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You are strongly advised not to use this legacy feature on any axis where there is another offset applied.
To make the current point have the coordinates you want (without motion), program:
G92 X~ Y~ Z~ A~, where the axis words contain the axis numbers you want. All axis words are optional, except that at least one must be used. If an axis word is not used for a given axis, the coordinate on that axis of the current point is not changed.
It is an error if all axis words are omitted.
G52 and G92 use common internal mechanisms in the CS and may not be used together.
When G92 is executed, the origin of the currently active coordinate system moves. To do this, origin offsets are calculated so that the coordinates of the current point with respect to the moved origin are as specified on the line containing the G92. In addition, parameters 5211 to 5214 are set to the X-, Y-, Z-, A-axis offsets. The offset for an axis is the amount the origin must be moved so that the coordinate of the controlled point on the axis has the specified value.
Here is an example. Suppose the current point is at X=4 in the currently specified coordinate system and the current X-axis offset is zero, then G92 X7 sets the X-axis offset to -3, sets parameter 5211 to -3 and causes the X-coordinate of the current point to be 7.
The axis offsets are always used when motion is specified in absolute distance mode using any of the fixture coordinate systems. Thus, all fixture coordinate systems are affected by G92.
Being in incremental distance mode has no effect on the action of G92.
Non-zero offsets may already be in effect when the G92 is called. They are in effect discarded before the new value is applied. Mathematically the new value of each offset is A+B, where A is what the offset would be if the old offset were zero and B is the old offset. For example, after the previous example, the X-value of the current point is 7. If G92 X9 is then programmed, the new X-axis offset is -5, which is calculated by [[7-9] + -3]. Put another way the G92 X9 produces the same offset whatever G92 offset was already in place.
To reset axis offsets to zero, program: G92.1 or G92.2 G92.1 sets parameters 5211 to 5214 to zero, whereas G92.2 leaves their current values alone.
To set the axis offset values to the values given in parameters 5211 to 5214, program: G92.3
You can set axis offsets in one program and use the same offsets in another program by programming G92 in the first program. This will set parameters 5211 to 5214. Do not use G92.1 in the remainder of the first program. The parameter values will be saved when the first program exits and restored when the second one starts up. Use G92.3 near the beginning of the second program. That will restore the offsets saved in the first program.


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Enjoy this Easy Science for Kids Chickens Quiz – you'll get your quiz score after completing this FREE online interactive quiz on Chickens. You need to answer all the questions to be able to get your score. You can do this fun Chickens quiz again, till you get the perfect score and become a quiz champion!
Tip: To get it right the first time, read the page with fun facts about Chickens.
[gravityform id="279″ name="POST ID 571″ title="false" ajax="true"]
The Chickens Quiz & our FREE Science Quizzes
Our online quiz games are a free general knowledge questions and answers resource for teachers and educators of kids in elementary school, grammar school and preschool. This fun Chickens quiz helps your kids learn fun facts about Chickens while enjoying this FREE easy science quiz for kids.
If your kid is interested in learning about animals and the world, or is in a special education program, then this is a fun science activity, with reading comprehension benefits for first graders all the way to fifth grade kids. Kids will enjoy competing against their classmates and friends, to see who scores the best, doing this free online kids science quiz on Chickens.
As a reading comprehension training activity for kids you can set a timer to encourage kids to do the reading comprehension faster and better, or limit the number of times the kids can read about the quiz topic, before they do the actual easy science quizzes we offer.
Younger kids who cannot yet read or write, such as Pre-K kids, Kindergarten kids or Preschool kids, will benefit from doing this and our other science quiz games for kids, as a listening comprehension activity; you read out to them about the topic and then read the quiz question and answers. You will select the Chickens quiz answer they think is correct, and at the end you get the quiz score. Your child can try doing the Chickens quiz again, till he or she gets the perfect score faster, as he or she learn to listen more carefully and develop a better memory and attention span!

source: openbmb/Ultra-FineWeb


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Are you curious about the value of a 1917 penny? The worth of this small copper coin can vary greatly depending on several factors. In this article, we will delve into the key elements that determine the value of a 1917 penny. Whether you're an avid collector or simply stumbled upon this vintage coin, understanding these factors will help you determine its true worth.
Mint Mark and Condition
The first aspect to consider when evaluating the value of a 1917 penny is its mint mark and condition. Mint marks indicate where the coin was produced and can significantly affect its rarity and value. For 1917 pennies, there are three possible mint marks: no mint mark (Philadelphia Mint), "D" (Denver Mint), and "S" (San Francisco Mint).
In terms of condition, collectors look for coins that have been well-preserved over time. A 1917 penny in uncirculated condition with sharp details and minimal wear will generally command a higher price than one that has suffered from heavy circulation or damage.
Rarity and Scarcity
Rarity plays a crucial role in determining the value of any collectible item, including coins. When it comes to 1917 pennies, rarity can be influenced by various factors such as limited mintage numbers or production errors.
For instance, if only a small number of pennies were minted in a specific year due to low demand or economic conditions, their scarcity increases their desirability among collectors. Additionally, any production errors during the manufacturing process that result in unique characteristics or misprints can also contribute to rarity.
The historical significance attached to certain coins can significantly impact their value in the market. In the case of a 1917 penny, its worth might increase if it has connections to significant events or individuals from that era. For example, if a 1917 penny was part of a limited commemorative edition honoring a historical event, it would likely be more valuable than a regular issue.
Popularity and Demand
The popularity and demand for specific coins can greatly influence their value. Collectors and enthusiasts often seek out coins from specific time periods or with unique features, which drives up demand.
The 1917 penny, being over a century old, holds appeal for both coin collectors and history buffs alike. Its vintage charm and the allure of owning a piece of history contribute to its popularity in the numismatic community. As more people become interested in collecting these early 20th-century pennies, the demand for them increases, potentially driving up their value.
In conclusion, understanding the factors that determine the value of a 1917 penny is essential for anyone interested in buying or selling these coins. Mint marks and condition play a significant role in determining worth, while rarity and historical significance add further value. Lastly, popularity and demand within the collector community can drive up prices as more people seek out these vintage treasures. So the next time you come across a 1917 penny, take note of its mint mark, condition, rarity, historical significance, and current market demand to gauge its true value.
This text was generated using a large language model, and select text has been reviewed and moderated for purposes such as readability.


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Shifu Chen Zhonghua often emphasizes how to learn Taijiquan. This web site has a great article called 6 Methods of Learning Tai Chi. (Read this if you have not already.) It expands and elaborates on Grandmaster Hong's "Look, Listen, and Ask" practice method.
In motor control research, I found the neurological basis for this method of learning. There are neurological mechanisms called mirror neurons. The basic premise is when we see a person do something, mirror neurons fire off in our brain attempting to duplicate the pattern in our nervous system required to copy the movement. At first, it is an imperfect copy because it follows old neurological pathways. With repeated viewing of the action, our brains and nervous system do a really good job of creating new neurological pathways to accurately copy the movement.
A lifelong learning method
We see this in infants, children, and adults. Infant children often take an interest in their parents eating, they frequently watch very intently. Their attention is so keen that their mouths may involuntarily mimic the chewing action. Neurologists think that most physical actions and facial expressions are learned through the mirror neuron mechanism. This mechanism of learning is never lost during a lifetime.
Most of us have a layer of cultural baggage that makes this method of learning difficult. We have been taught that we need to "understand" things in the cognitive centers of our brains before we can do them. I have even heard Taijiquan called "the thinking man's martial art". It may be disconcerting to just watch and bypass the conscious thinking parts of our brain, but it is a better leaning strategy.
Which method is "better" depends on your goals. If you want to know and understand taijiquan, the better strategy would be to stimulate the cognitive centers by thinking about and analyzing the movements of Taijiquan. However, if you want to be able to do taijiquan, an appealing promise of the Practical Method, then you need to do those things which stimulate the mirror neurons in the motor learning centers of the brain.
"Look" and video recordings
Researchers found that our brains do not differentiate between actions witnessed in person or through video recordings. When being taught in-person, this is an important learning method. However, this is a really valuable learning method to use with video recordings. Because of the ability to slow down and repeat what we are seeing, this is where we need most to apply the "Look" aspect of learning.
What about "Listen?"
When we watch a video with the sound on, we watch what is being said. Part of our brain is distracted by what is being said or music playing or whatever. When we watch with the sound off, we watch what is being done. Both can valuable. The cognitive centers in our brains learn from what is being said, but the motor control centers in our brains learn best by watching what is being done and without verbal stimulation. You can watch a video to listen and get the gist of what is being said. Until we have established the needed neurological pathways, we are not ready to "listen" and think about what is being said. Especially avoid focusing on and analyzing the verbal explanations or repeatedly listening.
Restrain the temptation of physically follow along
When you watch a video, and especially in-person, only watch. Avoid trying to imitate the movements while you're watching. We've all seen students learning in-person in the background of videos trying to mimic Shifu Chen movements as he demonstrates. I also ignorantly have done this myself. Usually, we fail to come even close to accurately mimicking the movement.
While the impulse to copy is good, it is counterproductive, especially in the early stage of learning something new. If you try to imitate movement while watching, you will engage old, established motor pathways and neural patterns, which usually perform the movement incorrectly. This can fool your brain into thinking that you are accurately copying what you have been shown. If we then repeat that movement over and over, we establish an incorrect neurological pathway that we must eventually breakdown and retrain, which is a longer process than establishing a new pathway from the start.
Establish a new neural pathway
To engage the correct neural pathways, after watching, picture the movement in your mind. Remember what your body felt like as you watched. Move slowly at first. Speed will come with repetition.
Also, avoid self-talk, verbal cues and analysis of the actions. These corrupt the neural copy of the movement you are creating in your brain. All of that can be done after you learn the movements.
Instead, just watch and give the rest of your brain a rest. Then, watch, re-watch, and re-re-watch and so on until you can picture the movement in your mind, and you can feel the movement in you without actually doing it. Then, try to do it. This will give you your best chance of building correct new neural pathways.
Testing what you have learned
Practice it a little bit, until you think you have it right. Then, video yourself doing the movement and compare it to the original. Or, you can do an appropriate two-man exercise that uses the action. Ideally, a few adjustments should help fine tune the correct neural pathway. If it just doesn't work, go back to watching. You may literally be growing new nerves and neural connections, but often minor changes can only take a day or two. It can take time to build a precise neural pathway.
Repeat to strengthen the new neural pathways
Once you think you are successful in two-man drills, you need to strengthen the neural connections and pathway by repetition. Drills, circles, and push hands are all important, but also make sure you update every occurrence of that action in your form and all of your movements, which can number in the dozen, scores, or even hundreds.
This may sound like I am advocating waiting until you can do everything in taijiquan perfectly before doing lots of repetitions. But, the opposite is true. You need a foundation upon which to build your taijiquan without which you cannot add more sophisticated and detailed movements. Your body/mind loves efficiency, and taijiquan is supremely efficient. If you give the body/mind a choice between an old, familiar, but inefficient habit and a new more efficient habit and time to try out both ways, it will usually go with the more efficient method. This will gradually and sometimes drastically improve your taijiquan.
Now, you are ready to go back and "listen."
Richard Johnson has a Masters in Exercise Science and doctoral coursework completed in Sports Biomechanics. He is a biomechanics consultant for athletes and teams seeking relief from biomechanically-induced problems or better performance, and individuals seeking relief from pain.


Focus: Economic Botany
Focus: Economic Botany
Economic botanists explore the interface between people and plants to describe the cultural uses of plants, explain the origin of specific useful plants and develop strategies for the sustainable use of plant resources. Ever since its founding in the late 19th century, The Field Museum and its scientists have studied the great variety of ways that people use plants. In fact the Museum's first Curator of Botany, Charles Frederick Millspaugh, had a special interest in economic botany and tropical plants which resulted in a direction and influence that continues at the Museum today.
The Natural Products Initiative aims to revitalize the tradition of economic botany at The Field Museum and to highlight the essential contributions of the plant world to our everyday lives.
 cniezgoda's picture
 Christine Niezgoda
 Collections Manager, Flowering Plants Gantz Family Collections Center


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Gravity Reference Systems
- German Gravity Reference Systems
- European Gravity Reference Systems
- Global Gravity Reference Systems
The free fall of a test mass is recorded with high accuracy. In order to minimize non-gravitational disturbing influences, such as air drag, buoyancy etc. the test mass moves in an evacuated chamber. The "absolute" determination of the gravitational acceleration results from the use of physical standards of highest accuracy: A rubidium standard for time measurement and an iodine-stabilized laser for length measurement. By means of the absolute gravimeter FG5 (manufacturer: Micro-g LaCoste Inc., USA), which represents the currently best possible technical development status, measuring accuracies of ±20…30 nm/s2 (±2…3 µGal) can be obtained under favorable ambient conditions. This corresponds to a relative accuracy of ±2…3 x 10-9. BKG applies the absolute gravimeter A10 with a measuring accuracy of ±100 nm/s2 made by the same manufacturer for field measurements.
Absolute gravimeter measurements complete the geodetic reference systems
- by the setup of an absolute gravimetric standard in an earthbound reference system
- and allow the independent detection of vertical point displacements or mass variations, caused by e.g. tectonically induced movements of the earth's crust, post-glacial uplifts or changes of the sea level.
In this context special emphasis is given to the combination with levelling measurements and geodetic space techniques like VLBI - Very Long Baseline Interferometry, SLR – Satellite Laser Ranging, and GNSS – Global Navigation Satellite System.
Gravimeters record temporal changes of the earth's gravity field. Whereas in conventional relative gravimeters the gravity acceleration is measured by means of a test mass suspended on a spring, in the case of the Superconducting Gravimeter (SG) the very stable magnetic field of a superconducting coil serves as reference force. The test mass is a superconducting hollow sphere the position of which is kept constant in a control system. The electrical current in this control system is continuously measured and digitized with high-resolution. Superconducting Gravimeters are characterized by a very high resolution of the measuring signal (<0.1nm/s2) and a small instrumental zero drift. By using superconducting coils, in which - after an initialization - currents flow continuously and constantly, a long-term stability of 0 and 50 nm/s2 per year can be reached.This way, the possibility of recording a broad spectral range of the acceleration changes with high resolution opens up. The spectrum reaches from the seismic eigen-modes of the earth with periods lenghts from 10 minutes via the earth tides with predominantly half-day and full-day periods up to the variation of the centrifugal acceleration as a result of the polar motion with periods of 365 and 435 days (Chandler period) and to long-period tides with a period interval of 18.6 years.
By the observation of temporal gravity field variations the following objectives are pursued:
- High-precision acquisition of the tides of the earth body for deriving elastic parameters
- Investigation of attraction and deformation effects as a result of oceanic, atmospheric and hydrological mass displacements
- Acquisition of gravity variations due to polar motion
- Detection of seismically induced oscillations of the earth
- Control of gravity standards by combining and comparing with absolute gravity measurements.
The "Frankfurt Gravimeter Calibration Platform" developed at BKG uses artificially generated accelerations for the calibration of relative gravimeters and was specially designed for the test of Superconducting Gravimeters.
The calibration system consists of three spindle blocks operated by stepping motors, by means of which the gravimeter to be tested can be synchronously lifted and lowered in a sinusoidal movement. In dependence on the amplitude of motion and its periodicity, artificial accelerations are superimposed to the earth's normal gravitational force. Since the amount of acceleration and the period interval are known, the calibration factor and the frequency transfer function of the Superconducting Gravimeter can be derived.

source: HuggingFaceFW/fineweb-edu


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[ dmg. publications. Why can't CAD be more like Lego? ] edit
The paper describes CKB (Construction Kit Builder), a computational design environment based on defining, then working within, a system of components and rules for their placement. In construction details, the components and placement rules are standard; in less routine design tasks they are not. CKB uses a constraint-based, object oriented, system architecture to provide two levels of design support. At the higher level, designers of technical systems use CKB to specify components and rules for their positioning. At the lower level, building designers use CKB to lay out components of these systems.
last updated 12.21.2001 by Mark D Gross


Native American Pipeline History
1231 Words5 Pages
From the time American children are able to go to school, they are taught, that the US government has always been and is the one main group that the citizens of the United States can trust with everything, but as time has passed, what has happened to this trust bond and why?
The government has a lot of influence on today's society and their decision making processes, such as the Dakota Access Pipeline, the Great Planes Expanse, Border patrol, job creations, and government spendings are all huge parts in today's dispute over whether or not to go through with it.
The Dakota access pipeline, if it is gone through with, it is going to go through sacred Native American burial grounds but, this pipeline will boost today's economy and create more jobs. The archaeologists, who have worked with the Native Americans for years through all government building on their land throughout the years, still do not see and understand the real problem with the
…show more content…
There are roads being built on non-governmental land and it is causing a huge conflict between the Natives and the US government. Great planes expanse has gone through major Native American sites that are very important to them and their history. "A former tribal historic preservation officer of the Standing Rock Sioux, Mentz wore a baseball cap, rimless glasses and two thin braids of graying hair. He was upset and spoke rapidly about the area behind him, an expanse of the Great Plains cut by a new 150-foot-wide road." ("Government Archaeologists Failed to Review the Dakota Access Pipeline"). Due to the archaeologists failing to see the real problem with both the Dakota Access Pipeline and the Great Planes Expanse, the US government is already budding heads with the Native Americans, which could lead to future problems with them. The roads that are built to boost the economy not only help today's society, but they run through Native American land which was promised to them and is not supposed to be touched by the US
Open Document


Let's face it. Voice recognition with Google has been hit and miss, and that's on a good day. So we're delighted to shift gears and introduce a new platform powered by IBM Watson's Speech-to-Text (STT) engine. While it's not free, that's really theoretical for most of our readers. Your first month on the platform is entirely free. And, after that, you get 1,000 minutes a month of free voice recognition services. If you still want more, it's 2¢ a minute.
We first introduced IBM's STT platform back in March when we documented how to use the service to transcribe voicemails and deliver them via email. Today, we're introducing the Incredible Voice Dialer for Asterisk. It runs on all of the major Incredible PBX platforms: CentOS, Wazo, and Issabel. It's married to our AsteriDex phonebook application that is deployed with Incredible PBX using MySQL, MariaDB, or SQLite3 depending upon platform.
The way it works is a user picks up an extension on your PBX and dials 411. The caller will be prompted for the name of the person or company to call. Once the caller says the name, the Incredible Voice Dialer will send the recording to IBM's Watson STT engine for transcription. The result is then passed to AsteriDex where the text will be matched against the phone number saved for that person or company. The number is then passed to your default outbound trunk to place the call. All of the magic happens in less than two seconds, and the call begins ringing at your destination. You can try it out for yourself on our demo server this week. Just dial:, choose option 1 when the IVR answers, and then say "Delta Airlines" or "American Airlines" when prompted for a name. The queries support wildcard matching. If you say "Delta", you'll still be connected to Delta Airlines.
What About the Quality? Here's the bottom line. Speech recognition isn't all that useful if it fails miserably in recognizing everyday speech. The good news is that IBM Watson's speech recognition engine is now the best in the business. If you want more details, read the article below which will walk you through IBM's latest speech recognition breakthrough:
Creating an IBM Bluemix Speech to Text Account
NOV. 1 UPDATE: IBM has moved the goal posts effective December 1, 2018:
1. Create Bluemix account here.
2. Confirm your registration by replying to email from IBM.
3. Login to Bluemix using your new credentials.
4. Agree to terms and conditions, name your organization, and name your space (STT).
5. Choose Watson Speech to Text service and click Create.
6. When Speech to Text-kb opens, click Service Credentials tab (on the left).
7. In Actions column, click View Credentials. Write down your username and password.
8. Logout by clicking on image icon in upper right corner of dialog window.
Install Voice Dialer with Incredible PBX for Wazo
1. Login to your server as root using SSH/Putty and issue the following commands:
cd /
wget _URL_
tar zxvf ibmstt-411-wazo.tar.gz
rm -f ibmstt-411-wazo.tar.gz
sed -i '\\:// BEGIN Call by Name:,\\:// END Call by Name:d' /etc/asterisk/extensions_extra.d/xivo-extrafeatures.conf
sed -i '/\\[xivo-extrafeatures\\]/r /tmp/411.txt' /etc/asterisk/extensions_extra.d/xivo-extrafeatures.conf
asterisk -rx "dialplan reload"
2. Edit /var/lib/asterisk/agi-bin/getnumber.sh and insert your IBM credentials from step #7 above into these variables:
3. Save the file.
Install Voice Dialer on Other Incredible PBX Platforms
cd /
wget _URL_
tar zxvf ibmstt-411.tar.gz
rm -f ibmstt-411.tar.gz
sed -i '/\\[from-internal-custom\\]/r /tmp/411.txt' /etc/asterisk/extensions_custom.conf
asterisk -rx "dialplan reload"
3. Save the file.
Take Incredible Voice Dialer for a Test Drive
1. From an extension connected to your PBX, dial 411. When prompted for the name to call, say "Delta Airlines" or "American Airlines."
2. Quicker than you could actually dial the number, you'll be connected.
Building Voice-Enabled Applications with Asterisk
All of our code is open source, GPL2 code so you're more than welcome to use it, learn from it, and then build your own voice-enabled applications. Just abide by the terms of the license and share. When you review /var/lib/asterisk/agi-bin/getnumber.sh, you'll see that it's incredibly easy to change the backend database. Here's the Wazo flavor of the script:
# sending the recording to IBM Watson for transcription
curl -k -u $API_USERNAME:$API_PASSWORD -X POST --limit-rate 40000 --header "Content-Type: audio/wav" --data-binary @/tmp/$thisfile.wav "_URL_ 1>/tmp/$thisfile.txt
# grabbing the text out of the IBM Watson response
msg='cat /tmp/$thisfile.txt | grep transcript | cut -f 2 -d ":" | cut -f 2 -d '"' | sed's| *$||' | sed -e "s/\b\(.\)/\u\1/g"'%
# passing text to MySQL (1st line) or SQLite3 (2nd line) for name lookup. answer is num2call.
_TAG_=$(mysql -uroot -ppassw0rd asteridex -ss -N -e "SELECT user1.out FROM user1 where name LIKE '$msg'");
num2call='/usr/bin/sqlite3 /var/lib/asterisk/agi-bin/asteridex.sqlite "select out from user1 where name LIKE '$msg'"'
# clearing out our temporary files
rm -f /tmp/$thisfile.*
# passing the results to the Asterisk dialplan
echo "SET VARIABLE PTY2CALL "\""$msg"\"""
echo "SET VARIABLE NUM2CALL "\""$num2call"\"""
# we're done with the AGI bash script so let's exit gracefully
exit 0
The Asterisk dialplan code could be modified for any number of applications. Here's what it looks like on the Incredible PBX 13 platform. It's slightly different with Wazo to accomodate their dialplan syntax.
;# // BEGIN Call by Name
exten => 411,1,Answer
exten => 411,n,Playback(custom/411)
exten => 411,n,Set(RANDFILE=${RAND(8000,8599)})
exten => 411,n,Record(/tmp/${RANDFILE}.wav,3,10)
exten => 411,n,Playback(/tmp/${RANDFILE})
exten => 411,n,AGI(getnumber.sh,${RANDFILE})
exten => 411,n,NoOp(Party to call : ${PTY2CALL})
exten => 411,n,NoOp(Number to call: ${NUM2CALL})
exten => 411,n,Goto(outbound-allroutes,${NUM2CALL},1)
exten => 411,n,Hangup()
;# // END Call by Name
There's nothing magical about it. (1) It answers the call to 411. (2) It plays back a recording that prompts the user to say the name of the person or company to call. (3) It generates a random number to use for the filenames associated with the STT process. (4) It records the caller's speech and saves it to the random filename as a.wav file which IBM STT can understand. (5) It passes the call to the AGI bash script to send the recording to IBM Watson and obtain the transcription and to pass the text to MySQL or SQLite3 to lookup the text in the AsteriDex database. (6) We display the called party's name on the Asterisk CLI. (7) We display the called party's phone number on the Asterisk CLI. (8) We place the call using the PBX's default outbound route. (9) We hangup the call when it's completed.
Published: Monday, October 9, 2017
Special Thanks to Our Generous Sponsors
Some Recent Nerd Vittles Articles of Interest…
This article has 1 comment
 1. I think that 5% rate is totally misleading in this situation. Maybe it can do that on connected speech but a person or company name doesn't give it enough context. And it cannot distinguish between eg "Geoff" and "Jeff". That is useless when trying to match the textual names in Asteridex. (Even a human with no input other than hearing the word cannot know if "Geoff" or "Jeff" was intended.)
 And even if it could achieve that 5% error rate, that would still be annoyingly high. My old mobile phone does a good job of voice dialing because it doesn't do STT followed by a text match. It


, found strikingly similar developmental trajectories between cohorts. Cortical grey matter volume increased during childhood, peaking at some point in late childhood, and declined substantially during adolescence, stabilising into the twenties. Whole-brain white matter volume increased gradually during childhood and adolescence.
 - In an earlier study Sarah-Jayne Blakemore and colleagues used fMRI to investigate how neural activity during a mentalising task (the ability to understand intentions) differs between adolescents and adults. Compared with adults, adolescents show higher activity in medial prefrontal cortex and lower activity in temporo-parietal junction.
 - Another study by Stephanie Burnett looked at the processing of social emotions, such as guilt and embarrassment, which are emotions that involve mentalising. Thinking about social emotions was associated with higher levels of activity in medial prefrontal cortex, and lower levels of activity in the anterior temporal cortex, in adolescents compared with in adults. A meta-analysis showed that the finding of higher medial prefrontal cortex activity during mentalising in adolescents than in adults has been replicated by multiple studies using a variety of mentalising tasks. Why this is the case is not well understood.
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Christening gowns came about during the Victorian era (which was around 1837 until the 1900's). History says that baptisms were occasions that were greatly celebrated as a child was accepted into the Christian world. The Church then insisted that babies during baptism wear white as a symbol of innocence and purity.
After the christening, Victorian families would carefully store the gown to be passed down to the next child. Thus the tradition of turning christening dresses into family heirlooms began.
|Ivory Angelic Organza Float Christening Dress|
Fast-forward to almost a hundred years later, and white is still the preferred color. Also, many families still keep the baptismal garment as a remembrance of a beautiful celebration. While that remains the same, there are differences that have been brought about by changing times.
|Satin with Embroidered Organza Christening Gown|
First, we add beige and off-white to the repertoire of colors that can be worn by a child during baptism. Add to this the many designs, style additions, and dress lengths than can be chosen from. Second, this generation has smaller families, and so passing down a christening gown might mean having a child wear it once every few years. That's why parents opt to just keep the original dress and purchase a new one for the next child.
|Traditional Christening Gown with Capsleeves|
But despite changing times, the essence of an heirloom remains the same. Being an heirloom no longer means passing it down from one generation to another. You can call a dress your family's heirloom because your most precious treasure (your child) wore it on her special day.
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Marathon Monday highlights
Today is Patriots Day in Massachusetts, the day the Boston Marathon is traditionally run. For the second year in a row, it's a day without a race. In past years, we've used the marathon as a metaphor to convey various tips to help students strengthen executive function skills. As we remember highlights of marathons past, here are some of our Marathon Monday TOTW highlights.
- Intrinsic motivation, commitment, and working toward a goal
- Keep pace, stay focused, and the follow the process
- When things don't go as planned
- "A marathon is hundreds of miles. The finish is the last 26.2."
Wishing everyone a relaxing and enjoyable Patriots Day!


Solutions Plus:
PROBLEM: You need to migrate several Windows XP machines to Windows 7.
SOLUTION: Use Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 2010
WHAT YOU NEED: Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 2010, Windows Automated Installation Kit for Windows 7
1. Install MDT
2. Create a Deployment Share
3. Import Your OS
4. Create a task sequence
5. Update the deployment share
6. Deploy Your First Image
DIFFICULTY: Two out of five
By now, you've probably heard that there isn't a direct upgrade path from Windows XP to Windows 7. When installing Windows 7 on a machine that previously housed XP, you can choose to wipe the hard drive clean and install a fresh copy of Windows 7, or you can perform a migration. Migrating allows you to install Windows 7 while maintaining your users' settings and data. Applications that are installed on the XP machine won't be migrated—you'll have to redeploy them using Group Policy or Configuration Manager.
 While migrating one or two machines is no big deal, migrating 20 or 20,000 XP machines can be a real pain. This article is designed to help ease that pain by showing you how to set up a repeatable migration solution so every migration you perform is identical to the last, other than the user settings and data that were stored locally on the XP machines. Microsoft's free deployment tool, Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 2010 (MDT 2010), provides friendly wizards that walk you through scenario-based questions. Then, under the hood, based on the answers you gave the MDT wizards, MDT does all the hard work for you.
 MDT isn't a new tool—it used to be called Solution Accelerator Business Desktop Deployment Tool (BDD). Since then, it's had a lot of the kinks worked out. If you found it difficult to use earlier versions of MDT or BDD, I think it's safe to say you'll be pleased with this version. It's definitely worth another look.
 In this article, I'll give you step-by-step instructions to install the MDT, create a deployment share, import an OS, create a task sequence for migrating XP SP2 and SP3 to Windows 7, and finally walk you through the migration process. (This process is also known as a refresh scenario, because you're refreshing the same piece of hardware with a new OS.)
Step 1: Install MDT
Installing MDT 2010 doesn't require a big beefy machine. MDT requires a 1.4GHz processor, 2GB of RAM, a Gigabit NIC if you'll be deploying multiple machines concurrently, enough hard drive space to store you images (I suggest at least 20 GB to get started), and RAID if you want to provide fault tolerance for your images.
 MDT requires the Windows Automated Installation Kit for Windows 7 (WAIK 2.0). It doesn't matter whether you install MDT or WAIK first, but MDT won't be able to deploy anything until WAIK is installed. WAIK requires Microsoft XML Core Services (MSXML) 6.0 and.Net Framework 2.0 or later if installing MDT on older OSs (newer OSs such as Windows Server 2008 & Server 2008 R2 have MSXML 6.0 and.Net Framework built-in). Don't worry, both MSXML 6.0 and.Net 2.0 are included in the WAIK download.
 Before I get started, there are some terms you should be familiar with. Installing MDT on Windows 7 or Windows Vista SP1 creates a technician machine. Installing MDT on a server OS (Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2008, or Windows Server 2003 SP2) creates a deployment server. I recommend installing the MDT on a server OS (latest and greatest is the best) so you get all the bells and whistles that the server OS brings to the table, such as easy integration with Windows Deployment Service (WDS). The OSs that MDT 2010 supports for deployment are Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 (Including all SPs and R2), Windows Vista (SP1 or later), Windows Server 2003 R2, and Windows XP SP2 and later. The target machine is the machine to which you're deploying the new OS. In this article, your XP workstations are the target machines.
 Once you've installed MDT, you'll use the Deployment Workbench (DW) snap-in, shown in Figure 1, to do all your work. You'll find the DW under Start, All Programs, Microsoft Deployment Toolkit, Deployment Workbench.
Figure 1
Step 2: Create a Deployment Share
 A deployment share is the shared folder your target machines connect to during the deployment process, so you'll need to be sure your machines have network connectivity and permissions to the deployment share (you can have as many deployment shares as you choose). Create a deployment share within the DW by right-clicking the Deployment Shares node and choosing New Deployment Share. The New Deployment Share Wizard opens to the Path page. Follow these steps to create your new DS:
 1. On the Path page, click the Browse… button and navigate to the folder in which you'd like the new deployment share to be created, or type the path. No need to create the folder first—MDT is smart enough to create it for you. I recommend creating your deployment share on a volume other than the system volume. Another hard drive would be even better. My deployment share will be created in the F:\DeploymentShare folder. Click Next.
 2. On the Share page, type the name you'd like for the shared folder name. Accepting the default will name the deployment share's shared folder DeploymentShare$. (The $ at the end of the share name makes this a hidden share, so the folder name won't show up on browse lists.) Click Next.
 3. On the Descriptive Name page, you can give your shared folder a description. The description can be seen from a browse list if you removed the $ from the shared folder name in step two or when you list the shares on a deployment server. An easy way to list the shares on the deployment server is to open a command prompt and type net shareyour description will be in the Remark field. After you input your deployment share description, click Next.
 4. Next is the Allow Image Capture page, which by default is configured to ask if an image should be captured of the target machine before installing Windows 7. Accepting the default setting will cause the deployment wizard to ask you whether an image should be created of the target machine and, if so, where the image (a.wim file) should be stored. This is helpful if you need to roll back the target machine to its original image. Accept the default setting and click Next.
 5. By default, the Allow Admin Password page is set not to ask users to set the local administrator password during the deployment. This setting, if left at the default, will assign the target machine's local administrator account a blank password. That's not the whole story, however—there are other ways to provide the local administrator password. In my example, I'll provide it in a task sequence I'll create later in this article. Accept the default setting and click Next.
 6. The Allow Product Key page allows you to choose whether you want to be prompted for a product key during the deployment process. Enterprise clients won't need to worry about product keys, because theirs is baked into the OS files. For non-enterprise clients, I recommend accepting the defaults on this page and typing the product key into your task sequence (like with the local administrator password, as I mentioned in step five). Clicking Next takes you to the Summary page.
 7. The Summary page displays the choices you've made in the New Deployment Share Wizard. Clicking Next on the Summary page begins creating the deployment share. The steps run to create a deployment share are displayed in the Progress page that appears rather quickly then disappears, leaving you at the Confirmation page.
 8. There a two buttons on the Confirmation page that are new to MDT 2010, Save Output and View Script. Clicking the Save Output… button lets you store the output, which is exactly what you see on the confirmation page. The View Script button shows the PowerShell commands that were run to create the deployment share. You can copy and paste commands to create your own PowerShell scripts.
 Once the New Deployment Share Wizard has completed successfully, your new deployment share will appear in the DW under the Deployment Shares node, as shown in Figure 2. When you expand your new deployment share, you'll see six nodes: Applications, Operating Systems, Out-of-Box Drivers, Packages, Task Sequences and Advanced Configuration. I'll show you two of these nodes: Operating Systems and Task Sequences, with the Operating Systems node first.
Figure 2
Step 3: Import Your OS
Before you can deploy an OS, you'll need to import one into the DW. No matter which OS you import, the steps are all the same. To import an OS, right-click the Operating Systems node and choose Import Operating System. The Import Operating System Wizard opens to the OS Type page.
 1. On the OS Type page, select Full set of source files. You can add custom image (.wim) files that you've created and WDS OS images later. Click Next.
 2. On the Sources page, click the Browse button to navigate


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CLINICAL HISTORY.—A 2-year-old boy was seen in the Outpatient Department of Childrens Hospital, Los Angeles. The mother complained he was too small for his age. He was a product of a normal pregnancy and delivery, and at birth weighed 6 lb (2,722 gm).
He sat alone at 7 months, walked at 20 months, and at present says only a few words. He was bottle fed, and does not take solids well. At 1 year of age, his weight was 17 lb (7.7 kg), and at 22 months of age it was 19 lb (8.6 kg). The child's only illness was chickenpox at 9 months of age. There are older siblings who are all living and well.
This child appeared short and stocky, and with a short neck and humeri. There was a mild lordosis. The examination of the ears, nose, and throat was normal. The head measured 17½ inches, and


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Our Science & Conservation section includes the following areas:
Conservation: As its name suggests this segment covers all things conservation. Each issue features an organisation that is doing great work in the aquatic field. We also cover conservation issues related to water such as pollution of waterways, species that are endangered due to man made reasons such as plastics, the effects of damning of waterways and many many more.
Science: This is the nitty gritty of the research world. We aim to correct the disconnect that exists between scientific research and the general public. You will find informative articles on science based topics in our 'Inside Research' segment. 'Guide to…' focuses on a particular theme such as shark vision or dolphin dentistry. Have any burning water related questions? Here is the place to ask them! In each issue we publish questions from our readers – our aquatic scientist loves a challenge so please drop us an email to _EMAIL_.


OECD: Coronavirus disproportionately affects migrants
According to a new OECD report, migrants have been disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Migration itself has decreased significantly, with adverse effects on both countries of origin and destination.
The coronavirus pandemic has changed the lives of people all over the world, and particularly that of migrants, according to a new report by the Paris-based Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
Yet it also concludes that it's thanks to migrants that essential services have been provided in OECD member states, despite the restrictions imposed to curb the spread of the virus — particularly in the sectors of health care, retail and in delivery and courier services.
Even when borders were closed during the strictest lockdown period various governments, including Germany, introduced exceptions to allow workers into the country to help with the harvest.
Migrants make up 24% of doctors and 16% of nurses in OECD member states, and have often been on the front line in the fight against the virus. But they've also been disproportionately infected by COVID-19, as they are often in closer contact with contagious people and frequently live in close quarters.
According to the report, migrants are twice as likely to contract the virus than the rest of the population. A quarter of those who work in the hospitality industry in the EU are originally from non-EU states, a rate that is twice as high as in other economic sectors.
People working in this sector often only have temporary contracts, and migrants are usually the first to lose their job during an economic downturn.
The report noted that it's still too early to know the full extent of the damage caused by COVID-19, but said migrants living in southern Europe, in Ireland, Sweden, Norway and the US have been particularly badly hit.
Migrant children hit by school closures
The children of migrants have also been disadvantaged by school closures in many countries, and the subsequent transition to home schooling and online learning.
On average, these children were less likely to have access to a home computer, and were less likely to benefit from parental help with lessons due to language barriers. Children were also often at a disadvantage because of lack of space at home.
The pandemic has had a dramatic impact on migration in OECD member states, which reportedly decreased by as much as 50% in the first six months of 2020 due to border closures, travel restrictions and a decrease in flight availability.
The authors of the study don't think the current slowdown will change any time soon, even if the economy picks up again. They predicted that due to weaker labor demand and continued travel restrictions, people will become less mobile.
Those who have stopped going to their workplace will continue to work from home in the foreseeable future, if they can, and students will continue to attend online lectures and seminars.
Fears of rise in xenophobia
Countries of origin have also been affected by COVID-19. For instance, many migrants who regularly transferred money to their relatives back home have not been able to do so, and this has had a major impact on those local economies.
The report also raised concerns that destination countries will clamp down on illegal migration, leading to frustration in countries of origin.
The report also noted that racism and xenophobia could rise in OECD states as a result of increased unemployment, if migrants are perceived as economic rivals.
Some countries have introduced campaigns to combat such misconceptions. In some areas where migrants have been wrongly accused of being responsible for the spread of the virus, there have also been campaigns to raise awareness about the dangers of xenophobia.
The report concluded that migration remained an integral part of life. Stefano Scarpetta, director for employment, labor and social affairs at the OECD, said the restrictions and isolation brought about by the pandemic had shown how much we needed other people.
He also said there was a risk that the progress made with regard to migration and integration could be lost as a result of the pandemic, and suggested that governments should consider the integration of migrants as a long-term investment with advantages for everybody.


text: Traditionally, medical training has focused on step-by-step instructions of new skills. However, this may result in inflexible skills, which students cannot apply to new problems. To test whether instructions focusing on external context produce more flexible skills, we taught seventeen fourth year medical students the induction of anesthesia in a human patient simulator, either by giving them step-by-step instructions of the task (list learning) or by explaining the subgoals of the task and the external preconditions for the actions (monitors and patient state) (context learning). At the end of the experiment, an unexpected complication arose, requiring the participants to reconsider the effects of their actions. Results showed no significant differences between the groups in learning performance, in complication response time or diagnosis. Possibly, the context condition still focused too much on internal knowledge structures and external cues may be even more important in skill acquisition.


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PCR prevalence of Ranavirus in free-ranging eastern box turtles (Terrapene carolina carolina) at rehabilitation centers in three southeastern US states
Ranaviruses (genus Ranavirus) have been observed in disease epidemics and mass mortality events in free-ranging amphibian, turtle, and tortoise populations worldwide. Infection is highly fatal in turtles, and the potential impact on endangered populations could be devastating. Our objectives were to determine the prevalence of ranavirus DNA in blood and oral swabs, report associated clinical signs of infection, and determine spatial distribution of infected turtles. Blood and oral swabs were taken from 140 eastern box turtles (Terrapene carolina carolina) that were presented to the wildlife centers at the University of Tennessee (UT; n=39), Wildlife Center of Virginia (WCV; n=34), and North Carolina State University (NCSU; n=36), as well as a free-ranging nonrehabilitation population near Oak Ridge, Tennessee (OR; n=39) March-November 2007. Samples were evaluated for ranavirus infection using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) targeting a conserved portion of the major capsid protein. Two turtles, one from UT and one from NCSU, had evidence of ranavirus infection; sequences of PCR products were 100% homologous to Frog Virus 3. Prevalence of ranavirus DNA in blood was 3, 0, 3, and 0% for UT, WCV, NCSU, and OR, respectively. Prevalence in oral swab samples was 3, 0, and 0% for UT, WCV, and NCSU, respectively. Wildlife centers may be useful in detection of Ranavirus infection and may serve as a useful early monitoring point for regional disease outbreaks.
Matthew C. Allender, M Abd-Eldaim, Juergen P. Schumacher, D McRuer, L S. Christian, and Melissa A. Kennedy. "PCR prevalence of Ranavirus in free-ranging eastern box turtles (Terrapene carolina carolina) at rehabilitation centers in three southeastern US states" Journal of wildlife diseases 47.3 (2011): 759-764.
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A new technique has
been developed that is capable of tracing cancer cells around the
Scientists at Scripps Physics Oncology Center used a computer-intensive method
to find a higher amount of high-definition circulating tumour cells than
previous techniques were able.
It is thought the breakthrough could be particularly helpful for doctors
treating patients with forms of prostate, breast and pancreatic cancer which
are resistive to current chemotherapy drugs.
Dr Jorge Nieva, an oncologist at Billings Clinic at the establishment and
leader of the study, said: "This technology will allow scientists to move
away from mouse and cell culture systems and speed the delivery of cures for
cancer in people."
The technique makes it possible for healthcare staff to track the development
of cancer in real time.
According to Cancer Research UK, every two minutes a patient in the UK is
diagnosed with some form of the disease, while more than one in three will
develop cancer during their lifetime.
© Adfero Ltd
Cancer treatment news : 6 February 2012


Author: Anne Pitkaenen
Many variables can complicate a surveyor's job. Measuring a point where the view to the sky is limited can be difficult. Surveyors often face a race against time to survey a site before the first foundations are laid.
Improving efficiency is often the first step toward a more profitable business. Whatever challenges you face on-site, relying on fast and accurate surveying equipment helps overcome hurdles easily.
Capturing hard-to-access or obstructed points
Hard-to-access points are as much a part of a surveyor's job as hard hats and high-vis clothing. Tackling them often requires additional equipment, which can complicate things and slow you down.
You might, for example, need to map a point of interest on the other side of a busy road. Crossing roads safely is difficult, and blocking the traffic consumes time at the site. Another common challenge is obstructed points. Take, for instance a point under an overhanging canopy. Without a view to the open sky, measuring with a traditional GNSS rover will be a challenge.
In most cases, and with most conventional RTK rovers, you have little choice but to measure the point using additional equipment such as a total station or a DISTO™.
There's nothing wrong with this approach. It works. But the additional equipment needed means more to transport between sites, longer set-up and processing times and extra costs — all of which slows you down.
With its integrated camera, the new Leica GS18 I makes this process far simpler. When faced with a hard-to-reach point, like our canopy example, there's no need to try and reach it with other means. The GS18 I allows you to walk alongside the structure capturing images as you go. These images are used to measure survey-grade points, which can be further processed into a point cloud. Also, the GS18 I automatically defines the position and orientation of the images, making them ready to use for measuring instantly in the field.
Measuring hundreds of points in minutes
Accurately mapping hundreds of points, whether the entire façade of a building or several pipes crossing in a trench, can be time consuming. This is particularly true if the tool you use measures the structure point-by-point, as is the case with some conventional RTK rovers.
The GS18 I is capable of capturing the site in images as you walk. These images can be used in the field or office for measuring points in them. This means even vast structures, which would typically have taken hours to measure can be captured much more quickly and efficiently. Also, you never miss measuring a point.
You don't have to return to the site to measure additional points because you can measure them from the images even when new needs for points arise.
In the office, points can be measured with Leica Infinity office software conveniently on a larger screen. Office time is, in general, less expensive than time on site — there are no disturbances and frustrations from weather and fewer risks.
Viewing data on site
Some imaging GNSS systems don't allow you to review what you are doing on site. Those systems that use a GNSS together with a camera but don't have Visual Positioning technology, like in the GS18 I, often require processing back at the office before it can be used for measuring. This means waiting to return to base to check whether you've captured everything correctly.
This just isn't practical. If you're visiting multiple sites in a day, you need to be able to review and upload work on the go and ensure you have everything you need before continuing to the next job. Anything else risks multiple site visits to correct errors, having a negative impact on your productivity.
The GS18 I approaches this more efficiently. When you use the GS18 I's Visual Positioning, it automatically defines the position and orientation of the images, making them ready to use for measurement. Also, there is no need to pick a point across multiple images — the GS18 I automatically matches the point. All you need to do is pick the point and hit measure to compute coordinates instantly.
This means no waiting until you're back at base to check whether you have mapped everything you need and the quality matches the project requirements. With the GS18 I, everything is available instantly. So, you can access the quality of the results on-site and leave the rest of the measuring for the large screens back at the office.
Points can be reviewed at the scene, cutting down the risk of mistakes. You don't need to return to site to correct mistakes or delay a project while you wait to return to the office.
GNSS to empower your business
Surveyors will probably always face complications in their projects, but the right technology certainly makes things easier. Visual Positioning technology is providing access to many points that were previously unreachable with a conventional GNSS rover alone. And, with the GS18 I, surveyors now have a simpler, faster more efficient tool for handling whatever they encounter on site.
Tackling inefficiency in your surveying business starts with your equipment. And the GS18 I provides an answer to many of the common problems that cause it. Get everything you need to start transforming your business in a single, easy-to-use device.
What is Leica GS18 I?
The Leica GS18 I is the most versatile survey-grade GNSS RTK rover, allowing you to measure remote points from images or to measure with the pole tip. It has all the same functionalities as GS18 T but with added Visual Positioning technology. Visual Positioning technology, sensor-fusion combining GNSS, IMU and a camera allows users to reach previously inaccessible or obstructed points safely and efficiently.
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Here come the robot insects!! Make your own invasion hordes with recycled items and Crayola Model Magic® modeling compound!
Who likes insects? Maybe you like icky ones or strange ones? Ask an adult to help you find recycled items around your house, maybe a nonworking radio or calculator, or an old wooden box with brass hinges! Take apart the items you want to use to create your robot insect. Here are some ideas for making imaginary critters.
You could bend wire into any shape or use a box for the insect body. If you use a clear plastic bottle, why not put stuff inside it? For a mosquito, you could add red paint to look like the last big meal. Or fill it with other items such as small plastic pieces to look like guts!
Press on Crayola Model Magic® compound, any color you like, to give the body more shape. It sticks to most surfaces without glue. Use small pieces to make fangs, eyes, antennae, and other parts.
Add wings and legs with wire, hinges, or other items. Use recycled pieces and decorative craft items to give your insect character. Little speakers on a beetle's back look cool, or a mosquito could have a broken radio antenna for a stinger. Be creative! M
Add Crayola Glitter Glue for details and highlights. Make your insect cute, scary, or even gross. Air-dry the decorations. Have fun creating a whole swarm of recycled creatures!
Let's make something!
Encourage imaginations and empathy for living things large and small. Whales intrigue humans because both species are wa
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Play your favorite outdoor games with Sock Worm Beanbags you make yourself using Crayola Fabric Markers, old socks, and
The sky's the limit with this mobile. Create fine-feathered friends to hang around-all year long!
Create a colorful creeper with paper plates. Will it be a hairy woolly bear? Or a caterpillar that's knobby, tufty, or h
Who's a bug watcher? There are so many fascinating insects and arachnids to discover! Create several Crawling Creatures
Stomp around your room with Monster or Animal feet. Color your favorite type of feet on your socks and have fun!
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What's climbing out of the dark, oozing swamp with its jaws wide open? Watch out for a 'gator or two! Sculpt a scene tha
Our crayons have been rolling off the assembly line since 1903, and you can see how it's done.
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Vintage Brooches' History and Evaluations
Brooches have been worn as a decorative clasp with an attached pin for affixing it to the clothing, hat, hair, or other item for countless generations. It come in a variety of colors, forms, and styles, such as the popular gold brooches shaped as animals, letters, and characters and set with jewels like sapphires and rubies.
This simple, ornamental brooch will never go out of style and may be used as a statement piece on sweaters, caps, and wraps. Brooches are frequently used as key historical identifiers since they varied dramatically among each new time.
1. Brooches with Celtic designs (or Viking brooches)
The very first Celtic brooches, used as cloak fasteners by Celts and Vikings, were observed in Ireland and Britain during the Early Medieval era and had a long pin linked to a ring. The pin rotates around the open ring, enabling it to pass through without creating a permanent hole in the clothes. Brooches were carried on a daily basis by both men and women in Viking times, and they came in a variety of styles and levels of elaboration.
2. Aigrette brooches
This aigrette, which was feather-shaped and set with flat-cut garnets or diamonds in silver or silver-topped gold, was at the height of popularity in the 17th and 18th centuries, and again in the 19th and 20th centuries. Aigrette brooches, which were worn in the hair and typically linked to a diadem, were often exceedingly intricate, with miniature birds fluttering about the plume.
3. Mourning brooches
Mourning jewelery has been established since the 16th century, and mourning brooches evolved into diverse patterns and features throughout its heyday in the 18th and 19th centuries. These was frequently a bequest in wills in early Georgian times, to be awarded to valued relatives and friends. Mourning paintings were popular in the late 18th century. These under-glass navette and oval-shaped brooches, like the one below, portrayed sepia images of grief, were set on ivory, and frequently included hair and seed pearls (representative of tears). On the reverse, they were written with the recipient's name, date of birth, and funeral, and occasionally contained a chamber for hair.
4. En tremblant brooches
En tremblant is a French expression that means "to tremble," and it refers to a style of brooch, most commonly a floral spray, in which the center of the flower is joined to a mechanism that causes it to move while worn. These brooches were popular in the 18th and 19th centuries, before the invention of electricity, and were set with rose-cut or old-mine cut diamonds, or even both. When the diamonds moved in candlelight, the shaking impression was most noticeable.
5. Cameo brooches
While cameos, which are hard stone and shell cut in relief, date back to ancient times, they were also popular as Grand Tour gifts. Many people identify cameo brooches with Queen Victoria, who adored jewels and would frequently bestow a picture of Prince Albert or herself on members of the court and servants. However, the most enticing cameo brooches throughout history show a story — stories, mythical settings, or gods and goddesses. The greatest specimens, in which you can see and feel the layers of carved stone, were fashioned of hard stone.
6. Sweetheart brooches
These have been frequently referred to as "sweetheart brooches," although there was another form of sweetheart brooch handed to loved ones by troops as they marched out to WWI. The late Victorian aesthetic decade's love brooches were made of silvery sheeting and created as gifts of devotion, with designs and phrases that were first seen in sentimental jewelry out from Georgian and Romantic periods of the Victorian Era.


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The German Government and the Turkish Republic, inspired by a desire to place relations between the two countries on a basis of mutual confidence and sincere friendship, agreed without prejudice to present obligations of both countries to conclude a treaty.
For this purpose the German Reich Chancellor appointed Ambassador Franz von Papen and the President of the Turkish Republic appointed Foreign Minister Shukru Saracoglu as plenipotentiaries, who, on the basis of full powers accorded them, have agreed on the following declaration:
Germany and Turkey bind themselves mutually to respect the integrity and inviolability of their territories and will take no measure that is aimed directly or indirectly against the other contracting party.
Germany and Turkey bind themselves in the future to communicate with each other in friendly manner on all questions affecting their common interests in order to bring about understanding on the treatment of such questions.
The foregoing treaty will be ratified by articles of ratification, which shall be exchanged forthwith in Berlin. The treaty enters into force on the day of signature and is effective from then onward for a period of ten years.
The parties concluding the treaty will agree at the proper time regarding the question of extending the treaty.
Drawn up in duplicate in the original, in the German and Turkish languages, in Ankara on June 18, 1941.
In connection with the happy conclusion of the German-Turkish treaty today I have the honor to bring Your Excellency's attention to the fact that my government is ready, in so far as is at all possible, to further economic relations between Germany and Turkey, taking into account the possibilities given by the economic structure of the two countries and taking as a basis experiences made for the benefit of both countries by each other during the war. Both governments will enter forthwith into negotiations in order as far as possible to create a treaty basis for the carrying out of this agreement.
In connection with the happy conclusion of the treaty the plenipotentiaries of both sides express the wish that the press of both countries, as well as the radio on both sides, in their publications and transmissions will always take account of the spirit of friendship and mutual confidence that characterizes German-Turkish relations.


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special effects, in motion pictures, cinematographic techniques that create illusions in the audience's minds as well as the illusions created using these techniques. Some common examples are the use of rear-screen projections, in which previously photographed material is projected behind the actors; the filming of miniature objects in such a way that they look life-size; and the use of animation techniques to create realistic looking scenes, creatures, or objects that can be combined with live action that has been filmed separately. Disaster films, horror movies, and science-fiction movies are three genres that often depend on elaborate special effects. Such effects were used dramatically in the Star Wars and Raiders of the Lost Ark series. See also motion-picture photography.
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
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ECPE vocabulary practice test 72 of 98 Vocabulary Workshop
HOW TO PRACTISE: There is a practice question below. Select one of the options and you will immediately see the result. Next, click on the golden "Next Question" button at the bottom of the result. This way questions will appear one after another.
Question 1 of 10: What is the meaning of "pragmatic"?
2. ECPE Vocabulary: What is the meaning of "precarious"?
(a) 1. something that is not certain 2. risky or subject to chance 3. something which is entirely safe and secure
(b) 1. something that is not certain 2. clear and definite 3. something which lacks security and is in a possibly dangerous situation
(c) 1. something that is entirely certain 2. risky or subject to chance 3. something which lacks security and is in a possibly dangerous situation
(d) 1. something that is not certain 2. risky or subject to chance 3. something which lacks security and is in a possibly dangerous situation
3. ECPE Vocabulary: What is the meaning of "precede"?
(a) 1. to exist before something 2. to come before 3. to have a higher rank than someone
(b) 1. to come after something 2. to be of less importance
(c) 1. to take political action to formally declare independence and leave a country 2. to separate from a country
(d) 1. to suddenly appear 2. to appear in an unexpected place or at an unexpected time 3. to materialize
4. ECPE Vocabulary: What is the meaning of "precedent"?
(a) 1. a practice or act in the past which is used to justify a similar practice in the present
(b) 1. an event that comes after another important event 2. a result
(c) 1. the leader of a political party, a country, or an organization 2. a democratically elected leader
(d) 1. a feeling that something bad is going to happen in the near future 2. the sensation that something is amiss and that something negative is going to happen
5. ECPE Vocabulary: What is the meaning of "preceding"?
(a) 1. after 2. in the end
(b) 1. in response to 2. as a result
(c) 1. before 2. prior to
(d) 1. on one hand 2. in contrast
6. ECPE Vocabulary: What is the meaning of "precipice"?
(a) 1. a small steep side of a mountain or cliff, typically a short one 2. a preferable situation that could lead to success or joy 3. a very interesting situation
(b) 1. a very steep side of a factory or building, typically a short one 2. an uncertain situation that could lead to harm or failure 3. a very unfortunate situation
(c) 1. a very steep side of a home or building, typically a tall one 2. a confusing situation that could lead to harm or failure 3. a very confusing situation
(d) 1. a very steep side of a mountain or cliff, typically a tall one 2. a dangerous situation that could lead to harm or failure 3. a very dangerous situation
7. ECPE Vocabulary: What is the meaning of "precipitate"?
(a) 1. prevent (something) from happening quickly, suddenly, unexpectedly, or prematurely before expected, warranted, needed, or desired 2. throw upward; hurl upward 3. fall; fall upward suddenly and dramatically
(b) 1. cause (something) to happen slowly, rarely, expectedly, or maturely before expected, warranted, needed, or desired 2. throw headlong; hurl upward 3. push; push downward suddenly and dramatically
(c) 1. cause (something) to happen quickly, suddenly, unexpectedly, or prematurely before expected, warranted, needed, or desired 2. throw headlong; hurl downward 3. fall; fall downward suddenly and dramatically
(d) 1. attack (someone) to weaken quickly, suddenly, unexpectedly, or prematurely before expected, warranted, needed, or desired 2. catch headlong; hurl upward 3. throw; throw downward suddenly and dramatically
8. ECPE Vocabulary: What is the meaning of "precipitous"?
(a) 1. quite steep 2. occurring suddenly or dramatically
(b) 1. related to a specific division of a city for political or policing reasons 2. small-scale
(c) 1. gradually sloping 2. slightly inclined 3. going downhill at a slow pace
(d) 1. too forward or bold 2. open and willing to ask anyone anything 3. liberal to a point that is considered to be socially unacceptable
9. ECPE Vocabulary: What is the meaning of "precise"?
(a) 1. desired by many 2. wanted 3. in fashion
(b) 1. coming before something 2. occurring directly before something else
(c) 1. necessary 2. required in order to do something or access something
(d) 1. accurate; exact 2. meticulous or exacting
10. ECPE Vocabulary: What is the meaning of "predecessor"?
(a) 1. a person who inspects labor issues 2. a labor investigator 3. someone who researches injury claims to confirm whether or not they are true
(b) 1. the current occupant of a post or a role 2. the person who occupies a role at this very time and age 3. something that comes after another related thing in the past
(c) 1. the previous occupant of a post or a role 2. something that comes before another related thing
(d) 1. a person who is in charge of processing credit card payments at a business or in a bank
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English Grammar Exercise Tips
The following simple English grammar tips and tricks will help you to learn and memorize English grammar rules and speak correctly. If you are on this site for English grammar practice, these tips will really help you. Let's start.
Invest your time in learning
It surely takes some time to learn English. There is no shortcut way to learn it. Some websites may say that they will teach you English in seven days or one month. These are false offers. Invest some time in learning and practicing. Your English skills will surely improve.
Speak, speak, and speak!
Try to speak English the same way you write it. Do not worry about grammatical mistakes. The more you practice, the less mistakes you will make and the more fluent you will be. So, practice daily and do not be afraid of grammatical errors.
Slow down your speaking speed
Your confidence will go down if you try to speak fluently from the very beginning. Give yourself some time. Start with slow speaking speed and increase your speed over time as you make more progress day by day. Slowing down speaking speed has another benefit — you will get enough time to make sentences in your mind before you speak.
The more you practice speaking, the more confident you will be.
Use Mobile apps
Luckily, there are many English learning apps available. Some are free and some are paid apps. If you are a smartphone user, you should install some of these apps in your mobile phone. You can at least install one app and start practicing. A mobile app is a very handy and useful thing to learn at your convenient time. You can start with free apps.
Install and use a dictionary app in your mobile
There are several free dictionary apps that will help you to learn proper pronunciation and new words. It is highly possible that your smartphone already has a dictionary installed. Use it or install a better one.
Try to get a good bilingual dictionary for better understanding. Besides using a mobile app, you can buy and use a good


text:
Chart of the Day
In yet another triumph of Science™, a remarkably large group of researchers has discovered that it's a bummer when your candidate loses a presidential election:
While past studies have shown that men's testosterone levels differentially change in response to winning or losing an interpersonal dominance contest, the present study provides novel evidence showing that vicarious victory and defeat via democratic elections has similar physiological consequences for male voters as do interpersonal dominance contests.
Basically, the researchers asked a bunch of undergrads to collect saliva samples throughout the evening of November 4 ("participants used a stick of sugar-free chewing gum to facilitate collecting up to 7.5 mL of saliva in a sterile polypropylene vial and discarded the gum," in case you're interested). The chart on the right shows what happened: after 8 pm, when John McCain's fate was sealed, testosterone levels among men who supported him plummeted. Among women, nothing happened.
Put this together with the capuchin monkey experiment (which, sadly, yielded no interesting charts to post) and then ask yourself just how much difference a few million years of evolution makes. Answer: not nearly as much as we'd like to think.


text:
- Approx Cost:
- $30.00 this covers the cost of some craft materials, sewing notions and patterns during the course. The fabric for the pyjamas is purchased separately and is an additional cost.
- Technology Requirements:
- A laptop is essential for this course
- Course Outline:
In this course you can:
- Explore given contexts to solve problems and come up with solutions.
- Be inspired by other designs to show their own creativity in a range of ideas that meet a brief.
- Become designers and develop an outcome for a client.
- Learn how to project manage an outcome by planning time and resource requirements.
- Discover how materials and processes are used in order to create a successful outcome.
- Be involved in hands on projects including making bags, PJ shorts and a toy for a given person.
- Class maximum 28.
Knowing how to write a simple brief.
Planning and designing an outcome
- Exploring a range of materials and processes
- Learning practical skills
- Where Does It Lead:
This course leads to Year 10 Materials Technology - Textile based and thereafter to Senior Technology courses at NCEA Levels 1, 2 and 3.
- For further information see:
- Mrs E Paterson.


text:
|Carnegie Mellon Robotics Institute | NASA | ASTEP|
Rover Science Payload:
- Environmental Sensors
- Mars Microbeam Raman Spectrometer
- Microscopic Imager
- Neutron Detector
- Stereo Panoramic Imager
- Sampling Drill
- Regolith Sample Handling Unit
- Visible / near Infared Spectrometer
Zoë is designed to be a highly capable robotic astrobiologist. Equipped with specialized sensors, Zoë can autonomously roam the Atacama desert in search of life. Zoë was given its name because it is the Greek word for "life."
Zoë:What does Zoë look like?
Zoë is two meters long and two meters wide with a panel of silicon solar cells of 3.5 square meters. All of Zoë's computers, electronics and batteries are enclosed in a single body mounted between the axles. The robot weighs around 200 kilograms.
How does Zoë drive and steer?
Zoë is driven by four motors, one for each wheel. It has a passive (unactuated) joint at the front axle that can roll and yaw relative to the back end—similar to a wagon. It steers by driving the wheels at different speeds but instead of skidding like a bulldozer, the passive joint turns and the robot smoothly follows arcs. The advantage of this design is that the number of actuators is minimized (there are only four motors) but energy is not wasted skidding the wheels when turning.
What sensors does Zoë use?
Zoë uses a pair of cameras to image the terrain in front of it. By using stereo vision the robot can dedect obstacles and safe areas for driving. There is also a downward looking camera that is used for determing the rovers speed using optical flow. Zoë also has an IMU that can detect acclerations and rotations made by the robot. The downward looking camera and IMU data are merged in a filter on the computer to determine the rovers position since we can not rely on GPS (no GPS on Mars).
There are also speed and current sensors for each motor and system level voltage and current sensors. These sensors are used for planning and determing system power usage. There are also temperature sensors throughout the rover so the rover can monitor itself for overheating.
How is Zoë powered?
All of Zoë's energy comes from the sun. Its solar cells supply its power bus, which runs computers and sensors, drives the wheels and charges batteries. The output of the solar panels depends on the solar flux which is a function of the orientation of the panel and atmospheric conditions. The overall power tracking system is 11% efficient so if 600 W/m2 of solar energy (a typical value) falls on the 3.5m2 panels then Zoë will have about 200W to use. Any excess power is put into a bank of lead-acid batteries so that Hyperion has capacity to climb a steep slope, drive over an obstacle, or take a shortcut through a shadow or away from the sun when necessary. It's battery capacity is 32Ahr at 24V.
How does Zoë avoid obstacles like rocks and slopes?
To travel through terrain Zoë uses a pair of cameras, like eyes, and computer algorithms to see, measure and model obstacles in its immediate surroundings. It then evaluates multiple possible paths that avoid the obstacles, selecting a path that heads toward its goal while collecting sufficient solar energy to proceed.
Science on the Fly:
Currently, rovers can travel tens of meters per sol, but the next generation of rovers is predicted to be able to traverse ten or more times as far. This capability presents a situation in which the rover will be able to travel to places about which it has no information and which it was not able to see at the beginning of the sol. This presents us with not only an exciting opportunity but also several challenges. This situation will require the rover to use methods for performing effective science when the rover has left the area that was initially visible and is out of contact with scientists.
The "Science on the Fly" software consists of two principal parts, the science observer and the science planner. The science observer acts as the rover's eyes and ears. The science observer interprets sensor data to find possible targets of scientific value. The other part, the science planner, takes the observations made by the science observer and plans experiments that would be of maximum scientific value.
The Science Observer serves two major roles: identifying targets of interest and categorizing them into useful groups. For example, the most prominent targets for geological study are rocks. When the science observer examines an image, it looks for rocks using a "machine learning" algorithm that has been trained ahead of time to recognize rock-like features. Then, it autonomously categorizes those rocks into groups based on data it has seen before. In this manner, the Science Observer can recognize novel rocks as well as perform automatic geological analyses. Besides rocks, targets of scientific interest could include lichens or patches of soil.
The Science Planner enables the rover to react to new science opportunities as it moves into unexplored areas. The Science Planner accepts priorities from the science team, such as "carbonate rocks are important to sample." Then, when the Science Observer detects a high-priority, interesting feature, the Science Planner tries to make a plan for getting more useful information about the feature. For instance, it might move closer and examine the feature with its fluorescence sensor to look for signs of life. It is not always easy to generate this kind of plan because examining every interesting feature would take far more time and energy than the rover has available.
Copyright © 2013 Carnegie Mellon University.


Animations and MVVM
This week I was asked from a colleague of mine, 'How do I fire a command once a storyboard has completed?'. Do we have to break the MVVM here and write code behind. The answer is simple, HELL NO….
Attached Behavior to the rescue. Basically we can do this task by using an attached property, that will hook up to the Completed event of the storyboard and fire the command for us on the ViewModel. Here's how to do this
 1: var timeline = d as Timeline;
 2: if (timeline!= null &&!timeline.IsFrozen)
 3: {
 4: timeline.Completed += delegate
 5: {
 6: ICommand command = GetCommand(d);
 7: object param = GetCommandParameter(d);
 9: if(command!= null && command.CanExecute( param ))
 10: GetCommand(d).Execute(GetCommandParameter(d));
 11: };
 12: }
and here is how to use this in XAML
 1:
 2:
 3:
 4:
 6:
 7:
 8:
In the sample application (that is provided below with this article) shows how to animate some item in an items control and when the animation is completed the Storyboard executes a command that actually removes the item from the binding list.
I also created another simple class so that you can execute a Command from an EventTrigger. This is very handy since sometimes we want to execute a Command on a VM when some arbitrary RoutedEvent is raised. Here is the code for that
 1: public class CommandTimeline : Storyboard
 2: {
 3: protected override Duration GetNaturalDurationCore(Clock clock)
 4: {
 5: return new Duration(TimeSpan.FromTicks(1));
 6: }
 8: protected override Freezable CreateInstanceCore()
 9: {
 10: return new CommandTimeline();
 11: }
 12: }
and here is how to consume it
 1:
 2:
 3:
 4:
 5:
As you can see this reuses the attached behavior that is used on normal storyboards. The only difference between a Storyboard and a CommandTimeline is that a CommandTimeline returns a Duration of 0 so the Completed event gets raised immediately.
PLEASE NOTE: This can be only used in an event trigger. When this is used with DataTriggers etc you will get an exception saying that the Trigger cannot be sealed. This happens because you cannot hook up to the Completed event of a storyboard in a DataTrigger/Trigger. In order to workaround this I use AttacedRoutedEvents so that I can have EventTriggers executing my commands.
Download the sample app + source code
Sync Multi Select Listbox with ViewModel
Today one of my colleagues at Infusion asked me how he could sync up the selection of a ListBox with his ViewModel. WPF supports already single mode selection via the ICollectionView yet when it comes to MultiSelect there is no out of the box support in WPF.
Attached Properties to the rescue ….. 🙂
I quickly when in my VS and wrote up a simple Attached property that hooks to the SelectionChanged event of the ListBox and populates a list of selected items to the ViewModel.
This is how the attached property looks like
 1: _TAG_ SelectedItems
 3: ///
 4: /// SelectedItems Attached Dependency Property
 5: ///
 6: public static readonly DependencyProperty SelectedItemsProperty =
 7: DependencyProperty.RegisterAttached("SelectedItems", typeof(IList), typeof(ListBoxHelper),
 8: new FrameworkPropertyMetadata((IList)null,
 9: new PropertyChangedCallback(OnSelectedItemsChanged)));
 11: ///
 12: /// Gets the SelectedItems property. This dependency property
 13: /// indicates....
 14: ///
 15: public static IList GetSelectedItems(DependencyObject d)
 16: {
 17: return (IList)d.GetValue(SelectedItemsProperty);
 18: }
 20: ///
 21: /// Sets the SelectedItems property. This dependency property
 22: /// indicates....
 23: ///
 24: public static void SetSelectedItems(DependencyObject d, IList value)
 25: {
 26: d.SetValue(SelectedItemsProperty, value);
 27: }
 29: ///
 30: /// Handles changes to the SelectedItems property.
 31: ///
 32: private static void OnSelectedItemsChanged(DependencyObject d, DependencyPropertyChangedEventArgs e)
 33: {
 34: var listBox = (ListBox)d;
 35: ReSetSelectedItems(listBox);
 36: listBox.SelectionChanged += delegate
 37: {
 38: ReSetSelectedItems(listBox);
 39: };
 40: }
 42: _TAG_
 44: private static void ReSetSelectedItems(ListBox listBox)
 45: {
 46: IList selectedItems = GetSelectedItems(listBox);
 47: selectedItems.Clear();
 48: if (listBox.SelectedItems!= null)
 49: {
 50: foreach (var item in listBox.SelectedItems)
 51: selectedItems.Add(item);
 52: }
 53: }
and here is how you would use it in the XAML
 1:
As you can see all you have to set is the List you want to populate in the ViewModel and the rest is taken care of by the Attached Property.
Please Note: This code was implemented quickly without any testing to prove an implementation idea, so please do review it before putting it in production 🙂
Download the source code


text:
Norwich OA are working with primary and secondary schools in Norwich to support pupils and their parents to engage with remote learning at home.
A Remote Learning Coach aims to work with pupils and parents identified by their school who aren't used to using IT at home and would benefit from support.
The role aims to:
- Support pupils and their parents to engage confidently with remote learning at home.
- Act as Coach to encourage progress, participation and engagement with home learning for identified students during periods of remote learning.
- Encourage, support and upskill pupils and their family to use IT effectively at home to access support, advice and opportunities.
Information for schools
Funding for a Remote Learning Coach is offered to NOA primary and secondary schools with the highest levels of disadvantaged students. Based on the most recent LA data, eligible schools invited to participate are:
- City Academy Norwich
- Sewell Park Academy
- The Hewett Academy
- Open Academy
- Norwich Primary Academy
- Valley Primary Academy
- West Earlham Junior School & West Earlham Infant & Nursery School
- Bluebell Primary School
- Edith Cavell Academy & Nursery
- Henderson Green Primary Academy
- Wensum Junior Academy
- Nelson Infant School
- Mile Cross Primary School
- Tuckswood Academy & Nursery
- Lionwood Junior School
- St Michael's Junior School
- Catton Grove Primary School
- George White Junior School
- Clover Hill Infant & Nursery School
- Lakenham Primary School
- Short Stay School for Norfolk
- The Wherry School
- The Clare School
- Parkside School
- Eaton Hall Special Academy
- Harford Manor School
Next steps for interested schools …
Norwich OA have collected expressions of interest from individuals with relevant experience who are available to work immediately. Schools will need to employ the Coach directly and NOA will cover costs.
Contact Claire Sparrow via email to request participation in the project and access details about the potential Coaches: _EMAIL_
Information for Remote Learning Coaches


Turkey Government feeds stray Animals during COVID-19 Lockdown
While the coronavirus forces billions of people worldwide into lockdown, another large population is also severely affected; stray animals. This global lockdowns against the coronavirus are just like a death sentence to stray animals. They feel the bite as the COVID-19 pandemic spreads. Hundreds of stray dogs and cats have taken over the streets of major cities in search of what to eat and how to survive as the country remains under a coronavirus lockdown. These stray domestic animals have moved to fill the void, while also suffering the consequences of the pandemic.
But the story is not the same in a place like Turkey; it is good to hear that while the Turkish people stay at home to contain the spread of COVID-19, the government is tackling the issue of who will feed hundreds of thousands of stray animals in the country.
The Turkey interior ministry has decided that the job is the responsibility of local councils across the country and ordered them "to bring food and water to animal shelters, gardens, parks, and other areas where animals are found." The ministry insists that "all necessary actions must be taken to make sure stray animals don't go hungry", adding that dens and animals' shelters should also be sanitized.
Although Volunteers, activists, and residents usually feed Turkey's pack of strays, restrictions on movement and self-isolation have severely affected animal welfare. While councils sometimes provide services to street animals, it is unusual for the central government to order such a move. In Turkey's largest city, Istanbul, which has the most confirmed COVID-19 infections, there are around 128,900 stray dogs and 162,970 stray cats, according to the city 2018 figures.
Turkish social media users highly praised the move, with many thanking the Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu. The official Twitter account of Istanbul's Bayrampasa district shared photos of stray animals that were fed on April 5. The district said, they are with their true friends, with whom we share life.
One animal welfare organization in the Black Sea region has called on people who are over 65 years who were banned from going outside to contact their district governor to help feed the animals. Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gul tweeted a picture of himself stroking a dog, saying: "We should not abandon our animal friends during these tough days." So far, Turkey has refrained from imposing a nationwide lockdown and instead advises the public to stay home.
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I was really happy to contribute a photo essay called Mud Marine: The Rise and Fall of Mangalore Tiles to Sharpening the Haze: Visual Essays on Imperial History and Memory edited by Giulia Carabelli, Miloš Jovanović, Annika Kirbis, Jeremy F. Walton.
In it, through the photo essay, I argue that:
A visual analysis of colonial and post-colonial buildings reveals how the lines that serve as real barriers of exclusion intersect with the in-between material and representational structures of the built form; how cultural and spatial histories can be traced through buildings as they reference both global urban forms and local urbanisms; and, more specifically, how layers of overlapping, crumbling, moss-ridden tiles speak to the overlapping, crumbling and nature-reclaiming temporal and spatial frameworks of coloniality, global capitalism, post-coloniality and indigeneity. This photo essay explores a style of roofing tile associated with a smaller city in coastal southwest India: Mangalore Tiles. Though roof tiles were produced for centuries utilising the clay found on the banks of the rivers than conjoin at the city, Mangalore Tiles rose to prominence after the production process was industrialised by the Basel Evangelical Missionary Society from 1865 onwards. Once tiles of international renown, the production process has slowed to a trickle in recent decades. Using both archival and my own photographs all taken from within a few hundred square metres around the original tile factory, I argue it is possible to see the straight lines of a 'civilising' empire; neoliberalism's desire to produce global representations of sameness; land's material, economic and poetic instability; ghostly hauntings from the past and future; insecure masculine militaristic language; and the scattered remains left by the transmogrifications of empires.
The rest of the open access book is brilliant, and you can read all the chapters here: Sharpening the Haze: Visual Essays on Imperial History and Memory.