How to Use a Color Palette to Show You How Colors Work in Unity
In the Unity Editor, you can now select a color palette from the menu.
The palette is available in any of the available themes: white, dark blue, red, and green.
You can use this palette in conjunction with the Color Picker to select your color palette, select different color groups, and even use the Picker as a color picker for different effects.
If you're unfamiliar with how colors work in Unity, here's a quick overview of how they work.
Color and Light are the most fundamental colors, with a couple more advanced features that let you customize your color scheme: red is a deep red, green is a warm green, and blue is a cool blue.
You might also notice that the Pickers in Unity have a red picker and a blue picker.
In Unity, you'll see a blue selection in the Pick Bar, and an orange selection when you hover over a Pick.
If your picker has a green or blue pick, you will see a green picker in the Unity Pick Bar.
You may also notice a red color pick, or if you hover your mouse over the Pick, a blue color pick will appear.
The Picker will also display the color of the Pick.
The picker can also be selected from the Pick Panel, but it doesn't display anything.
The Unity Picker uses the standard color spaces that you'll find in a standard Unity Editor toolbar, like red, white, and grey.
The red pick is used for selection of the first color in a selection.
You'll also notice the Pick Color and Pick Color Group.
This lets you specify your own color pickers for different color schemes.
The Color Pick Panel in Unity lets you pick colors based on the specified color space.
The color pick panel will be grey, white or blue.
The orange color pick is a green color pick.
The green color picks are used for selections of the second color in the selection.
The blue color picks can be used for the third color in each color group.
When you hover the picker over a color group, it will display a green gradient.
This indicates a green group color, which is used to highlight the selected color.
For example, if you selected a red group, the green gradient would be highlighted red, red group color.
If the pick is selected in a blue group, a green gradient would appear.
If it's selected in white, then a white gradient would appear, and so on.
The Gradient slider lets you select which gradient to apply to a color, as well as the Gradient value.
You will also notice an additional indicator in the bottom right of the pick panel: the Pick Selection icon.
The icon indicates that you've selected a color and that the selection has been selected.
The first step in using this tool is to select a pick in Unity.
In the Pick Pick Panel window, you may also select a Color Pick and Color Pick Color to select the pick, and then select a Pick Color.
If both of these are selected, the Pick Select button will appear, allowing you to pick the color from the pick.
You then select the color and it will be selected.
If this selection is not made, then you'll have to click on the pick in the editor, which will then prompt you to make the selection again.
Once you've made a selection, you want to highlight it and then click on it to select it.
If either of these options is selected, then the Pick Preview icon will appear in the top right corner of the selection, indicating that you can select a preview of the selected pick.
When this selection appears in the preview, you see a preview dialog box, which allows you to change the color in which you want the pick to be selected and the gradient used to enhance the selection and make the pick more noticeable.
The selection will be shown for a short time, and you will then have to press on the Pick to select.
If no selections are made when you press on a Pick, then your selection will disappear.
You also have the ability to select multiple Pick Pick in the same scene.
The Preview icon in the Preview dialog box lets you set up the preview for each pick.
If a pick is not selected, but you are in a scene where a Pick is already selected, you have the option to add the Pick with a gradient and/or color pick to your selection.
If two selections are selected in the scene, you are now able to add a Pick Pick to the scene and add the gradient to the pick from the scene.
This way, you don't need to make a selection twice to add one pick to the other.
When two selections have been made, you then need to click the Pick preview icon to select which pick will be added to the selection to add it to the Pick panel.
The following is an example of the preview dialog in action.
The preview dialog
How to avoid VR headaches and other visual jitters with visual release, visual cliff
The most common problem with VR, in my experience, is that it's too much.
I've spent much of my career designing VR headsets, and I know from experience that the biggest headaches are caused by the overwhelming experience itself.
A recent article from The Wall Street Journal highlighted a number of problems that VR headsets can cause.
"There is a sense of overwhelming, and the sense of an empty world that the experience does not have time to fill," it read.
In other words, VR headsets are hard to wear out and that's why they cause headaches.
I'm sure there are some other problems, too, like that the headset can get too hot and you have to run to cool down before you can go back to the room.
But these are the ones I see the most frequently in VR headsets.
The more you spend time playing, the more it's going to affect your brain.
It's like a giant, throbbing headache.
I often have to get out of the room, and it's almost impossible to go back.
If you've never tried a VR headset before, this is a big learning curve for you.
But you should already be able to tell that you're not ready to jump into VR just yet.
The best VR headsets work in very different ways to your average video game, which is why it's so important to find the right one for you, even if you've been through the trial and error process before.
I was introduced to virtual reality in early 2016 when I was invited to the Oculus booth at a VR event.
My head was spinning as I tried to figure out what I was seeing.
There was a virtual reality headset in front of me, but it was too low resolution and there were too many moving objects.
It was a bad experience, but the Oculus team was quick to respond and offer a refund.
In the past year, I've gotten to spend a lot of time with other headsets that I've already used.
I can now sit comfortably in a room and have the feeling of being in the virtual world, not in the physical world.
That's great, because there's no getting out of VR just because it's not working.
As a developer, you need to know how to use these headsets to make the best of them, but there's a lot you need not to know.
Below, I'm going to show you how to get the most out of your virtual reality experience, how to avoid some common problems, and what you can do about it if you find yourself in a headache.
How to enable visual comfort lighting for a project in Unity 5
Visual comfort lighting has been a hot topic for developers for some time now.
There are many options for how it should be enabled in Unity.
It is enabled by default for most games, but there are a few settings that can be tweaked, such as how much or how little light is visible.
Unity 5 introduces visual comfort by allowing developers to tweak these parameters, and the developer can tweak the default settings.
There is one more setting that is disabled in Unity 4.1, and it is the default for many games.
This setting is called "No-Lighting".
In the new version of Unity 5, the developer does not have to enable the "No Lighting" setting, and developers can simply enable this option for the scene.
Visual comfort in Unity is achieved by enabling this setting for the visual effects engine.
It gives Unity a bit more control over how the lighting is rendered, and how the visual effect interacts with the game.
In the image below, you can see the Unity scene with no-lighting enabled.
As you can notice, the shadow is a bit darker than the foreground, and this makes the scene look a bit less bright.
Unity 4 has a few other visual comfort settings.
For instance, it has the ability to set a "Depth of Field" to how far away objects are from the camera.
This is helpful if the player wants to see what objects are behind them, or to create shadows on the ground.
Unity also has the option of changing how much light can be cast on the screen at once.
This makes the Unity 3.6.2 preview look a lot more colorful.
This feature was disabled in 4.0, and Unity 5.2.2 introduces it.
The default setting is that light is always cast in the direction the player is looking.
This works well for small screens and in low light environments.
Unity does have a setting that can make the scene appear more colorful by turning off the "Lighting" setting.
Unity has several different options for changing the color of the light, which is useful for artists and designers to add more depth and realism to their designs.
Unity can also adjust the lighting to create a "saturated" effect.
This means that the shadows will appear a bit brighter.
There's also an option to change


text:
National Geographic Society: Early Career Grant
The National Geographic Society supports projects that are bold, innovative, and potentially transformative and have a primary focus in conservation, education, research, storytelling, or technology. Early Career Grants are designed to offer less experienced individuals an opportunity to lead a project. Projects should align to one of the following three focus areas.
- Wildlife: This focus includes species-focused projects and the local evolutionary and ecological processes that sustain them. Support is provided to projects that seek to discover and identify species and ecosystems and to mitigate threats to Earth's life forms. Projects will improve understanding of biological diversity, including behavior, life history, evolution, ecology, and habitat requirements.
- Human journey: This focus supports projects in a range of fields that are helping to understand the origins and development of the human species; how humans modified and adapted to diverse landscapes across the globe; the evolution of cultures and societies; and the current status of and trends in cultural, linguistic, and genetic diversity. Recognizing that human society is currently out of balance with the natural world, this focus also seeks projects that propose solutions to mitigate this imbalance.
- Changing planet: The focus is on Earth's dynamic terrestrial, marine, and freshwater ecosystems. These are the foundations of life on the planet, yet are increasingly threatened by exploitation, mismanagement, and climate change. Support will be provided to projects that illuminate these issues to better inform decision making and to develop more effective models for conservation and protected area management at large scales. This area of focus seeks to reduce negative human impacts on ecosystems and Earth processes by increasing knowledge, inspiring action, and creating solutions with direct, quantifiable, and scalable methods for conserving landscapes or seascapes.
Amount: Grants typically range from $5,000-$10,000.
Eligibility: Individuals who are at least 18 years of age. Applicants are not required to have an advanced degree. Anyone with more than five years of professional experience in the field of their project focus does not qualify for an Early Career Grant (but can apply for an Exploration Grant instead). Organizations can also apply for grants, but the person within the organization who will lead the project—not the institution—should be the applicant. Giving is on an international basis.
This post was filed under:

source: openbmb/Ultra-FineWeb


Car Multimedia Basics: How to Build an In-Car Multimedia Experience
Audio, Video, and Pulling It All Together
What to Know
 - There are three basic categories of gear you'll need to look at: audio gear, video equipment, and media sources.
 - Audio gear includes: head unit, speakers, amplifier, sound processor, crossovers, and headphones.
 - Video gear includes: video head unit, flip-down screens, headrest-mounted screens, and portable screens.
This article explains how to build an in-car multimedia system. Additional information covers examples of each type of gear.
car multimedia flip-down screen
Don Mason / Blend Images / Getty
There are dozens of different pieces of equipment and gear that all need to work together in car multimedia, but they all fit into three basic categories:
 - Audio gear: This is the traditional car stereo equipment that's been around forever. You need a head unit and speakers at a bare minimum, and the head unit needs to be able to handle video inputs.
 - Video equipment: The video component of an in-car multimedia system can take a lot of different forms. Common implementations include video head units, headrest-mounted screens, and ceiling-mounted screens.
 - Media sources: An in-car multimedia system can rely entirely on physical media, like DVDs and Blu-ray discs, you can go digital, or a hybrid of the two.
Car Audio Multimedia Components
The audio portion of an in-car multimedia system typically consists of the existing sound system, though there are a couple differences. Some of the audio components that are typically found in car multimedia systems include:
 - Head unit: This is the heart of the system, and it controls everything else. You've probably heard the term car stereo used more often, but the component in your dash that you use to control your car stereo system is actually the head unit.
 - Speakers: Great speakers are also key, but the speakers in a multimedia system don't have to be any different from the speakers in a regular car audio system.
 - Amplifier: Every in-car multimedia system, and every car audio system in general, needs an amplifier. Most head units have an amp built right in, but higher-end systems use one or more external amps.
 - Sound processor: This is a component found in higher-end car audio systems, and it can also come in handy if you want your multimedia system to sound as good as possible.
 - Crossovers: This is another component that's found in higher-end car audio systems that's useful in improving sound quality.
 - Headphones: Most car audio systems rely entirely on speakers, but multimedia systems can include headphones as well. This is a really useful feature if you have kids.
Headphones can be found in regular car audio systems, but they are much more commonly used in conjunction with car multimedia. Wired headphones require a headphone jack in the head unit, video player, or elsewhere, while wireless headphones can make use of IR or RF signals.
Most of these audio components are very similar to those found in traditional car audio systems, with a few exceptions like the head unit. While a regular car stereo can be used in a multimedia setup, video head units are much better suited to the purpose.
Car Video Multimedia Components
Every car multimedia system needs at least one video component, but they can also have a lot more than that. Some of the more common car video multimedia components include:
 - Video head units: This is the easiest way to turn a car audio system into an in-car multimedia system. Double DIN video head units have the biggest screens by default, but some single DIN units also have pretty big flip-out screens.
 - Flip-down screens: These displays mount to the ceiling and flip down during use. They're mainly useful to allow all of the rear passengers to watch the same video all at once.
 - Headrest-mounted screens: These displays mount on, or in, the driver and passenger headrests. They allow the rear passengers to watch the same video on both screens, or different videos if you have multiple video sources.
 - Portable screens: These aren't as highly integrated into the multimedia system, but they're more convenient. Some portable screens can be plugged into an in-car multimedia system and then removed and used elsewhere for convenience. You can also use a tablet depending on the system you're trying to build.
While the head unit is the heart of any car sound system, it can also function as a video component of a multimedia system. Some single DIN head units have small LCD screens or large flip-out screens, and there are also double DIN head units that include large, high-quality LCD screens.
Multimedia head units also need auxiliary inputs and video outputs in order to handle additional video sources and remote screens. Some head units are also designed to work with headphones, which can be especially useful with multimedia systems.
Car Multimedia Sources
In addition to audio and video components, every car multimedia system needs one or more sources of video and audio. These sources can be virtually anything, but the most common ones are:
 - CD players: Limited to audio, and slowly fading away from OE dashboards, CD players remain one of the best ways to listen to music and other audio content in your car.
 - DVD players: A head unit that has a combo CD/DVD player opens up your entertainment options, and may include a built-in screen or outputs you can use to hook up an external screen. You won't get an HD picture, but the low cost of DVD players and DVDs makes this a great choice for in-car entertainment.
 - Blu-ray players: Some head units give you the ability to play Blu-rays instead of just DVDs and CDs. The picture quality is great, but it isn't really necessary when you're using a small screen.
 - MP3/WMA-compatible head units: If you want to be able to burn your own CDs at home, look for a head unit that can play digital media files like MP3s and WMAs.
 - Media servers: The heart of your system, if you want to bring a bunch of digital media wherever you go, is going to be a media server. Most people can safely skip this component, but the best in-car multimedia systems need some way to store and serve a large library of digital music and video.
 - Video game consoles: If you're working on a budget and have an old video game console sitting around, it can make a surprisingly decent start for an in-car multimedia system. Some consoles are capable of playing digital music and video in addition to video games, with the only caveat being that you'll have to figure out a 12-volt power supply.
 - Wireless TV: Why not take your TV on the road? There are a bunch of ways to get this done if it sounds interesting.
 - Internet radio: Some head units come with internet radio built right in, and you can also buy add-on devices if you aren't interested in replacing your head unit. This is especially good for long road trips since you don't have to find a new station every few hours.
 - Mobile television: A box of DVDs is fine for most road trips, but consider an unlimited data subscription, tethered phone or hotspot device, and a subscription to an on-demand television service for a totally wireless TV experience.
It's also possible to use an iPod, smartphone, tablet, laptop, or other portable media device as an audio or video source. Some head units are specifically designed for use with an iPod, and others include one or more auxiliary inputs that can accept external audio or video signals.
Bringing it all together
Building a great car multimedia system can be a complicated task due to the variety of components that have to mesh together, so it may be helpful to consider the different components individually. If you build a great audio system, it will probably work fine when you start adding video components.
However, it can also pay to think ahead. If you're building an audio system, and you plan on adding a video component later, then it might pay off to choose a video head unit.
In that same vein, it's also a good idea to think about all of the media sources you want to take advantage of when you're building the audio system. If you want to use a media server, watch wireless TV, or play video games, then you'll want to make sure to find a head unit that has enough auxiliary inputs to handle everything.
Was this page helpful?


June 8, 2016
What is the Japan Central Authority?
The Hague Convention on International Child Abduction mandates that member countries establish or designate a Central Authority to handle cases brought under the Hague Convention. As the actual work of enforcing the Hague Convention falls on the staff of each country's Central Authority, these offices play an important role in ensuring the smooth and efficient cooperation between countries according to the rules of the Hague Convention. In Japan, the Central Authority has been established in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
June 6, 2016
What happens after someone is detained by an immigration officer in Japan?
A Japanese immigration control officer can temporarily detain a foreign national if he or she reasonably believes that the foreign national has committed a deportable offence such as overstaying a visa or committing a crime. However, this temporary detention is only allowed in situations that require urgent action and once the foreigner has been safely detained, the immigration officer must deliver the foreigner and any evidence relating to the offense to an immigration inspector within 48 hours from the start of the detention.
June 3, 2016
Is it possible to sell rights under a contract to a third party?
In Japan, most contract rights are assignable to third parties. This general rule is limited to rights that are of an assignable nature (such as collecting payment) and to contracts that do not explicitly prevent assignments. This means that a party to a contract may assign his right to collect ten million yen over the course of a year, to a third party in exchange for nine million yen immediately. This rule favoring assignment allows parties to freely contract to suit their needs and ideally should promote the best possible economic outcome for all parties.
June 1, 2016
What is a Company Seal and how is it registered?
Registering a company in Japan requires creating a company seal. The company seal is a stamp that is usually a little larger than a normal personal seal. It also usually has the company's name or logo on it. The company seal is used on documents and contracts as the company's official seal of approval. However, in order to act as the company's official seal, a stamp must be registered with the Japanese government. After registration, the Legal Affairs Bureau can provide a company with their seal registration certificate, which, as the name suggests, is a document that certifies that the company seal […]


text:
Re: YouTube: Morihei Ueshiba - Rare Aikido Demonstration (1957)
Your assertion that O-sensei avoided challenges is not credible. Why?
Because in order to teach budo in Japan during the 1920s and 1930s (when O-sensei started teaching), you *had* to be able to accept and defeat challenges, because he would have gotten them...all the time (people still cared about validation back then). If he didn't have the skills to back up his teachings and lost - or worse, if he "avoided" challenges as you claim, this would quickly become known and he would have lost his students and his dojo. Now, that didn't happen did it?
As to your assertion that he must not have had any challenges because there is no video evidence of this...geez, really? It's not like everyone had personal cameras back then like they do now...videoing anything back then was an expensive proposition. That's why for the most part you only see video footage of demonstrations. Also, when you went to another teacher's school to challenge them a certain etiquette came into play, making the encounters for the most part, respectful, but it would also mean that neither party would consent to videoing any part of the "challenge" (not like they had the technology back then, either).


Alexander Agricola
Alexander Agricola, (born 1446Flanders—died 1506Valladolid, Spain), composer of the late Burgundian polyphonic school.
Agricola was educated in the Netherlands and entered the service of Charles VII of France. He later went to Milan and in 1474 was at the court of Lorenzo de' Medici. The same year he returned to the Netherlands. In 1500 he became chaplain and chanter to Philip the Fair of Burgundy, whom he accompanied to Spain. His works appear widely in contemporary printed music books and are noted for their rhythmic ingenuity. They include masses, motets, French chansons, and Italian carnival songs.


What's the difference between a "cold read" and a "prepared material" workshop?
Important question! A "cold read" means the workshop instructor (the casting director) provides material, usually from the shows he or she may have worked on, that you then read "cold" (without much time to rehearse). Usually the instructor gathers each actor's headshot, and then assigns scenes, sometimes pairing actors together. You then will have 5-15 minutes to work on your scene, and then perform them for the instructor (see classroom vs 1-on-1 style for more info). Generally you should hold your sides while performing a cold read.
A "prepared material" workshop means you must bring in your own scene or monologue (be sure to check if the studio provides a reader) and perform for the instructor. Whether or not you hold your sides/script is entirely up to you, but prepared material should be just thatprepared. Some workshop studios require you to get your own scenes approved prior to your workshop. When registering always be sure to ask what that studio's policy is, as well as how to get your scene approved, if need be.
Was this article helpful?
0 out of 0 found this helpful
Have more questions? Submit a request


text: The Braford Cattle Breed was created to consistently and efficiently produce a uniform product in challenging production environments. In 1947, Alto Adams Jr worked with a base herd of Brahman cows that were primarily Partin and Hudgins breeding. He began using Hereford bulls on his St. Lucie county, Florida ranch. The resulting steer and heifer calves were outstanding, but, the Hereford bulls required to produce those calves had extreme problems with feet, eyes and general livability. He quickly realized that using Hereford bulls, that were not adapted to South Florida, was simply not economically feasible and so he began experimenting with various types of Brahman-Hereford cross bulls. Eventually he was able to identify Braford bulls that were producing the calves that met his needs and he used these bulls and their offspring to form what is recognized as the Foundation Herd of the Braford breed in the United States.


Combined Cycles
Techouse's HRSGs and OTSGs it integral part of Combined Cycles
or Combined Heat and Power Cycles.
Combined cycles
A Combined Cycle (CC) power plant consists of
- one or more gas turbines
- steam generator(s) in the gas turbine exhaust
- one (or more) steam turbines
- condenser system
- condensate and feed water pumps
- various ancillary systems
Combined cycle is a power concept combining gas turbine power cycles with steam turbine power cycles. This is achieved by using the large amount of heat in the Gas Turbine (GT) exhaust gas as energy input for the Steam Bottoming Cycle (SBC).
More power is produced without burning more fuel, thus increasing the overall plant efficiency. Or smaller gas turbines can be used in combination with steam turbines to produce the required power demand.
Depending on the combined cycle design and complexity the additional power produced in a combined cycle compared to a plant with the same gas turbines alone, is in the range of 25 to 40%. For an offshore concept,a simpler combined cycle design than the large onshore plants isnormally chosen. A simpler design means single level pressure, and in this context the additional power will be in the range of 25 to 30% compared to simple cycle solutions.
Contact Us
Not readable? Change text. captcha txt
Start typing and press Enter to search


text:
Gift this class
Term based visual arts program-Young artists-term4
We explore a wide variety of techniques including drawing, painting, printing, sculpture, street art, jewellery making and handicrafts such as macrame, batik, tie dye and mosaic. Whilst the main focus is on fine art disciplines, we also feel it is important to incorporate an element of sculpture and handicraft techniques so students are offered a broad selection of skills. Aside from students learning some great art methods, we are big on making sure they are having fun and are able to express their creativity and individuality in a nurturing environment. This program is suitable for all skills levels and boys.
This class takes place every Thursday starting from the 12th of Oct until the 14th of Dec from 4-5.30pm.
- Drawing, painting and printing
- Street art and sculpture
- Jewellery making and handicrafts
- Some fantastic art skills they use at home!
- All materials provided
Casual (Warning: It might get messy), aprons provided
Children 8-11 years old


text:
The foundry lab supports instruction in the Manufacturing Processes and Systems course, the Metalcasting course, research, and student projects. Twice a semester the foundry is opened outside of normal class hours to allow students to pour decorative castings or their own parts. The foundry uses the green sand process and can melt 100 lb of steel and 50 lb of aluminum. Cores, which make internal cavities in castings, can be made using the sodium silicate process. This process does not require dangerous curing gases and can be cleaned up using water. Students have built parts for the formula race car and home light fixtures. There is also an active student chapter of the American Foundry Society, which sponsors tours of local industry, on-campus speakers, and talks at local high schools.
The foundry at SVSU would not be possible without the support of industry. The students and faculty would like to thank all of the companies for their support.

source: HuggingFaceFW/fineweb-edu


text:
Unit 0. IntroductionRevision Date: Sep 07, 2015 (Version 1.2)
Summary: This lesson is a basic introduction to algorithms and the nature of intelligence. Students will play tic-tac-toe (noughts and crosses is the British version) between a "highly intelligent piece of paper" and a human. Students will explore how to create an algorithm and the concept of computer intelligence.
Source: This lesson is adapted from a lesson created by Paul Curzon, Queen Mary, University of London.
Student computer usage for this lesson is: none
A PowerPoint for this lesson is included in the Lesson Resources folder - IntelligentPaper.pptx and IntelligentPaper.pdf
Copies for student pairs of "intelligent paper directions" with tic-tac-toe directions on one side, and blank on the other - in the Lesson Resources folder - IntelligentPaperDirections.pdf
The wrap-up questions are available in the Lesson Resources folder as Questions To Consider.docx
Optional: a musical greeting card, a paper folded into a fortune teller (_URL_ a page of equations
The Python program for the optional activity is located in the Lesson Resources Folder - TicTacToeAI.py
What could make a piece of paper intelligent? (Think-Pair-Share)
(Use IntelligentPaper.pptx in the Lesson Resources folder to help deliver this lesson.)
Challenge the students by saying that you have a piece of paper that is at least as smart as any human. (Show the blank side of the paper, don't tell the students yet, but it has directions on how to play tic-tac-toe on the back.) Ask if anybody believes that this is possible.
Show students examples of "smart papers," such as:
Encourage discussion and debate, prod students to argue their point for or against intelligence, and get them to develop their own criteria and definition for intelligence. Write the class definition and criteria on the board.
Tell the class that the paper has never lost a game: it has perfect intelligence.
Challenge students to play a game against the paper. The paper is peripherally challenged (it has no arms, and thus needs somebody to do its work for it). One person represents humankind, while the other person represents the paper. Play tic-tac-toe with a partner. The paper must begin the game.
But, the paper WILL NOT LOSE.
Try letting humankind go first. (Wait and try it: The paper will lose. Why?)
Challenge students to write out detailed directions (an algorithm) that will never lose the game whether it goes first or second.
Students should use their new algorithm to play against each other. Follow the same model for the paper versus the human game.
Discuss how testing is essential in order to figure out whether the algorithm works for every possible game.
Additional Possible Activities and Discussions with Time Permitting:
Have students write their own definitions for the four words at the end of the presentation:
(Use PyCharm or some other Python environment to show the TicTacToeAI.py program from the Lesson Resources folder.)
Assign homework for Lesson 1-1: Provide students a copy of the "Questions to Consider" in the resources folder and assign the reading:
Blown to Bits – Chapter 1, can be found here _URL_ and is available in the lesson resources folder for Unit 0 Lesson 3.
Extension: If you have extra time, have a championship contest between one set of student-generated instructions and another, alternating who goes 1st and 2nd. You can work in groups of three, with one person acting as the judge if desired.
Vocabulary entries in journals from the end of the PowerPoint presentation
Group participation in interactive activity
Writeup about a more general solution


text:
18th Century Desk Design (The Antiques Dictionary) Taken from Antiques directory By Judith & Martin Miller
A structural change occurred during the early 18th century in the design of bureau. It had been customary for the fall front to open to a concealed document compartment or well, which can be seen as a blank space on the front of the desk between the top edge of the fall (seen examples 1 &2). Sometimes decorated as a dummy drawer, this space was soon utilized as a fourth drawer at the expense of the wall.
Another change concerned the feet, which became either ogee brackets, of cabriole legs with claw and ball feet, or chunky square edged brackets, though by the end of the 18th century the splay French foot had gained considerable popularity (see example 3).
American desks of Queen Anne and Chippendale periods resemble very closely their English counterparts in design if not in materials though there is one important exception—the block front. This was from Dutch origin. See examples 4 &5
Example 1: William and Mary slant front 1710,
Example 2: A curly maple slant front 1720 Example
3: Federal mahogany veneer 1790
Example 4 Queen Anne inlaid walnut 1740 Example 5 Chippendale walnut slate front desk 1780


text:
In the realm of nutritional supplements, one name has been making waves in recent times, promising a "Red Boost" in the realm of male sexual health. The Red Boost Supplement has garnered attention for its claim to offer a host of benefits, particularly in addressing various aspects of male sexual health. This article explores what makes Red Boost unique, delving into its natural composition, and how it can help men combat internal disorders that may be adversely affecting their sexual health and overall well-being.
The Battle Against Oxidative Stress
Red Boost is distinctive in its approach to addressing the root causes of poor sexual performance. One of the major culprits behind diminished male sexual health is oxidative stress. This silent assailant wreaks havoc on the body's cells and contributes to a host of health issues, including poor sexual performance. Red Boost Supplement takes a bold step in combating oxidative stress, which sets it apart from many other supplements in the market.
A Comprehensive Solution
This remarkable supplement does not stop at combating oxidative stress alone. It takes on a broader spectrum of male sexual health concerns, including the pervasive issue of erectile dysfunction and other fertility-related difficulties. Red Boost is a potent, effective mixture designed to enhance male performance, function, and overall health. Developed by health specialists, it aims to provide aging men with a comprehensive solution to the various challenges they may encounter.
The Nutrient-Rich Composition
The secret behind Red Boost's effectiveness lies in its carefully curated composition. This supplement is a powerhouse of nutrients, each serving a specific purpose to enhance male sexual health. Let's take a closer look at some of the key ingredients:
- Horny Goat Weed Extract: This natural aphrodisiac is known for its ability to boost libido and sexual function, making it a valuable addition to the Red Boost formula.
- Tongkat Ali: Renowned for its role in enhancing testosterone levels, Tongkat Ali can help improve male sexual performance and vitality.
- Fenugreek: This herb is valued for its potential to increase testosterone levels, which is crucial for maintaining a healthy sex drive.
- Citrulline: Known for promoting blood flow, citrulline can help address erectile dysfunction and improve overall sexual function.
- Nettle Root: Nettle root can support prostate health, which is vital for overall male well-being.
The Power of Synergy
What sets Red Boost apart is the synergy of these ingredients, working together to provide men with renewed energy in the bedroom. By addressing the root causes of diminished sexual health, this supplement offers men the opportunity to enjoy a fulfilling and satisfying sex life once more.
Red Boost Supplement emerges as a promising solution for men looking to revitalize their sexual health. By eliminating oxidative stress, addressing erectile dysfunction, and enhancing male fertility, it offers a comprehensive approach to tackling common issues faced by aging men. The unique blend of natural ingredients in Red Boost demonstrates that it is more than just a supplement – it's a lifeline for those seeking to regain control over their sexual health and overall well-being. If you're a man looking to give your sexual health a "Red Boost," this supplement may be the answer you've been searching for.


NAME Markup::Unified - A simple, unified interface for Textile, Markdown and BBCode. VERSION Version 0.03 SYNOPSIS use Markup::Unified; my $o = Markup::Unified->new(); my $text = 'h1. A heading'; $o->format($text, 'textile'); print $o->formatted; # produces "
A heading
" print $o->unformatted; # produces "h1. A heading" # you can also just say: print $o; # same as "print $o->formatted;" DESCRIPTION This module provides a simple, unified interface for the Text::Textile, Text::Markdown and HTML::BBCode markup languages modules. This module is primarily meant to provide a simple way for application developers to deal with texts that use different markup languages, for example, a message board where users have the ability to post with their preferred markup language. Please note that this module expects your texts to be UTF-8. In order for this module to be useful at any way, at least one of the three parsing modules (Text::Textile, Text::Markdown or HTML::BBCode) must be installed. None of these are required, but if you try to parse a text formatted in any of these markup languages without the respective module being installed on your system, then the text will be returned unformatted, and no errors will be raised. METHODS new() Creates a new, empty instance of Markup::Unified. format( $text, $markup_lang ) Formats the provided text with the provided markup language. $markup_lang must be one of 'bbcode', 'textile' or'markdown' (case insensitive); otherwise the text will remain unprocessed (which is also true if the appropriate markup module is not installed on your system). formatted() Returns the formatted text of the object, with whatever markup language it was set. This module also provides the ability to print the formatted version of an object without calling "formatted()" explicitly, so you can just use "print $obj". unformatted() Returns the unformatted text of the object. truncate([ $length_str, $ellipsis ]) NOTE: This feature requires the presence of the HTML::Truncate module. If it is not installed, this method will simply return the output of the formatted() method without raising any errors. This method returns the formatted text of the object, truncated according to the provided length string. This string should be a number followed by one of the characters 'c' or '%'. For example, "$length_str = '250c'" will return 250 characters from the object's text. "$length_str = '10%'" will return 10% of the object's text (characterwise). If a length string is not provided, the text will be truncated to 250 characters by default. This is useful when you wish to display just a sample of the text, such as in a list of blog posts, where every listing displays a portion of the post's text with a "Read More" link to the full text in the end. If an $ellipsis is provided, it will be used as the text that will be appended to the truncated HTML (i.e. "Read More"). Read HTML::Truncate's documentation for more info. Defaults to … (HTML entity for the '...' ellipsis character). supports( $markup_lang ) Returns a true value if the requested markup language is supported by this module (which basically means the appropriate module is installed and loaded). $markup_lang must be one of 'textile', 'bbcode' or'markdown' (case insensitive). Returns a false value if the requested language is not supported. INTERNAL METHODS _bbcode( $text ) Formats $text with HTML::BBCode. _textile( $text ) Formats $text with Text::Textile. _markdown( $text ) Formats $text with Text::Markdown. AUTHOR Ido Perlmuter, "" BUGS Please report any bugs or feature requests to "bug-markup-unified at", or through the web interface at. I will be notified, and then you'll automatically be notified of progress on your bug as I make changes. SUPPORT You can find documentation for this module with the perldoc command. perldoc Markup::Unified You can also look for information at: * RT: CPAN's request tracker * AnnoCPAN: Annotated CPAN documentation * CPAN Ratings * Search CPAN SEE ALSO Text::Textile, Text::Markdown, HTML::BBCode, HTML::Truncate, DBIx::Class::InflateColumn::Markup::Unified COPYRIGHT & LICENSE Copyright 2009-2010 Ido Perlmuter. This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of either: the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation; or the Artistic License. See for more information.


text:
Reloads of QlikView Documents are failing with the following error:Invalid custom connector QvSAPConnector.dll
Used QVConnect: D:\PROGRA~1\QlikView\QvConnect64.EXE
CUSTOMCONNECT TO "Provider=QvSAPConnector;ASHOST=test.host.com;SYSNR=32;CLIENT=700;Log=1;KeepCasing=1;NullDate=1;XUserId=ENCRYPTEDUSERID;XPassword=ENCRYPTEDPASSWORD;"Note: The error above can be seen in also when using other Qlik Connectors (e.g. GeoAnalytics), and the solution follows the same reasoning discussed below. The.dll part of the error and customconnect string would reflect the specific connector related to the error.
The SAP Connector DLLs do not show in the Edit Script window in QlikView although they are definitely installed.Environment:
- Qlik Connectors all versions
QVconnect64.exe performs a search for the Qlik SAP DLL files when you launch QlikView. If for some reason it cannot locate or load the DLLs, they do not appear in QlikView.
By running Process monitor and filtering only processes with the name QV.exe and QVconnect64.exe you can see where the process is looking for the DLLs and whether it successfully finds them:Process Monitor Filter settings
In this example you can see a SAP DLL has been located in the QvBexConnector folder:
In this example you can see that the DLL has not been located and will therefore not appear in QlikView:


Particle Models
A particle model track is a mathematical model of a point mass. The step positions of the particle are determined by the parameters of the model rather than being marked with the mouse.
There are two types of models: analytic and dynamic. An analytic model defines position functions of time (Figure 4), while a dynamic model defines force functions and initial conditions for numerical ODE solvers (Figure 1). Dynamic models may be defined in either cartesian or polar coordinates.
Models have a start and end frame that define the frames of the video in which they are drawn. This makes it possible to define multiple models that apply at different times in the same video.
A particle model has a settable mass and generates motion data and vectors just like any other point mass. See point mass for additional information.
1. Building models
Particle model properties are displayed and edited using the Model Builder tool. To use the builder, choose Model Builder... from the model's track menu.
Fig. 1 Model Builder with a dynamic model of a simple projectile
Functions and parameters are defined by entering expressions that are "parsed" (interpreted) by the OSP parser. The values of parameters are constants while those of functions depend on input variables such as x, y, t, etc. The parser recognizes the following elements:
abs(x) acos(x) acosh(x) asin(x) asinh(x) atan(x) atanh(x) atan2(x,y) ceil(x) cos(x)
cosh(x) exp(x) frac(x) floor(x) int(x) log(x) max(x,y) min(x,y) mod(x,y) random(x)
round(x) sign(x) sin(x) sinh(x) sqr(x) sqrt(x) step(x) tan(x) tanh(x)
Table 1 Mathematical functions recognized by the OSP Parser
Model Builder displays model functions along with associated parameters and initial conditions in tables with Name and Expression columns as shown in Fig. 1. The name of the model is shown in a spinner field above the tables.
To edit a name or expression, double-click its table cell (gray cells cannot be edited). Names must be unique and can contain no spaces or mathematical symbols. Expressions must be valid mathematical expressions parsable by the OSP parser.
To create a new parameter or support function, click the appropriate Add button.
When editing an expression, the names of all available variables are listed in blue directly under the popup editor as shown in Fig. 2. To insert a variable directly from the list, move the mouse cursor over it until it turns red and then click.
Variables for parameter expressions include only other parameters, while variables for function expressions include independent variables (e.g., x, y, t, etc), parameters and support function names. In the example shown, the "fy" function may depend on any or all of the variables x, vx, y, vy, t, m, g. The entry "-m*g" is thus a valid expression.
Fig. 2 Editing an expression
If an invalid expression is entered into a cell the cell turns red and an error message is displayed in the status bar. In Figure 3, the expression "-mg" is invalid since the multiplication operator (*) has been omitted. Circular references also result in an error condition.
Fig. 3 Invalid expression
Model Builder includes several features designed to help build, modify and compare models quickly:
 1. Complex expressions can be simplified by defining one or more support functions. For example, the analytic model of a damped oscillator shown in Fig. 4 defines the support function "amp" that represents the exponentially decaying amplitude. This makes the y-position function easier to write and understand.
 2. All edits are undoable and redoable making it easy to quickly flip back and forth between two function expressions or parameter values.
 3. Single or multiple table rows can be copied or cut to the clipboard for pasting into other Model Builder tables.
Fig. 4 Using a support function to simplify expressions


Searching for Ship Tracks
 Page 2 Page 4
"Our interest in ship tracks came about quite by accident," said James Coakley, an atmospheric scientist at Oregon State University. He came up with the idea to study ship tracks back in 1985 while visiting Scripps Institution of Oceanography to learn about the newly-burgeoning satellite imaging technology. He said the first image shown to him was of the eastern Pacific off the coast of California. "I saw these bright streaks running through the images," he said. "Immediately I knew they were ship tracks." Coakley also saw that the ship tracks and the atmospheric conditions off of California would be ideal for studying the effects of man-made aerosols.
marine layer
In general, the air above the oceans suffers from less turbulence and convection than the air above land. The lower atmosphere is especially calm over the eastern Pacific in the summertime due to a layer of hot air that settles in 500 to 700 meters above that region of the ocean, Coakley explained. This effect creates a temperature inversion, placing a cap on the cooler air below, trapping pollutants and water vapor. While the inversion is responsible for the smog that reduces air quality in Los Angeles, it also allows for the formation of long lasting ship tracks. The particles bellowing from ships' smokestacks enter the air above the eastern Pacific and create long, thin clouds that remain there for days.
Coakley and his colleagues began a general survey of the ship tracks with satellite imagery. They took a number of images of the eastern Pacific using the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR). Built and managed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), multiple copies of this satellite instrument circle the Earth in near-polar orbits. Together, they scan the entire surface of the planet. The instruments do not simply take a picture of an area of the Earth, but use light sensors to detect specific colors (wavelengths) of light and thermal radiation coming off the Earth. These readings are beamed back to Earth in the form of data, which the scientists can manipulate to form images.
This photograph from the Space Shuttle shows marine layer clouds near Baja California. These clouds often stretch for hundreds of thousands of square miles in stable air just above the surface of the ocean, and provide a convenient laboratory for the study of the interaction of clouds and aerosols. (Photograph courtesy NASA Johnson Space Center)
When searching for ship tracks, Coakley's team looked at the near-infrared light (light which has a wavelength longer than that of red light in the visible color spectrum) coming off the clouds. At this wavelength many ship tracks appear as bright lines that can be distinguished from the surrounding, uncontaminated clouds. Once the scientists located polluted clouds, they made additional measurements of reflected light in the visible range. "On average, we found the polluted clouds reflect more sunlight than their unaffected counterparts," said Coakley.
next Seeing the Clouds Close-Up
back At the Core of Cloud Formation
This pair of ship tracks, barely discernible in visible light (top,) stand out clearly in the near infrared (above.) (Images by Robert Simmon, based on NOAA Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) data)
Print this entire article


of databases periodically (for example, once every five minutes). If the transaction log of one of the databases is damaged, you must recover the set of databases to an earlier point in time. The distributed mark provides this point. Using distributed marks negates the worry of coordinating precise timing of backups for multiple related databases. For more information, see "Recovering to a Named Transaction" in SQL Server 2000 Books Online.
Shrinking the Transaction Log
Log shrink operations were not executed immediately in SQL Server 7.0. They were deferred until the transaction log was next backed up or truncated. This confused many SQL Server 7.0 customers. SQL Server 2000 shrinks the log as much as possible and then indicates if further shrinking will be possible after a log backup. In this case, run the shrink command again after the log backup has completed. For more information, see "Shrinking the Transaction Log" in SQL Server 2000 Books Online.
The size of the log will be based on your current recovery model and your application design. If you find that you need to shrink to log periodically, look beyond the symptom to the cause. You should further investigate what is causing the log to fill up, rather than focus on constant maintenance with the shrink command.
Recovery Models
Recovery models were added to SQL Server 2000 to facilitate data protection planning. They clarify tradeoffs between performance, log space requirements, and protection from media (disk) failure. There are three models: Simple Recovery, Full Recovery, and Bulk-Logged.
The choice of recovery model is based on database usage and availability requirements and helps determine appropriate backup and restore procedures. Recovery models only apply to media recovery, that is, recovery from backups. Restart recovery recovers all committed work. For more information, see "Selecting a Recovery Model" in SQL Server 2000 Books Online.
You can easily transition between recovery models. For example, on a very large database, you can use full or bulk logged, or both. You can use full during the day and bulk_logged at night, during a data load process that consists of bulk insert and rebuilding indexes. You can also switch to bulk logging while you run a data load and switch back to full mode, run a transaction log backup, and be able to restore to that point in time without having to run a full database backup. This feature allows you to do the bulk processing more efficiently; all you need to do is make a transaction log backup afterwards.
To change recovery models, use the following syntax:
For more information, see "Switching Recovery Models" in SQL Server 2000 Books Online.
Simple recovery model
The Simple Recovery model typically requires less log space, but it incurs the greatest potential work loss if data or log files are damaged. Only events needed for basic recovery are logged. Using the Simple Recovery Model, only full database and differential database backups are available. In the event of a failure, all committed work since the last backup must be redone. This model is the simplest to administer, but it is not a good choice for a mission-critical application where loss of committed work cannot be tolerated.
This model is similar to the truncate log on checkpoint option in SQL Server 7.0 and earlier versions.
Full recovery model
In the Full Recovery model, everything is logged. Full Recovery model provides complete protection against work loss from a damaged data file. If the transaction log is damaged, work committed since the most recent log backup is lost and must be redone manually.
Even when you use the Full Recovery model, it is important to use fault-tolerant disks for the transaction log to prevent data loss. The Full Recovery model also allows recovery to any specific point in time.
Bulk-logged recovery model
The Bulk-Logged Recovery model provides the highest performance for bulk operations. These operations also consume less log space than they do under the Full Recovery model. For example, the allocation of a new page is logged, but the data inserted onto the page is not. In SQL Server 2000, bulk operations consist of bulk load (BCP and BULK INSERT, including when they run within a DTS package), SELECT INTO, CREATE INDEX, WRITETEXT, and UPDATETEXT.
Compared with the Full Recovery model, the Bulk-Logged Recovery model minimizes logging for bulk operations. Keep in mind that in the event that recovery becomes necessary, if the log is damaged or if bulk operations have occurred since the most recent log backup, changes made in the database since the last log backup are lost.
This model does not support recovery to a specific point in time, but it will allow recovery to the end of a transaction log backup containing bulk changes. Transaction log backups made using the Bulk-Logged Recovery model contain the extents modified by bulk operations. This feature improves support for log shipping, because you no longer need to worry that a bulk operation will invalidate your backups. SQL Server maintains a bitmap to track the data extents modified, which optimizes the process by which SQL Server identifies changes.
Improved backup functionality
In addition to the introduction of recovery models to simplify data protection in general, SQL Server 2000 has improved manageability: snapshot technology, differential backups, and security have been enhanced.
 - The transaction log backup chain is never broken. In SQL Server 7.0, certain operations, such as adding a file to a database, broke the log chain and required a subsequent full database backup.
 - Backup operations do not conflict with applications or other administrative actions. For example, backups can occur concurrently with bulk operations such as create index and bulk load.
 - Log and file backups can occur concurrently.
Unattended backup operations, regardless of system activity, are also well supported in SQL Server 2000.
SQL Server supports snapshot backup and restore technologies in conjunction with independent hardware and software vendors. Snapshot backups minimize or eliminate the use of server resources to accomplish the backup. This is especially beneficial for moderate to very large databases in which availability is extremely important. The primary benefits of this technology are:
 - A backup can be created in a very short time, usually measured in seconds, with little or no impact on the server.
 - A disk backup can be used to restore a database just as quickly.
 - Another host can create a backup with no impact on the production system.
 - A copy of a production database can be created instantly for reporting or testing.
Snapshot backups and restores are accomplished in cooperation with third-party hardware and/or software vendors who use features of SQL Server 2000 designed for this purpose. The backup technology creates an instantaneous copy of the data being backed up, usually by splitting a mirrored set of disks. At restore time, the original is immediately available. The underlying disks are synchronized in the background, resulting in almost instantaneous restores.
Differential database backups can be completed in a time that is proportional to the amount of data changed since the last full backup. The less your data has changed, the quicker the backup. SQL Server 2000 uses a bitmap to track data extents modified since the most recent database or file backup to enable them to be located efficiently. In addition, SQL Server 2000 supports file differential backups.
Backups still accumulate changes made to the database since the most recent full backup, functioning the same way in the event of recovery. They are significantly faster, however, because they only record the small amount of information that has changed, especially for very large databases that contain only a small amount of changed data.
For added security, you can implement password protection for your backup media and backup sets. This helps prevent unauthorized users from adding to your backups or restoring to your database.
Administrative Improvements
Several administrative features of the storage engine have been enhanced in SQL Server 2000.
Database Verification
The DBCCs provide a variety of administrative capabilities, including the CHECK commands for verifying database consistency.
Experience with SQL Server 7.0 and SQL Server 2000 has shown that database inconsistency is caused by hardware problems that may or may not be detected by the database engine or applications during normal operation. This is particularly applicable to data that is accessed infrequently. In response to this need, SQL Server 2000 introduces a checking mode, Physical_Only, which is designed to detect most hardware-caused problems. It is very fast, approximately disk scan speed, and is not resource intensive.
Due to fundamental architectural improvements in the SQL Server storage engine, which started with SQL Server 7.0, it is not necessary to run database verification as part of normal maintenance. However, Microsoft remains committed to database verification tools as an important part of managing mission critical data. Microsoft recommends that you:
 - Run the Physical_Only check occasionally, depending on your confidence in underlying hardware, particularly the disk subsystems.
 - Run a complete database check at critical times, such as a hardware or software upgrade, or whenever a problem is suspected regardless of cause.
Microsoft does not recommend running a complete check as part of regular maintenance.
SQL Server 2000 also includes important enhancements to database verification:
 - By default, checking is fully online. Online checking has low impact on the transaction workload. This impact will vary depending on the system load, hardware configuration, and speed of tempdb. Microsoft has measured this impact at 15 to 20 percent with a medium OLTP workload (50 percent CPU). The TABLOCK option is provided to force the check to take shared table locks, which enables it to run faster but will prevent updates.
 - Checking is done in parallel on symmetric multiprocessing (SMP) computers, limited by the maximum degree of parallelism you have set for the instance of SQL Server.
SQL Server 2000 check commands continue to support the repair functionality introduced in SQL Server 7.0. Offline repair can provide an alternative to a restore from backups in some


text:
Gather Your API URL and API Key in ActiveCampaign
- Log in to your ActiveCampaign account.
- Click on your account in the navigation bar in the top right corner and the click the My Settings item.
- Get the ActiveCampaign API URL and Key after going to My Settings by clicking on Developer, which will bring up a section titled API Access. Below is an illustration of what you will see and the steps numbers accordingly:
- After you come to the "API Access" window, copy the URL and Key listed in the API Access area. You will need to paste this information into two fields in the next step.
Integrate ActiveCampaign with MemberMouse
- In the MemberMouse menu, click Email Settings and then click on the Email Integrations tab.
- Choose ActiveCampaign from the Select Provider dropdown menu.
- Enter the API URL and the API Key that was retrieved from the ActiveCampaign website.
- Click to save your settings.
Map Your Membership Levels and Bundles to Mailing Lists
Now, you are ready to move onto the next part of the ActiveCampaign email integration where you'll map membership levels and bundles to mailing lists.
- Read this article to learn how to map membership levels to mailing lists.
- Read this article to learn how to map bundles to mailing lists.


text:
A hailstone begins as a frozen raindrop or ice crystal. Strong updrafts of warm air and downdrafts of cool air move the frozen particle up and down through different levels of the storm cloud. The hailstone encounters different forms of moisture as it moves, and layers of frozen ice particles accumulate on its surface. The resulting hailstone has a layered structure.
! Click the image to see the animation.


text:
About the Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB)
The MAB Programme develops the basis within the natural and social sciences for the rational and sustainable use and conservation of the resources of the biosphere and for the improvement of the overall relationship between people and their environment. It predicts the consequences of today's actions on tomorrow's world and thereby increases people's ability to efficiently manage natural resources for the well-being of both human populations and the environment.
By focusing on sites internationally recognized within the World Network of Biosphere Reserves, the MAB Programme strives to:
- identify and assess the changes in the biosphere resulting from human and natural activities and the effects of these changes on humans and the environment, in particular in the context of climate change;
- study and compare the dynamic interrelationships between natural/near-natural ecosystems and socio-economic processes, in particular in the context of accelerated loss of biological and cultural diversity with unexpected consequences that impact the ability of ecosystems to continue to provide services critical for human well-being;
- ensure basic human welfare and a liveable environment in the context of rapid urbanization and energy consumption as drivers of environmental change;
- promote the exchange and transfer of knowledge on environmental problems and solutions, and to foster environmental education for sustainable development.


Owning a home isn't always easy. Every homeowner has a horror story when it comes to disrepair or flooding. Sometimes, the problems can feel pretty overwhelming. Therefore, of course it's natural to immediately panic at the first sight of a tear, crack, drip or break. At Flawless Masonry, we're in the business of helping Long Island homeowners upgrade their homes. However, sometimes it's more important to deal with disrepair first.
Several homeowners have one very similar concern: their bricks are beginning to crack or crumble. Of course, this would stress any homeowner out. Many jump to the conclusion that this is a severe problem that cannot wait another second to be fixed. However, this isn't necessarily a critical emergency. In this post, we'll explore what cracking bricks could mean and how to handle them.
Brick Cracking 101
There are a few different kinds of brick cracking. There's vertical cracking, horizontal, diagonal or crumbling. Obviously, none of them are ideal. Nobody wants to see cracking or crumbling of any kind in their house.
However, the most important thing to do is to identify the cause of the cracking. This way, you can swiftly fix the issue. In addition, you can do what is necessary to prevent any future breaking/cracking.
What Causes It?
Several factors can lead to brick cracking. Some of them are natural and relatively benign. However, some of them can be a sign of a very serious foundation problem. Don't immediately assume it's a grave problem!
Usually, brick cracking is a byproduct of your house just naturally settling. Over time, every house settles into the earth. This is especially true if your plot was excavated before your house was constructed. As your home's weight continues to make the earth more compact, this often leads to cracking. Your house may be settling unevenly, or it may not even be a foundational issue.
If settling isn't the reason for your cracking bricks, then it might be water. Bricks are a naturally porous and absorbent material. Therefore, they often retain water from rain or leaking pipes. Very often, exposure to the sun will evaporate the water and dry the bricks. However, if there's too much water within, they can expand. Usually, this is what will cause the cracking.
Problematic Brick Cracking
Unfortunately, not all brick cracking is benign. While they all can be ugly and irritating, others are indicative of a really serious problem. Sadly, it's almost impossible to tell the difference between severe issues or otherwise without a professional mason. However, the following are all symptomatic of severe foundation issues:
 - Doors and windows not closing properly
 - Sudden, dramatic changes in brick crack shape/size
 - Cracks near foundation/roof
 - Leaning chimney
If your brick cracking is not a severe foundation issue, then luckily repairs can be done by a reliable mason pretty quickly. However, if the problem is extensive, you'll need to enlist the help of a foundation repair company. Step one is to determine the cause of the cracking. Next, your mason will develop a plan to mitigate the damage. The most important thing to do is to call on a professional for help, and then go from there.
Flawless Masonry
Cracking or crumbling isn't always a sign of impending doom. As long as you address it right away and don't procrastinate, you can avoid costly issues.


text:
Floods devestated parts of eastern India along the Brahmaputra River in June 2000. In some tributaries of the Brahmaputra, the water reached more than 5 meters (16.5 feet) above flood stage. At least 40 residents died, and the flood waters destroyed a bridge linking the region to the rest of India. High water also threatened endangered Rhinos in Kaziranga National Park.
Flooded areas are shown in red in the above image. The map was derived from Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) data taken on June 15, 2000.


text:
|Skip Navigation Links|
|Exit Print View|
|Creating and Administering Oracle Solaris 11 Boot Environments Oracle Solaris 11 Information Library|
A boot environment is a bootable instance of the Oracle Solaris operating system image plus any other application software packages installed into that image. System administrators can maintain multiple boot environments on their systems, and each boot environment can have different software versions installed.
Upon the initial installation of the Oracle Solaris release onto a system, a boot environment is created. You can use the beadm(1M) utility to create and administer additional boot environments on your system.
Note - In addition, the Package Manager GUI provides some options for managing boot environments.
Note the following distinctions relevant to boot environment administration:
A boot environment is a bootable Oracle Solaris environment consisting of a root dataset and, optionally, other datasets mounted underneath it. Exactly one boot environment can be active at a time.
A dataset is a generic name for ZFS entities such as clones, file systems, or snapshots. In the context of boot environment administration, the dataset more specifically refers to the file system specifications for a particular boot environment or snapshot.
A snapshot is a read-only image of a dataset or boot environment at a given point in time. A snapshot is not bootable.
A clone of a boot environment is created by copying another boot environment. A clone is bootable.
Shared datasets are user-defined directories, such as /export, that contain the same mount point in both the active and inactive boot environments. Shared datasets are located outside the root dataset area of each boot environment.
Note - A clone of the boot environment includes everything hierarchically under the main root dataset of the original boot environment. Shared datasets are not under the root dataset and are not cloned. Instead, the boot environment accesses the original, shared dataset.
A boot environment's critical datasets are included within the root dataset area for that environment.


text:
Team Recreates Ancient Greek Kithara
Will demonstrate musical instrument, tell story of its building at Friday event
- By Jeffrey R. Wakefield
How do you create a three-dimensional design for an ancient Greek musical instrument when all you have to go on are flat two-dimensional images on vases and coins and a few timeworn statues?
That's the assignment Classics professor John Franklin and student Tanner Lake gave themselves in 2009 when they decided to recreate an ancient Greek instrument called a kithara, a seven-stringed version of the lyre used by professional musicians in public concerts, choral performances and competitions beginning in the seventh century B.C.
"We looked at any medium we could find to get the measurements and all the angles," Franklin said. Franklin and Lake also consulted ancient texts that described some elements of kithara construction.
Lake, a classics major who graduated in 2010, designed the instrument under Franklin's supervision.
The task of building the kithara fell to luthier John Butterfield of Butterfield Lutes in Seattle, who introduced his own design ideas when technical challenges presented themselves.
All three will be on hand on Friday, Feb. 15 at 4 p.m. in John Dewey Lounge to talk about the project and show off the product of their collaboration.
Franklin will demonstrate the kithara and will use it to accompany several ancient Greek songs performed by the Halcyonids, the Classics Department singing group.
Lyres as an instrument family gradually morphed into lutes of various types. The word "guitar" is descended directly from "kithára," even though the shape and stringing changed radically.


Kids Health
Senses Experiment: No Flavor Without Saliva
Senses Experiment: No Flavor Without Saliva
(Experimento: No hay sabor sin saliva)
 - A friend or two
 - Paper towels
 - Foods to taste (cookies, crackers, pretzels, or other dry food)
 - Drinking water for everyone
 1. Use a clean paper towel to dry off your tongue.
 2. Taste each food, one by one. How does it taste?
 3. Have a drink of water.
 4. Taste each food again, letting your saliva do its magic!
Your Tongue
What Are Taste Buds?
Reviewed by: Eric H. Chudler, PhD


text:
|Foucault (French fuko)|
|1.||Jean Bernard Léon (ʒɑ̃ bɛrnar leɔ̃). 1819--68, French physicist. He determined the velocity of light and proved that light travels more slowly in water than in air (1850). He demonstrated by means of the pendulum named after him the rotation of the earth on its axis (1851) and invented the gyroscope (1852)|
|2.||Michel. 1926--84, French philosopher and historian of ideas. His publications include Histoire de la folie (1961) and Les Mots et les choses (1966)|
|a fool or simpleton; ninny.|
|an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.|
|Foucault (f-kō') Pronunciation Key
French physicist who determined that light travels more slowly in water than in air, confirming predictions made by the wave theory of light. In 1850 Foucault also measured the absolute velocity of light. In 1851, by using a type of pendulum that is now named after him, Foucault demonstrated the rotation of the Earth, and in 1852 perfected a gyroscope for the same purpose.


text:
A pack of monster-themed ABC tracing and writing practice for kids.
The pack contained all 26 letters with lower and upper case plus a cute letter monster and then tracing lines for copying and repeating the letters.
Also included is an Alphabet Practice Sheet with Upper and Lowercase Letters to trace over.
This simple pack could be used with your toddlers and preschoolers as is to practice letter formations.
But why not turn to playdough mats by laminating or covering with sticky back plastic (contact paper). Then use playdough (see our homemade recipe if you have none) and make the letters with the playdough.


text:
Some of the most common mistakes that parents make during a custody dispute in Virginia are:
1) Making the child feel like they need to choose between the parents;
2) Blaming or badmouthing the other parent;
3) getting children involved with a new boyfriend/girlfriend too early in the relationship;
4) involving the children in disputes between you and your spouse: and
5) giving your children the appearance that you are not receptive to their concerns or needs.
Children are resilient and can adapt to the changing situation if both parents take the time to make sure that the child's concerns are being heard and addressed. Even if you have made some mistakes in dealing with your child during a custody dispute, you can easily repair the damage by admitting that you have made the mistakes and taking the time to repair your relationship with the child.
One of the worst things that you can do is to assume that your child will get over the breakdown of their family if they just have enough time. Children often believe that they are at fault when Mom and Dad separate. This can be made even worse if the children believe that they must choose a side and spending time with the other parent is being disloyal to their custodial parent. Both parents must work together to make sure that the child understands that the parents relationship is separate from their relationship with the child. You need to encourage your kids to talk about their feelings, but let it happen naturally. Regardless of who they are living with, let them know you will always be available to listen to them. Be sure that when they talk about the other parent, you allow them to share their feelings and concerns openly. It is easy to let your emotions come out when talking to the child but you have to remember that this is not about you but about making sure that your child is happy.


text:
"Be spontaneous!" Paradoxes
A vexing communication block occurs when one person requests or demands something from another that can only be given sponta-neously - like trust, love, interest, acceptance, appreciation, desire, and respect. If the second person tries to comply, the first person may then say - "You're just doing that because I asked you to, not because you really mean it." Examples: "You never say 'I love you'"; "You must honor my wishes!"; "You need to respect the sacrifices I make for you"; and "Why won't you initiate sex more often?"
The solution: (a) mutual knowledge of this concept and process awareness, and the second person (b) asserting something like "You're asking me to (want to) give you something that has to be spontaneous," and (c) both people digging down to identify the under-lying relationship needs that are causing this situation.] Lesson 2 is about learning to communicate effectively


text:
TED Talks: TED Talks are highly engaging and lend themselves to deeper thinking and valuable class discussions. These task cards use Dr. Sandra Kaplan's Depth and Complexity model to motivate students by extending their thinking to great heights! Custom created tasks, based on a highly motivating TED Talk: Adora Svitka ~ What Adults Can Learn From Kids, will create for you an engaged and exciting classroom!
Please be certain to watch the video prior to purchasing this product so you can determine if it is appropriate for your students. It can be found at this link:
TED Talk: Adora Svitka ~ What Adults Can Learn From Kids
* Students in grades 5 - 8
* Students identified gifted in grade 4
* 11 Task Cards
* 11 Response Tabs
* 11 Mini Titles (for station)
* 1 Response Mat (if cards aren't used)
* 1 Comprehensive Product Poster
This product was designed to be flexible in presentation and completion. It can be viewed as a whole class, in small groups, or independently at stations.
* View, analyze and discuss TED Talk
* The teacher might assign all tasks to be completed or offer student / group choice.
A comprehensive list of products is included and can be used as a mini poster in a work station to offer student choice or for teacher reference.
The task cards would best be used in or on a:
* Book / Spiral
* Response Mat (Teacher or students choose icons to address.)
Examples of Tasks
Imagine being a glass blower at the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, WA! Research this career choice to determine how this occupation "travels" ACROSS DISCIPLINES. List 5 other subjects this profession crosses and describe how they are interdependent.
DETAILS: Anne Frank, Ruby Bridges, and Charlie Simpson are mentioned as strong role models for young people. Research one of these "kids" and develop a thorough outline in which you provide clear and accurate DETAILS about the person.
Positive feedback is greatly appreciated.
Please visit my TPT store for more TED Talks task cards.


text:
As the above verse relates, Allah placed the wind under Prophet Sulayman's (as) command and allowed him to use it as a vehicle. There is a strong possibility of an indication here that, as in Prophet Sulayman's (as) time, wind energy will also be used in the technology of the future.
And We gave Sulayman power over the wind-a month's journey in the morning and a month in the afternoon... (Qur'an, 34:12)
The expression "a month's journey in the morning and a month in the afternoon" may be drawing attention to the fact that Prophet Sulayman (as) moved rapidly between different regions perhaps by using a technology similar to an airplane, or developed wind-powered vehicles that could cover long distances quickly. (Allah knows best.) There is thus a strong possibility that these verses point to modern airplane technology.2010-07-01 23:46:38


text:
Intermixing in GaAsSb/GaAs single quantum wells
4017 - 4019
Journal of Applied Physics
MetadataShow full item record
Photoluminescence coupled with repetitive thermal annealing has been used to study the interdiffusion process in a 10 nm GaAs 1-x Sb x /GaAs single quantum well. The diffusion equations and the Schrödinger equation were solved numerically to obtain the composition profile and the n = 1 electron to heavy-hole transition energies in the intermixed quantum well, respectively. The intermixing process was shown to obey Fick's second law. © 1998 American Institute of Physics.


Execute like Reed when faced with an uneven lie
Patrick Reed captured his first PGA Tour victory Sunday in the Wyndham Championship by defeating Jordan Spieth in a two-hole playoff.
What will be remembered by most from Reed's win will be the potential shot of the year he hit during the playoff.
Narrowly avoiding out of bounds with his tee shot on the second playoff hole, Reed was left with his ball under trees and well above his feet.
Reed, however, was able to pull off a miracle shot, getting the ball to within 7 feet of the hole.
Uneven lies are extremely common throughout a round of golf, and I often hear players asking what to do when they have a particular lie on the course.
Here are few things you need to know the next time you are forced to hit a shot from anything but a flat lie:
- Ball above your feet: Remember that when the ball is above your feet, you will have the tendency to pull the shot. So a right-handed golfer should aim a little to the right to compensate for a slight pull.
- Ball below your feet: The exact opposite is true when the ball is below your feet. Right-handed players will tend to push the ball to the right of their target. Whether the ball is above or below your feet, make sure you take an extra practice swing to find the bottom of your swing. In other words, rehearse hitting the ground with the club the way you would want to hit the ball.
- Uphill lie: When you are faced with an uphill lie, remember that loft is effectively being added to the club. Depending on the severity of the lie, you may need to use one or two extra clubs. Remember to fight gravity and get your weight to the front foot when you finish your swing.
- Downhill lie: Again, the opposite is true when faced with a downhill lie. Loft is effectively reduced so you may need less club depending on the lie's severity. The most important key to remember on uphill or downhill lies is to try and match your shoulders to the slope of the ground, which allows the club to make good contact with the ground.
Take an online lesson with Tyrus York.


How strong are plastic wraps?
Mechanical properties of polymers are an important factor on selecting them for special applications. These properties include tensile strength, elongation, flexural strength, and impact resistance.
 Project description
This project gives you the opportunity to get familiar with an important subject of physical science known as strength of a material. During this project you will test the strength of different plastic samples.
 Details of this project


text: can be as simple as learning to listen while a teacher or adult is talking, or cleaning up after eating. It can also be inclusive by incorporating traditions and language learning from other cultures. And, most importantly, teachers can demonstrate values of acceptance and accommodation towards many types of people, for their early learners.


From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
For the Sylvester pentahedron of a cubic surface, see quaternary cubic.
In geometry, a pentahedron (plural: pentahedra) is a polyhedron with five faces. Since there are no face-transitive polyhedra with five sides and there are two distinct topological types, this term is less frequently used than tetrahedron or octahedron.
With regular polygon faces, the two topological forms are the square pyramid and triangular prism. Geometric variations with irregular faces can also be constructed.
Name Picture Vertices Edges Faces Faces by type
Square pyramid
(Pyramid family)
Square pyramid.png 5 8 5 4 triangles
1 square
Triangular prism
(Prism family)
Triangular prism.png 6 9 5 2 triangles
3 squares
The square pyramid can be seen as a degenerate triangular prism where one edge of its side edges is collapsed into a point, losing one edge and one vertex, and changing two squares into triangles.
An irregular pentahedron can be a non-convex solid.
There is a third topological polyhedral figure with 5 faces, degenerate as a polyhedron: it exists as a spherical tiling of digon faces, called a pentagonal hosohedron with Schläfli symbol {2,5}. It has 2 (antipodal point) vertices, 5 edges, and 5 digonal faces.
External links[edit]


text:
This resource contains five graphic organizers that can be used in any Social Studies classroom! The graphic organizers allow students to study famous people, events, documents, wars, and time periods in history.
This is a great review tool for students and can be used throughout the entire school year.
Other great graphic organizers include:
Language Arts Graphic Organizers
Other great Social Studies resources include:
American Revolution DBQ Bundle
ABC Research Project for U.S. History Bundle


Skip to definition.
Noun: long-tailed porcupine
 1. Porcupine of Borneo and Sumatra having short spines and a long tail
 - Trichys lipura
Derived forms: long-tailed porcupines
Type of: Old World porcupine
Part of: genus Trichys, Trichys
Encyclopedia: Long-tailed porcupine


In two landmark rulings, Japan's highest court on Friday rejected compensation claims filed by former wartime sex slaves and forced laborers from China but acknowledged that they had been coerced by the Japanese military or industry.
It was the first time that the Supreme Court has ruled on lawsuits by Japan's mostly Chinese and Korean captives during World War II, effectively quashing dozens of similar cases that have been working their way through the lower courts in recent years.
The court said in both cases that the Chinese plaintiffs had lost their rights to seek individual legal claims against the Japanese government and companies because of a 1972 joint statement in which Beijing renounced war reparations from Japan, a decision supporting the government's position that postwar agreements cleared Japan of responsibility for future individual claims.
China's Foreign Ministry denounced the rulings, describing them as ''illegal and invalid'' and calling the court's interpretation of the 1972 statement as ''arbitrary.''
Shao Yicheng, 82, a plaintiff in one of the suits who was forced to work for the Japanese construction company Nishimatsu during the war, when he was 19, called the ruling ''unjust.''
''I didn't even get paid,'' he said at a news conference here. ''I was just made to work. The least I want is to get my wages. I want justice.''
But in a striking rebuke to nationalist politicians who have tried to play down Japan's wartime crimes, the court acknowledged the historical facts of sex slavery and forced labor, two practices that continue to fuel anger in Asia six decades after the war's end.
In its 16-page ruling in a sex slavery case, the court acknowledged that Japanese soldiers had abducted two teenage Chinese girls and forced them to work as sex slaves for months, contradicting Mr. Abe's recent denial of the practice.
Last month, Mr. Abe said there was no evidence that the military had directly forced women into sex slavery, a position that was put into a written statement and endorsed by the cabinet as the government's official position on March 16.
In his first visit to the United States as prime minister, Mr. Abe -- who fought for years to have references to wartime sex slavery excised from the nation's government-endorsed school textbooks -- repeated his general apology to the former sex slaves, known euphemistically as comfort women.
''Regarding the extremely hard situation they were placed in, I am filled with a sense of apology,'' Mr. Abe said Thursday in a meeting with leaders of the House of Representatives. And in a press conference with President Bush at Camp David on Friday, he said that he had ''deep-hearted sympathies'' for the women and that he was sorry that they had been ''placed in extreme hardships and had to suffer that sacrifice,'' The Associated Press reported.
In both statements, Mr. Abe avoided assigning responsibility for the practice and did not retract his denial of the military's direct role in it, a crucial point to his nationalist supporters, who argue that the women were prostitutes or forced into brothels by private brokers.
According to the court, Japanese soldiers took the 15-year-old from her older sister's house to a Japanese military base. There, the girl -- a virgin who had yet to have her first period -- was raped repeatedly by soldiers, including the commanding officer, the court said. Her family obtained her release after two weeks, but soldiers kidnapped her again, confining her and raping her repeatedly, the court said.
The 13-year-old -- also described by the court as a virgin who had yet to have her first period -- was kidnapped by Japanese soldiers and raped repeatedly for 40 days. Relatives of this woman, who died in 1999, pursued the lawsuit.
Toshitaka Onodera, the lead lawyer for the Chinese plaintiffs, said that despite the rulings against them, the Supreme Court had now established the historical record, including the military's direct coercion of women into sex slavery.
''No one can deny that, because of the particulars of the Shanxi cases,'' Mr. Onodera said. ''This ruling is a powerful one, like a sharp knife pointed at Abe.''
The government has not yet reacted to the rulings. But when Mr. Abe was asked in Parliament recently about a separate case -- in which a lower court also rejected the plaintiffs' claims but acknowledged that soldiers had abducted and forced women into sex slavery -- he dismissed the judge's acknowledgment of those facts as ''legally unimportant.''
In the forced labor case, the court overturned a lower court's ruling in 2004 ordering Nishimatsu Construction to pay $230,000 to five Chinese plaintiffs who were forced to work at a hydroelectric plant in 1944. But the presiding judge took note of the plaintiffs ''extremely large mental and physical suffering'' and called on the company to ''provide relief to the victims.''
''If it's freedom from legal threats that Japan was seeking, that goal was achieved today,'' said William Underwood, an American researcher who recently completed a dissertation at Kyushu University in Fukuoka, Japan, on Chinese forced labor. ''But if the goals are reconciliation and mutual understanding with the Chinese, that project is very much unfinished.''
Photos: Song Jixiao was another forced laborer for Japan during the war.; Shao Yicheng, 82, a plaintiff in one of the lawsuits ruled on yesterday, was forced to work without pay for a Japanese construction company during World War II. At a news conference, he called the decision unjust. (Photographs by Ko Sasaki for The New York Times)


Transformando pequeños en gigantes
Inspirados en la Pedagogía Waldorff
Dyslexia can be overcome with nursery rhymes and music
Reading time: 3 minutes
In Trinus our children learn the multiplication tables by moving and clapping, by stepping in a rhythmical way. We integrate music in all the subjects, it is not treated as a separate subject. This benefits all children but particularly children with dyslexia. In the following article written by Sarah Knapton, she mentions how rhymes and music can help overcome dyslexia.
Children can overcome dyslexia by learning nursery rhymes, dancing and singing because the condition is caused by lack of rhythm in brain, a leading neuroscientist has suggested.
Usha Goswami, professor of Cognitive Developmental Neuroscience at Cambridge has spent the last 10 years testing the brains of youngsters to find out what was driving the learning problem.
Brain scans shown that the metre of words was out of phase with internal rhythms in brain, meaning that youngsters struggled to encode the patterns, and therefore memorise speech.
But keeping up rhythmic practice will eventually allow children to read properly.
"Children who are dyslexic struggle with speech rhythm," Prof Goswami told The Hay Festival.
"We realised that children are struggling in tasks which are not related to learning or reading but are related to rhythm. So we began to think that rhythm and these problems found in children with dyslexia might be related."
Dyslexia is thought to be one of the most common learning difficulties. It's estimated that up to 1 in every 10 people in the UK has a certain degree of dyslexia and Britain has one of the worst rates because the language is so difficult to learn.
Prof Goswami recommended clapping games, music, nursery rhymes and marching to The Grand Old Duke of York. "All kinds of rhythmic experiences can be helpful, nursery rhymes, dancing and music as long as the beat is matched to language," she said. "Playground clapping and games may be very important to stopping dyslexia. You could start to remediate it before children even start school.
"If children keep it up they will learn to read. It will definitely happen. The brain just needs more training. These children need to know that their brain just works a bit differently and reading is going to be harder for them."
teacher doing clapping game
Picture by Melbourne Rudolf Steiner
Usha Goswami is a researcher and professor of Cognitive Developmental Neuroscience at the University of Cambridge and the director of the Centre for Neuroscience in Education at St. John's College, Cambridge. She obtained her Ph.D. in developmental psychology from the University of Oxford before becoming a professor of cognitive developmental psychology at the University College London. Goswami's work is primarily in educational neuroscience with major focuses on reading development and developmental dyslexia. Some of her current research projects include the neural basis of developmental dyslexia, the neural basis of speech and language impairments, and the neural basis of rhythmic motor behavior.
Dr. Goswami's research is concerned with focusing on dyslexia as a language disorder rather than a visual disorder as she has found that the way that children with dyslexia hear language is slightly different than others. When sound waves approach the brain, they vary in pressure depending on the syllables within the words being spoken creating a rhythm. When these signals reach the brain they are lined up with speech rhythms and this process doesn't work properly in those with dyslexia.
× ¿Cómo podemos apoyarle?


text: The cylindrical shape and pedestal feet of this double-chambered Maya vessel may be the result of the stylistic influence of Teotihuacan, the most powerful Mesoamerican site at the time this object was created. The iconography and inventiveness of form, however, are purely Maya. Although this object appears to be two joined lidded containers, only that with the human figure atop has a removable lid. This vessel, which is appropriate for holding liquid, functioned as a burial offering and was placed inside a tomb. The scene on the vessel–an oversized, masked raptorial bird and a human figure holding an offering to the avian creature, seem to derive from Maya myth. The two cylinders of the vessel, appear to be held together, by the outstretched body of the jaguar; a creature of supernatural power and ability in ancient Mesoamerica, associated with both strength and fertility. Positive identifications of the supernatural beings that populated the Maya otherworld are problematic given the lack of literary texts contemporary with such objects as this double-cylinder. It has, however, been suggested that the masked bird is Vucub Caquix, a character known from the Popol Vuh, a sixteenth-century Maya text.