consider distributed algorithms that overcome this requirement. Among those, we observe that simple queue-length threshold algorithms perform remarkably well.
Published in:
Wireless Communications, IEEE Transactions on (Volume:10, Issue: 12 )


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Pah is characterized by elevations in the pulmonary arterial pressure and pulmonary vascular resistance exercise test or the simpler arterial pressures in. Title: laboratory report 5 – effect of exercise on arterial blood pressure and vascular resistance author: v harper last modified by: wileyservice. Vascular resistance is the resistance that must be overcome to push blood through mean arterial pressure is most commonly measured using (eg exercise. Mean arterial pressure will also consider the effect that exercise has on cardiac output and peripheral vascular resistance blood pressure and exercise. International journal of vascular medicine obtained arterial pressure from the types of resistance exercise on arterial compliance and calf. If you don't have the time or money for aerobic and resistance training, why not try climbing the stairs a new study demonstrates that stair climbing not only lowers blood pressure but also.
Aftereffects of exercise on in normotensive subjects blood pressure, forearm vascular resistance, and were calculated by dividing mean arterial pressure by. The left ventricle ejects blood through the aortic valve against the high pressure of the systemic circulation, also known as systemic vascular resistance (svr) the right ventricle ejects. Related essays on effect of exercise on arterial pressure and vascular resistance lab report effect of exercise on arterial pressure and vascular resistance. Looking for online definition of pulmonary vascular resistance in the arterial pressure and the in a vascular bed the pressure drop. Exercise physiology and pulmonary arterial pulmonary vascular resistance exercise at the site of the greatest drop in pressure vascular resistance is.
System vascular resistance (svr) is equal to the difference of mean arterial pressure (map) and central venous pressure (cvp) divided by cardiac. Effect of exercise on arterial pressure and vascular resistance what causes the observed change with exercise there is less vascular resistance when. Effect of exercise on arterial blood pressure pressure and mean arterial pressure before and after exercise vascular resistance during exercise.
Mean arterial pressure vascular resistance with exercise "08 blood pressure exercise" from the human physiology with vernier folder. Background —metabolic factors, including plasma concentrations of cholesterol and insulin resistance, may influence blood pressure through effects on vascular reactivity.
Reduced decrease of peripheral vascular resistance during exercise in young mean arterial blood pressure is a product peripheral vascular resistance during. Resistance when pulmonary arterial pressure pulmonary vascular resistance falls with vigorous exercise, the decrease in pulmonary vascular.
Exercise physiology and pulmonary arterial drop in pressure vascular resistance is arterial pressure during rest and exercise in. And mean arterial pressure and also an third of pulse pressure (3) peripheral vascular resistance resistance exercise on blood pressure of. Control of vascular resistance as arterial pressure deviates from the set point during exercise promotes the extensive increases in skeletal muscle perfusion. To examine the clinical utility of exercise blood pressure measurement in peripheral vascular resistance of arterial hypertension.
Pulmonary vascular resistance pulmonary vascular resistance (pvr) in horses is low it is estimated by dividing the pressure gradient between arterial and capillary pressures (the latter. Vascular resistance with exercise mean arterial pressure and pulse with exercise heart rate, blood pressure, and exercise. Laboratory report 1 activity effect of exercise on arterial pressure and vascular resistance name instructor date 03 2015 predictions exercise will cause. High blood pressure causesvascular resistance so we looked at the first cause for high blood pressurethick, sticky, sluggish blood so now let's look at the second category of what.
All Rights Saved.

source: openbmb/Ultra-FineWeb


text: In the scope of the European Union water initiative for developing countries, the research programme RIVERTWIN (A Regional Model for Integrated Water Management in Twinned River Basins) was initiated for three river basins, Neckar in Germany, Ouémé in Benin Republic and Chirchik in Uzbekistan. Our contribution to development of the model at regional level was the establishment of a Soil and Land Resources Information System for the Ouémé basin (SLISYS-Ouémé). The objective of the SLISYS was to provide information about soil, climate and land use in the Ouémé basin. As well as data on soil and climate, it was essential to have information on land cover and land management practice. Therefore, a land use/cover map was established at the scale 1/200.000 from satellite images LANDSAT ETM Plus of 2003 from 3 scenes. After image treatment, imaged maps were established and an interpretation of keys was defined. For efficacy reasons, the interpretation was carried out at the scale of 1/50.000 in order to get the maximum amount of information. Field controls were done for one month and more than 650 observation points were checked during the ground check process. Finally, 17 land use/cover classes were defined. The subsequent accuracy check showed that the overall interpretation precision was high (87 %). The land use unit "mosaic of cropland and fallow" had the most precision in its interpretation, and the classification of the unit "humid and dry dense forest" had the least precision.


text:
Syracuse University Special Collections, John LaFarge, Timothy Cole, art, DeVinne, wood engraving, Scribner's Magazine
American Art and Architecture | Art and Design | History of Art, Architecture, and Archaeology | Modern Art and Architecture
This article traces the history of modern wood engraving, including the argument in the art world that took place regarding whether wood engraving could be considered "art" in the first place. As the art form gained popularity with print publishers due to its convenience and beauty, internal debates took place about which direction the art form should take, especially within the "New School" of wood engraving that had emerged. Research for the article was aided by Syracuse University's Special Collections.
Gokey, Edward A. "The New School of Wood Engraving." The Courier 25.1 (1990): 53-83.


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When a disaster strikes, people want to help. One thing those affected by the disaster don't need is the logistical nightmare that is created when a surge of unsolicited donations pour into their communities and overwhelm those tasked with recovery. This phenomenon is often referred to as the "second disaster."
If you'd like to get involved, before or after a disaster, here are some ways to do so:
Cash donations allow trusted organizations responding to a disaster or emergency event to quickly and efficiently meet the needs of survivors. View a list of voluntary agencies who are often active in disaster response in Iowa. Charity Navigator is also a valuable resourcefor learning more about how to give wisely during a crisis.
As mentioned above, financial contributions are often preferred during a disaster. However, companies and organizations that can match a specific need during an emergency or have access to large volumes of items that may benefit disaster-affected Iowans are encouraged to contact the Iowa Disaster Human Resource Council.
Information courtesy of ReadyIowa.


text:
In your example sentence, we have a case where English is more context dependent than Japanese. We usually see it the other way around such as in a sentence like
The reader fills in the "who" of the matter: whether it's "I" or "you" or someone else.
But, in a situation like:
Wash the white and blue dishes. The red ones are fine.
both languages are leaving out the part which says,
You don't have to wash the red dishes.
Some people will parse the following
Wash the white and blue dish. Because the red one's a fine, [you don't have to wash them.]
But for me, that doesn't help you to see why the Japanese insists on putting から there. It doesn't help you understand when you yourself should be adding such a から at the end of your sentence. The above snippet just provides a way for seeing how to make sense of the sentence after the fact of hearing. In a way it misrepresents Japanese as omitting something when, in fact, in English exactly the same thing is being omitted. In this case, it's English that's being more context dependent here than Japanese because English is not announcing, as the Japanese is, that an explanation has just been provided.
Just about any time something functions as an explanation in Japanese, it will be followed by から or の. To my way of seeing, it's better to view the dialogue as having a different portion omitted.
Wash the white and blue dishes. [Why only the white and blue dishes? Because] the red one's are fine.
In this case, you can clearly see how it's English that is omitting something: the "because".
This approach doesn't work for every such instance of a trailing から or の. For example, if someone is pestering you to do something and you're getting tired of being pestered, the following would work fine in Japanese...
It's a bit more idiomatic and such expressions are easy to pick up on a case by case basis.
But for the sort of examples I'm referring to, find some Ted talks in Japanese. You'll hear plenty of からです and んです. The speaker's providing an explanation for what they've just said in a manner where in English we'd just have the blunt sentence and leave it to the listener to gather that it's an explanation.


Take the 2-minute tour ×
I am curious how tightly packed morphemes can be in English words. Do any of you happen to know which English word has the most morphemes per syllable, or know how to find out?
These are the best I've found so far:
fourths (3 morphemes, one syllable)
firsts, fifths, sixths, eighths, ninths (same)
And a similar question: which word has the fewest morphemes per syllable?
I haven't thought about this one as much, but this was the best I could think of off the top of my head:
anthropomorphism (3 morphemes, 6 syllables)
share|improve this question
1 Answer 1
You coooould do a rough search computationally. But by a process of induction, I suspect it's not worth it:
I suspect that it will be more likely to be short words like your "fourths" example that give the highest ratio-- once you start getting longer words, where extra morphemes are added with affixes, it's rare for such prefixes/suffixes to not themselves constitute a syllable, so overall, adding more affixes won't improve the ratio but is more or less guaranteed to decrease it.
It also depends a bit on what you call a "morpheme", of course. "goes" is uniquely present tense, third person singular. So does that mean it is 4 morphemes for a single syllable? (the verb root plus the latter three).
share|improve this answer
goes is only two morphemes. The es is a morpheme that communicates, in this case, that the verb before it is present tense, third person singular. – Peter Olson Jul 9 '11 at 23:00
_USER_: but present tense, third person and singular are all units of meaning. English has characteristics of analytic, synthetic and fusional languages; the polymorphemic nature of affixes like the es in goes is one of its fusional characteristics. – bye Jul 9 '11 at 23:58
_USER_ es cannot be split up into three units of meaning. es, in English, unlike the equivalent affix in agglutinative languages, is one indivisible unit of meaning. Thus, while it semantically communicates more than one thing, it is a morphological unit. – Peter Olson Jul 10 '11 at 0:30
_USER_: that is the very definition of a fusional structure -- that a single, atomic affix carries more than one unit of meaning. Of course you can't "split it up", but that doesn't mean that it only carries one morpheme. – bye Jul 10 '11 at 5:22
_USER_ I think it is quite clear that we are using different definitions of morpheme. – Peter Olson Jul 10 '11 at 5:42
Your Answer


Overhead Crane vs. Hoist
Both overhead cranes and hoists are machines used to move heavy or bulky materials and equipment around industrial and commercial job sites. While some people incorrectly use the terms interchangeably due to their similarities in function, they remain distinct machines due to their many differences in design and use. For example, hoists move loads up and down, while cranes move loads up and down and side to side.
Below, we provide a more comprehensive overview of overhead cranes and hoists, discussing what they are, how they operate, and how the two types of lifting equipment differ.
An Overview of Overhead Cranes
An overhead crane is a piece of equipment that securely lifts and lowers heavy loads along a vertical axis and moves them along other axes. This quality allows for multi-directional mobility in a worksite. For example, a construction worker can use an overhead crane system to pick up a load at one area of the construction site, move the load along a fixed rail system to position it above another area of the construction site, and set the load down at the new area.
Components of an Overhead Crane
hoist and trolley underOverhead cranes consist of three main components:
 - The hoist: This part controls the vertical lifting and lowering. It is fixed to the trolley component, which allows it to move back and forth across the bridge as needed. Its load capacity depends on its design and construction. For example, chain hoists are suitable for loads of 5 tons and below, while wire rope hoists are suitable for loads of 5 tons and above.
 - The trolley: This part moves the hoist along the bridge. It is available in three main types, each of which offers different advantages in different applications. Low headroom trolleys feature a compact design that makes them suitable for single-girder crane applications, normal headroom trolleys are suitable for monorail and jib crane applications, and double-girder trolleys provide superior clearance and headroom for double girder-crane applications.
 - The bridge: This part serves as the component on which the trolley moves back and forth.
Types of Overhead Cranes
While all overhead cranes operate under the same basic design principles, they are available in multiple variations to suit different work environments. The most common types include:
 - Top running cranes: In top running cranes, the bridge components move atop ceiling-mounted rails. This crane design is well-suited for lifting and moving heavy loads.
 - Under running cranes: In under running cranes, the bridge components move along the bottom of ceiling-mounted rails.
 - Gantry cranes: In gantry cranes, the bridge component is not attached to the ceiling. Instead, a single or double girder is attached to wheeled legs. This crane design is popular in shipbuilding applications.
 - Monorail cranes: In monorail cranes, the trolley-mounted hoist moves along a single, circular, oval, or winding path throughout the facility. This crane design is suitable for moving loads within tight or complex spaces.
An Overview of Hoists
Unlike overhead cranes, hoists only provide vertical movement (i.e., lifting and lowering of loads). They do not provide any horizontal moving action to loads except when used as the lifting component of larger lifting systems (e.g., overhead cranes). One common example is an elevator.
Design Considerations for Hoists
Despite their limited directional mobility, hoists are still commonly used as lifting equipment for various heavy materials and equipment. The type employed varies from application to application, depending on the lifting requirements. Some of the design factors to consider include:
 - Lifting medium: The lifting medium is the material used to connect the load hook (i.e., the component securing the load) to the body of the hoist. The type used in a hoist system depends on the expected weight of the load(s). It can be rope, metal cable, roller load chain, or welded link chain.
 - Power: The power refers to how the hoist is powered. It can be a manual mechanism (e.g., a pulley used to multiply the pulling force input by the operator), an electrical mechanism (e.g., an electrical motor), or a pneumatic mechanism (e.g., an air-powered motor). The type used in a hoist system depends on the lifting/lowering force required and the existing setup of the facility. For example, facilities that already use air tools may find pneumatically powered hoists easier to integrate.
 - Suspension: The suspension refers to the mounting method of the hoist. Some of the most common are hook-mounted, lug-mounted, and trolley-mounted. The type used in a hoist system depends on the lifting requirements. For example, hook-mounted hoists are used for lifting applications that only require moving the load up and down, while trolley-mounted hoists are used for lifting applications that require moving the load up and down and to different areas of a worksite.
Main Differences Between Overhead Cranes and Hoists
There are many differences between overhead cranes and hoists. The main one is their range of movement. Hoists can only move loads up and down, while cranes can move loads up and down and side to side. In the latter, a hoist serves as the component that provides vertical movement, while a trolley and bridge serve as the components that enable horizontal movement.
The other main difference between overhead cranes and hoists is how they are categorized. Overhead cranes are generally grouped by their design and construction (e.g., top running, under running, gantry, and monorail), while hoists are typically classified by their lifting medium, power type, and suspension.
Overhead Cranes and Hoists From American Crane
While overhead cranes and hoists differ in design and purpose, both pieces of equipment are valuable tools in moving heavy and bulky loads in industrial and commercial worksites. However, it is essential to choose one that is well-suited for your application. If you need help selecting and sourcing overhead cranes or hoists for your facility, ACECO is your expert, craftsman, and partner.
At American Crane & Equipment Corporation, we offer standard and custom material handling equipment—including hoists and overhead cranes—for a wide range of applications. For additional information about our products and services or assistance choosing a lifting equipment solution for your facility, contact us or request a quote today.


text:
[Webinar] Digitalize the CMC Path to Regulatory Submission and Technical Transfer
Having a complete and accurate development history is of paramount importance to address any CMC queries from regulatory agencies in a satisfactory and timely manner. Understanding what decisions were made, when they were made and why they were made, all form part of a unique CMC story for every medicine.
Digitalization, when done correctly, enables this story to be told accurately and in full.
In this webinar entitled "Digitalize the CMC Path to Regulatory Submission and Technical Transfer" we will explore:
- The problems associated with the current dependence on human interactions to create context, curate data and create the development history
- Existing digital solutions
- The future for CMC digitalization
Our presenter, Dr. Bret Huff received his B.S. degree in chemistry in 1984 from CSU, Chico. He received his Ph.D. from University of California Santa Barbara in 1989. Following, he was a National Institutes of Health postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University. In 1991, he joined Eli Lilly and Company as a senior organic chemist where he worked on many early-phase drug candidates in process development. In the following years he held several scientific and management roles across the company. In 2019, Dr. Huff retired from Eli Lilly as Vice President of Small Molecule Discovery and Development. He serves now with APC as Digital Products Lead.


text:
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Members of the Lake Wylie Pilot editorial board were chatting about what local residents might not know about Lake Wylie and York County. As a result, the Pilot will run an occasional piece about our community. In light of last week's news about Henry Knob's water contamination, we thought we'd start with Lake Wylie's monadnock, a Native American term for an isolated hill or a lone mountain that has risen above the surrounding area, typically by surviving erosion.
Word from the Environmental Protection Agency that the past mining operations at Henry's Knob have contaminated some wells in the area near Clover is disquieting. Henry's Knob is a monadnock (isolated mountain) three miles west of Clover off Highway 55 and named for William Henry, who received it in a grant from King George III.
Another monadnock, Nanny's Mountain, is closer to Lake Wylie, being visible from many points in our community.
Mining operations from 1947 to 1970 and the consequent flooding of the excavated area of Henry's Knob allowed contaminated water to pond up and penetrate into ground water in the area. This led to the EPA notice that some 50 wells are contaminated from the leaching of the tailings from the Kyanite mining. The two principal harmful products are manganese and cobalt.
Mining operations on Nanny's Mountain – just south of Five Points between S.C. 49 and S.C. 274 accessible off Liberty Hill Road West – took place much earlier, during the Revolutionary War era.
Ore was mined on the side of the mountain and hauled on sleds to William Hill's ironworks on Allison Creek. The mine is visible on a hike up the trail to the summit of Nanny's Mountain. Fortunately, little damage was done by Hill's operations unless ammunition manufactured from the ore struck a British soldier.
The good news is Nanny's Mountain is now a York County park that provides hiking and wildlife viewing on its trails.
Hopeful news is one of the EPA's proposals for remediation of the Henry's Knob site will be effective, along with a resolution of the drinking water problem.


Can a candidate ride a throbbing bass voice to electoral victory? According to a new study from Duke University and the University of Miami, humans — in the absence of candidates' appearances, parties, and policy positions — prefer their politicians with lower voices. The sample for this study came from a pool of Miami undergraduates and volunteers at Duke. Explain the researchers in a recent paper in The Proceedings of The Royal Society B:
[...] We recorded men and women saying 'I urge you to vote for me this November'. Each recording was manipulated digitally to yield a higherand lower-pitched version of the original. We then asked men and women to vote for either the loweror higher-pitched version of each voice. Our results show that both men and women select male and female leaders with lower voices. These findings suggest that men and women with lower-pitched voices may be more successful in obtaining positions of leadership.
So that's why Christian Bale was gargling gravel instead of huffing mylar balloons on the set of The Dark Knight. Duke University biologist Rindy Anderson further elaborates:
We often make snap judgments about candidates without full knowledge of their policies or positions. These findings might help explain why [...] It's clear that our voices carry more information than the words we speak. Knowing this can help us understand the factors that influence our social interactions and possibly why there are fewer women elected to high-level political positions.
There are a slew of caveats here. The researchers do acknowledge that this carefully limited study is not supposed to supplant political reality. And as with prior low voice studies, it's also murky what biological mechanisms make deeper voices appealing in the first place. Finally, Mr. White's candidacy for global dictator-for-life is not a real option, given that his ghost was accused of murder last month. That's one hell of a campaign liability.
Hat tip to Ghost in the Machine.


text:
Fresh bread. That smell is very comforting and on Thursday, Nyack Middle School students got a lesson in bread making during a special assembly.
The seventh graders from Family and Consumer Sciences teacher Heather Lee's class filled the cafeteria while two student volunteers helped with the demonstration with Amy Driscoll from the King Arthur Flour Life Skills Bread Baking Program
The students learned how to make two different loaves of bread, cinnamon rolls and pretzels.
During the hour long assembly, there were lessons mixed in from different subject areas, such as:
- Science – baking is a science experiment with controlled ingredients and chemical reactions (yeast)
- Math – adding, weight, volume
- Art – being creative with the different shapes and purposes of dough at the end
- Nutrition – of the different ingredients such as wheat flour
As part of the project each student will receive to take home enough flour and yeast for two loaves of bread, a dough scraper and a recipe booklet. If the students choose to donate one of the loaves they bake they are being asked to return one loaf of bread in the bag provided to school on Monday, Dec. 10.
The Family and Consumer Science Department and the Middle School Family Resource Center will then donate the bread to a local organization in need.
This is a great hands-on learning experience done in the generous spirit of giving back to the community.
"We'll try to do this every other year," said Lee. "Our plan is to donate to people to people and soup angels, as well as our own students' families who are in need. Lisa Retallack from our Family Resource Center is handling the specific donations."


Theatre and Voice
Theatre and Voice
by Konstantinos Thomaidis
How can we rethink the importance of voice in performance? How can we understand voice simultaneously as music and text, as sound and body, or as both personal and political?
This book explores voice across genres, media and cultures, inviting the reader to reassess established ways of analysing, enjoying and listening to voice. Using a wide range of case studies integrated with critical and philosophical frameworks, it makes audible the multiple ways in which voice contributes to how we perform identities. From opera and musical theatre to live art and immersive audio walks, Konstantinos Thomaidis presents voice as plural, elusive and ripe for reinvention.
The Theatre& series is a major innovation in theatre scholarship: for the first time, A-list scholars mould cutting-edge thinking about theatre into an easy-to-digest and easy-to-afford form for consumption by everyone. By selecting the key issues, but not shying away from the more complex debates, Theatre& brings the very frontiers of theatre scholarship into the hands of any curious reader, allowing every theatre student and lover to take part in these exciting and challenging discussions. Each book is written by a high-profile theatre scholar and represents the latest critical thinking in the discipline.


Back to blogs
The Growth of Quants in Investment Banks
Posted on October 2016
Blog Img
Picture an investment bank drawn in a 'Where's Waldo?' style. You've got traders, finance, the legal team and management; human resources and an IT team hammering away at their keyboards. Where would you expect to find quantitative analysts (quants)?
Ten years ago, quants would have been tucked away on trading desks, inputting data into Excel spreadsheets and working through it manually to uncover patterns and statistics. Their findings would help traders to confirm the right price and most promising investment options.
Skip forwards a decade and the role of the quant has changed substantially. For the most part, they are now incorporated into risk management teams, instead of being on a trading desk. There are more of them, they are a more diverse group and they use new tools to carry out different tasks. They are in considerable demand and much valued by financial organizations. What brought about this change?
Why are there more quants?
The last decade has seen a breath-taking speed of technological development. Analytic software combined with increased opportunities to gather data have led to Big Data: more information, collected more quickly. There are sophisticated tools to integrate, sort and process this data into state-of-the-art models.
Electronic modeling now means that trading can be carried out by computers, based on an algorithm calculation of the most favorable moment to buy and sell. If algorithms are often the brawn behind hedge funds, investment banks, asset management services and private equity firms, quants are the brains: they program the algorithms that make the system work.
Quants are also used more and more in the business of risk, helping to calculate probabilities and statistics using advanced modeling. This enables risk management teams to keep on the right side of an increasing volume of laws and procedures needed to manage risks appropriately.
There are now many more quants employed in this reformulated role, shifting from revenue generation to risk management. Banks require quants for a range of functions including the valuation aspects of derivatives and pricing.
A more diverse quant workforce
Another notable change in the last decade is the increasing diversity of the quant workforce. Although this STEM-related field used to be dominated by men from a similar background, intake is now much broader and includes many women. Female quants talent is much in demand by banks seeking to improve the diversity of their teams.
As with other STEM areas, fewer women studying related subjects such as Math and Physics means this female talent is hard to find. When female quants are recruited to firms, employers have an additional incentive to keep them motivated and committed to the role, in an effort to retain this highly sought after talent.
The use of models and tools: a systematic or discretionary approach?
The development of algorithms, machine learning and related tools has transformed the nature of quantitative analysis. Quants need to ensure that data is interpreted and presented in the best possible way, but there is very little inputting and processing done through human labor any more.
This has led to a divergence of opinion in the best way to approach investment decisions. As Leda Braga, a high-flying quant known as the 'Queen of Quants' has said, trading is now dominated by two approaches to decision-making: systematic and discretionary.
A discretionary approach to trading is based on the trader's own thought processes and decision-making skills. Systematic trading uses technology to indicate the best investment strategies, using algorithms to process reams of data. Quants are essential to the systematic approach, which is gaining in popularity.
However, the discretionary approach is still very common, particularly because people tend to respond more vehemently to an error made by an algorithm than an error made by a human. As Braga observes: "We scrutinize the algos with a lot less tolerance than we scrutinize human action."
What does it take to be a good quant?
To be successful as a quant, strong analytical skills are a must. Most professionals have advanced computer programming abilities, typically using SQL for database management and perhaps an object-oriented language such as Python or R to clean, sort and process data.
Quants usually have advanced degrees in a STEM subject, such as computer science, mathematics or physics. A PhD in one of these subjects is common. There is also increasing popularity of financial engineering master's degrees such as financial engineering or quantitative/mathematical finance.
Could your team benefit from having a quant on board? Email to learn more about what they could do for your business.
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Are you heading back to school this week? We've created a new lesson on Classroom Vocabulary to help your young learners feel more comfortable in class!
In this Word Bank lesson, students will learn the spelling and pronunciation of common objects in the classroom. They will practice this vocabulary through several fun, colorful activities, including a picture dictionary, matchup, word choice, word search, word scramble, and spelling bee. This lesson finishes up with discussion questions so that your students can practice using the vocab in context. You could choose to put students in pairs or groups for most of these activities—the more they get to know each other, the more comfortable they will feel! (more…)


Dark Fish
March 7, 2021
By Damond Benningfield
591121-dark fish.jpg
Many deep sea fish are dark colored or even ultra black to help them blend in to the dark sea around them. Credit: public domain
In the darkness of the deep ocean, the faintest glimmer of light can mean the difference between life and death. It can scare away prey or draw in predators. So remaining completely dark can help a deep-sea fish catch a meal -- or avoid getting caught.
A recent study found some fish that have a big advantage in that area. Their skin is almost completely black -- it reflects no more than one-half of one percent of the light that strikes it. That makes the fish much darker than charcoal, and among the darkest living organisms on the planet.
Researchers collected fish from depths of up to 6500 feet during cruises in the Gulf of Mexico and Monterey Bay in California. They found 16 species that they described as "ultra black." Most of them are medium-sized, suggesting they need to be especially careful to attract prey and avoid predators. And a few use light-producing "lures" to pull in prey, so dark skin eliminates any reflections that might give them away.
The scientists used electron microscopes to study the structure of the skin of these fish. And they used computer models to understand how the light behaves once it hits the skin.
They found that small organs like those in our own skin contain a high level of black pigment. And the organs are shaped in such a way that the light they don't absorb is reflected into the surrounding skin, where it can be absorbed by the other organs. The combination makes these "ultra-black" fish almost impossible to see in the deep ocean.


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Let $A\overline{X}=0$, where $A=(a_{i,j})\in M_{L, n}(\mathbb{C})$ is a given non-zero $L\times n$ matrix over the complex numbers $\mathbb{C}$, and $\overline{X}=(x_1, x_2, \cdots, x_n)^T $ is an $n$-column vector.
Suppose $L< n$, then we know that the above equations have non-zero solutions. My question is:
What are the sufficient (and necessary) conditions on $A$ such that we can find one solution $\overline{X}$ satisfying:
$$(P)\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ |x_1|>\sum_{i=2}^n|x_i|$$
Here are some observations and remarks:
 1. We may assume $L>1$, since for $L=1$, $|a_{1,1}|<|a_{1,i}|$ for some $i>1$ is a sufficient condition.
 2. For $a_{i,1}\neq 0$, since $x_1=-\sum_{j=2}^n\frac{a_{i,j}x_j}{a_{i,1}}$, we know that a necessary condition for the property $(P)$ to be hold is that $\exists j>1$, s.t., $|a_{i,j}|>|a_{i,1}|$.
 3. My primary motivation to ask this question is that I want to consider equations in the general group algebras $\mathbb{Z}G$ for some countable discrete group $G$; see this problem: Find a special element in group algebra
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1 Answer 1
This is not really a full answer.
Split the matrix into the first column and the rest, so that $A=(A_1,A_2)$. We can set $x_1=-1$ by scaling, so that the problem is to find a solution to $$ A_2 x = A_1, \quad \|x\|_1<1. $$ A necessary condition is clearly that $$ \|A_1\|_1 = \|A_2x\|_1 < \|A_2\|_1. $$
The problem of finding a solution to $A_2x=A_1$ that minimizes $\|x\|_1$ instead of bounding it above is $\ell_1$-regularized least squares, but I don't know a good bound.
If we minimize $\|x\|_2$ instead, then this is an underdetermined least squares problem, so in the case that $A_2$ has full rank, the solution with the smallest 2-norm gives the sufficient condition that $$ \|A_2^t(A_2A_2^t)^{-1}A_1\|_1 < 1. $$
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A process audit team is responsible for evaluating and improving the processes within an organization. The functions and advantages of a process audit team include:
- Identify areas for improvement: A process audit team can identify areas where processes are not working efficiently or effectively, and suggest changes to improve the overall performance of the organization.
- Ensure compliance: The team can ensure that processes are being followed according to established standards and procedures, which can help the organization avoid costly mistakes or legal issues.
- Evaluate risks: The team can evaluate potential risks associated with processes and suggest ways to mitigate or eliminate those risks.
- Increase efficiency: The team can identify ways to streamline processes, reduce waste, and improve productivity, which can help the organization save time and resources.
- Foster a culture of continuous improvement: By regularly conducting process audits and making recommendations for improvement, the team can help the organization develop a culture of continuous improvement.
- Provide feedback: The team can provide feedback to employees and management about how processes are working, which can help identify training needs, highlight best practices, and address any issues that arise.
- Enhance customer satisfaction: By improving processes, the organization can provide better products and services to its customers, leading to increased customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Overall, a process audit team can help an organization improve its performance, reduce risk, and achieve its strategic objectives.


, we see that M fibers over D as above (this observation is due to Catanese).
From this we easily deduce the following theorem of Siu-Beauville, proved originally by hard analytic methods (i.e. the theory of harmonic maps):
Corollary (Siu, Beauville): Let M be a compact Kähler manifold, and let g \ge 2. Then there is a holomorphic map with connected fibers from M to a compact Riemann surface C of genus at least g if and only if there is a surjective homomorphism \pi_1(M) \to \pi_1(C ).
Proof: A surjective map with connected fibers is surjective on fundamental groups. Conversely, a surjective map on fundamental groups pulls back H^1(C ) injectively, and pulls back a maximal isotropic subspace of H^1(C ) (which has dimension g \ge 2) to an isotropic subspace of H^1(M). qed
Definition: A Kähler group is fibered if it surjects onto the fundamental group of a compact Riemann surface of genus at least 2; equivalently, if some (equivalently: every) compact Kähler manifold with that fundamental group holomorphically fibers over a compact Riemann surface of genus at least 2 with connected fibers.
Note that the condition of being fibered implies b^1\ge 4.
2. L2 cohomology
Perhaps the fundamental method in geometric group theory is to study a group via its cocompact isometric action on some (typically noncompact) space. If G is the fundamental group of a manifold M, then G acts as a deck group on the universal cover of M. The aim of geometric group theory is to perceive algebraic properties of the group G in the "global" geometry of this universal cover.
The most important tool for the study of differential forms on compact Riemannian manifolds is Hodge theory. To use this tool on noncompact manifolds one must impose additional (global) restrictions on the forms that one studies. Thus Hodge theory on noncompact manifolds is related directly not to ordinary cohomology, but to more refined, quantitative versions, of which one of the most important is L_2-cohomology.
If M is a smooth Riemannian manifold (not assumed to be compact), the pointwise inner product on forms gives rise to a global inner product which is well-defined on compactly supported forms. We say that a smooth form \alpha is in L_2 if
\|\alpha\|^2:=\int_M \alpha \wedge *\alpha < \infty
Now, the L_2-forms do not usually form a chain complex, but we can pass to a subcomplex L_2\Omega^* consisting of forms \alpha for which both \alpha and d\alpha are L_2-forms. Since d^2=0 this is a complex, and we can define L_2 cohomology:
L_2H^k(M):= (\text{ker}d:L_2\Omega^k \to L_2\Omega^{k+1})/dL_2\Omega^{k-1}
 In general, the image of d is not a closed subspace (in the L_2 topology), so we define the reduced L_2 cohomology to be:
\overline{L_2H}^k(M):=(\text{ker}d:L_2\Omega^k \to L_2\Omega^{k+1})/\overline{dL_2\Omega^{k-1}}
The advantage of working with reduced cohomology is that there is an L_2-analogue of the Hodge theorem. The operators d and \delta = \pm *d* still make sense on a noncompact Riemannian manifold, and so does \Delta:=d\delta+\delta d. We can define the harmonic forms to be those for which \Delta\alpha=0, and we denote by \mathcal{H}^p_{(2)} the space of harmonic p-forms which are L_2.
Let's impose some reasonable global conditions on our manifold M. We say that a (complete) Riemannian manifold has bounded geometry if it satisfies the following two conditions:
 1. The curvature and its derivatives satisfy uniform 2-sided bounds: |\nabla^k K| \le C_k < \infty for each k; and
 2. The injectivity radius satisfies a uniform lower bound: \text{inj} \ge \epsilon > 0 everywhere.
Bounded geometry is the natural condition to impose to ensure that the manifold is "precompact" in Gromov-Hausdorff space; i.e. that for any sequence of points p_i in M the sequence of pointed metric spaces (M,p_i) contain a subsequence which converge on compact subsets to a pointed Riemannian manifold M',p'. An equivalent way to think about it is that this is the condition which ensures that the Riemannian manifold M can appear as a leaf in a compact lamination. The condition of bounded geometry is automatically satisfied for any cover (infinite or not) of a compact Riemannian manifold. Since this is essentially the only class of noncompact Riemannian manifolds we will consider, we hereafter assume that all our noncompact Riemannian manifolds have bounded geometry.
Theorem (L2 Hodge theorem): Let M be a complete Riemannian manifold with bounded geometry. Then every cohomology class in \overline{L_2H}^k has a unique representative \alpha \in L_2\Omega^k minimizing \|\alpha\|. Such a form is harmonic; i.e. it is in \mathcal{H}^k_{(2)}. Moreover, there is an orthogonal decomposition
L_2\Omega^k = \mathcal{H}^k_{(2)} \oplus \overline{dL_2\Omega^{k-1}} \oplus \overline{\delta L_2\Omega^{k+1}}
One subtlety is that it is no longer true that \delta is a formal adjoint to d, since integration by parts gives rise to a potentially nontrivial boundary term "at infinity". But for an L_2 form \alpha, this boundary term vanishes, and one has
\langle \Delta\alpha,\alpha\rangle = \langle d\alpha,d\alpha\rangle + \langle \delta\alpha,\delta\alpha\rangle
(since a priori the forms d\alpha and \delta \alpha are not L_2, one first interprets this by using cutoff functions, and passing to a limit). In other words, a harmonic form which is also L_2 is closed and coclosed; conversely, any form which is closed and coclosed is harmonic (with no analytic conditions).
On a Kähler manifold the identity \Delta = 2\Delta_{\overline{\partial}} still holds pointwise (since this is a consequence purely of the local properties of the metric), and so there is a further decomposition of \mathcal{H}^k_{(2)} into components \oplus_{p+q=k} \mathcal{H}^{p,q}_{(2)} which are individually harmonic. There is furthermore a Hodge decomposition
L_2\Omega^{p,q} = \mathcal{H}^{p,q}_{(2)} \oplus \overline{\overline{\partial}L_2\Omega^{p,q-1}} \oplus \overline{\overline{\partial}^*L_2\Omega^{p,q+1}}
and an L_2 form \alpha satisfies \Delta \alpha = 0 if and only if \overline{\partial}\alpha = 0 and \overline{\partial}^*\alpha=0. Thus \mathcal{H}^{p,0}_{(2)} consists precisely of holomorphic L_2 p-forms.
Example: A harmonic form which is not L_2 does not have to be in the kernel of d. For instance, a function is closed if and only if it is (locally) constant, but any nonconstant holomorphic function on a domain in \mathbb{C} has harmonic real and imaginary parts. On the other hand, suppose that \alpha \in \mathcal{H}^1_{(2),\text{ex}} is harmonic and L_2, and exact as a form, so that \alpha = df for some smooth function f. Then we claim that f is actually harmonic (but not closed unless \alpha = 0). For, \Delta and d commute, so \Delta f is a constant c, and by the Gaffney cutoff trick, it can be shown that c=0.
3. Kähler hyperbolicity
Gromov showed that under certain geometric conditions, the reduced L_2 cohomology of a Kähler manifold vanishes outside the middle dimension. To define this condition, one first introduces the notion of a bounded form; this is a form \alpha for which \|\alpha\|_\infty: = \sup_p |\alpha_p| is finite, where |\alpha_p| denotes the (operator) norm of \alpha at the point p


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1st Wednesday - Love Revolution - Russ Reed
2ndLadies night - Ashley Putthoff
3rdIn the Word with Sam Green
4th- 24D Lead team training
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The buildings range in type from a small, one-story office building, to three and four-story rowhouses, large detached houses, churches, small apartment buildings, monumental apartments and institutional buildings. They generally date from c.1875-to the 1920s, and their styles, including Italianate, Queen Anne, Richardsonian Romanesque, and the many styles of the Beaux Arts, clearly reflect the eclectic character of American architecture. The street was developed primarily with rowhouses, most of which were individually designed and built. Large detached houses are also found in this district, one of the best-preserved and visually interesting late-19th-early 20th-century streetscapes in DC.
Some of the earliest houses stand on the northwest corner of 16th and T Streets. The two Italianate structures at 1900 and 1902 16th Street date from 1878. More common are the brick rowhouses with projecting bays and fanciful rooflines. An early example dating from 1875 stands at 1904 16th Street. This two-story house is two bays wide with a steep pitched gable. One of the finest examples of the Italian bracketed style still standing is the 1878 Huntley House at 1601 16th Street. Perhaps the finest of the Queen Anne houses are those in the row at 1837-41 16th Street. Built in 1890, these houses incorporate the irregularity of massing, variety of color and texture, and the round turrets of the style.
A number of Richardsonian Romanesque houses still stand such as the Sherman House at 1401 16th Street which was built in 1888 by Charles and Samuel Edmonston. The three-story Hampton P. Denman House at 1623 16th Street was designed by Fuller and Wheeler in 1886. The outstanding example of this style is 1628 16th Street designed in 1890 by Harvey Page. A house which reflects the varied sources of eclecticism is the Flemish Revival House at 1720 16th Street, which was built in 1892. An excellent example of Federal Revival stands at 1610 R Street. It was designed in 1910 by Jules H. deSibour.
Institutional uses also began to spread up 16th Street at about the same time the Beaux Arts classicism that was influenced by the 1893 Colombian Exposition began to sweep the country. The Carnegie Institution at 1530 P Street, designed in 1908 by Carrère and Hastings, and the Jewish Community Center at 1529 16th Street, designed by B. Stanley Simmons in 1920, are excellent examples of Neo-classical design.
Late Gothic Revival can be seen in the Church of the Holy City at 1611 16th Street designed in 1895 by R. Langford Warren and built by Paul J. Pelz. Gothic elements were also applied to the Chastleton at 1701 16th Street, one of Harry Wardman's buildings. One of the district's most unusual buildings is the Temple of the Scottish Rite at 1733 16th Street. Designed by John Russell Pope and constructed between 1911 and 15, it was modeled after the tomb of King Mausolus at Halicarnassus.
The architects responsible for these buildings include many of the most prominent architects working in DC at this time. On 16th Street, their buildings, and those of many others, work exceptionally well. The imaginative, varied facades of these buildings create a rhythmic streetscape and a continuous visual experience seldom so well preserved in the District of Columbia.
The 16th Street Historic District includes buildings fronting on 16th St., NW, from Scott Circle to Florida Ave. The buildings are private residences and not open to the public. Metro stop: Dupont Circle or U Street-Cardozo


IUCN threat status:
Least Concern (LC)
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Potamogeton alpinus
Potamogeton alpinus is a species of aquatic plant known by the common names alpine pondweed and red pondweed. It is native to much of the Northern Hemisphere, including Eurasia, Greenland, Canada, and northern parts of the United States. It grows in water bodies such as ponds, lakes, marshes, and slow-moving streams. This is a perennial herb anchoring in the mud substrate via rhizome. It produces a cylindrical stem, sometimes with branches, approaching two meters in maximum length. It has lance-shaped leaves up to 8 cm long and 2 wide. The plant can be distinguished from other pondweeds by the red colour of its herbage.[1] The inflorescence is a spike of flowers a few centimeters long rising above the water surface.
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xxix + 431 pp.
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The Ancient Near East in the Nineteenth Century: Appreciations and Appropriations
III. Fantasy and Alternative Histories
Kevin M. McGeough
At the beginning of the nineteenth century, little was known of the ancient Near East except for what was preserved in the Bible and classical literature. By the end of the nineteenth century, an amazing transformation had occurred: the basic outline of ancient Near Eastern history was understood and the material culture of the region was recognizable to the general public. This three-volume study explores the various ways that non-specialists would have encountered ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, and the Holy Land and how they derived and constructed meaning from those discoveries. McGeough challenges the simplistic view that the experience of the ancient Near East was solely a matter of 'othering' and shows how different people claimed the Near East as their own space and how connections were drawn between the ancient and contemporary worlds.
Volume III argues that fiction and fantasy play an important role in establishing expectations about the past. Changing sensitivities towards realism in art meant that imaginary visions were charged with an archaeological aesthetic. Orientalist painting offered seemingly realistic glimpses of ancient life. Stage plays and opera used the ancient Near East for performances that explored contemporary issues. Mummy stories evolved from humorous time-travel tales into horror fiction rooted in fears of materialism, and adventure novels ruminated on the obligations and dangers of empire.
Alongside these explicitly fictional modes of thinking about the past, the nineteenth century saw a rise in popularity of esoteric thinking. People offered alternative versions of ancient history, imagining that ancient religious practices continued into the present, through secret societies like the Freemasons and the Rosicrucians or in the new movements of Mormonism and Theosophy. Volume III ends by examining the interpretations of the Near East offered by Sigmund Freud and H.P. Lovecraft, showing how these two figures influenced later popular experiences of the ancient Near East.
Kevin M. McGeough is Associate Professor in the Department of Geography (Archaeology), University of Lethbridge, Alberta.
Part I: Fantastic Near Easts
1. The Painted Veil: Orientalist Fantasies and Archaeological Art
2. Sardanapalus Treads the Boards: Antiquity on Stage
3. Ancient Arias: The Operas and Music of the Near East
4. Time Travel and Necrophilia: The Resurrection of the Mummy
5. Nightmares of Empire: Ancient Cults and Forgotten Cultures in Horror and Adventure Fiction
Part II: Alternate Near Easts
6. English Isis Cults and American Israelites: The Esoteric Near East
7. Hiram Abiff's Trowel: Freemasons and Archaeologists
8. Lifting the Veil: Madame Blavatasky's Theosophical Wisdom
Epilogue: The Real and Imagined Horrors of the Twentieth Century
9. Freud, Monotheism, and Anti-Semitism
10. H.P. Lovecraft, Ancient Aliens, and the Future of the Past


Roto-Rooter Blog
 - How to Make the Most of Your Shower | Roto-Rooter
 How to Make the Most of Your Shower
 Shower headThere's nothing quite like unwinding before bed after a long day with a nice, warm, high-pressure shower. Or maybe you're a morning shower-taker, and that steamy stream of hot water is just the jolt you need to kick off your day. But by the same token, a bad shower experience can certainly get under your skin after a while.
 When you have tried the common household tricks and your water pressure still is not improving your water pressure check out these quick tips that might help you optimize your shower experience.
 Take out your flow restrictor
 One of the most common shower-related problems is weak water pressure. When your shower stream is too gentle, it makes the task of rinsing off all those suds a little more time consuming.
 An easy solution to improve shower pressure is to remove the flow restrictor. This is a fairly straightforward process that can be done with a few household tool such as pliers or a pipe wrench to disassemble the shower head.
 You will know you found the restrictor when you see a white plastic disk with a small hole in the middle of it. The way it restricts your waterflow is that the white disk only allows water to flow through the small hole in the middle. By removing this you can improve and increase your water flow and pressure.
 While removing the restrictor will quickly improve water pressure, it will come at a price. For instance, your water bill could increase significantly over the course of a month and you'll also notice substantially increased humidity in the bathroom during showers, which may damage paint, wall paper, mirrors and plumbing fixtures over time.
 Another alternative for homes that inherently have low water pressure is to invest in an amplifying shower head. These are water efficient and easy to install, and they will help you make the most of your shower experience.
 Get some new hardware
 Unusual fluctuations in shower temperature can be extremely unpleasant. No one wants their relaxing evening ruined with a cold shower, or to be unexpectedly greeted by scalding water on a hot summer afternoon.
 Often, temperature fluctuations are caused by the use of another appliance such as a toilet or a washing machine. By installing a pressure-balancing valve it would ensure that the lapse in cold water pressure wouldn't cause the shower stream to become too hot. It does this by obstructing the hot water valve to balance out the pressure.
 Unfortunately, if this isn't the problem, it could be a sign that there is an issue with your water heater. If you seem to only be able to take half of a shower before the cold creeps in, you might not have a large enough tank. Alternatively, there could be a maintenance issue, such as a broken pilot burner, or something else.
 When all else fails, call in a professional. They'll help you identify the problem so that you can make the most of your shower.
 - Why Do I Need A Battery Backup For My Sump Pump? | Roto-Rooter
 Why Do I Need A Battery Backup For My Sump Pump?
 Sump pumpAreas that have a lot of rainfall, are close to a floodplain or have a high water table are likely familiar with a sump pump. These appliances are used to send water away from a house to a storm drain or drywell, preventing basements and lower parts of the house from flooding. Sump pumps will turn on more often in some areas, while in others, they may not turn on at all. However, it's always good to have a battery backup for the pump. Let's take a look at why a battery backup is so necessary for your sump pump:
 Likelihood of risk
 Homeowners should determine the potential for flooding to gauge if the battery backup is right for their needs. Power outages can happen during strong storms, taking out the sump pump. If you have these situations a few times a year or even once a year, a battery backup will be worth the investment. This will eliminate the cost of repairs, water removal and other issues that come with flood damage. A battery backup will decrease your risk and give you peace of mind that your property is protected from problems.
 It's important to note that an aging pump can also have a higher chance of failure without the need of a power outage. If your pump is 10 years or older, it's high time to invest in a new one. If your sump pump is over 5 years old, a battery backup will come in handy to ensure that your aging appliance comes back online quickly.
 Easy to maintain
 Battery backups for sump pumps have a number of benefits, including the fact that they are relatively easy to maintain. It's simple to install a battery backup, and that they will work even when there's no water supply. However, the battery water levels and terminals must all be checked on a regular basis. It's important to note that a battery can also run down before the power comes back, so it will be crucial to choose a solution that has the right capacity for your home. For example, if you have a pump that runs once a minute, you'll require a different battery capacity than a pump that runs every five minutes. These differences will play a big part in what battery is installed and how long you can expect to keep your pump operational.
 Warns you of danger
 The sophistication of battery backups for sump pumps is increasing to tell homeowners when to expect danger as well as when support is required. Some solutions monitor battery status, test themselves and alert homeowners in signs of trouble. This type of interfacing adds a layer of oversight that will be important to protecting your house and ensuring that your property remains dry. If your sump pump fails, and you have a finished basement, or important objects in your crawl space, how much would it cost to recover from a flooding event? A battery backup pays for itself in this regard, as it can notify you to prevent damage.
 A sump pump isn't necessarily something that every house requires, but it has saved countless homes from the dangers of flooding and water damage. For those that are in higher risk of these events, a battery backup will be essential. With this, homeowners can have peace of mind as these appliances are easy to maintain, and many of them will sound the alarm to minimize potential damage. Call your Roto-Rooter expert today for a sump pump consultation or any questions that you may have about these appliances.
 - 3 Things You Didn't Know About Your Water Heater | Roto-Rooter
 Water heater3 Things You Didn't Know About Your Water Heater
 When you buy a home, one of the first things you should do is check your water heater and see how long ago it was installed. Beyond that, what are some things you may not realize about this important appliance right when you move in?
 Here are three things you should know about your water heater:
 When should you replace it?
 Typically speaking, homeowners should replace their water heaters every 10 to 13 years. There may be some hidden costs associated with replacing your water heater, including the mount, venting system, drain pan beneath the heater and the supply pipes themselves. Installation also comes with a price tag. Depending on what kind of unit you're installing, you may be able to do it yourself, but be extra careful and don't forget to call a plumber if you find yourself in over your head.
 Look out for signs of failure
 When your water heater is getting ready to fail, you may experience rust in your water or hear rumbling noises coming from inside the fixture. The rumbling or knocking sound is created by layers of sediment that have coagulated and hardened in the water heater. This sediment can make your water heater less efficient and cause more wear to the tank, eventually leading to system failure. If you notice any leaks, sediment could be the culprit.
 Be more efficient
 It's important to make sure your water heater is using electricity and water in an efficient manner, and not just for your bills' sake. The easiest way to do this is to invest in a newer appliance, which could operate about 20 percent more efficiently and save $700 more over the life of the unit than older models. However, replacement is not always an option. One way to improve efficiency is to check some of the working parts of your water heater, like the TPR valve and anode rod. In addition, you can drain the aforementioned sediment out of the tank in order to strengthen the longevity of the appliance.
 There's still so much to learn about your water heater. If you think your appliance may be experiencing some difficulties, give the plumbing professionals at your local St. Paul Roto-Rooter a call today for more information and to schedule an assessment.
 - How To Know When It's Time To Replace Your Pipes in Everett
 How To Know When It's Time To Replace Your Pipes in Everett
 Pipes in homePipes, like most other things in your home, won't last forever, even if they're made from quality materials. Whether you've been living in your house for years now or are in the market for a new one, the condition of the plumbing is certainly something to consider. After all, you don't want to enter a home to find out you have to shell out to fix the pipework right away. With that in mind, let's take a look at a few signs that it's time to replace your pipes:
 The older


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The Thickness of Aluminum Foil Lab
In the study of Chemistry, we encounter very large and very small numbers. For example, the size of a molecule or thin layer of molecules is very, very small and difficult to measure directly.
In order to "measure" such numbers, we often use one measured quantity and another known property to calculate the unknown value. In this experiment, we will use this approach to calculate the thickness of various types of aluminum foil, a quantity whose direct experimental determination is not possible with common laboratory equipment.
By measuring the mass of a piece of foil and by calculating its area, the thickness of the foil can be obtained from these quantities and the known density of aluminum, 2.70 g/cm3.
Show your work and express answers with the correct number of significant figures and proper units.
1. Find the volume of a block with the dimensions L = 9.16 cm, W = 3.65 cm, H = 1.01 cm.
2. If the density of a substance is 0.734 g/cm3 and the volume of the substance is 21.45 cm3, find its mass.
3. Determine the thickness of a rectangular piece of paper with an area of 45.3 cm2 and a volume of 7.7 X 10-3 cm3. (Hints: rewrite the formula for volume as length X width X thickness. Also, what is the formula for area?)
1. Cut 2 rectangular pieces of regular aluminum foil and 2 rectangular pieces of heavy-duty aluminum foil. Be sure that the dimensions are at least 10 cm on each side. Record the type (e.g. Reynolds Heavy Duty, Schnucks Regular) of each piece of aluminum foil in the data table below.
2. Using the ruler, carefully measure the length and width of each piece of foil. Record the measurements in your data table. Take care to record your measurements with the appropriate number of significant figures. Record the length and width of each piece of aluminum foil in the data table below.
3. Using a balance, find...
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There has been extensive discussion of artificial intelligence's (AI's) impacts, good and bad, but much less on how AI might be used to shape a new world in which we would like to live. In June 2018, in Santa Monica, California, the Pardee RAND Graduate School and the RAND Frederick S. Pardee Center for Longer Range Global Policy and the Future Human Condition convened a workshop called "The Future of Technology and Work (Not Jobs) Post-AlphaGo." This workshop gathered a small group of innovative thinkers to engage in an approach called large-scale speculative design and its companion methodology, world-building, to sketch desirable, AI-enabled future worlds. Large-scale speculative design aims to avoid the inertia of the present by helping us to imagine possible outcomes that may be different from what is already set in motion. World-building is characterized by imagining a few alternative and desirable future "what if" propositions and then building them out in detail across many relevant domains to understand their implications, uncover unintended interactions, and experiment with causal chains. This workshop was intended both to prototype a new methodology for speculating on an aspect of the future human condition and to initiate a line of inquiry around the topic from this different approach. This report summarizes the framing of the topic, the process that was employed, the three scenarios and initial world-building exercises, and the ensuing conversation among the workshop participants. It finishes by outlining suggested next steps.
Table of Contents
Some Participants' Post-Workshop Reflections


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Maximo provides a facility whereby unlimited text may be associated with an attribute. This text…
Ever tried to connect your Maximo system with an external secured URL? By default, WebSphere is designed not to trust secured external URLs. It will only allow the connection if an administrator specifically instructs WebSphere to do so by importing the certificate into its Trust Store.
Here are some examples of where this may be useful:
- Connection to a GIS REST service for integrating GIS data with Maximo
- Connection to a secured Office 365 Email server
- Connection to a financial system, such as SAP, that uses secured APIs to communicate
- Connection to an SMS service for texting users when certain system events occur
… and there are many more.
Here is the message you may encounter:
BMXAA1477E - The connection failed to the HTTP handler for the endpoint. Review the error and server log files for information to indicate the cause of the issue, for example, incorrect properties in the DefaultHTTPExit.java handler class.
com.ibm.jsse2.util.j: PKIX path building failed: java.security.cert.CertPathBuilderException: PKIXCertPathBuilderImpl could not build a valid CertPath.; internal cause is:
java.security.cert.CertPathValidatorException: The certificate issued by CN=GlobalSign, O=GlobalSign, OU=GlobalSign Root CA - R2 is not trusted; internal cause is:
java.security.cert.CertPathValidatorException: Certificate chaining
Look familiar? Let's fix it.
- Log into WebSphere as an administrative user.
- Click on the Security > SSL Certificate and Key Management link in the left navigation pane.
- Click on the Related Items > Key stores and certificates link on the right side of the main pane.
- Click on the CellDefaultTrustStore item in the table.
- Click on the Additional Properties > Signer certificates link on the right side.
- Click on the Retrieve from Port button.
- Fill out the Host, Port and Alias fields. For example:
- Host: _URL_
- Port: 443
- Alias: _URL_
- Press the Retrieve signer information button. Ensure that the values seem reasonably correct (i.e. you don't get an error back.)
- Press the OK button.
- Click the Save to Master Configuration link.
- Press the OK button after the changes have been synchronized with all of the nodes.
At this point you'll need to restart Maximo, your node agents, and your deployment manager for the changes to take effect. From here forward, Maximo will now trust that URL and allow the connection.


Tuesday, 5 February 2008
Walt Disney World's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
A film as important as Disney's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea meant that it has always had a presence at Disney's theme parks, in one way or another. A walk-through museum of the film's sets was originally planned for the Opera House on Disneyland's Main Street U.S.A. before finding a home in Tomorrowland in 1956. Disneyland Paris stepped up the concept by floating a full-size Nautilus in Discoveryland's lagoon, allowing visitors to descend into it and examine Nemo's ship for themselves. Tokyo Disneysea took it even further and created the Mysterious Island: Nemo's volcanic base, with a full-sized Nautilus at dock and two rides based on 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and Journey to the Centre of the Earth.
Arguably the best of all, however, was Walt Disney World's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea submarine voyage. When WDW opened in 1971, it imported Disneyland's 1959 classic Submarine Voyage. To provide some differentiation, this trip beneath the waves was transferred from Tomorrowland to Fantasyland and given a brand new overlay. Instead of the atomic navy submersibles of today, these became the iron-rivet crafts of the 19th century. Where other theme park versions of 20,000 Leagues have given the opportunity to visit the Nautilus and its berth, WDW's version gave us the opportunity to sail the seven seas aboard her.
The ride was essentially same between Anaheim and Orlando, but the Vernian version gave a few tweaks and nudges to fit the theme. Visitors would enter beneath the iron canopy of the dock to an acoustic medley of sea chanties, including Kirk Douglas' Whale of a Tale. The infamously unpleasant profile of the Nautilus would sweep into dock and helpful swabs would escort you to the red faux-leather seats where you would be able to see the adventure unfold through your very own porthole. To spice up this voyage through liquid space, (and heavy chlorinated animatronics) scenes were pulled right from the film, such as the oceanic farming and squid attack. The translation from the Submarine Voyage also meant that a few prime sequences from the novel not included in the film were accidentally restored, such as the trip beneath polar ice and the discovery of Atlantis.
Unfortunately, the Nautilus sailed its last in the mid-1990's. During an era of cutbacks, the submarine voyages on both coasts were scrapped. The revival of Anaheim's Submarine Voyage as a Finding Nemo ride (the fish, not the captain) could have brought hope for a revival of 20,000 Leagues, if not for the lagoon having long since been filled in. Where once cruised the fleet of Captain Nemo, there is now a Winnie the Pooh playground. Ridiculously, this was the second beloved attraction lost to him, as Mr. Toad's Wild Ride was evicted for a proper Pooh ride as well.
The closest we can come anymore are the online videos collected by astute and nostalgic fans. The first video shows you the surface, with the Nautilus gently gliding along. The second takes you beneath that placid surface onto the ride itself. For more on the greatest journey through liquid space, do not miss the 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea - The Ride website.
Gryphon said...
Thanks for posting the videos of the ride. I loved it as a kid and was so sad when it was closed. Thank you for bringing back happy memories.
Cory The Raven said...
You've won my jealousy for having been able to ride it at all! Unfortunately, my opportunity was lost before I ever even wanted it, and in the process WDW lost any interest I might have had in a Florida vacation.
Biblioadonis aka George said...
I remember getting in line in 1994 and realizing it was a 45-minute wait. My wife and I decided that we would do it some other time and headed towards something else.
I made sure that I rode the DL version in 1996.
How I wish I could travel back. I swear I would only change little things...
Cory The Raven said...
Oh man that burns! At least I can take some solace in that I never even had the chance to ride 20K or the original DLP Space Mountain... This is why we must value every opportunity we have to ride everything we can at any theme park we go to ^_^
Minako said...
I will definitely take tones of photos there!!!


Scientists propose storing DNA 'ark' on the Moon to preserve our planet
Written on 03/15/2021
By Ciarán Mather
It would seem that some scientists are planning to give a futuristic twist to the old phrase 'don't keep all your eggs in the one basket.'
A group of researchers have suggested sending an 'ark' full of DNA from Earth, consisting of various types of sperm, eggs and seeds from plants.
In their proposal, they outlined that this 'gene bank' would be hidden inside the moon's lava tubes: hollowed-out tunnels and caves sculpted by lava more than 3 billion years ago inside the moon.
In addition, the banks would be powered by solar panels.
Jekan Thanga, head of the Space and Terrestrial Robotic Exploration (SpaceTREx) Laboratory at the University of Arizona, explained his team's back-up plan to LiveScience: 'There's this strong interconnectedness between us and nature. '
'We have a responsibility to be guardians of biodiversity and [to also be] the means to preserve it.'
He added the lunar ark approach is preferable to simply preserving it on Earth, in the event of our planet potentially succumbing to a disastrous event such as a super-volcano or even nuclear war.
The ark would hold the cryogenically (frozen) genetic material of all 6.7 million known species of plants, animals and fungi on Earth.
This would require at least 250 rocket launches to transport the cargo to the moon from Earth, according to researchers.
Not all the technology needed for this ambitious project exists yet, but the researchers think that it could realistically be built within the next 30 years.
The idea of an ark containing Earth's DNA echoes similar concepts seen in science fiction stories before, such as in 2017's Alien: Covenant.


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Since it began erupting on June 12, 2011, emissions from Eritrea's Nabro Volcano have drifted over much of East Africa and the Middle East. Ash has displaced residents living near the volcano and disrupted flights in the region. Despite the volcano's widespread effects, little is known about the eruption. Nabro is located in an isolated region along the border between Eritrea and Ethiopia, and few English-language reports have been published. Satellite remote sensing is currently the only reliable way to monitor the ongoing eruption.
This pair of satellite images are among the first detailed pictures of the erupting vent and lava flows. They were acquired by the Advanced Land Imager (ALI) aboard the Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) satellite on June 24, 2011.
The bright red portions of the false-color image (top) indicate hot surfaces. Hot volcanic ash glows above the vent, located in the center of Nabro's caldera. To the west of the vent, portions of an active lava flow (particularly the front of the flow) are also hot. The speckled pattern on upstream portions of the flow are likely due to the cool, hardened crust splitting and exposing fluid lava as the flow advances. The bulbous blue-white cloud near the vent is likely composed largely of escaping water vapor that condensed as the plume rose and cooled. The whispy, cyan clouds above the lava flow are evidence of degassing from the lava.
The natural-color image (lower) shows a close-up view of the volcanic plume and eruption site. A dark ash plume rises directly above the vent, and a short, inactive (cool) lava flow partially fills the crater to the north. A gas plume, rich in water and sulfur dioxide (which contributes a blue tint to the edges of the plume) obscures the upper reaches of the active lava flow. Black ash covers the landscape south and west of Nabro.
- Addis Fortune. (2011, June 26). Eritrean Volcano Erupts Economic Mayhem for Ethiopia. Accessed June 27, 2011.
- BBC. (2011, June 14). Eritrea volcano: Ash disrupts air travel in East Africa. Accessed June 27, 2011.
NASA Earth Observatory image by Robert Simmon, using EO-1 ALI data. Caption by Robert Simmon.
- EO-1 - ALI


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The authors study the application of the bootstrap to a class of estimators which converge at a nonstandard rate to a nonstandard asymptotic distribution. They provide a theoretical framework to study its asymptotic behaviour. A simulation study clearly shows that in the case of an estimator such as Chernoff's estimator of the mode (1964) usually the basic bootstrap confidence intervals drastically undercover while the percentile bootstrap intervals overcover. This is one of the rare instances where basic and percentile confidence intervals, which have exactly the same length, behave in a very different way. In the case of Chernoff's estimator, if the distribution is symmetric, it is possible to bootstrap from a smooth symmetric estimator of the distribution for which the basic bootstrap confidence intervals will have the claimed coverage probability while the percentile bootstrap interval will have an asymptotic coverage of 1!
Paru en novembre 2004, 32 pages
Ce cahier a été révisé en juin 2005


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What tricks make an iOS app feel responsive? By Laitkor Infosolutions iOS App development
- July 16, 2016
- Posted by: admin
- Category: iOS app
At the point when adding to an iOS app development, it is important that your application has greater execution. Your users expect it, and it will hurt your surveys if your application seems lethargic or moderate. There are a number of ways which can make an app responsive.
Making a responsive iOS app
1. Avoid using the main thread for processes that don't really need updates on the UI like reading from and writing to files, parsing a feed, etc.
2. There must be some content on the screen at all times as far as probable, even if the content is stale, and there is a feed updating in the background.
3. You must make sure that there is never a point of time in your app that a button or control is uncaring due to any handling. You must use background threads. Apple's cocoa framework has made it justly easy for developers to couple the power of multi-threading without needful in-depth awareness of how threads work.
4. Apart from these, there are some tips you need to consider while constructing the UI:
- You must use opaque opinions somewhere probable, specifically on table view cells. For view that is condensed with vibrant color background, the system has to truly calculate its color from the view beneath it. This demonstrates down the scroll speed of table view cells to a significant range.
- It is better idea to draw content on table view cells, rather that add Subview-ing UI Laberls or any UIViews for that matter.
Competition could also take place on the basis of pricing. Cost price may be the element on the basis of which the competitors generally compete with each other. Whose price structure is relative and comparatively low would be demanded more and all these platforms are reducing their cost in order to interact with large section of society and Azure at the same time is trying its best to be Developer friendly.
5. You must use Core Animation to your maximum benefit. This is an area of the API of iOS app development that can sometimes be poorly understood by devs. Cache UI elements intelligently. The should Rasterize flag on CALayer objects is a powerful tool that takes a great deal of pain out of caching.
6. You should also understand the behavior before caching. For example, the shouldRasterize flag can cause *damaging* concert influence if used on habitually invalidated views. The firmest drawing you can do is an elongated series of Core Graphics calls. If you are in an awfully concert intensive environment, an absolutely flattened set of calls in drawRect can be several times quicker than the intuitive application of many sub-views and a proportion of compositor work at render-time.
7. You can learn from the UITableView implementation and recycle frequently nullified/produced objects. Every alloc and dealloc is a presentation adverse, so if you are working to be doing a lot of it, try to find methods to decrease this load. There are some of the following ways which can make an app feel responsive:
- Use ARC to Manage Memory
- Use a reuse Identifier where Appropriate
- Set views as Opaque when possible
- Try not to Block the Main Thread
- Size Images to Image views
- Pick the Correct Collection
- Empower GZIP Compression
- Reuse and Lazy Load Views
- Reserve, cache, cache
- Consider Drawing
- Handle Memory Warnings
- Reuse Expensive Objects
- Maintain a deliberate detachment from Re-processing Data
- Prefer the True data Format
- Background Images Suitably
- Diminish your web footprint
- Pick correct data storage option
- Speed up Launch Time
Anticipate work that will need to be done in the near future. There must also be a Limit UI complexity. An app that is impeccably enhanced and follows *all* of the above suggestions would still feel slow if it takes many compliments and changeovers to get from one anticipated place to the succeeding. Start asynchronously rendering upcoming cells before your table views asks for them. The above stated tricks and many more indeed, can make iOS app feel more responsive.


Prof Wool: Firewall Management 201
Lesson 13: Zero-Touch Change Management with Checks and Balances
Firewall Management 201: Lesson 13
In this lesson, Professor Wool highlights the challenges, benefits and trade-offs of utilizing zero-touch automation for security policy change management. He explains how, using conditional logic, its possible to significantly speed up security policy change management while maintaining control and ensuring accuracy throughout the process.


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Some animals, like earthworms, snails, and spiders, have nerves but not actual brains.
A one-year-old child's brain weighs about 2 pounds (950 g), ten times the weight of a dog's brain.
The primate cortex is so large that it has to be folded to fit inside the skull. That's why the surface of the brain is wrinkly.
The nervous system runs on electricity, but the levels are low. Brain signals involve less than one-tenth the voltage of an ordinary flashlight battery.
AT THE MUSEUM
See how good you're at recognizing emotions.
How fast can you catch a falling ruler? Measure your reaction time.
Take the jellybean test to see how your sense of smell enhances taste.
Use Braille to create a message for a friend.
Explore your nerves by creating a life-sized drawing.
Try these trippy experiments to fool your brain.
Scientist Rob DeSalle answers kids' questions about the brain!
Test your sight and memory with these brain games.


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When combining different robo-mechanic instruments and let them jam together, the most crucial point (beside from making awesome music) is to set the latencies right. The setup is mostly the same: we have a robotic music instrument (e.g. a snare with an solenoid actor), a somewhat electric power unit (Relay, Motordriver / FET-drive and an Arduino) and a unit to generate the information, e.g. keyboard or a midi-program like Ableton.
Each instrument has its own unique latency, given by the time between the "note on" signal (e.g. Ableton triggering a note in the sequencer), and the time when the tone finally leaves the physical instrument. These latencies can be up to several 100 microseconds, a delay that a human ear will definitely recognize. The latency consists of the time for the physical path that the actor has to resolve to get to the instrument and the electrical / digital delay inside the electronics and software. In fact it does not matter where exactly the delay comes from, we will just measure the whole beast and work on it.
Controlling the latency
Looking at our mechanic drumbot MR-808 we have eleven mechanic drum instruments that we have to equalize appropriate. The instruments are controlled via Midi, and the drum instruments shall be controlled from one channel in Ableton so that they can be programmed like a standard drum machine. This means we have one Midi instrument on one midi channel and the different drum sound are laying on different notes.
The main idea of latency control is to delay all instruments together with one negative value, so that they are all together being played before the main clock. Then we go ahead and adjust every instrument with a positive delay value, so that finally all instruments are just in time.
a) In the graphic you can see how different instruments (in this case bass drum, snare and hi-hat from the MR808) are set up. In the first grafic the midi signal is in time with the main sync clock, and nothing is delayed. The snare will be 50ms late, the bass drum has the biggest latency of 90ms, and the hi-hat is quite tight beeing audibible only 10ms after the midi note is triggered.
b) Next, we shift the whole track to the left by setting a negative value to the whole track. In Ableton there is this cute "channel delay" inputbox underneath each track (in pattern view). We choose the maximum latency value from our instruments (here: BD with 90ms). HH and snare are not in time yet, but Bd is.
c) In the last step we apply a unique delay of (max_latency) minus (instr_latency) to every instrument, except the one with the maximum latency of course. This pushes the instruments to play back just in time.
Of course this technique can be applied to other DAWs or systems as well. You could also implement this into a FPGA, into an arduino, or even do the latency control with discrete circuits (Monoflop)!
The measuring can be done quite easily using any DAW of your choice, that can playback midi and record audio. Here we use Ableton live again. As mentioned above, we do not care where the latency comes from – we just measure and fix it. So all we have to do is measure the time between the first (MIDI) signal and the final audio signal.
To do so we hook up a microphone to our DAW, set up a record channel to record audio and play a midi signal (preferably one programmed midi note that is just in time with the clock). After recording one beat, we zoom deep into the recorded material having the midi note aside, so that we can measure the derivation of the audio signal from the digital trigger. This is our unique instrument latency. And then: Do this for every instrument
Note: We have some error in measurement while recording audio that the above mentioned method does not take into account. The more accurate way was to set up a system where the midi signal triggers both the mechanic instrument and an audio sound signal and we route this signals to a second computer and record and compare the two audio streams there.
I implemented the whole latency control in Max / MSP, demultiplexing the midi stream from ableton into single notes, stripping the on-notes, delaying the single notes appropriately, and finally applying a fixed duration to the notes. Its a quick and dirty hacked together MM-patch, that we might present when its a little more tidied up.
I cleaned up the code, so here you can see a screenshot of the main MAX/MSP controlling unit.


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FOSSIL BATS OF THE AMERICAS
late Oligocene, Arikareean NALMA
The Brooksville 2 site was discovered in 1994 in a limestone quarry about 10 km northeast of Brooksville in Hernando County in central Florida. The site consists of clays and sands filling karst solution features in marine Oligocene limestone. The fossils were collected mostly by screenwashing because of the abundance of microvertebrates and the rarity of larger mammals (Hayes 2000). The vertebrate fauna includes frogs, lizards, snakes, and a diverse sample of mammals. Hayes (2000) studied the Brooksville marsupials, insectivores, lagomorphs, rodents, and carnivores. Mammals of medium to large body size include: the horse (Miohippus), two small artiodactyls (Nanotragulus and the camelid Nothokemas), and six species of small carnivores (three mustelids and three canids). Besides bats, the small mammal fauna consists of a didelphid marsupial (Herpetotherium), two insectivores (the erinaceid Parvericius and Centetodon), one lagomorph (Megalagus), and at least three rodents (the castorid Agnotocastor, the heteromyid Proheteromys, and an entoptychine).
The maximum age of Brooksville 2 (Hayes 2000) is constrained by the presence of the erinaceid insectivore Parvericius and entoptychine rodents, both of which appear at the beginning of the late early or medial Arikareean (=Ar2; ~28 Ma; Tedford et al. 1996). The minimum age is limited by the occurrence of Centetodon, Megalagus, Agnotocastor, and Miohippus, all of which go extinct at the end of the early Arikareean (~24 Ma). The artiodactyls Nanotragulus loomisi and Nothokemas waldropi are characteristic of early Arikareean faunas. Hayes (2000) placed the Brooksville 2 LF in the late early Arikareean (Ar2, 24-28 Ma). The similarity between the bat faunas from Brooksville 2 and I-75 indicates that these two faunas are not more than several million years apart in age, suggesting placement of Brooksville 2 early in the Ar2 (~26-28 Ma).
The chiropteran sample from Brooksville 2 consists of about 200 fossils representing five species, including mandible and maxilla fragments with teeth, isolated teeth, and limb bones. The Brooksville bat fauna includes a new genus and species of mormoopid, two undescribed species (one large, one small) representing a new genus of emballonurid, a large undescribed genus and species that may be a phyllostomid, and a single tooth of a molossid. Brooksville shares the first four of these species with I-75. The new genus of possible phyllostomid is also represented by a smaller species at I-75. After Thomas Farm, Brooksville 2 has the second largest bat sample from any North American Tertiary site. The Brooksville and I-75 bat faunas are very similar; both are dominated by the same species of mormoopid and large emballonurid.