Opening in Fall 2015, the BUGarium will feature insects, arachnids and other fascinating creatures.
Elephant beetle banner
The BUGarium, coming to the Botanic Garden in 2015, will engross you in the fascinating lives of arthropods. The complex will feature naturalistic habitats designed to reveal the unseen wonders of "bugs" from around the world. It will be located near the PNM Butterfly Pavilion and Dragonfly Sanctuary PondGround-breaking and construction for the new building began on June 25, 2014.
Notice: the Dragonfly Sanctuary Pond is closed during the BUGarium construction.
About the BUGarium
The BioPark has been raising and collecting insects for the BUGarium in the Arthropod Rearing Lab, which is not on exhibit, since 2006. The new 3,500 square foot building will feature different insect and other arthropod species from around the world, including Malaysian walking sticks, giant bird eating tarantulas and southwest velvet ants. Some of the exciting exhibits planned include:
 - A working bee hive
 - A tropical tree home to leaf cutter ants
 - Aquatic insects that seem to connect to the outside dragonfly sanctuary pond
 - A nocturnal exhibit allowing viewing under infra-red light of tarantulas, giant katydids and African scorpions
 - A cluster of individual bubbles housing the social communities of naked mole rats
What's a Bug?
We think of bugs as small animals with lots of legs--spiders, bees, millipedes, scorpions, butterflies and so on. Scientists call these animals with hard exoskeletons, jointed legs and segmented bodies arthropods. They use the term true bug to describe a specific type of insect with piercing and sucking mouthparts. The BUGarium will feature all kinds of arthropods and a few other surprises.
Eww! Why Bugs?
Bugs can't be ignored. Eight of ten animals on Earth are arthropods, and we can't live without them. They pollinate flowers, feed other animals, eat dead things and play other important roles in the ecosystem.
Bugs also tell good stories. How do ants stay organized? What makes spider silk strong? How does moth perfume smell? At the BUGarium, you will be able to hear their stories and discover their hidden world.
BUGarium Fly-Through
Get a preview of the BUGarium with this narrated fly-through video of the construction plans.
The current estimated opening date for the Bugarium is Oct 30. (Subject to change.)
Latest from Twitter


text:
Teacher's Resources - A Question of Ritual
For the people of the ancient Americas as for many other humans worldwide, ceremonies formed a bridge between their world and that of deities and spirits. Through sacred rituals they communicated to their gods and ancestors their hopes for a bounty of food, protection from the potential disasters wrought by nature or political enemies and general good fortune, thus forming a bridge between the living and the metaphysical.
In the Mesoamerican and Andean belief systems, many different rituals involving dances, ceremonies, festivals and games were performed to maintain a sense of order and balance and to create the conditions necessary for prosperous human cultures to unfold. Much has been made of the evidence for the practice of human sacrifice in both regions; certainly it appears to have been practiced, as it was in certain civilizations all over the world, including Imperial Rome, the early Celtic settlements of Western Europe, and many others.
What is more interesting and fruitful to pursue with students is an exploration of the possible belief systems that gave meaning to the CLOTH & CLAY objects, such as this ritual incense burner from Teotihuacan, an ancient Mexican culture.
Classroom Activities and Projects (recommended ages are in italics and are approximate)
1. 12 -16: In groups or as individuals, students can research the symbolism of the mountain in ancient American cultures, investigating such areas as sacred geometry, layout of cities and ritual sites, pyramids, and rituals. The results of the research can result in essays, as well as drawings and 3-dimensional models.
2. 12 -16: Within a larger project comparing the beliefs of ancient peoples around the world, students can investigate those of the ancient Americas, including shamanism, use of psychotropic plants, and human sacrifice, tying these practices to the religious beliefs of the cultures practicing them. Class discussions can touch on how easy it is to sensationalize these practices, and the importance of putting them in context with the larger belief systems of the civilizations under review.
3. 12 - 16: Research on the Day of the Dead, a yearly festival in Mexico that takes place in early November, provides insight into ancient and contemporary religious beliefs and rituals. By studying this and other festivals, students who are growing up in the secular societies of the West can develop an understanding of life in a deeply religious culture. Similarly, students who are themselves rooted in a religious culture can learn about other belief systems.
In its original form, this festival took place during Miccailhuitontli (late summer) in the Aztec calendar, and celebrated the life cycle, honouring the newly dead and the ancestors. Today the day corresponds to All Saints Day in the Christian calendar.
Students working in groups can present the results of their research to the class, with each group covering different aspects of the festival such as the variety of forms taken by the festivities, the combined Christian/pre-Christian elements, and the significance of ofrendas, calaveras and other related objects.

source: HuggingFaceFW/fineweb-edu


text:
pebblego.com/ ■ Licenses and Price: See website for pricing details per database.
Quality and Effectiveness: PebbleGo is a simple, quality program from the Capstone Community for grades K–2. It provides multimedia databases, all in one place, for students in primary grades to do simple research. Many teachers in the primary grades spend a lot of time trying to find resources for research. They have difficulty finding a variety of resources at appropriate reading levels that will enable students to do authentic research and keep them safe from general search engines With PebbleGo, K–2 students can find the resources they need to research topics in five different areas: animals (also in Spanish), science, biographies, social studies, and dinosaurs. All of these resources are leveled for beginning readers.
Ease of Use: PebbleGo is Web-based and users point and click to navigate. Students choose their topics and drill down to the subtopic they choose. All have passages that can be read to them with highlighted texts. Highlighted glossary definitions automatically pop up. Users can search for specific information or use a pinwheel to spin and go to random topics. At the bottom of the screen students find additional options, including buttons for printing and citing sources (which is very important but not often addressed), as well as relevant articles and activities that open in ready-to-print PDF files.
Creative Use of Technology: PebbleGo allows children to research safely, with age-appropriate databases that are geared to their abilities. The multimedia approach means that students aren't limited to text alone. They also have access to audio, pictures, videos, and PDF files that support the topic they're researching. File tabs across the page help students stay on topic as they move from one subtopic to the next within their main topic. After teachers show students how to use the program on their laptops or iPads, students can work individually using these special databases. They can work online using one computer, in small groups, or even in large groups using a whiteboard to learn about many curriculum topics.
Suitability for Use in a School Environment: PebbleGo gives primary students the ability to search six interactive tabbed databases, easily and safely, to find grade-appropriate information. Teachers can print PDFs of each database and can see what topics are available to guide students to a topic choice. With the "share what you know" sheet that students can download as a PDF, they have a built-in, ready-to-use, and topic-appropriate sheet for inputting their research. Students can also play games on their selected topic in addition to sharing their opinions on a "question of the day." The program meets curriculum standards in such subjects as science, where topics are correlated to Next Generation Science Standards and STEM requirements.
PebbleGo is an excellent resource that integrates content curriculum, early literacy skills, and information literacy skills for primary students.
- All-inclusive databases are ready for primary students to use for focused research.
- Database on animals is also available in Spanish.
- Each topic has a printable article list, so teachers know what topics are available for each database.

source: openbmb/Ultra-FineWeb


text:
In this ongoing series, we explore what culturally responsive teaching looks like at different grade levels and offer concrete examples and resources. Last month we explored the intentional selection of texts for reading discussion in first grade. This month, educator Lindsay Barrett offers guidance on culturally responsive teaching in grade 2 by bridging between the familiar and unfamiliar in literature discussions.
Reading books with children at a young age not only helps them better prepare for school, but it also opens their minds to new cultures and experiences. Exposing children early to both "mirror" and "window" books – that is, books in which they can see themselves, and books in which they can learn about othersis the best way to create engaged readers and support social and emotional growth.
Lee & Low Books offers hundreds of great books for second graders. Our books include English, Spanish, and bilingual titles; books about many different cultures; books that span a wide range of subjects and themes; and both fiction and nonfiction. Browse our prek-2 classroom collections to see what we offer, and check out our other book lists by grade:
While we have hundreds of titles to choose from, here are 10 of our absolute favorite diverse books for second grade! Continue reading


text:
The purpose of this register is the same as the Individuals Register. Registration should be required for all foreign nationals who wish to:
- Enter the country;
- Own domestic currency;
- Own domestic land;
- Own shares in domestic companies;
- Commence or defend domestic legal proceedings;
- Be a director of a domestic corporation.
The Foreign Nationals Register should contain the same fields as the Individuals Register. It should reveal whether a person is currently in or out of the country, how long they are legally entitled to stay, and under what visa conditions they have entered. This information should be publicly accessible and, among other uses, will allow prospective employers to know whether they can employ a person and for how long, and members of the public to report the location of persons overstaying or breaching the conditions of their visa.


text:
Weaving a Mayan Hammock–Video Overview
- Materials Needed
- The Netting Needle
- The Loom
- Loading the Loom
- Loading the Netting Needle
- The Edge "Crochet"
- The Triple Weave
- The Clew
The Mayan hammock is arguably the most comfortable gathered-end hammock available anywhere, and is notable for being the descendent of the original hammock discovered by Columbus on his voyages to the West Indies. The Mayan hammock is woven using a fairly tight "triple weave" that creates a lattice when pulled apart.
Mayan hammocks tend to be heavy, due to the quantity of string used to create the netting, so this style of hammock is more suitable for sleeping indoors than lightweight backpacking. Much depends on the type and quantity of string used and what size hammock you weave.
I found that the Mayan weaving style is not terribly difficult, but it does take patience and a little time. Once you get the weaving pattern down, expect to spend a few weeks to complete the weaving, depending on how much time per day you can devote to weaving and how big you want the bed.
- Lacing — Knotworkn (via Internet Archive)
- Single Line Simple Reverse Coxcombing
- YouTube — Mayan Hammock Weaving – How Hammocks Are Made
- YouTube — The Mayas of Belize – Belize Culture – (traditional Mayan weaving and source material from the Agave plant; great video!)
- Instructables — "Instant Hammock," steps 5–9
- Amazon — Hammock: How to Make Your Own and Lie in It
- Amazon — Hammock Making Techniques
- Amazon — The Ashley Book of Knots (ABOK)
- > 2,000 yards (~1,860 m) of #18 twisted cotton or nylon string for a hammock bed approximately 72 × 50 in (183 × 127 cm). Nylon is more mildew resistant, but cotton will be more comfortable. The clew or end strings, are each half the length of the hammock, effectively doubling the overall length of the hammock.
- Netting needle/shuttle (8 × 1.25 × 0.1875 in / 20 × 3.175 × 0.5 cm)
- 3 @ 1 × 3 × 8 (horizontal beams, wedges)
- 2 @ 2 × 3 × 8 (vertical posts)
The Netting Needle
A netting needle ("lanzadera" or shuttle) is used to load a quantity of string and work it through the warp to create the weave. A netting needle differs from a traditional loom shuttle in that the one end is pointed or tapered, making it easier to poke the shuttle through the weave. These needles are traditionally used for making fishing nets and are still used today to make Mayan hammocks.
You can make your own needle or purchase one.
A basic loom measures 6 ft (1.8 m) tall by 6.5 ft (2 m) wide when assembled and consists of two vertical posts or poles and two horizontal beams. Most looms are adjustable via notches in the horizontal beams and holes in the vertical posts so the weaver can make slightly longer hammock beds. These horizontal supports are secured with a wedge so the hammock body can be removed (slid upward) off the frame when the weaving is complete.
You can make a basic, inexpensive frame out of PVC pipe or lumber. To make a traditional stand, you'll need to cut and assemble the wood poles and beams, including wedges, to make the stand sturdy and long-lasting.
Loading the Loom
Once the loom is built and in place it is time to load the loom with the "warp" string. Begin by tying the warp string to the top of one vertical post and then wrap it around the second post until you wind a sufficient number of strings between the two posts. The number of warp strings depends on the color patterns you intend to weave. You can easily add more warp string as you go along, allowing for color variations on the project, even alternating between the warp and weft strands.
Loading the Netting Needle
A netting needle can handle only so much string before it's full, so having a few on hand is a good idea if you want to keep weaving without interruption. Hitch the end of the string (ABOK #1602) around the needle and then begin to wrap around the bottom of the netting needle and back to the top where you wrap the needle again. Repeat this back-and-forth process until the shuttle is full (see shuttle image above).
The Edge "Crochet"
A few sources refer to the edge as "crochet," which it might be, but it's nothing more than a series of overhand knots (ABOK #46) evenly spaced along the edge. This is the first task in the weaving process.
- There should be a minimum of 21 knots, making 20 spaced sections.
- The knots should be spaced between 3 and 4 inches (8 and 10 cm) apart.
- There should be a minimum of 4 rows of interlaced knot rows and as many as 8 or 10.
This edging sets the spacing for the weaving along with providing a tight edge to maintain the hammock shape.
Subsequent rows: Loop around a knot then go up, capturing a new warp line, then back around to the first line and knot.
The Triple Weave
- The weaving pattern is "under two, over and around one."
- There should be 2 weaves on each of the 20 spaced sections, creating 40 weaves across the hammock body.
As you work along the warp, keep the weft string tight to ensure the lattice isn't loose when you're done. When you reach the end, go around the pole and hitch the weft and warp strings you were just working on and then continue the pattern.
NOTE: Never end a string in the middle of the hammock. If you run out of string, tie it off on the pole and begin a new string. Do not tie knots or leave loose strands in the middle of the hammock.
High-quality Mayan hammocks have at least 40 rows of weft that is woven through the warp, leaving a tightly-woven net that flexes and supports the occupant unlike any other hammock available.
This video (above) actually does a great job in showing the mechanics of making the clew.
The clew is a modern sailor term for the nettles or string that attaches to the ends of the hammock and provides a loop or ring as the attachment point.
- The nettles should be half the length of the hammock, effectively doubling the overall size of the hammock (for example, a hammock body 2 m (6.5 ft) long, the nettles should be 1 m (3.25 ft) long each).
- The nettles should all be the same length.
Traditionally, the nettles are made from a single, continuous strand of #18 twisted nylon string that is looped around 6 sections from the hammock body. The nettles are middled to create a bight. This bight is tied and then cockscombed to protect the nettles.
The two remaining ends are tied on to themselves using a French Spiral Hitch/Whipping (ABOK #3450).
Alternatively, you can tie a Shouldered Sword Mat (ABOK #3819) with the two remaining ends to create a navy-style clew.


text:
If you suspect your pet is sick, it definitely comes in handy if you know how to take your furkid's temperature, as this will be valuable information to have when you call your vet. The process of taking temperature is the same for dogs and cats, although the normal range is different for each. A dog's normal temperature is between 101 and 102.5 Fahrenheit. A cat's temperature is normal if it's between 100.4 and 102.5 F.
Choose a Thermometer
Purchase a pediatric rectal thermometer. A digital thermometer is safer than glass because it won't break and will signal when it's ready to read. Some digital thermometers read in just a few seconds. A glass thermometer with mercury will take about 3 minutes to register. Prepare the thermometer by swabbing it with a cotton swab dampened with alcohol. Dry it, and place a bit of petroleum jelly on the end. Turn on a digital thermometer or if you're using glass, shake it down.
Take the Temperature
Have a second person hold your dog or cat, if possible. Have your helper hold the animal at the shoulders and head. Stand the animal on a flat surface and lift the tail with one hand. Gently insert the thermometer into the anus with your other hand about an inch into the rectum. Don't force the thermometer or let go of it. When it's ready to read, remove it; swab again with alcohol and read the temperature. A dog or cat has a fever if it registers higher than 102.5.
By Ann Compton
About the Author
With more than 25 years in journalism, Ann Compton has written for national newspapers, magazines and websites. She has covered the equestrian events in five Olympics as well as the Westminster Dog Show and specializes in animal topics. She breeds, trains and shows Shetland Sheepdogs.


text:
Dr Clare Gillies of the Department of Health Sciences has carried out a simulation study investigating the clinical and cost implications of screening people 'at risk' for impaired glucose intolerance and type 2 diabetes mellitus. An important outcome of the work shows that early treatment and intervention resulting from this screening is potentially a cost-effective health policy for the UK.
Her research involved comparing the cost and health implications of four different approaches to screening for impaired glucose tolerance and type 2 diabetes. These were:
- i) no screening
- ii) screening for type 2 diabetes alone resulting in health benefits from early diagnosis and treatment of the disease
- iii) screening for impaired glucose tolerance and type 2 diabetes, allowing for both early treatment of diabetes and for lifestyle interventions to be applied to individuals with impaired glucose tolerance to reduce their risk of developing diabetes
- iv) as for iii) but with pharmacological rather than lifestyle interventions.
Gillies developed a computer decision model using data from a number of sources to evaluate the cost and health implications of these four policies.
She said: "The model simulated a population with an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes, who were aged 45 at the start of the model and thus time of screening. The model was run to estimate the cost and health implications over a 50 year time horizon, and the four different screening policies were then compared.
"Conclusions drawn from the work were that screening for type 2 diabetes and impaired glucose tolerance, with appropriate interventions for the latter, in an above average risk population at age 45, appears to be cost effective.
"The cost effectiveness of a policy of screening for diabetes alone, which offered no intervention to those with impaired glucose tolerance, is still uncertain and more information is needed on the long term health implications of early diagnosis and treatment of this disease."
MEDICA.de; Source: University of Leicester


Skip to main content
There's a Gender Extension for PHP
By Bruno Skvorc
Unlike in our "mainstream" paid course about exploring PHP, I like to explore the weird and forgotten areas of the language.
Recently, I ventured into a section of the PHP manual which lists extensions that are used to help with Human Language and Character Encoding. I had never looked at them as a whole – while dealing with gettext, for example, I always kind of landed directly on it and ignored the rest. Well, of those others, there's one that caught my eye – especially in this day and age given the various controversies – the Gender extension.
Pink and green elephant symbolizing gender roles
This extension, in short, tries to guess the gender of first names. As its introduction says:
This is interesting beyond the fact that the author is kinda called George Michael. In fact, there are many aspects of this extension that are quite baffling.
While its last stable release was in 2015, the extension uses namespaces which clearly indicates that it's not some kind of long lost remnant of the past – a relatively recent effort was made to make it conform to modern coding standards. Even the example code uses namespaces:
namespace Gender;
$gender = new Gender;
$name = "Milene";
$country = Gender::FRANCE;
$result = $gender->get($name, $country);
$data = $gender->country($country);
switch($result) {
 case Gender::IS_FEMALE:
 printf("The name %s is female in %s\n", $name, $data['country']);
 case Gender::IS_MOSTLY_FEMALE:
 printf("The name %s is mostly female in %s\n", $name, $data['country']);
 case Gender::IS_MALE:
 printf("The name %s is male in %s\n", $name, $data['country']);
 case Gender::IS_MOSTLY_MALE:
 printf("The name %s is mostly male in %s\n", $name, $data['country']);
 case Gender::IS_UNISEX_NAME:
 printf("The name %s is unisex in %s\n", $name, $data['country']);
 case Gender::IS_A_COUPLE:
 printf("The name %s is both male and female in %s\n", $name, $data['country']);
 case Gender::NAME_NOT_FOUND:
 printf("The name %s was not found for %s\n", $name, $data['country']);
 case Gender::ERROR_IN_NAME:
 echo "There is an error in the given name!\n";
 echo "An error occurred!\n";
While we have this code here, let's take a look at it.
Some really confusing constant names in there – how does a name contain an error? What's the difference between unisex and couple names? Digging deeper, we see some more curious constants.
For example, the class has short names of countries as constants (e.g. BRITAIN) which reference an array containing both an international code for the country (UK) and the full country name (GREAT BRITAIN).
$gender = new Gender\Gender;
array(2) {
 'country_short' =>
 string(2) "UK"
 'country' =>
 string(13) "Great Britain"
Only, UK isn't the international code one would expect here – it's GB. Why they chose this route rather than rely on an existing package of geonames or even just an accurate list of constants is anyone's guess.
Once in use, the class uses the get method to return the gender of a name, provided we've given it the name and the country (optional – searches across all countries if omitted). But the country has to be the constant of the class (so you need to know it by heart or use their values when adding it to the UI because it won't match any standard country code list) and it also returns an integer – another constant defined in the class, like so:
const integer IS_FEMALE = 70 ;
const integer IS_MOSTLY_FEMALE = 102 ;
const integer IS_MALE = 77 ;
const integer IS_MOSTLY_MALE = 109 ;
const integer IS_UNISEX_NAME = 63 ;
const integer IS_A_COUPLE = 67 ;
const integer NAME_NOT_FOUND = 32 ;
const integer ERROR_IN_NAME = 69 ;
There's just no rhyme or reason to any of these values.
Another method, isNick, checks if a name is a nickname or alias for another name. This makes sense in cases like Bob vs Robert or Dick vs Richard, but can it really scale past these predictable English values? The method is doubly confusing because it says it returns an array in the signature, whereas the description says it's a boolean.
Wrong description of method return type
Finally, the similarNames method will return an array of names similar to the one provided, given the name and a country (if country is omitted, then it compares names across all countries). Does this include aliases? What's the basis for similarity? Are Mario and Maria similar despite being opposite genders? Or is Mario just similar to Marek? Is Mario similar to Marek at all? There's no information.
I just had to find out for myself, so I installed it and tested the thing.
I tested this on an isolated environment via Homestead Improved with PECL pre-installed.
sudo pecl install gender
sudo phpenmod gender
pear run-scripts pecl/gender
The last command will ask where to put a dictionary. I assume this is there for the purposes of extending it. I selected., as in "current folder". Let's try it out by making a simple index.php file with the example content from above and testing that first.
Milene is female in France
Sure enough, it works. Okay, let's change the country to $country = Gender::CROATIA;.
Milene is female in Croatia
Okay, sure, it's not a common name, and not in that format, but it's most similar to Milena, which is a female name in Croatia. Let's see what's similar to Milena via similar.php:
namespace Gender;
$gender = new Gender;
$similar = $gender->similarNames("Milena", Gender::CROATIA);
Milena has no similar names?
Not what I expected. Let's see the original, Milene.
Milene has odd similarities
So Milena is listed as a name similar to Milene, but Milene isn't similar to Milena? Additionally, there seem to be some encoding issues on two of them? And the Croatian alphabet doesn't even have the letter "y", we definitely have neither of those similar names, regardless of what's hiding under the question mark.
Okay, let's try something else. Let's see if Bob is an alias of Robert in alias.php:
namespace Gender;
$gender = new Gender;
var_dump($gender->isNick('Bob', 'Robert', Gender::USA));
Bob is an alias of Robert
Indeed, that does seem to be true. Low hanging fruit, though. Let's see a local one.
var_dump($gender->isNick('Tea', 'Dorotea', Gender::CROATIA));
Tea is not an alias of Dorotea
Oh come on.
What about the Mario / Maria / Marek issue from the beginning? Let's see similarities for them in order.
Mario is similar to himself and a misencoded version of himself
Maria is similar to herself and a misencoded version of herself
Marek is similar only to himself
Not good.
A couple more tries. To make testing easier, let's change the $name and $country lines in index.php to:
$name = $argv[1];
$country = constant(Gender::class.'::'.strtoupper($argv[2]));
Now we can test from the CLI without editing the file.
Final few tries. I have a female friend from Tunisia called Manel. I would assume her name would go for male in most of the world because it ends with a consonant. Let's test hers and some other names.
Cannot find Tunisia
No Tunisia? Maybe it isn't documented in the manual, let's output all the defined constants and check.
// constants.php
$oClass = new ReflectionClass(Gender\Gender::class);
Missing countries in list
No, looks like those docs are spot on. At this point, I stop my playing around with this tool.
The whole situation is made even more interesting by the fact that this is a simple class, and definitely doesn't need to be an extension. No one will call this often enough to care about the performance boost of an extension vs. a package, and a package can be installed by non-sudo users, and people can contribute to it more easily.
How this extension, which is both inaccurate and incomplete, and could be a simple class, ended up in the PHP manual is unclear, but it goes to show that there's a lot of cleaning up to be done yet in the PHP core (I include the manual as the "core") before we get PHP's reputation up. In the 9 years (nine!) since development on this port started, not even all countries have been added to the internal list and yet someone decided this extension should be in the manual.
Do you have more information about this extension? Do you see a point to it? Which other oddball extensions or built-in features did you find in the manual or in PHP in general?
Integromat Tower Ad


The Lower Mississippi River Water Trail
Helena to Friars
Fleeted Barges
What are fleeted barges? When any industrial or agricultural facility are filling or emptying barges, they tie them up along the bank of the river, sometimes one at a time, but more often in longer lines multiple barges deep. Sometimes they're only one barge deep, sometimes they'll tie more than one side-by-side. In chemical corridor down below Baton Rouge they'll sometimes tie as many as a hundred long with ten or twelve deep! Most barges measure 35 x 250 feet but petroleum barges are often longer. The top end of any fleeted barges is an extremely dangerous place. Always avoid paddling anywhere near the upstream sides of barges -- where the water is pushing in and underneath their top ends. It might look like you could simply hop aboard in case of emergency, but you won't be able to! This is a trick of perspective on the big river. They are much higher off the water than they look.
They might seem innocuous since they aren't moving, and they're tied to shore -- but voyageurs beware! Fleeted barges create one of paddler's worst nightmares: paddling or being pushed (by big boils or strong winds) under the front of a line of fleeted barges. Several years ago a yacht lost power and was pushed sideways into a line of fleeted barges that was nosing upstream along the main channel near Tom Lee Park in downtown Memphis. The boat was immediately flipped over and 3 out 5 people did not return. If this happened to a full-sized yacht, you can imagine what would happen to a canoe -- and did happen. Keep reading. Another tragedy: a pair of canoeists had paddled 2,000 miles from Lake Itasca, Minnesota, and were looking forward to completing their expedition in New Orleans when strong winds pushed them into and then under a wide line of fleeted barges down below Baton Rouge. They were never seen again.
Small Tows in Harbors
The primary hazard to paddlers on the Lower Mississippi is the one powering through the current -- the towboats. Smaller "docking" towboats tied up in waiting look innocent but be constantly vigilant for un-announced push-offs. Smaller tows from Helena Marine are often busy in this section moving barges in and out of grain or oil docking, fleeting barges, and performing other necessary maintenance. You might see them suddenly run out off shore to service a passing tow. While big tows will make high rolling wakes immediately behind the tow, these small tows can sometimes create rough wakes with steep and crashing bow waves that will persist for hundreds of yards lateral to the vessel. Even if a small towboat is on the other side of the river, be vigilant for bow waves. Unlike the slow, predictable and ponderous motions of the big tows, the small ones can charge around docking facilities erratically and make quick changes of direction. It's never safe to assume anything about tow traffic. Conditions are constantly changing and require changing tactics. Your best procedure is to be constantly "on watch" and respond accordingly. Monitor VHF Marine radio Channel 13, and if appropriate announce your presence and intended line of travel. (Note: harbor facilities and docking facilities sometimes use channel 12 or other VHF channels. Inquire locally if you need to communicate).


text:
Introduction of Electronic Hydraulic Power Steering System
Main components: oil storage tank, power steering control unit, electric pump, steering gear, power steering sensor, etc., wherein the power steering control unit and electric pump are a whole structure.
Working principle: The electro-hydraulic steering assist system overcomes the shortcomings of the traditional hydraulic steering assist system. The hydraulic pump used is no longer driven directly by the engine belt, but an electric pump. All the working conditions are calculated by the electronic control unit according to the driving speed and steering angle of the vehicle. Simply put, at low speed and large steering, the electronic control unit drives the electronic hydraulic pump to output high power at high speed, which makes the driver save direction; when the car is driving at high speed, the hydraulic control unit drives the electronic hydraulic pump at a lower speed. Operation, while not affecting the need for high-speed steering, while saving part of the engine power.


Beata Małachowska, Bartłomiej Tomasik, Konrad Stawiski, Shilpa Kulkarni, Chandan Guha, Dipanjan Chowdhury, Wojciech Fendler
Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review
10 Scopus citations
Purpose: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) were hypothesized to be robust and easily measured biomarkers of radiation exposure, which has led to multiple studies in various clinical and experimental scenarios. We sought to identify evolutionary conserved, radiation-induced circulating miRNAs through a multispecies, integrative systematic review and meta-analysis of miRNAs in radiation. Methods and Materials: The systematic review was registered in the PROSPERO database (ID: 81701). We downloaded a list of studies with the query: (circulating OR plasma OR serum) AND (miRNA or microRNA) AND (radiat* OR radiotherapy OR irradiati*) from MEDLINE (103 studies), EMBASE (364 studies), and Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (0 studies). After deleting 116 duplicates, the remaining 351 abstracts were reviewed. Inclusion criteria were experimental study; human, mice, rat or nonhuman primate study; and serum or plasma miRNA expression measured before and after radiation exposure. Results: The screening procedure yielded 62 research studies. After verification, 30 articles contained data on miRNA expression change after irradiation. Thus, we obtained a database of 131 miRNAs from 96 pairwise post-/preirradiation comparisons reporting 2508 fold changes (FCs) of circulating miRNAs. The meta-analysis showed 28 miRNAs with significant radiation-induced change of their expression in the serum. In metaregression analysis, 7 miRNAs—miR-150 (FC = 0.40; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.35-0.45), miR-29a (FC = 0.87; 95% CI, 0.79-0.96), miR-29b (FC = 0.85; 95% CI, 0.76-0.96), miR-30c (FC = 1.19; 95% CI, 1.09-1.30), miR-200b (FC = 1.34; 95% CI, 1.21-1.48), miR-320a (FC = 1.13; 95% CI, 1.05-1.23), and miR-30a (FC = 1.18; 95% CI, 1.07-1.30)—significantly correlated with either total or fraction dose of radiation. Additionally, miR-150, miR-320a, miR-200b, and miR-30c correlated significantly with time elapsed since irradiation. Conclusions: Circulating miRNAs reflect the impact of ionizing radiation irrespective of the studied species, often in a dose-dependent manner. This makes circulating miRNAs promising biomarkers of radiation exposure.
Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)390-402
Number of pages13
JournalInternational Journal of Radiation Oncology Biology Physics
Issue number2
StatePublished - Feb 1 2020
ASJC Scopus subject areas
 - Radiation
 - Oncology
 - Radiology Nuclear Medicine and imaging
 - Cancer Research
Fingerprint Dive into the research topics of 'Circulating microRNAs as Biomarkers of Radiation Exposure: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.
Cite this


This event has ended.
Forces of Flight
Explainer with kid in How Things Fly
Monday, February 24
1:30 pm
How Things Fly
Museum in Washington, DC
How do lift, weight, drag, and thrust affect everything flying in Earth's atmosphere and space? Learn what a force is, test your strength against air pressure, explore Bernoulli's principle, and investigate different forms of propulsion. Discover how things fly while experimenting with the four forces of flight.
Directions to the Museum in Washington, DC
Museum Floorplan
Add to my Calendar
See February 2014 Calendar


text:
Virtual Monochromatic Images from Dual-Energy Multidetector CT: Variance in CT Numbers from the Same Lesion between Single-Source Projection-based and Dual-Source Image-based Implementations.
PURPOSE: To determine the variance in virtual monochromatic computed tomography (CT) numbers from the same lesion, comparing the two clinically available dual-energy multidetector CT hardware implementations (single-source projection-based and dual-source image-based), in a phantom-based simulated abdominal environment. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This phantom-based study was exempt from institutional review board oversight. Polyethylene terephthalate spheres (15 and 18 mm) with two iodine-to-saline dilutions (0.8 and 1.2 mg of iodine per millilliter) were serially suspended in a cylindrical polypropylene bottle filled with diluted iodinated contrast material. The bottle was placed into a 36-cm-wide torso-shaped water phantom simulating the abdomen of a medium-sized patient. Dual-energy (80/140 kVp) and single-energy (100 and 120 kVp) scans were obtained with single-source and dual-source multidetector CT implementations. Virtual monochromatic images were reconstructed at energy levels of 40-140 keV (in 10-keV increments) in either the projection-space or image-space domain. A multivariate regression analysis approach was used to investigate the effect of energy level, lesion size, lesion iodine content, and implementation type on measured CT numbers. RESULTS: There were significant differences in the attenuation values measured in the simulated lesions with the single-source projection-based platform and the dual-source image-based implementation (P <.001 for all comparisons). The magnitude of these differences was greatest at lower monochromatic energy levels and at lower iodine concentrations (average difference at 40 keV: 25.7 HU; average difference at 140 keV: 7 HU). The monochromatic energy level and the lesion iodine concentration had a significant effect on the difference in the measured attenuation values between the two implementations, which indicates that the two imaging platforms respond differently to changes in investigated variables (P <.001 for all comparisons). CONCLUSION: There is a statistically significant variance in virtual monochromatic CT numbers from the same lesion examined with single-source projection-based and dual-source image-based implementations. The magnitude of the variance is a function of the selected energy level and the lesion iodine content.
Mileto, A; Barina, A; Marin, D; Stinnett, SS; Roy Choudhury, K; Wilson, JM; Nelson, RC
Volume / Issue
Start / End Page
Pubmed Central ID
Electronic International Standard Serial Number (EISSN)
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)


text:
Ice cream might not be the healthiest food, but eating small portions does offer some nutrition. Nevertheless, the serving sizes at ice cream shops are often more than one and contain more calories and fat than is healthy for one scoop. Ice cream purchased at the grocery store, Blue Bell's included, is often lower in both fat and calories because it doesn't contain all the candy and sauces, and you are better able to control how much is placed in your bowl.
Video of the Day
Eating too many calories results in weight gain if you cannot burn them off each day. Blue Bell ice cream should be a treat and not an everyday food because it is higher in calories than healthier snack alternatives. A 1/2 cup of the banana split or mint chocolate chip flavor contains 170 calories, and the pecan pralines and cream contains 190 calories.
A 2,000-calorie diet should not exceed 78 g of fat per day. A diet high in fat increases your risk of heart disease and obesity. However, you can still enjoy a scoop of Blue Bell ice cream as long as you balance your fat intake for the rest of the day so that you stay within the recommendations. A half cup of buttered pecan contains 11 g of fat, and the cookies and cream flavor has 9 g.
Getting too much sugar increases your risk of insulin resistance and diabetes. Aim to limit your intake to 24 g for women and 36 g for men each day. Eating Blue Bell ice cream can make this difficult because many of the half-cup servings contain quite a bit. The strawberries and vanilla flavor contains 23 g, and the chocolate chip cookie dough contains 17 g.
Because Blue Bell ice cream is made with milk, you do benefit from its calcium content. Calcium is important for maintaining healthy bones and teeth. Adults need 1,000 to 1,300 mg of calcium each day. A half-cup scoop of most of the Blue Bell flavors contains 15 percent of the daily recommendation for calcium.
Milk products contain protein, a nutrient that is needed for cell development and growth. It also promotes healthy skin, hair and muscles, and provides your body with energy. Ten to 35 percent of your daily calorie intake should come from protein. Eating Blue Bell ice cream will increase your intake, but is too high in fat, calories and sugar to be your main protein source. A half cup serving of strawberry contains 3 g of protein, the Great Divide flavor has 4 g and the homemade vanilla has 5 g.


_USER_{16277, abstract = {CP2K is an open source electronic structure and molecular dynamics software package to perform atomistic simulations of solid-state, liquid, molecular, and biological systems. It is especially aimed at massively parallel and linear-scaling electronic structure methods and state-of-theart ab initio molecular dynamics simulations. Excellent performance for electronic structure calculations is achieved using novel algorithms implemented for modern high-performance computing systems. This review revisits the main capabilities of CP2K to perform efficient and accurate electronic structure simulations. The emphasis is put on density functional theory and multiple post–Hartree–Fock methods using the Gaussian and plane wave approach and its augmented all-electron extension.}, author = {Kühne, Thomas and Iannuzzi, Marcella and Ben, Mauro Del and Rybkin, Vladimir V. and Seewald, Patrick and Stein, Frederick and Laino, Teodoro and Khaliullin, Rustam Z. and Schütt, Ole and Schiffmann, Florian and Golze, Dorothea and Wilhelm, Jan and Chulkov, Sergey and Mohammad Hossein Bani-Hashemian, Mohammad Hossein Bani-Hashemian and Weber, Valéry and Borstnik, Urban and Taillefumier, Mathieu and Jakobovits, Alice Shoshana and Lazzaro, Alfio and Pabst, Hans and Müller, Tiziano and Schade, Robert and Guidon, Manuel and Andermatt, Samuel and Holmberg, Nico and Schenter, Gregory K. and Hehn, Anna and Bussy, Augustin and Belleflamme, Fabian and Tabacchi, Gloria and Glöß, Andreas and Lass, Michael and Bethune, Iain and Mundy, Christopher J. and Plessl, Christian and Watkins, Matt and VandeVondele, Joost and Krack, Matthias and Hutter, Jürg}, journal = {The Journal of Chemical Physics}, number = {19}, title = {{CP2K: An electronic structure and molecular dynamics software package - Quickstep: Efficient and accurate electronic structure calculations}}, doi = {10.1063/5._PHONE_}, volume = {152}, year = {2020}, } _USER_{12878, abstract = {In scientific computing, the acceleration of atomistic computer simulations by means of custom hardware is finding ever-growing application. A major limitation, however, is that the high efficiency in terms of performance and low power consumption entails the massive usage of low precision computing units. Here, based on the approximate computing paradigm, we present an algorithmic method to compensate for numerical inaccuracies due to low accuracy arithmetic operations rigorously, yet still obtaining exact expectation values using a properly modified Langevin-type equation.}, author = {Rengaraj, Varadarajan and Lass, Michael and Plessl, Christian and Kühne, Thomas}, journal = {Computation}, number = {2}, publisher = {MDPI}, title = {{Accurate Sampling with Noisy Forces from Approximate Computing}}, doi = {10.3390/computation8020039}, volume = {8}, year = {2020}, } _USER_{12871, author = {Platzner, Marco and Plessl, Christian}, issn = {0170-6012}, journal = {Informatik Spektrum}, title = {{FPGAs im Rechenzentrum}}, doi = {10.1007/s00287-019-01187-w}, year = {2019}, } _USER_{7689, author = {Riebler, Heinrich and Vaz, Gavin Francis and Kenter, Tobias and Plessl, Christian}, journal = {ACM Trans. Archit. Code Optim. (TACO)}, keyword = {htrop}, number = {2}, pages = {14:1–14:26}, publisher = {ACM}, title = {{Transparent Acceleration for Heterogeneous Platforms with Compilation to OpenCL}}, doi = {10.1145/_PHONE_}, volume = {16}, year = {2019}, } _USER_{21, abstract = {We address the general mathematical problem of computing the inverse p-th root of a given matrix in an efficient way. A new method to construct iteration functions that allow calculating arbitrary p-th roots and their inverses of symmetric positive definite matrices is presented. We show that the order of convergence is at least quadratic and that adaptively adjusting a parameter q always leads to an even faster convergence. In this way, a better performance than with previously known iteration schemes is achieved. The efficiency of the iterative functions is demonstrated for various matrices with different densities, condition numbers and spectral radii.}, author = {Richters, Dorothee and Lass, Michael and Walther, Andrea and Plessl, Christian and Kühne, Thomas}, journal = {Communications in Computational Physics}, number = {2}, pages = {564--585}, publisher = {Global Science Press}, title = {{A General Algorithm to Calculate the Inverse Principal p-th Root of Symmetric Positive Definite Matrices}}, doi = {10.4208/cicp.OA-2018-0053}, volume = {25}, year = {2019}, } _USER_{6516, author = {Mertens, Jan Cedric and Boschmann, Alexander and Schmidt, M. and Plessl, Christian}, issn = {_PHONE_}, journal = {Sports Engineering}, number = {4}, pages = {441--451}, publisher = {Springer Nature}, title = {{Sprint diagnostic with GPS and inertial sensor fusion}}, doi = {10.1007/s12283-_PHONE_-0}, volume = {21}, year = {2018}, } _USER_{20, abstract = {Approximate computing has shown to provide new ways to improve performance and power consumption of error-resilient applications. While many of these applications can be found in image processing, data classification or machine learning, we demonstrate its suitability to a problem from scientific computing. Utilizing the self-correcting behavior of iterative algorithms, we show that approximate computing can be applied to the calculation of inverse matrix p-th roots which are required in many applications in scientific computing. Results show great opportunities to reduce the computational effort and bandwidth required for the execution of the discussed algorithm, especially when targeting special accelerator hardware.}, author = {Lass, Michael and Kühne, Thomas and Plessl, Christian}, issn = {_PHONE_}, journal = {Embedded Systems Letters}, number = {2}, pages = { 33--36}, publisher = {IEEE}, title = {{Using Approximate Computing for the Calculation of Inverse Matrix p-th Roots}}, doi = {10.1109/LES.2017._PHONE_}, volume = {10}, year = {2018}, } _USER_{1589, author = {Schumacher, Jörn and Plessl, Christian and Vandelli, Wainer}, journal = {Journal of Physics: Conference Series}, publisher = {IOP Publishing}, title = {{High-Throughput and Low-Latency Network Communication with NetIO}}, doi = {10.1088/_PHONE_/898/8/082003}, volume = {898}, year = {2017}, } _USER_{18, abstract = {Branch and bound (B&B) algorithms structure the search space as a tree and eliminate infeasible solutions early by pruning subtrees that cannot lead to a valid or optimal solution. Custom hardware designs significantly accelerate the execution of these algorithms. In this article, we demonstrate a high-performance B&B implementation on FPGAs. First, we identify general elements of B&B algorithms and describe their implementation as a finite state machine. Then, we introduce workers that autonomously cooperate using work stealing to allow parallel execution and full utilization of the target FPGA. Finally, we explore advantages of instance-specific designs that target a specific problem instance to improve performance. We evaluate our concepts by applying them to a branch and bound problem, the reconstruction of corrupted AES keys obtained from cold-boot attacks. The evaluation shows that our work stealing approach is scalable with the available resources and provides speedups proportional to the number of workers. Instance-specific designs allow us to achieve an overall speedup of 47 × compared to the fastest implementation of AES key reconstruction so far. Finally, we demonstrate how instance-specific designs can be generated just-in-time such that the provided speedups outweigh the additional time required for design synthesis.}, author = {Riebler, Heinrich and Lass, Michael and Mittendorf, Robert and Löcke, Thomas and Plessl, Christian}, issn = {_PHONE_}, journal = {ACM Transactions on Reconfigurable Technology and Systems (TRETS)}, keyword = {coldboot}, number = {3}, pages = {24:1--24:23}, publisher = {Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)}, title = {{Efficient Branch and Bound on FPGAs Using Work Stealing and Instance-Specific Designs}}, doi = {10.1145/_PHONE_}, volume = {10}, year = {2017}, } _USER_{165, abstract = {A broad spectrum of applications can be accelerated by offloading computation intensive parts to reconfigurable hardware. However, to achieve speedups, the number of loop iterations (trip count) needs to be sufficiently large to amortize offloading overheads. Trip counts are frequently not known at compile time, but only at runtime just before entering a loop


text:
The Wars of the Roses
Origins of the Cold War (60 Question quiz for IB History)
The Princes in the Tower: Classroom Debate
The Rise of Pinochet: Fling the Teacher Quiz
The Princes in the Tower: Card Sort Exercise
League of Nations in the 1920s: New Worksheets
Does King Richard III deserve a Royal Funeral?
Teacher-led activity: Historiography on the Origins of Warfare
Paired Feedback and Presentation Task: Comparisons and Contrasts between two wars
The Rule of Stalin: Fling the Teacher Challenge
Dozens of IB History Revision Quizzes!
In particular, historiography is about what we can learn from history.
Below are two random quotes about the nature of history
from a 'pack' of over 400!
Which quote do you find the most engaging? Explain your
answer by giving historical examples which prove its point.
Write your answer in the box on the right, and print off
your work when you have finished.
You can change the historiography quotes by clicking the button at the
bottom of the page.
For a full list of the historiography quotes, click here; for a poster pack of historiography quotes for classroom display, click here.
(Type your answer here)
Recommended sites for KS3 History, GCSE History and A-Level History:!
SchoolHistory | Spartacus | JohnDClare | SchoolsHistory | BBC History |
Channel 4 History | History Channel UK


C Integer Types
Summary: in this tutorial, you will learn various C integer types including signed and unsigned integers.
C IntegerC signed integer types
C provides you with five signed integer types. Each integer type has several synonyms.
The following table illustrates the first five integer types with their corresponding synonyms:
Integer TypesSynonymsNotes
signed char
intsigned, signed int
shortshort int, signed short, signed short int
longlong int, signed long, signed long int
long longlong long int, signed long long, signed long long intAvailable since C99
C unsigned integer types
For each signed integer, C also provides the corresponding unsigned integer type that has the same memory size as the signed integer type.
The following table illustrates the unsigned integer type:
Signed Integer Typesunsigned Integer Types
charunsigned char
intunsigned int
shortunsigned short
longunsigned long
long longunsigned long long
C integer types value ranges
C defines exactly minimum storage size of each integer type e.g., short takes at least two byes, long takes at least 4 bytes. Regardless of the C's implementation, the size of integer types must follows the order below:
The following table gives you the common sizes of the integer types in C:
TypeStorage sizeMinimum valueMaximum value
char1 byte-128127
unsigned char1 byte0255
signed char1 byte-128127
int2 bytes or 4 bytes-32,768 or -2,147,483,64832,767 or 2,147,483,647
unsigned int2 bytes or 4 bytes065,535 or 2,147,483,647
short2 bytes-32,76832,767
unsigned short2 bytes065,535
long4 bytes-2,147,483,6482,147,483,647
unsigned long4 bytes04,294,967,295
long long(C99)8 bytes-9,223,372,036, 854,775,8089,223,372,036, 854,775,807
unsigned long long8 bytes018,446,744,073, 709,551,615
The value ranges of integer types can be found in the limits.h header fileThis header file contains the macros that define minimum and maximum values of each integer type e.g., INT_MIN, INT_MAX for minimum and maximum size of the integer.
Getting the sizes of integer types
To obtain the size of an integer type, or any type, you use the sizeof() operator. The following program demonstrates how to use the sizeof() operator to get the sizes of various integer types in your system.
The following is the output in our system:
In this tutorial, we have introduced various C integer types and shown you how to use the sizeof() operator to get the sizes of an integer types in your system.


text:
Aerial images of marsh plant communities reveal information that is not possible to obtain from ground level. High resolution aerial photographs display fine details of vegetation composition and distribution. Since 2006, The Meadowlands Environmental Research Institute has employed balloon photography to capture images of marsh and landfill surfaces. These images are a key resource for MERI scientists working to improve the Hackensack River marshland ecosystem.
High resolution images are captured using consumer grade cameras at altitudes between 150 to 300 feet. The current camera being flown is a 14.3 megapixel Canon G1X. The state of the art camera rig attaches the camera to an inflated 3 meter balloon. The balloon is tethered to a reel operated from the ground. This setup is cost efficient, easily deployable, and is highly mobile.
The high resolution images are assembled into a mosaic of the surveyed area which can encompass many acres. Individual images are stitched together using Adobe Photoshop. The mosaic is then geo-referenced using known geographic feature locations within the site. These mosaics are used to ground truth high-resolution hyperspectral image classifications. They are also used to identify training sites from satellite images and to develop spectral libraries for vegetation classification. Current applications of balloon photography include:
- Monitoring of plant establishment in closed landfill sites
- Mapping invasive species distribution
- Mapping endangered plant populations thought the district


The Clouds: Experiments in Perception, photographs by Stephan Sagmiller
In a project that questions the definition of nature, Stephan Sagmiller juxtaposes photographs of painted skies from dioramas at the Natural History Museum with actual skies photographed throughout the United States.
Sagmiller says, "It is not possible to entirely untangle the concept of nature from landscape photography, the history of painting, or the romantic ideals often embedded in these forms of representation. However, even a small rupture opens up the possibility for reflection and questioning: What is nature? What do we know about nature? How do we know what we know?"
Book design by Meg Birnbaum
Photographs by Stephan Sagmiller
Forward by Paula Tognarelli
Look Inside!
Untitled Document


text:
A View is a virtual table which is created form another table and its content are defined by a query. In real scenarios we use views for security purpose by allowing users to access data through the view, without granting the users permissions to directly access the underlying base tables. For an illustration:
We have a customer table with the fields ('id', 'name', 'age', 'address','salary') but if we want to customize the perception each user has of the database and to show a table with the fields having only 'name' and 'age' then we can create view for that fields.
We are having 'CUSTOMERS' table
Now, following is the example to create a view from CUSTOMERS table.
SQL > CREATE VIEW CUSTOMERS_VIEW AS
SELECT name, age
Now, you can query CUSTOMERS_VIEW in similar way as you query an actual table. Following is the example:


Day 331: From Head to Toe by Eric Carle
Eric Carle books are popular for kids for good reason: they are awesome. The popular ones include "Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See?" and "The Hungry Caterpillar." My son really likes Brown Bear, but he has a new favorite that is not as popular: "From Head to Toe."
This book is fantastic because it teaches the names of the animals – but it also involves movements that the child can learn and do along while you read. Some are basic that the little guy has been doing for many months, like clap his hands, and others require more critical thinking to understand – like the difference between shaking his head (like the penguin) and bending his neck (like the giraffe). This past week the little guy learned a bunch of things – now he knows how to pound his chest like a gorilla, stomp his foot like an elephant, and bend his knee like a camel. And the very fact that I can say what animal does those things without thinking twice shows you just how many times we have read it 😉
One thought on "Day 331: From Head to Toe by Eric Carle
 1. RedHeadedBookLover says:
 Liked by 1 person
Leave a Reply
You are commenting using your account. Log Out / Change )
Google photo
Twitter picture
Facebook photo
Connecting to %s


Wisdom From The Talmud - Lesson 2
Sandy Kress
Wisdom From The Talmud - Lesson 2 Plan
On Love - part 2
I. Re-cap and Introduction
II. Gems of Wisdom
Wisdom From The Talmud - 2
Part A
Ilfa pointed out a contradiction between two verses: It says, Abundant in Kindness" and then it says, and in Truth." How can this be? {How can God be kind and at the same time rigorously adhere to the truth?} {He reconciled the two:} At first {He judges with} the Attribute of Truth, but in the end, with Kindness.
R. Huna noted a similar contradiction: It says, God is just in all His ways," indicating that God's judgment is based on strict justice, – but the verse concludes, and kind in all His deeds," implying that He judges mercifully (Psalms 145:17). How can God be just and kind at the same time? – At first He rules in justice, but in the end {when He sees that the world cannot exist under strict justice (Rashi)} He rules with kindness.
Rosh Hashanah 17b
Wisdom From The Talmud - 2
Questions On Part A
 1. How can God be both just and kind? How can we be?
2. What obstacles do we have to overcome to be both?
3. Can we be both at the same time? Illustrate.
Wisdom From The Talmud - 2
Part B
R' Elazar said: Greater is one who performs charity (tzedakah) than one who offers any of the sacrifices, for it says, Doing what is right (tzedakah) or just is preferable to God than an offering." Proverbs 21:3
R' Elazar also said: Acts of kindness are greater than charity, for it says, Sow charity for yourselves, and you will reap according to kindness." Hosea 10:12
R' Elazar said furthermore: If a person does charity and justice, it is as if he had filled the whole world with kindness, for it says, If a person loves righteousness and justice, then the kindness of God fills the earth." Psalms 33:5
Sukkah 49b
Wisdom From The Talmud - 2
Questions On Part B
1. How could charity be considered more important than prayer or other offerings to God?
2. In what ways might acts of kindness be considered more important than charity?
3. Can you think of ways in which we can blend righteousness, kindness, and charity in our actions?
Wisdom From The Talmud - 2
Part C
Rabbi Yishmael ben Elisha (the High Priest) said: Once, on Yom Kippur, I entered the innermost part of the Sanctuary, the Holy of Holies, to offer incense and saw Akatriel Y-h, the Lord of Hosts, seated on a high and exalted throne.
He said to me: Yishmael, My son, bless Me."
I said to Him: May it be Your will that Your mercy overcome Your anger, and that Your mercy should dominate all Your other attributes, so that You conduct Yourself with Your children with mercy, and deal with them beyond the letter of the law."
And God nodded to me with His head and accepted the blessing.
This event teaches us that you should not take the blessing of an ordinary person lightly.
Berachot 7a
Wisdom From The Talmud - 2
Questions On Part C
1. What do you make of the fact that God asked the Priest to bless Him?
2. And what do you make of the blessing he made? Why do you think God accepted it (rather than perhaps being offended)?
3. How do you understand the stated lesson?
Wisdom From The Talmud - 2
Part D
So Eli (the priest) thought she was drunk. Eli said to her, 'How long will you be drunk? Put away your wine.'
And Hannah replied, 'Oh no, my lord! I am a woman sorrowful in spirit. I have drunk no wine or any other strong drink, but rather have been pouring out my soul before God. Do not take your maidservant for a worthless woman; I have only been speaking all this time out of my great anguish and distress.'
Then go in peace,' said Eli. 'And may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of Him.'"
I Samuel 1:13-17; Berachot 31a-b
Wisdom From The Talmud - 2
Questions On Part D
1. Why might Eli have thought Hannah drunk? Why do you think he chastised her?
2. What was Hannah's response? What does it teach us?
3. Why are we taught that Eli tells her to go in peace and wishes for God to grant her what she's asked?
Wisdom From The Talmud - 2
Part E
There were some robbers in the neighborhood of Rabbi Meir who caused him a great deal of trouble. Rabbi Meir prayed that they should die.
His wife Beruriah said to him: What do you have in mind with this prayer? Why do you pray they should die? Is it because it says, 'May chataim disappear?' It does not say chotim, sinners; it says chataim, sins!"
And what's more," she said, look at the end of the verse. There it says, 'and the wicked will be no more.' Once the sins will disappear, there will be no more wicked men! Rather pray for them that they should repent, and there will be no more wicked men."
Rabbi Meir did pray for them, and they repented.
Berachot 10a
Wisdom From The Talmud - 2
Questions On Part E
1. Upon what sort of teaching might the Rabbi have thought the robbers should die?
2. Explain how his wife's use of Hebrew gets her to a different and better wisdom?
3. How does this wisdom align with other teaching you've experienced?
Wisdom From The Talmud - 2
Wrap-up and Take-aways.
Wisdom From The Talmud - Lesson 2
Home Page> < Wisdom from the Talmud Menu > < Top of Page >


Common objection 2: I'm not good at X. I can't do Y. I'm not a Z person
November 22, 2012 by Joshua
in Blog, Leadership, Tips
[This post is part of a series on internal objections and blocks and how to overcome them. If you don't see a Table of Contents to the left, click here to view the series, where you'll get more value than reading just this post.]
People usually state this objection as a statement like these.
I'm just not a leader.
Leaders are born, not made and I wasn't born a leader.
I've tried losing weight a million times. I'm just not a gym person.
I'm no good at math.
Too many to list. The above statements suggest a few.
Underlying belief
The underlying belief to these statements is that
Existing or past patterns can't change.
Describing how things are says how they have to be.
When you point out to people how the way they say things affect their beliefs, how they see the world, and how they behave, they often point out how they're right or they're just pointing out facts. They act like you must have your head in the sand to object.
Alternative belief
How you say things affects how you believe them. Describing something as static may make it sound more static that it is. But likewise, describing it as dynamic or that you'd like it to change may be equally right but motivate change.
Stating how you want things to happen can help them happen that way.
Alternative strategy
I propose using different language to describe things you don't like or want to change.
Grounding how you view the world on rightness or a single perspective misses the point. You want to improve your life, not find collections of facts. You can say things in different ways to motivate yourself in different ways.
Rephrasing helps. The word "yet" helps a lot.
Starting with adding one word to this post's title's examples, then moving to more changes to the examples above
I'm not good at X yet.
I can't do Y yet.
I'm not a Z person yet.
I haven't learned to lead yet.
I'm not a leader yet.
Some people say leaders are born, not made, but maybe not.
I've tried losing weight a million times. As long as someone somewhere found a way to get and stay fit, I bet I can too.
Some people love gyms. I'm going to find something there to love. Or maybe team sports or solo sports. I'll find something.
If anyone can learn math, I can too.
People dwell in rightness or wrongness. You probably readily recognize when others act self-righteously with you and don't like it. You may not notice when you act self-righteously with them or yourself, but it rarely helps.
If you want to lead yourself or others, I suggest you'll do better to focus on what works first.
Read my weekly newsletter
On initiative, leadership, the environment, and burpees
Leave a Reply
Sign up for my weekly newsletter


text:
While picking ripe cherries from a cherry tree (Prunus) seems like an attractive idea for your garden, fruits may also end up littering your pathways. As an alternative, you can choose a decorative, or ornamental, cherry tree to enjoy the burgeoning blossoms without the messy fruits. Decorative cherry trees offer blooms in hues ranging from stark white to deep pink. When planting more than one decorative cherry tree, mix species to complement one another as they proceed through the blooming season displaying various blossom colors.
Known as the bitter cherry, prunus emarginata trees can grow tall and wide with grooved white petals. Spreading throughout the soil, these particular decorative cherry trees can form large foliage groups for an astounding blooming season. Alternatively, the paperbark cherry tree (Prunus serrula) offers tall 30-foot pyramid-shaped canopies with sprinklings of white blossoms and a deep red trunk. Yoshino cherry trees (Prunus x yedoensis) provide a simple canopy of white flowers with no foliage on the limbs while in bloom.
Light Pink Cultivars
Sargent cherry trees (Prunus sargentii) produce some of the palest pink flowers within the ornamental cherry tree family. The blossoms blush with rounded petals extending outward to soak in the sun. Instead of growing like a shrub, these varieties grow upright for a stately appearance. Certain Japanese flowering trees (Prunus serrulata) produce light pink blooms as well. Cultivars including "Amanogawa," "Mount Fuji," "Shirogugen" and "Shogetsu" generate single and double flowers. "Shirogugen" and "Shogetsu" begin as pink blooms and slowly change to white.
Dark Pink Flower Choices
The Higan or weeping cherry tree (Prunus subhirtella) grows into a cascade of dark pink blossoms as the limbs hang downward. Contrasting with the hanging limb cultivar is the Japanese flowering tree call Kwanzan (Prunus serrula "Kwanzan"). Stretching to 20 feet tall, this variety has distinguished dark pink petals grouped in dense configurations.
Although decorative cherry trees do not need the extra energy to generate fruits, they still need a composted soil consistency to produce glorious blossoms. Keeping the trees watered and well-drained is the best way to keep them blooming each year.
- BananaStock/BananaStock/Getty Images


text:
The Iowa State University Extension explains one way to differentiate between a spruce tree and a pine tree is to look at the needles. Spruce needles grow directly from a branch individually, and pine needles grow in bunches of two, three or five. Also, the bark of a spruce tree is rough rather than smooth, which sets them apart from fir trees.Continue Reading
The needles of spruce trees are sharp, pointed and square. One reliable way to identify a spruce tree is to take a needle and roll it between two fingers. If the needle rolls easily between the fingers, it is a spruce tree. Fir tree needles are flat, are soft and don't roll easily between fingers.
Spruce needles are attached to their branches with stalk-like projections. When the tree sheds its needles, these projections remain on the tree. The color and length of needles aren't reliable indicators for identifying spruce trees because these characteristics vary.
Cones of spruce trees are long and flexible rather than rigid. The scales on spruce tree cones are thinner and less woody than those on pine trees. These cones grow to between 8 and 26 inches long, and their size varies from tree to tree.Learn more about Trees & Bushes


text: Dr. King discusses "The Future of Integration." King opens with background history of three distinct periods of race relations. The first period extends from 1619 to 1862, the era of slavery. The next period extends from 1863 to 1954 when blacks were emancipated, but still segregated. The third period started on May 17, 1954 when segregation was deemed unconstitutional and integration commenced. Furthermore, Dr. King explains the changes that occurred as a result of integration and how it will affect blacks and whites in the future.


text:
From Stargate Wiki
Climate change research
|Out of universe information|
The planet's Stargate is located in a valley close to a glacier. The atmosphere had succumb to a global warming effect. The Atlantis expedition set up the research outpost further up the valley closer to the glacier.
At some point in 2008 Dr. Nichols had set up a research outpost on this planet to study the effects of global warming. Some time later the glacier on the planet breached and flooded the valley the outpost was located. The research team was unable to make contact with Atlantis and so Woolsey sent Sheppard's team to discover why they had not made contact, exiting the gate underwater and having to seek refuge from the icy waters on top of the gate, while Col. Sheppard had to swim down and dial the Stargate. The team was forced to wait for the gate to deactivate before they could be retrieved by a Puddle Jumper but had to wait several hours for the flood waters to recede before they could return to Atlantis. (ATL: "The Shrine")


Magda and Santa Muerte, Explained
Penny Dreadful: City of Angels' is a spin-off to the extremely popular and acclaimed supernatural television series, 'Penny Dreadful.' The Showtime series tells a story steeped in racial history while evoking supernatural themes at the same time. The show uses Mexican folklore as an entryway into the unknown. The show revolves around a Mexican-American family living in Los Angeles in 1938 and uses various actual historical events to weave a powerful narrative. You can read about the true events depicted on the show here.
However, both 'Penny Dreadful: City of Angels' and its parent show are supernatural series at the end of the day. The former derives its mythical quotient from Mexican beliefs and folklore. The protagonist, Tiago's mother, is seen summoning a deity named Santa Muerte in the first episode, in order to seek her help when she senses things going awry.
Moreover, at the start of the first episode, Santa Muerte is shown with her sister, Magda who threatens to destroy humanity by lighting a spark that would lead to apocalyptic battles between nations, races, and even brothers. Natalie Dormer plays the role of Magda and is seen in multiple disguises throughout the episode. So, who is Santa Muerte and Magda? What kind of relationship do they share?
Who Are Santa Muerte and Magda?
Santa Muerte is a deity associated with death. She is believed and even worshipped by Mexicans. Santa Muerte is extremely similar to other supernatural figures associated with death like the Grim Reaper. However, a better comparison would be "La Parca," a female deity of death brought to the Americas by the Spanish.
"La Parca" literally translates to "the parched one" in Spanish. As a matter of fact, those who worship Santa Muerte offer the deity daily offerings of water, as it is believed that she suffers from persistent thirst due to her skeletal composition. The Spanish never worshipped La Parca and she was just a mythological figure. However, indigenous Mexicans, before Spanish colonization, believed in several deities of death like the Mayan Yum Cimil and Mictecacihuatl. Hence, when the Spanish brought La Parca to Mexico, it is believed that the indigenous population thought of her to be similar to other death deities and began to worship her.
Santa Muerte is mostly worshipped by women. However, her worship is becoming increasingly normalized and accepted. This is mainly due to the growing popularity and acceptance of the Day of the Dead or Dia de Los Muertos. In fact, Santa Muerte is also associated with an entirely separate religion. However, it is also believed that Santa Muerte speaks to, or can be summoned by anyone who needs her regardless of their beliefs. For example, one can practice Catholicism and still worship Santa Muerte.
Magda, on the other hand, is completely fictional. There is no mythical or supernatural figure known as Magda that exists in Mexican folklore. That is solely a creation of John Logan. She was invented by Logan as a form of alter-ego to Santa Muerte. By doing so, he could portray the darker side of Santa Muerte's associations with death without really painting Santa Muerte herself as evil.
Firstly, Santa Muerte is seen as a very positive deity. Women worship her for fertility. Santa Muerte is seen as a caring deity who values life as much as she values death. She is also thought to bless worshippers with better health and financial success. However, Santa Muerte didn't always have positive associations. For instance, various death cults and those associated with drug trafficking have been linked to the worship of Santa Muerte. Some of Santa Muerte's best worshipers are narco bosses at the core of the Mexican criminal circuits. Therefore she has gained a reputation as the "narco saint," in spite of other devotees having no associations with anything illicit whatsoever.
However, the rise of drug trafficking actually has a lot of impact on people's beliefs in Santa Muerte. The Mexican Drug War has been responsible for increased death rates, and many sources believe that Santa Muerte is seen as a symbol of hope. However, for this very reason, Santa Muerte is rejected by the Catholic Church since Jesus rose from the tomb and overcame death as one of his final acts on earth, they tend to view death as an enemy rather than a passage.
Read More: Where Was Penny Dreadful: City of Angels Filmed?


text:
Frost layer and gravel base layer in high quality
In times of increasingly scarce raw materials, it is increasingly important to reuse the available construction waste with maximum quality in order to obtain high-quality RCL material at the end of the process chain. When crushing rubble waste usually high fines and high levels of crushed sands are produced, which can prevent the reuse of this recycled material. Monitoring the grading curve is therefore essential to ensure consistent quality. In particular, the proportions of the smaller grain fractions should be smaller, so that the legally prescribed limits for frost layers and gravel base layers are not exceeded by the handling and compression of the RCL gravel. Only then can the requirements for water permeability and frost resistance be guaranteed even after complete use of it.
Little sand and a lot of coarse grain
The gentle crushing process produces only a minor portion of the smaller grain sizes. This gives you more coarse grains, which take on an important function for the support structure, and achieves an excellent load capacity and compressibility of the material. The largest grains are supported by the smaller grains.
The low level of sand or fine particles ensures excellent water permeability and guarantees important antifreeze properties. Depending on the feed material and processing, it may even happen that the amount of added sand have to be increased, so that the usually excess sand content from other treatment processes are utilized and do not need to be landfilled.
Concrete granules as aggregate for concrete
Due to the small proportion of fractions smaller than 2 mm, the double-roll crushing technology with special crushing tools is excellently suited for the production of aggregates for concrete. For feed grain sizes of e.g. 22/100 mm, a product grain size of less than 22 mm can be produced with a sand content of between 20% and 25%.


text:
TRB Special Report 262: A Process for Setting, Managing, and Monitoring Environmental Windows for Dredging Projects concludes that scientific information about risks to resources and technical options for reducing those risks was not being systematically incorporated into the dredging process. The process itself is complex and time-consuming because of the numerous federal and state agencies and interest groups involved. The committee recommended use of a broad-based decisionmaking process designed to engage stakeholders more effectively and to improve the scientific and technical basis for the decisions made.
Environmental windows are periods in which regulators have determined that the adverse impacts associated with dredging of waterways and disposal of the dredged materials can be reduced below critical thresholds, and dredging is therefore permitted. Conversely, seasonal restrictions are applied dredging and disposal activities are prohibited when the perceived increase in potential harm to aquatic resources is above critical thresholds. Since passage of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, resource agencies have requested environmental restrictions on dredging with increasing frequency. Today, more than 80 percent of federal contract dredging is subject to some type of restriction. At the request of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, TRB and the National Academies Ocean Studies Board convened a committee to address concerns about the decision-making process for setting environmental windows.
Windows are intuitively simple means of reducing risk to biological resources from stressors generated during dredging and disposal activities, including entrainment of fish eggs and larvae, resuspension of contaminated sediments, habitat loss, and collisions with marine animals. The use of windows as a management tool, however, can have significant cost implications for both the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the local sponsors of dredging projects, delay project deadlines, and increase risk to dredging personnel by shifting projects to periods of potentially inclement weather and sea states.Special Report 262 Summary


text:
Format of Original
Journal of Labor Research
This paper offers state-level estimates of job loss from increasing the federal minimum wage to $10.10 per hour in 2016. Given the vast differences in nominal wages across geography, a federal increase in minimum wage that is not indexed to local wage levels will have a differential impacts across states. The proposed minimum wage would be binding for between 17 and 18 % of workers nationally. We estimate coverage rates ranging from just 4 % in Washington D.C. to as high as 51 % in Puerto Rico, with 13 states having at least 20 % of the employed population covered by the proposal. Using labor demand elasticities from previous empirical work, these coverage rates imply national employment losses between 550,000 and 1.5 million workers. The range of state estimates shows that states are differentially impacted, with high-end loss estimates ranging between 2.8 % of covered employees in Arkansas to over 41 % in Puerto Rico. Sensitivity analysis highlights that using even a simple methodology with relatively few assumptions for estimating employment loss from minimum wage changes is subject to a high degree of uncertainty.
Hanson, Andrew and Hawley, Zackary, "The $10.10 Minimum Wage Proposal: An Evaluation across States" (2014). Economics Faculty Research and Publications. 497.
ADA Accessible Version


text:
Nutrition Programs and Policies
1. Describe various community nutrition programs, government health care programs, and policies aimed to enhance the nutritional status and overall health of individuals in the US population.
2. Effectively write a grant proposal that encompasses the basic elements of implementing community nutrition programs, including a needs assessment, program planning, implementation and evaluation, and budget preparation, and conduct the proposed project in a real-life community setting.
Oral and Written Communication
3. Exhibit competent communication skills in both written and oral communication for lay and professional audiences in the performance of course assignments.


text:
ERIS, an enterprise resource information solution, provides a real-time information integration platform for law enforcement, facility managers, and emergency responders providing users with broad situational awareness and tactical information about critical assets including buildings, technical environments, and infrastructure. ERIS uses an innovative approach to safety and security by applying robust Enterprise GIS technology to sensors with both spatial and non-spatial data. ERIS supports the decision-making process before, during, and after incidents and serves the need of public safety organizations in their effort to safeguard human lives by providing real-time data that enhances an organization's ability to make critical decisions when faced with time sensitive conditions. ERIS is the single solution for security management, emergency response, and domain awareness. Additionally, ERIS can be configured to support facility operations & maintenance, energy management, and compliance management..
To provide users with an ability to react more quickly and efficiently to events, ERIS displays a real-time Common Operating Picture (COP) for Enterprise (facility) information in a 2-Dimensional (2D) and a 3-Dimensional (3D) display. With this approach role-based operators are equipped with simple and effective situational awareness decision-making tools that enhance communication during an incident. Critical data from these events are filtered to users through a single web-enabled interface, presenting a clear, geospatially-based picture of monitored events. The information disseminated using ERIS can integrate directly with mass notification systems, relaying specific and direct details to responders for immediate action. A key advantage ERIS provides is that it employs an "open platform" with a "pluggable provider architecture" which reduces the complexity and variety of legacy systems, eliminating the inherent problems associated with integrating proprietary systems, thus enabling quick and efficient situational response.


text:
1. Sāraṇīya Sutta.– A king must remember where he was born, where he was anointed, and where he won a battle. A monk must remember where he was ordained, where he realised the Four Noble Truths, and where he attained Arahantship. A.i.106 f.
2. Paṭhama Sāraṇīya Suttā.– Six things that a monk should bear in mind whether alone or among others — kind actions, speech, and thoughts, sharing whatever he gets, observing the training rules without any defects, and maintaining the Noble view (ed.). A.iii.288 f


text:
Admin Multi-Check is a security feature built into RealmsCore that helps protect your server.
Some commands, such as permissions and moderation commands, use Admin Multi-Check. This means that in addition to the normal permission node (such as realms.kick for the /kick command), they require:
- The realms.admin permission
- If permissions and multi-check are enabled, "admin: true" must be listed below the player's UUID in the playerperms.yml file.
For example, here is an example excerpt from a playerperms.yml file:
# Kyle_Necrowolf's permissions c7a0e7df-5141-4344-b119-9f1102e5178c: admin: true permissions: default: admin_utility cheat: admin_cheat
If the "admin: true" line (bolded above) is not found, the player will be denied access to the command.
Why use Admin Multi-Check
Because this feature is separate from permissions, your server stays protected even if your permissions system is compromised.
"Force op" hacks will fail the multi-check, because they only fool the permissions system. They can't modify the file, so they can't fool RealmsCore.
In most cases, the server owner is the only person with access to the server files. No one on the server can modify or bypass this system, therefore, the owner is always in control.
Disabling Admin Multi-Check
If Admin Multi-Check is disabled, only the realms.admin permission is required. The playerperms.yml file will not be checked.
The console, command blocks, and remote console (RCON) are not affected (see below).
Disabling permissions (in coreconfig.yml) will automatically disable Admin Multi-Check.
Beyond that, it is not recommended that you disable Admin Multi-Check manually. It is a non-intrusive security feature that can help protect your server. However, if you do not want to use it, you can disable it in coreconfig.yml.
How it works with Console, Command Blocks, and Remote Console (RCON)
Admin Multi-Check also applies to commands run from the console, command blocks, and remote console (RCON).
For all commands that use Admin-Multi-Check:
- By default, the console is allowed. Can be blocked in the config.
- By default, command blocks are blocked.
- Can be allowed in the config, but not recommended, as it allows commands to be run without restrictions, and any player on your server can maliciously activate command blocks.
- By default, the remote console (RCON) is blocked.
- Can be allowed in the config, but not recommended, as it can open your server up to remote attackers.
- All other command senders (entities, proxies) are blocked.
Note that this applies even if Admin Multi-Check is disabled. Disabling the feature will only disable it for players.


6 Things You Need to Know To Run Commands From Python
Using the subprocess library the right (and safe) way
Image by author
Despite the many libraries on PyPI, sometimes you need to run an external command from your Python code. The built-in Python subprocess module makes this relatively easy.
In this article you will:
 - Learn the basics about processes and sub-processes
 - Use the Python subprocess module to safely execute external commands
 - Capture the command's output
 - Feed a command with input from standard in
 - Look into running shell commands
 - Learn about critical security considerations when running external commands
1. Processes and subprocesses
A program that is executed on a computer is also called a process. But what is a process, exactly? Let's define it more formally:
Process: the instance of a computer program that is being executed by one or more threads.
A process can have multiple threads, this is called multi-threading. In turn, a computer can run multiple processes at once. These processes can be different programs, but they can also be multiple instances of the same program. In our article on concurrency with Python, this is explained in great detail. The following images come from that article, too:
Image by author
If you want to run an external command, it means you need to create a new process from your Python process. Such a process is often called a child process or a sub-process. Visually, this is what happens when one process spawns two sub-processes:
Image by author
What happens internally (inside the OS kernel) is what's called a fork. The process forks itself, meaning a new copy of the process is created and started. This can be useful if you want to parallelize your code and utilize multiple CPUs on your machine. That's what we call multiprocessing.
We can utilize this same technique to start another process, though. First, the process forks itself, creating a copy. That copy, in turn, replaces itself with another process: the process you were looking to execute.
We can go the low-level way and do much of this ourselves using the Python subprocess module, but luckily, Python also offers a wrapper that will take care of all the nitty-gritty details, and do so safely too. Thanks to the wrapper, running an external command comes down to calling a function. This wrapper is the function run() from the subprocess library and that's what we'll use in this article.
I thought it would be nice for you to know what's going on internally, but if you feel confused, rest assured that you don't need this knowledge to do what you want: running an external command with the Python subprocess module.
2. Create a Python subprocess with subprocess.run
Enough with the theory, it's time to get our hands dirty and write some code to execute external commands.
First of all, you need to import the subprocess library. Since it is part of Python 3, you don't need to install it separately. From this library, we'll work with the run command. This command was added in Python 3.5. Make sure you have at least that Python version, but preferably you should be running the latest version. Check our detailed Python installation instructions if you need help with that.
Let's start with a simple call to ls, to list the current directories and files:
In fact, we can call Python, the binary, from our Python code. Let's request the version of the default python3 installation on our system:
A line-by-line explanation:
 1. We import the subprocess library
 2. Run a subprocess, in this case the python3 binary, with one argument: --version
 3. We see the output from the Python command
 4. Inspect the result variable, which is of the type CompletedProcess
The process returned code 0, meaning it executed successfully. Any other return code would mean there was some kind of error. It depends on the process you called what the different return code means.
As you can see in the output, the Python binary printed its version number on standard out, which is usually your terminal. Your result may vary because your Python version will likely be different. Perhaps, you'll even get an error looking like this: FileNotFoundError: [Errno 2] No such file or directory: 'python3'. In this case, make sure the Python binary is called python3 on your system too, and that it's in the PATH.
3. Capture output of a Python subprocess
If you run an external command, you'll likely want to capture the output of that command. We can achieve this with the capture_output=True option:
As you can see, Python didn't print its version to our terminal this time. The subprocess.run command redirected the standard out and standard error streams so it could capture them and store the result for us. After inspecting the result variable, we see that the Python version was captured from standard out. Since there were no errors, stderr is empty.
I also added the option encoding='UTF-8'. If you don't, subprocess.run assumes the output is a stream of bytes since it doesn't have this information. Try it, if you want.
As a result, stdout and stderrwill be byte arrays. Hence, if you know the output will be ASCII text or UTF-8 text, you're better off specifying it so the run function encodes the captured output accordingly as well.
Alternatively, you can also use the option text=True without specifying the encoding. Python will capture the output as text. I'd recommend specifying the encoding explicitly if you know it. The official documentation doesn't state if and how Python detects the output's encoding.
4. Feeding data from standard input
If the external command expects data on standard input, we can do so easily as well with the input option of Python's subprocess.run function. Please note that I'm not going into streaming data here. We'll build on the previous examples here:
We just used Python to execute some Python code with the python3 binary. Completely useless, but (hopefully) very instructive!
The code variable is a multi-line Python string and we assign it as input to the subprocess.run command using the input option.
5. Running shell commands
If you are looking to execute shell commands on Unix-like systems, by which I mean anything you would normally type into a Bash-like shell, you need to realize that these are often not external binaries that are executed. For example, expressions like for and while loops, or pipes and other operators, are interpreted by the shell itself.
Python often has alternatives in the form of built-in libraries, which you should prefer. But if you need to execute a shell command, for whatever reason, subprocess.run will happily do so when you use the shell=True option. It allows you to enter commands just as if you were entering them in a Bash compatible shell:
But a warning is in place: using this method is prone to command injection attacks! Keep reading to learn more about this security issue.
6. Caveats to look out for
Running external commands is not without risks. Please read this section very carefully.
os.system vs subprocess.run
You might see code examples where os.system() is used to execute a command. The subprocess module is more powerful, though, and the official Python docs recommend using it over os.system(). Another issue with os.system is that it is more prone to command injection.
Command injection
A common attack, or exploit, is to inject extra commands to gain control over a computer system. For example, if you ask your user for input and use that input in a call to os.system() or a call to subprocess.run(...., shell=True), you're at risk of a command injection attack.
To demonstrate, the following code allows us to run any shell command:
Because we directly used the user input, the user can run any command simply by appending it with a semicolon. E.g., the following input will list the / directory and echo a text. Try it for yourself:
/; echo "command injection worked!";
The solution is not to try and clean the user input. You might be tempted to start looking for semicolons and rejecting the input of you find one. Don't; hackers can think of at least 5 other ways to append a command in this situation. It's an uphill battle.
The better solution is to not use shell=True, and feed the command in a list as we did in the earlier examples. Input like this will fail in such cases because the subprocess module will make sure the input is an argument to the program you're executing, instead of a new command.
With the same input, but with shell=False, you will get this:
The command is treated as an argument to ls, which in turn tells us that It can't find that file or directory.
User input is always dangerous
In fact, using user input is always dangerous, not just because of command injection. For example, suppose you allow a user to input a file name. After this, we read the file and show it to the user. Although this might seem harmless, a user could enter something like this:
Where settings.yaml might contain your database password… oops!
Originally published at _URL_
Software developer by day, writer at night. Webmaster at _URL_
Get the Medium app


text:
HTML Scrolling Image
This page contains examples of scrolling images that were created using the
 tag. For a standards-compliant version, see CSS Scrolling Image instead.
The HTML method of creating a scrolling image is to place an
 element inside a
 element. Although the
 element is not part of the official HTML specification, it is widely supported by most major browsers.
Right to Left
To make your image scroll left (i.e. from right to left), use
direction="left". Here's an example:
Left to Right
To make your image scroll right (i.e. from left to right), use
To make your image scroll up (i.e. from bottom to top), use
To make your image scroll down (i.e. from top to bottom), use
direction="down". Like this:
You can change the scrolling speed of your marquee. For example,
scrollamount="1" sets the marquee to a very slow scroll, while
scrollamount="20" will make it faster. You can use whatever number you like though. Like this:
More Marquee Codes
You can do much more with HTML marquees than is covered on this page. Here's the full list of marquee codes on this website:
Also check out the Marquee Generator.
Try to be careful when using HTML marquees. Many web users dislike websites that contain scrolling or bouncing images and other elements, so try to use them tastefully :)