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A common question that crops up among herpetoculturalists who keep Uroplatus is how much UV they need. This is an important question, because UV, especially UV-B, can be critical to reptiles (and other animals) because it is involved in the pathway that produces vitamin D3 and allows for calcium to be absorbed by the body. But it is not really clear how this works in nocturnal reptiles. In Uroplatus we have the interesting case that the geckos, although active at night, sleep "out in the open," as it were—at least the bark-mimicking geckos tend to sleep on tree trunks and there is the possibility that these trunks are exposed to sunshine, giving the gecko a chance to bask. If this is the case, then in the captive husbandry of the geckos the opportunity to bask in UV-rich light would need to be provided. Over three years of field research, we tried to gather data on the UV exposure of sleeping Uroplatus during the day, using a Solarmeter 6.2 in the rainforests of Madagascar.
The following is an account of attempts to make measurements in Montagne d'Ambre in 2017–2018, Marojejy in 2016, and in a high-altitude forest near Bealanana in northern Madagascar in 2015–16. These observations are therefore directly relevant to Uroplatus sikorae, U. sameiti, U. giganteus, U. aff. henkeli Ca11, U. ebenaui, U. finiavana, U. fotsivava, U. lineatus, and U. alluaudi (and a few undescribed species that are not yet public knowledge), but they can be generalised over all Uroplatus species with the correct level of caution. See below.
First of all, there were several major challenges in assessing the UV exposure of Uroplatus:
- We have had a lot of trouble with the Solarmeter readings because they vary dramatically within centimetre distances. How do you standardise the measurements? Over the three expeditions we conducted, we did not have any success in finding a way to take these measurements in a standardized way, in part because it was difficult to integrate the Solarmeter usage into the daily regime, and in consequence it was not used as often as could be desired, and never in a standardized way. We tried in 2017–2018 to have a student collect the data over transects whilst looking for chameleons, but in the end it was too tedious, unreliable, and time-consuming to be continued. Not to mention rainy!
- There are dramatic differences to be accounted for depending on the perching habits of the species, making generalisations difficult. Bark-mimic species (henkeli complex, giganteus, fimbriatus, sikorae/sameiti complex, and lineatus, but also to a lesser extent alluaudi, guentheri, peitschmanni, and malahelo) may at times be exposed to full sun for brief moments, but probably not for long. The angle at which light hits them is always steep, and typically they are experiencing diffuse light because they are on the trunks of trees, where there is the most shade. By contrast, leaf-mimic species tend to be mostly or completely sheltered during the day, exposing only part of their bodies at all to the light, and certainly not basking. So what is the relevance of environmental UVB readings at all to these animals, which are generally hidden from the light?
- Light in the forest varies dramatically (1) by time of day, (2) by position, (3) by canopy type, (4) by microhabitat, (5) by altitude, and most strongly (6) by season. We conduct fieldwork during the rainy season, where light is lowest and rainfall is heaviest, and where in a single day we have massive swings from dark-as-night cloud cover to bright direct sunlight to diffuse light with or without rain. Needless to say, readings at a single moment in the day are not helpful, because we need an impression of the average exposure of the species to advise husbandry.
Given all of these caveats, you will hopefully understand why this report is fragmentary and perhaps not obviously useful. But it perhaps contains relevant notes on the ecology of species to make informed decisions about using UV light in your Uroplatus care.
UVB levels within the forest typically range from 0 to 15 µW/cm2. In dense primary forest, usually we are getting 0-2 µW/cm2, with upwards of 5 in more open areas, and sometimes up to 15 µW/cm2 in patches where the sun is shining at that very moment. In more open forests, the maximum we have seen is up to 30 µW/cm2, but sometimes we can get as much as 50 µW/cm2 in really blazing sun (probably more frequent in the dry season!). Outside the forest and on its edge we are getting triple digits sometimes, but this is really in areas where Uroplatus basically never occur (maybe useful if anyone keeps edge-loving chameleons though, especially Furcifer pardalis, F. petteri, and Calumma nasutum group species).
All in all, the maximum a rainforest Uroplatus is probably ever exposed to is probably 30 µW/cm2, and as mentioned above, this is probably more than a leaf-mimic species ever experiences. This is not an average value, however. As these geckos really do not seem to bask, and rather are hit coincidentally by light as the sun moves across the sky, the average exposure of any Uroplatus is probably between 8 and 10 µW/cm2, and lower in leaf-mimics. Thinking about the drier forest Uroplatus, where the canopy is less dense, we can raise these numbers a bit and say 10-15 µW/cm2 is a likely good average (again lower in leaf-mimics from drier forest, so U. malama and U. ebenaui).
Bear in mind that altitude also plays a big role: lower altitudes have less cloud cover, and typically more bright-sun-days per year than higher altitudes. So for example, U. ebenaui and U. finiavana may both occur in Montagne d'Ambre, but the latter occurs at higher altitudes than the former, and in more dense forest, and as a result, it must receive considerably less UV exposure. Fortunately, altitude and forest-type correlate rather strongly, so as long as you adjust UV levels for one or the other, you should come out okay.
Uroplatus pietschmanni (and possibly U. alluaudi) is probably exceptional, because it is a high-canopy species and as such probably has higher UV exposure than its relatives. Increasing by one or two µW/cm2 would probably cover this difference though. Uroplatus lineatus is also exceptional because bamboo forest has higher light levels than deciduous or rainforest. As such, it may be advisable to keep U. lineatus with higher light levels in general, and slightly higher UV levels than e.g. U. giganteus, which occurs in the rainforests beside the bamboo forest of U. lineatus.
Bear in mind when thinking about your husbandry that the weather is constantly changing in the forest. Clouds make UVB exposure swing massively. Replicates of natural environments in little boxes cannot mimic this effect, so it is safer to go with a lower-side-of-average value, rather than go straight for the high values of UV exposure. On the other hand, it would not be unreasonable to treat leafand bark-mimic Uroplatus from the same location with the same exposure, and simply provide more shelter opportunities for leaf-mimics… This would be more representative of their natural conditions. This is for the keeper to decide.
So far, the information from field observations is fragmentary and limited. Many factors could change the meaning of what we have observed so far; seasonal changes may vary exposure dramatically, these geckos may be basking more or less than we imagine, and they may be more sensitive to UV levels than diurnal lizards. Remember that no measurements from directly beside resting Uroplatus have yet been obtained, and these will be a critical step in informing decisions further. As such, this is still very much up to the keepers to decide.
As a parting note, consider that UV exposure may not be necessary for the survival of Uroplatus in captivity, but it may still be highly beneficial for them. In a large enclosure, providing a moderately weak UV light is unlikely to do damage.


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Bold and beautiful, the mesmerizing Arctotis hirsuta is one of the most captivating species in an annual spring display.
This robust annual species grows to 450 mm in height and diameter. It is slightly fleshy with a branched stem. The thinly hairy, lyrate (lyre-shaped) to pinnatifid (divided feather-like) leaves are up to 200 mm long and often auriculate (with ear-like lobes at the base).
There are various flowerheads of about 40 mm in diameter, borne on leafy stalks. The rayflorets are orange, yellow or cream-coloured, sometimes with purplish markings at the base. The disc florets are often black.The involucral bracts surrounding the flower heads are finely woolly and arranged in three rows. The innermost bracts have a transparent tip. Flowering is from July to October.
Arctotis hirsuta is not threatened and has a status of Least Concern (LC) (Raimondo et al. 2009).
Distribution and habitat
The gousblom is found on sandy slopes and flats, often along the coast, in the Western Cape from Elandsbaai to the Agulhas Plain.
Derivation of name and historical aspects
The genus name Arctotis is derived from Greek arktos, which means a bear, and otos an ear. This implies that the scales of the pappus (appendages of the fruit) look like the ears of a bear.
The specificepithet, hirsuta, means hairy in Latin. This refers to the hairs present on the leaves and stem. Arctotis species are often referred to as African daisies. Some species were previously placed under Venidium.
There are currently more than fifty species known from southern Africa to Angola.
As a spring annual species, the gousblom completes its entire lifecycle in a single season. This ranges from germination, flowering, the production of seed and until it eventually dies off. The process starts in autumn with the first cool air and the season's first rain. These are favourable conditions and significant growth will take place. From the middle of winter to the middle of spring, blooming occurs and the game is on to attract possible pollinators. Thus the large, colourful flower heads come into play.
Bees and beetles have been noticed to regularly visit the flowers of Artotis hirsuta. It is not certain, though, which ones are responsible for doing the pollination.
Seeds are light in weight which aids wind-dispersal and thus ensures that seeds get scattered over a larger area.
This entire process is normally completed by the time summer arrives. This adaptation allows this species to cope with the harsh summer conditions. The next generation— the seed— slightly buried in the soil, like its predecessors, is ready to germinate, but only under favourable conditions that will ensure the survival of the species.
Uses and cultural aspects
No medicinal or cultural uses of the gousblom have been recorded.
This species is an ornamental winner with it its bright display of colour and somewhat robust habit during late winter and early spring. The large yellow, orange or cream -coloured flower heads are simply bold and beautiful and it rightfully demands inclusion in the spring annual garden.
Growing Arctotis hirsuta
The gousblom grows easily. Sow seed during March in seed beds or seed trays using a light, well-draining medium which is placed in a sunny position.
The medium could be a light, sandy soil or a mixture of bark, compost or river sand. There is no restriction on what materials to use for a perfect medium. The most important requirement is good drainage.
The medium needs levelling and a good watering beforehand. If the medium has been used before, it is advisable to dig the soil over first.
Sow the light seeds evenly on a windless day, water gently and cover with a thin layer of sand or bark. The seed will germinate within the first two weeks. Prick seedlings out from the beds or trays as soon as they are large enough to be handled. Seed can also be sown directly into garden beds, but germination could be irregular. Fast growing weeds could also provide fierce competition. The transplanting stage is vital and care needs to be taken that the young seedlings are regularly watered. Plant this sun-loving species close together.
Preparing flowering beds often requires the loosening up and aeration of the compacted soil. Add organic fertilizer and well-rotted compost and use the rotovator to work it into the soil. Level the soil out by using an iron rake. To help suppress the development and growth of weeds or other unwanted plants, it could be beneficial to apply an additional mulch-layer of compost. If using summer annuals in an area not receiving summer rainfall, this could also have the advantage of retaining soil moisture. The lack of compost for a season or two need not deter one from planting, as good well-drained soil will suffice. In time though, it would be advisable to add compost. The transplanting stage is vital and care needs to be taken that the young seedlings are regularly watered. Plant plants of this sun-loving species close together.
Flowering normally starts sometime during July right through towards the end of September/ October. Seed will be ready for harvesting from September onwards.
Arctotis hirsuta is equally suitable for en masse mixed plantings of its various colour-forms or for mixed plantings with other annual species in small or larger flower beds. There are various other annuals which either occur with this species in its natural habitat or which have been found to complement it rather well. These include: Ursinia anthemoides (marigold), U. speciosa (Namaqua-ursinia) and U. cakilefolia, Heliophila coronopifolia (blue flax), Senecio elegans (wild cineraria), Dorotheanthus bellidiformis (Livingstone daisy), Dimorphotheca sinuata (Namaqualand daisy), D. pluvialis (white Namaqualand daisy), Felicia dubia (dwarf felicia) and blue F. heterophylla.
References and further reading
- Cowling, R. & Pierce, S. 1999. Namaqualand: A succulent desert. Fernwood Press, Cape Town.
- Goldblatt, P. & Manning, J. 2000. Cape plants. A conspectus of the Cape flora of South Africa. Strelitzia 9. National Botanical Institute, Pretoria & Missouri Botanical Garden, Missouri.
- Le Roux, A. 2005. Namaqualand : South African Wild Flower Guide 1. Botanical Society of South Africa, Cape Town.
- Manning, J. & Goldblatt, P. 1996. West Coast : South African Wild Flower Guide 7. Botanical Society of South Africa, Cape Town.
- Powrie, F. 1998. Grow South African plants. A gardener's companion to indigenous plants. National Botanical Institute, Cape Town.
- Raimondo, D., Von Staden, L., Foden, W., Victor, J.E., Helme, N.A., Turner, R.C., Kamundi, D.A. & Manyama, P.A. (eds) 2009. Red list of South African plants 2009. Strelitzia 25. South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria.
- Stearn, W. 2002. Stearn's dictionary of plant names for gardeners. Timber Press. Portland, Oregon.
Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden

source: HuggingFaceFW/fineweb-edu


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July 5, 2006 to July 7, 2006
Satoshi Yonemoto, Kyushu Sangyo University, Japan
Takahiro Yotsumoto, Kyushu Sangyo University, Japan
Rin-ichiro Taniguchi, Kyushu Sangyo University, Japan
DOI Bookmark: _URL_
In this paper, we describe a tangible interface for Hands-on Learning using physical-tangible objects ( pattern blocks). A computer recognizes the states of the user-handled objects in real time and it gives the users advice to execute learning tasks if necessary. In our approach, a pattern block is employed as a primitive piece. It helps the users to do direct manipulation in real environments, while displayed events in virtual environments help them to support the learning tasks. Concretely, we have developed the interaction system can support Hands-on Math activities.
Augmented reality, computer vision.
Satoshi Yonemoto, Takahiro Yotsumoto, Rin-ichiro Taniguchi, "A Tangible Interface for Hands-on Learning", IV, 2006, Information Visualization, Information Visualization 2006, pp. 535-538, doi:10.1109/IV.2006.13

source: openbmb/Ultra-FineWeb


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As drought conditions in much of Texas continue, a landmark decision by the Texas Supreme Court further defines private property owner's rights and limitations to groundwater underneath their land.
The court issued its decision on Edwards Aquifer Authority v. Day on February 24 after two years of deliberations, stating land ownership includes an interest in groundwater in place that cannot be taken for public use without adequate compensation.
The court wrote in its decision that a landowner does indeed have a constitutionally protected ownership interest in water underneath their land, similar to rights for oil, gas and minerals.
"Whether groundwater can be owned in place is an issue we have never decided," the court wrote. "But we held long ago that oil and gas are owned in place, and we find no reason to treat groundwater differently."
The lawsuit centered on challenges to the Edwards Aquifer Authority (EAA), which regulates groundwater production from the Edwards Aquifer, the main water source for central Texas. The EAA had argued that a landowner does not own the water underneath the land until the water is brought to the surface and possession is taken.
The court also determined the EAA has the power to regulate groundwater production, but it must consider factors other than just historical use.
Groundwater is a major source of water in Texas, providing about 60 percent of the 16.1 million acre-feet of water used in the state, according to the Texas Water Development Board.


I have read a lot of social media posts lately on the topic of shock collars. Specifically, proponents claim that:
Modern shock collars do not cause pain. It is a mild tingle, a tickle. It is very much like a tens machine used by physiotherapists to heal people. Like the wee little pop of carpet static, the reaction is startle and not pain. This idea is substantiated with statistics. Bark collars, at 0.0003 joules are far gentler than an abdominal energizer – coming in at 0.914 joules of energy.
Here's the problem with joules and volts. You can't say, "This amount of shock will kill you." It's complicated.
For example, consider the follow three people who were shocked:
A Construction worker wearing insulated boots touches household wire feels a mild tingle.
B Homeowner standing barefoot on a wet bathroom floor touches household wire dies.
C Child is shocked with 20,000 volts and giggles. (Carpet static…it can kill you.)
Thankfully, carpet static doesn't kill people because the duration is too short and most of the charge dissipates through the air before it reaches you. Make no mistake, it is powerful. Much lower voltage can be more dangerous. There are some generally accepted levels, in amps, from Georgia University, and it includes information on the physiological effects at different levels – such as can't let go effect, and serious health concerns.
The construction worker had protection in the form of insulating boots. Unlike the homeowner with wet bare feet, who was a serious accident waiting to happen. And yet the volts on those two were the same.
That's what makes this whole shock collar debate interesting and complex. Knowing whether shock hurts is a challenging question. How is shock pain measured?
Researchers involved in pain studies use amps. So I went back to lessons from high school to try to sort through the confusion. I can remember the teacher saying:
 "It's the AMPS that kill. It's the AMPS that hurt."
Amps are calculated using Ohm's Law. Amps = Volts / Resistance
Think of electricity like a water hose. Volts are your water pressure. Resistance is the dirt that's gotten clogged in the hose. It will slow down pressure. So will holes in the hose that let water escape. Amps is the "oomph" you have at the end of the hose when all is said and done. There is a profound difference between the dribble of a clogged garden hose and the gush of a fire hose putting out a fire. The blast from a pressure washer has got to sting, but I'm not about to volunteer to try that out. Really, it doesn't matter how much water is going in the hose. It's about how much oomph is coming out.
That's what Ohm's law is about. You have power going into a wire. Maybe some dissipates into the air. Maybe there is some resistance, something getting in the way of the current like skin or hair. Maybe the wire is high quality and really lets that current flow strong. These impact the amount of amperage.
If you have all the information, the voltage, the way the product is made and the resistance, then you could do math calculations. That's a bit tricky and presumes that the information is readily available.
Or, you can look it up.
How many amps hurt? Amperage, at this level is usually written in milliamps, or one thousandth of an amp. Researchers involved in pain research, often use shock to cause pain. For example, they shock subjects and measure how much pain the individual can handle. Then, they might give pain medications, re-shocking the individual to see if the drugs were effective. The following is a list of pain thresholds taken from a sampling of pain studies.
Painful would mean, "It hurts." Threshold means, "The subject absolutely cannot take anymore."
Sensation Level in Milliamps (mA)
Painful 0.15 – 2.0
Threshold (can't take anymore) Study 1 0.5
Threshold (can't take anymore) Study 2 0.90 – 7.35
Animal tail twitch studies 0.2 – 0.8
Why do we have pain thresholds for animals? Pain medications are tested on animals. So researchers need to know how much pain an animal will tolerate. These are tail twitch studies.
How many amps do shock collars deliver? It's a tough number to find, but a few retailers and pro-shock education sites do offer numbers..
Source Level in Miliamps (mA)
Christiansen Study 400
Shalke Study 800 – 1250
Website sales site 20
Shock collar education site 7 to 40-80
Shock collar proponents state that modern electronic training systems are gentler than older versions. Christiansen and Shalke are older studies. I'll concede that point and remove them. How do shock collars stack up against the pain research numbers in a graph, using milliamps?
shock collar chart
Do shock collars hurt? It's a complex question.
Where amps are concerned, all I can do is work with the numbers that are publicly available. I can chart the numbers from pain studies. "This many amps hurt." I can look up the number of amps in shock collars and chart them. Then I can look up other devices that are often compared to shock collars.
Let the numbers do the talking. Of course, I'm always open to more data. Heck, I'll even wear one. But for now, these are the numbers. If 2 milliamps can pain during a study, then how can 7, 20, 40 or 80 feel like a tickle? What do the numbers say to you?
Update: June 11, 2013
Radio systems references the amps on "modern" training collars. It directs people to a study that claims that the collars run from 30 to 80 mA. These numbers are from a report, direct from the manufacturer. (Page 3) Another section of the same report, references 100 mA. As with all the other shock collar data, taken from a pro-shock reference.
Update: July 3, 2013
I welcome additional statistics, and have openly stated I would like to see data from the shock collar trainers and sales reps that have commented. Some said they were contacting the company directly. See below in the comments. Nothing yet and not surprised. Still open to getting the full range of amps on collars under a variety of conditions. Dry, wet, salt water.


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Impatiens macroptera is a more or less erect, perennial herb that can grow 20 - 40cm tall, occasionally to 50cm. The stems can be simple or branched about the base[
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food and medicine.
West tropical Africa - eastern Nigeria, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon.
Humid shaded rain-forest, forest margins; at elevations from 200 - 1,350 metres[
Leaves - cooked and eaten as a vegetable[
The leaves are used to produce a vegetable salt[
The leaves are eaten as a cure for heart troubles and illnesses caused by evil spirits[
The leaves are used to make poultices and dressings to treat wounds and sores and to alleviate all kinds of painful conditions[
The flavonoids procyanidin and prodelphidin have been isolated from the sepals and petals[
If you have any useful information about this plant, please leave a comment. Comments have to be approved before they are shown here.


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A ball whooshes down a slide and hits another ball which flies off
the slide horizontally as a projectile. How far does it go?
How high will a ball taking a million seconds to fall travel?
A weekly challenge: these are shorter problems aimed at Post-16 students or enthusiastic younger students.
Suppose we have a pool table without pockets and with side lengths $a$ and $2b$. The ball is placed at point A.
1) Find four different angles for the ball to get back to the same point A.
2) Find four possible angles for the ball to go to the point D.
3) This is a bit more challenging question. Find four different angles in each situation 1) and 2) if we have the same pool table but with pocket. The ball starts to move from the point A which is just in front of the pocket.
State any assumptions that you make.


to a culture is not as simple as imitating it. The global luxury powerhouse has not earned its place to adopt the self-deprecating aesthetic that characterizes Tu Cool.
In contrast, Airbnb takes a journey down the heritage trail with consumers. Its "Lost & Found" campaign features intimate stories shared by more than 40 artisans from various cities and regions, in a documentary that explores the human side behind handicrafts and the importance of intangible cultural heritage. In this process, the brand becomes the driving force in the preservation and celebration of Chinese heritage, rather than simply leaving its mark by superfluous association.
China Chic in the digital age
Coca Cola created the 'Care' font for the Chinese market, an initiative meant to convey the important values in the Chinese culture.
Credit: Foundertype
China Chic is on the threshold of transformation. The members of Gen Z, who are more interested in the present and future of China's growth and global influence, are expressing their cultural identity differently, leaning toward values that reflect the experiences of their own generation.
Here is a generation who have grown up in an era of constant change, innovation and progress; and these youths are negotiating an authentic Chinese identity that distinguishes them from the western influences that they have had throughout their lives. They seek original and nuanced expressions that are not based solely on their cultural heritage, but also reflect individual experiences, as Chinese Gen Z become more vocal in contemporary issues like sustainability, equality, or social change.
Brands like Coca Cola discovered alternative ways to culturally connect with their young audience through their newfound values. In celebration of Coca-Cola's return to the Chinese market 40 years ago, the beverage giant created the 'Care' font, whose brushstrokes symbolize important elements in Chinese culture, including harmony, strength, responsibility, ease and progress, indicating Coca-Cola's solidarity and integration into Chinese society as a global company.
Dior's retro-futuristic pop-up concept in Chengdu.
Credit: Jing Daily
An emerging aesthetic that reflects Gen Z's progressive values is the "Digitized China Chic (数字中国风 shùzì zhōngguó fēng)", a term coined by netizens to describe a style that fuses technology, futurist fashions and traditional Chinese patterns. The wildly eclectic mix cyberpunk look and traditional Chinese architecture that has been trending on social media is nothing short of stunning. The same can be said of a similar retro-futurism that permeates Dior's pop-up concept in Chengdu, where a giant robot rises against a backdrop of sleek skyscrapers and ancient temples.
The digitally savvy Gen Z also take pride in the 'Cultural Export' (文化输出 wénhuà shūchū) of China Chic, resulting in a wave of 'China Chic Going Overseas' (国潮出海 guó cháo chūhǎi), a new evolved confidence that has produced a nuanced version of chic to show off to the world. Social media TikTok has put classic Mandarin song Yijianmei at the top of Spotify's charts, spawning memes and viral entertainment among western audiences. Chinese street fashion like the label Sankuanz—the authentic flavor of China's underground and the cool kids that populate it—is coveted by western celebrities, such as Bella Hadid and Billie Ellis.
China Chic will continue to evolve with different generations of consumers, which will likely become more fragmented, diverse and demanding, as the country grows in economic might and cultural influence. A simplistic cultural narrative can no longer work for brands looking for inroads into this massive market, and the time to infiltrate the cultural psyche of her consumers is now.


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Showcase of Amazing Paper Made Artworks and Sculptures
Paper is a medium that most of us only use for jotting down our ideas and writing down notes, and think that there is no other use of paper except writing. However, some imaginative artists out there have created spectacular pieces of artwork out of paper. They refer to it as Paper Craft or Paper Artwork.
We have already published a post about Awesome Works of Art Made From Paper and that was greatly appreciated by our readers. Now we have gathered another great collection of Amazing Paper Made Artworks and Sculptures.
This post is meant to pay accolade to those artists who have created such phenomenal pieces of artwork. All the examples presented in this post have been created only by using papers from delicate cut outs to the most comprehensive and realistic models. Enjoy!
WanRayenPaper Modeling
This paper artwork looks so realistic that your brain struggles to grasp whether you are looking at a piece of paper created art or an actual photograph.
A most beautiful example of paper art, demonstrating the appropriate use of colors to give the work a real unique and appealing look.
This is truly amazing to see how paper can be used to fabricate such a huge sculpture.
A beautiful and colorful vase made out of papers. See how wonderfully the artist has added the necessary detail.
Quilling in a fishbowl
A hard type of paper is used in this artwork to express the hard nature of the fishbowl.
Paper Lantern Art
A beautiful example of a paper lantern creation that looks so imaginative and attractive.
The artist has taken special care with the folds and light indentions in the paper to craft this beautiful paper sculpture of a lion.
This piece was made with great concentration and skill as the artist carefully carved the words from the paper to preserve the integrity and flow of the letters.
See how creatively paper is used to portray the perfect shape of a sunflower.
Paper Quilling Doily
This piece is an amazing example of the intricate and delicate nature of working with paper as your medium, demonstrating another wonderful way in which artists use it.
This one is an epic masterpiece among the collection. Using over 20 books to carve and arrange an artistic and transformative spectacle.
Here the artist molded and folded their way to a scene that is a little bit rock 'n' roll, and a whole lot of artistry.
The Roots of Heaven
The artist of this spectacular cut out was devoted enough to pay close attention to even the minute details in this piece.
O Ero He'll Fight (Detail)
This next piece is an abstract creation with layers upon intricate layers of creepy cut outs that give the work an underlying wave of discomfort even with its somewhat whimsical appearance.
Out of Narnia
How beautifully a carved sculpture is created and springs to life purely from the pages of the book from which they have come.
In this piece, the artist has tried to portray the ninth day of Dasara and has wonderfully and playfully succeeded.
In this piece we see a a beautiful girl wearing a retro looking skirt and top with long curly hair all crafted purely with paper.
You will surely be amazed with this piece featuring a truly innovative artist's creativity and limitless thinking. Here an entire dress has been crafted from paper alone.
Mr. Ivo Opstelten
This is yet another masterpiece of paper work. See how wonderfully the facial lines are created to give it a more realistic look. So much character is given to the piece.
Here is a sad owl sitting on a branch of a tree for you to see how imaginatively you can use paper in paper artwork.
Toilet Roll Face
Here the artist has ingeniously made use of toilet rolls to create a realistic face by careful folding and scrunching the paper.
Holding on to myself
In this artwork, see how the artist has imaginatively used paper to create this illusion, as if the person is holding on to himself.
McKimens has successfully brought cartoon drawings to life via hand-drawn and colored sculptures out of paper, for example; clapped-out old truck.
This piece is one of the most vividly colored in the showcase. Such a cheerful and celebratory tone exudes from this paper made creation.
Another creative and brilliant example of paper sculpture that looks as if it is made up of feathers.
Girl with Dog
A detail oriented and meticulous paper sculpture of a dog which fashionably fits with his owner.
Life Size Onitsuka Tiger
It is inspiring to see how paper sculpture can be used to fashion a life sized portrayal one of the toughest creatures in the world.
Under the cedar
Another beautiful example of colorful paper art work where the artist has playfully crafted a businessman sitting on the bench.
This is simply astonishing to see how the feeling of love and affection can also be depicted through the pieces of papers.
These beautiful and refreshing flowers made out of simple colored papers are enough to please your eyes with their beauty, and stimulate your mind with their complex construct.
3 spine concertina – single sheet zero waste
This artwork shows that a complete 3 spine concertina can be created without wasting a single piece of paper.
In this simple and poignant piece, the artist has crafted a nativity scene from paper sculptures.
Beautiful paper lanterns of different colors and shapes are created purely with papers.
Mr. Chop: Sounds from the Cave 12″ EP
This is such a creative display of paper artwork skills featuring a complete music system made of papers.
Paper is folded and twisted with special care to breathe life into this sculpture of the mythical hippocampus.
This paper art work delightfully represents a group of pigeons that have just started their flight from the ground.
Paper Wall Art
A stunning and impressive wall piece created out of papers only.
Buscando a la serpiente
Don't get tempted with its soft and wavy look because this sculpture is made up of nothing but the papers.
Paper book necklace
As a little something different, here we have a highly unique approach to jewelry using paper art in the process.
Quilling paper picture Flowers
Although this would not be difficult at all to discern as paper, it is still such a compelling and alluring piece of quilled paper art.
About the Author
Nousheen Aquil is a web graphic designer. She loves photography, drawing and painting. She also is a contributing member of WebdesignCore, a platform that focuses on free web resources and inspiration for designers and developers.


This device originally developed for covert operations is now made available for the public to use. Each earpiece kit can provide a way for you to transmit and receive audio information without anybody in the room knowing. Whether you want to receive pre-recorded messages or information from another party to assist you during your presentation / interview or speech, the earpiece can be set up with your phone, audio recorder, radio, or MP3 player to send the message to your earpiece, placed in your ear channel so that it is undetectable.. All kits also include a built in microphone so that you can engage in 2 way conversation should you wish
So how does it work?
The key is the inductive transmitter that will transmit audio from a phone / mp3 player to the earpiece. The transmitter itself is available in many forms. For example the transmitter may be included within a neckloop to be worn around the users neck, this may connect to your phone or mp3 player via its earphone socket. Or you may have a Bluetooth are often included in everyday objects such as a pair of glasses, a Pen or even a bluetooth watch. The transmitter acts as the aerial for reception and signal transmitter from phone to earpiece. At the same time, output sound picked up by the tiny microphone attached to the neckloop / pen / glasses is sent through your phone just as if the user is talking directly into it.
How to Use The Spy Earpiece?
Depending on what kind of information you wish to receive the earpiece can be set up to suit. For example during a presentation or speech you may wish to pre-record your speech or presentation on an mp3 player, then play it back to yourself during the presentation / speech. Or simply record a simple prompt for each point you would like to make. You could then connect up your mp3 player to an inductive neckloop included in most earpiece kits, and wear a spy earpiece. So long as the battery is inserted into the earpiece you will hear the audio from your mp3 player in the earpiece.
Alternatively you may prefer to have a team prepped in another room to assist you during your speech. This can be achieved by simply starting a mobile phone conversation with your team just before the speech starts. You would then need to either connect an inductive neckloop to the headphone output of your phone, or pair your phone with a bluetooth induction neckloop / pen / glasses. Insert the earpiece into your ear making sure the battery is inserted correctly. Your team should be able to hear your speech in real time over the phone, and can give you tips in your earpiece along the way. The same may apply in an interview situation, you may wish to have a third party issue you advice during your interview.
Each Inductive transmitter whether it be a neckloop or a bluetooth device like a pen, glasses or bluetooth neckloop, will also include a built in microphone so you can also talk back to your colleagues should you wish during your speech / presentation or interview.
Lets not forget the original intention of the Spy Earpiece which is for security and covert surveillance. The Spy Earpiece excels in these situations where the requirement is for a security operative to communicate covertly.
The key to success is in the careful planning and preparation so that everything runs smooth.
The way I see it, when the challenge is great and the results mean everything, why not try the Spy Earpiece and take the risk out of the equation?
Source -Â _URL_


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The objective was to gain an overview of researchers experiences of searching the literature, with particular reference to the use of optimal search strategies (OSSs) and searching for qualitative research studies. A 13-item semi-structured questionnaire investigating search behaviour was distributed to members of the Cochrane Qualitative Methods Network. Follow-up interviews were conducted with a subset of respondents to explore issues raised and clarify points of ambiguity. Findings were analysed using data reduction, data displays and verification techniques. Eighty-six per cent of distributed questionnaires were returned. All respondents reported searching electronic databases as part of their literature search, with 80% expressing a preference for searching alone or with colleagues. Forty-one per cent indicated that they consider a database search to be only one aspect of a comprehensive literature search. The rigour and availability of OSSs was a concern for 30% of respondents. Twenty-five per cent of respondents had searched for qualitative studies, although the difficulty of locating this type of literature was considered problematic because of the varied use of the term 'qualitative'. Whilst the majority of respondents reported using OSSs in some capacity, reservations were expressed about their ability to facilitate a comprehensive search. Replies indicated a belief that OSSs can reduce the sensitivity of a search, and might limit the breadth of coverage required. A greater appreciation of the availability and purpose of OSSs—including the ability to optimize either sensitivity or recall—is needed if this enhanced approach to accurate data retrieval and potential improvement in time management is to become widespread
To submit an update or takedown request for this paper, please submit an Update/Correction/Removal Request.


This Short Film Will Tell You What Humans Have Done To The Earth
Humans have changed the natural landscape of the earth dramatically. Cities are not naturally occurring. Humans plow the fields and cut down the rain forests, and build large skyscrapers that are not going anywhere soon. This dramatically changes the landscape. You won't believe what humans have done to the earth.
We have altered the face of the Earth more than any other species, and the pace of change is increasing. We're not the only animals that shape their surroundings. Ants, beavers, and elephants, among other creatures, remake their environments to suit their purposes. But no species has been as thorough or as global about it as humans.
Check out this short film that will tell you what humans have done to the earth:
Source: Steve Cutts.
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Macros are a convenient way to create complex actions in FreeCAD. You simply record actions as you do them, then save that under a name, and replay them whenever you want. Since macros are in reality a list of python commands, you can also edit them, and create very complex scripts.
How it works
If you enable console output (Menu Edit -> Preferences -> General -> Macros -> Show scripts commands in python console), you will see that in FreeCAD, every action you do, such as pressing a button, outputs a python command. Thos commands are what can be recorded in a macro. The main tool for making macros is the macros toolbar:. On it you have 4 buttons: Record, stop recording, edit and play the current macro.
It is very simple to use: Press the record button, you will be asked to give a name to your macro, then perform some actions. When you are done, click the stop recording button, and your actions will be saved. You can now access the macro dialog with the edit button:
There you can manage your macros, delete, edit or create new ones from scratch. If you edit a macro, it will be opened in an editor window where you can make changes to its code.
Press the record button, give a name, let's say "cylinder 10x10", then, in the Part Workbench, create a cylinder with radius = 10 and height = 10. Then, press the "stop recording" button. In the edit macros dialog, you can see the python code that has been recorded, and, if you want, make alterations to it. To execute your macro, simply press the execute button on the toolbar while your macro is in the editor. You macro is always saved to disk, so any change you make, or any new macro you create, will always be available next time you start FreeCAD.
Of course it is not practical to load a macro in the editor in order to use it. FreeCAD provides much better ways to use your macro, such as assigning a keyboard shortcut to it or putting an entry in the menu. Once your macro is created, all this can be done via the Tools -> Customize menu:
This way you can make your macro become a real tool, just like any standard FreeCAD tool. This, added to the power of python scripting within FreeCAD, makes it possible to easily add your own tools to the interface. Read on to the Scripting page if you want to know more about python scripting...
Creating macros without recording
You can also directly copy/paste python code into a macro, without recording GUI action. Simply create a new macro, edit it, and paste your code. You can then save your macro the same way as you save a FreeCAD document. Next time you start FreeCAD, the macro will appear under the "Installed Macros" item of the Macro menu.
Visit the Macros recipes page to pick some useful macros to add to your FreeCAD installation.


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The Fall lectures are being planned in a hybrid online and in-person format. Please register here.
The Center for Italian Studies is pleased to host a lecture by Professor Jessica Harris of St. John's University, titled:
'Permettereste a vostro figlio di sposare Lola?': Latent Fascism, American Culture, and Blackness in Postwar Italy
The end of the Second World War marked a new beginning for Italy as the country sought to transition from Fascism to a modern, industrialized Republic, distancing itself from the racialized and xenophobic discourses of its totalitarian past. An important aspect of this desired transformation was the notion of race, particularly how Italians understood Blackness in their country and its relation to Italian national identity. Contributing to Italians' understanding was the notable presence of African American men and women in Italian cultural productions—film, television, and fashion—in the decades following the war. This lecture examines the Italian film and television career of African American singer, dancer, and actress Lola Falana, analyzing the intersection of race, gender, and American cultural capital in a country noted for its "colonial unconscious." This mental state allowed for the racist discourse and discriminatory practices from the Fascist era to persist in the new Republic. However, the ongoing Cold War and strong attraction of American popular culture in Italy granted Falana a certain cultural capital, allowing her to be depicted in a rather progressive way in comparison to her female African counterparts. But, she still did not escape the denigrating racialized stereotypes and rhetoric of Italian colonialism. Drawing on Italian visual media and African American and Italian print archival material, the lecture illustrates how Falana represents American cultural imperialism yet latent Fascist colonial racist rhetoric.
Jessica L. Harris is a scholar of African-American History, 20th century U.S. and the World, Black Europe, Women's History, and Modern Italy, with a particular interest in gender and race, their intersection with material culture, and the subsequent effect on group identities. Her current book project is a transnational cultural history on race and gender relations in Italy and the United States. Placing women at the center of analysis, the book employs the methodological approaches of critical race studies, cultural studies, gender studies, and post-colonial studies to examine the presence of African American women in 20th century Italian television, film, music, and fashion.
Originally published at italianstudies.nd.edu.


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During the calendar months of April to September, many localities can experience periods of hot weather, when ambient air temperatures exceed 85°F. In many cases. hot weather can cause your air-cooled and water-cooled liquid chillers to decline in performance, and in some cases, not work at all.
The technical reason that this occurs is the design value of the chiller is exceeded during hot weather. Advantage chillers are designed to provide full capacity up to 95°F for air-cooled chillers and 85°F for water-cooled chillers.
There are some simple things that you can do to keep your chiller operating near full capacity when the ambient air temperatures exceeds the chiller's designed capacity.Air-Cooled Chillers
1. Keep the condenser coil clean.
2. Keep proper air circulation around the chiller. At least 4'-6' of clearance for the air inlet and discharge.
3. Keep adequate ventilation in the plant.
4. Keep good maintenance on the the fan, blowers and motors.Water-Cooled Chillers
1. Keep proper GPM through the condenser, at least 3 GPM at 20 PSI per ton.
2. Keep the condenser clean by preventing debris and biological growth from clogging the small tubes.
3. Keep the condenser water regulating valve (if equipped) is good maintenance.
More information is available on our web site at FYI #274
. If you have any questions, please call the Advantage Service Department at _PHONE_.


The Fundamentals Of Working day Buying and selling
Working day investing, as the identify indicates, usually means investing-getting and promoting-the stocks on the very same investing day. The investing positions, typically however not constantly, are shut prior to the industry closes for the buying and selling day.
Day investing is different from afterhours trading exactly where the buying and selling activity proceeds even right after the typical advertising hours when the inventory exchange closes.
Sellers and buyers who take part in day buying and selling are named working day traders. While working day buying and selling evokes the picture of a frantic trading activity in course of the investing day, it may not be so in actual observe. You may perhaps make numerous trades, say a dozen, in study course of a trading day, or, you may possibly restrict by yourself to just one trade.
You may well, in some conditions, just invest in a stock on a person working day and sell it on the following working day, if you think that marketing it on the same day would not prove profitable. There is no lawful restriction this kind of as that you must complete off your investing activity the exact same working day. You could, at the most, have to pay out some differential on brokerage if you carry your trade to the up coming day.
In typical follow, traders generally tend to near their investing positions by the end of the similar investing working day. In any scenario your buying and selling frequency is dependent entirely on your buying and selling system for that individual day, or, your standard trading design and outlook.
There are traders who emphasis on quite small or short time period buying and selling. They complete off their trades in a matter of couple minutes or even seconds. Such traders invest in and market many situations a day and usually their trades consist of superior volumes. They are the favorites of the brokers who reward them with large discount rates on commissions.
Some traders, however, do not hanker following lessened brokerages. aim on momentum or trends of the stock movement. They are quite affected person throughout their hold out for a powerful move, which may possibly happen for the duration of the trading working day. Naturally these working day traders make only a few trades.
There are traders who choose to promote off their shares ahead of the near of the industry day to steer clear of the hazards arising out of the cost gaps among the closing rate on the day they bought a stock and its opening selling price on the following working day. They contemplate this practice as a golden rule and abide by it almost religiously.
Other traders think in allowing the profits to run so they continue to be with the situation even just after the marketplace closes.
As reported before, the variety of trades you make on a investing day is dependent upon your investing style or trading methods.
Earnings and risks in day buying and selling
Working day traders make rapid bucks and also rapid losses in a subject of minutes or at the conclude of the investing working day. Working day investing may possibly evoke the visions of gamblers gaming in casinos. There is, nonetheless, a marked variation concerning day investing and gambling.
Though, you can not make any calculated moves or devise any intelligent methods in gambling, except when you are out to cheat many others, working day trading includes incredibly critical comprehending of the process of investing.
You examine the general marketplace tendencies and the motion of the stocks. You make elementary and technological analysis and maintain on your own abreast of the latest news flashes about the shares of the firms that you trade in and much far more.
Working day investing is not playing a blind man's buff or just throwing away a dice. You have to be quite warn and cautious before just about every go. It would, thus, be unfair to connect with working day traders gamblers or bandits as some annoyed losers in day trading are apt to do.
Skilled and intuitive traders crank out big percentage of returns from working day buying and selling. Some inventory traders manage to mint hundreds of thousands for every calendar year exclusively on the working day trading. A massive range of individuals have correctly manufactured working day investing a sole avenue of building their livelihood.
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www geocities com sedona psychics
Children's Legal Constitutionally Supported Respect for Life Search engine Results Manipulation School Paradigmal Choreography Phenomenon.
Children's search engine results manipulation school.
Children's legal synchronous search engine results manipulation modulation
is a respect for life strategy that allows young people to
create a better future than the one their parents created.
The ultimate disruptive technology has already become children's immortality education done internetedly
because it requires people to stop pretending that they care
and actually create life preserving solutions, real miracles, together.
Yes, everyone.
That does include you, by the way! As children are awakened into this respect for life phenomenon, interneted,
they won't be fooled by fake parents or teachers,
police, psychologists, or preachers or anyone really.
Their innate truth, love. clarity, and heightened intutitive aptitude does protect them
from your old paradigm gaming modality.
Schools, internationally, will get renovated by children's higher respect for life integrity
, synchronized psychically aka beehiviour.
They will spread this goodness among themselves and eventually raise
their parents into reality.
Blessed Events are Intentional...right there in your heart center. April 21 2008
"robert ray hedges" truth love clarity from Clusty April 23, 2008 Clusty April 21, 2008
These Last Shall be First!
Children's search engine results manipulation school.
setstats 1


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S. 13.2. – "The Last Ice Age": The trade in natural ice as an agent of modernisation and economic integration in the 19th and early 20th century
Chair: Per G. Norseng (the Norwegian Maritime Museum / the University of South-Eastern Norway) // Discussant: Ingo Heidbrink (Old Dominion University)
Eyvind Bagle/Knut M. Nygaard (Norwegian Maritime Museum / University of South-Eastern Norway) – Norwegian ice from "Nature's Factory" over the seas: Production and shipping of natural ice
Ben Jennings/Effie Dorovitsa (Blaydes Maritime Centre, University of Hull) – Natural ice as a driver for modernisation – Britain and France
Ingo Heidbrink (Old Dominion University, Norfolk Virginia) – Domestic Production or Import of natural ice? The example of the ice supply for the German distant water fisheries before the introduction of artificial ice production.


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asuring Mission (TRMM) Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis (TMPA) 3B43 monthly product, and the Integrated Multi-satellitE Retrievals for Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission (IMERG) Final Run monthly product. In each case the multi-satellite data are averaged to the monthly scale and combined with the Global Precipitation Climatology Centre's (GPCC) monthly surface precipitation gauge analysis (see _URL_ In each case the multi-satellite data are adjusted to the large-area mean of the gauge analysis, where available (mostly over land), and then combined with the gauge analysis using a simple inverse estimated-random-error variance weighting. In all three data sets the gauge analysis has an important or dominant role in determining the final combined value for grid boxes in areas with "good" gauge coverage. Regions with poor gauge coverage, such as central Africa have a higher weight on the satellite input. The oceans are mostly devoid of gauges and therefore mostly lack such gauge input.
Q2: How closely related are the short-interval multi-satellite precipitation datasets to the monthly satellite-gauge combined precipitation datasets?
A2: The short-interval GPCP is the One-Degree Daily (1DD), the short-interval TMPA is 3B42 (which is 3-hourly), and the short-interval IMERG is the half-hourly. In each case the short-interval data are adjusted with a simple, spatially varying ratio to force the multi-satellite estimates to approximately average up to the corresponding monthly product, although with controls on the ratios to prevent unphysical results. Thus, monthly-average values for the short-interval data should be close to the mean values for the monthly datasets, which the developers consider more reliable than the short-interval datasets. In fact, compared to datasets that lack the adjustment to the monthly satellite-gauge estimates, the 1DD, 3B42, and IMERG Final half-hourly datasets tend to score better at timescales longer than a few days. This is presumably because the random error begins to cancel out as more samples are averaged together, while the bias error remains.
Bolvin, D.T., R.F. Adler, G.J. Huffman, E.J. Nelkin, J.P. Poutiainen, 2009: Comparison of GPCP Monthly and Daily Precipitation Estimates with High-Latitude Gauge Observations. J. Appl. Meteor. Climatol., 48(9), 1843–1857.
GPM project data sets, including the Core Observatory and constellation partner sensor data sets, national data sets, including multi-satellite data sets, have been released to the public and are available for download now (click here to see a table of GPM data products). These initial releases are being computed for the GPM era (February 2014 to present) using pre-launch calibrations.
Subsequently, a general reprocessing will upgrade the algorithms to fully GPM-based calibrations. This is scheduled to occur in September 2015 for Core Observatory and partner data sets, and in January 2016 for the U.S. multi-satellite algorithm (Integrated Multi-Satellite Retrievals for GPM; IMERG). After about a year of additional development work, the data sets will be retrospectively processed back to the start of TRMM (January 1998).
The resolution of Level 0, 1, and 2 data is determined by the footprint size and observation interval of the sensors involved. Level 3 products are given a grid spacing that is driven by the typical footprint size of the input data sets. See the table of GPM & TRMM Data Downloads for details on the resolution of each specific product.
There are several sources for downloading and viewing data which allow you to subset the data by longitude and latitude. These include the Simple Subset Wizard, Giovanni and STORM. In the new Giovanni 4 you can also now obtain data for a specific country, U.S. state, or watershed by using the "Show Shapes" option in the "Select Region" pane
The transition from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) data products to the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission products has begun. The TMPA products will be replaced by the Integrated Multi-satellitE Retrievals for GPM (IMERG) products. It is tentatively planned to continue computing the TMPA products throughout the transition, into Spring 2017. Click here for more details on this transition. Click here for more details on this transition.
GPM data products can be divided into two groups (real-time and production) depending on how soon they are created after the satellite collects the observations. For applications such as weather, flood, and crop forecasting that need precipitation estimates as soon as possible, real-time data products are most appropriate. GPM real-time products are generally available within a few hours of observation. For all other applications, production data products are generally the best data sets to use because additional or improved inputs are used to increase accuracy. These other inputs are only made available several days, or in some cases, several months, after the satellite observations are taken, and the production data sets are computed after all data have arrived, making possible a more careful analysis.
The TRMM FTP has a Climatology directory which contains files in the TRMM Composite Climatology developed by Wang, Adler, Huffman, and Bolvin. A journal article on this topic is available here:_URL_ Pre-generated world maps of TRMM climatology data are also available here.
For any given data TMPA data set, each data value provides a precipitation rate based on one (or perhaps two) satellite snapshots during the TMPA's 3-hour analysis period. IMERG values are based on a single snapshot during its half-hour analysis period, or a morphed interpolation if no microwave values are available. The values are expressed in the intensive units mm/hr; it is usually best to assume that this rate applies for the entire 3- or half-hour period. If you wish to regrid to a finer time and/or space grid, note that many interpolation schemes have the property of suppressing maxima in precipitation and expanding rain events into neighboring zero-amount periods.
The GPM satellite constellation observes precipitation as it is falling, and maintains a database of precipitation records dating back to 1998. GPM is primarily focused on obtaining the highest quality precipitation measurements and studying fundamental atmospheric processes, and thus we do not focus on forecasting or predicting the weather. However, the near-real-time data collected by GPM is ingested into computer models by operational agencies such as the NWS and the ECMWF, who use it to improve their weather forecasts. Please visit the NWS and ECMWF websites for further information:
Although the TRMM satellite is no longer in service, the 3B42 series of algorithms will continue to be run using other satellites in the constellation to produce data products that are consistent with the long-term records. The current plan is to continue production into mid-2018 to give users time to transition to the newer IMERG multi-satellite data products. For more details about the status of 3B42 (and 3B42RT) and the transition to IMERG, please refer to this document: _URL_
First locate the data product that meets your needs, then look to the "Format" column to find the appropriate link to download data in your desired format.
In general, GPM data products are named using the following format:
[algorithm level].[satellite].[instrument].[algorithm name].[year / month / date].[data start time hr/min/sec UTC].[data end time UTC].[sequence indicator showing orbit # (L2) or day/month (L3)].[algorithm version].[data format]
This is a Level 2A product, using the GPM satellite's GMI sensor, using the "GPROF 2008" algorithm, showing data from Novemeber 1st 2013 starting at 23:51:52 UTC and ending at 01:24:00 UTC, orbit number 352, using version 03C of the algorithm, in HDF5 format.
For a more detailed explanation of GPM file naming conventions, please refer to the following document: File Naming Convention for Precipitation Products For the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Mission
The GPROF retrieval uses all the GMI channels, but these channels are recorded by multiple feed horns on the instrument, which produce data with slightly different geolocations that are systematically offset from each other. Thus, only the region with overlapping data can support GPROF retrievals. The Core Observatory data are downlinked via the NASA Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) communications satellite system to the NASA White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico, and networked to PPS at NASA/Goddard as 5-minute packets. So, for GPROF to create retrievals across the entire granule, the previous and following granules are required to give all the channels over a packet's entire area of coverage. And, to satisfy the need for "real time" production, the retrieval is run no more than 11 minutes after the last observation time. (The maximum delay was recently adjusted to accommodate changes in GPROF run times.)
Episodically, the Core Observatory is out of sight of the TDRSS satellites. Depending on orbital details


Ask Jack: Does Dictating When An Employee Must Work Create A Litigation Risk?
By Jack McCalmon, The McCalmon Group, Inc.
Dear Jack:
I own a small business. Our employees worked from home during the first year of the pandemic, but now we want to get back to the workplace. Do I run a risk if I require some employees to come to work, but allow others to remain working from home?
Dear Jim:
That's a good question.
Where an employee works is an opportunity of employment. Employers must distribute such opportunities equally.
For example, if only employees under 40 can make the choice where to work, you run the risk of an age discrimination charge. If you only require female employees to work outside the office, you run the risk of a gender discrimination claim.
A well-written job description is an important tool to help prevent discrimination claims related to opportunities of employment. A job description should describe the duties as well as the mental, physical, and emotional requirements of a position. A job description should also state where an employee has to work to accomplish his or her duties effectively.
Through a job description, you are declaring that the job determines where an employee must work.
For instance, a "customer attendant" job description may require customer attendants to work at a facility to better interact with customers. However, a job description of "bookkeeper" may allow a person to connect online from home.
Always consult your local employment counsel when creating a workplace policy.


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Yup, it's kinda strange and most of the time, it happens without us even realising. But if this new study is anything to go by, the whole mirroring each other thing might actually be worth consciously putting into practice – at least as far as our relationships are concerned.
A team of Israeli scientists conducted a series of four experiments, looking at how people interacted while working out on stationary bikes. In the first two, the participants (who were unknown to each other) were asked to recount a neutral or positive event (like a job promotion) while they each took turns listening.
Afterwards, the researchers measured their synchronicity by looking at the speeds they pedalled and how they rated their partner's empathy and responsiveness. They found that moving in sync significantly increased their rapport and connectedness.
The second two experiments involved romantic couples. In one, they listened to the sound of footsteps (both coordinated and uncoordinated) whilst simultaneously imagining themselves walking next to their loved one. In the other, they breathed in and out at the same time as their S.O and then described a sexual fantasy. After both experiments, they rated how intimate they felt they were with their partner.
Curiously, they found that being in sync directly related to feelings of closeness and greater sexual desire. The reason for this, experts say, is two-fold:
"Not only can synchrony affect the development of closeness between strangers, but it may also boost levels of intimacy in ongoing relationships," one of the study's co-authors, Girut E. Birnbaum, explained.
"Within this context, synchrony can signify unity between partners, thereby generating an atmosphere ripe for reciprocal exchanges of intimacy that may further intensify the emotional bond between them. Even nonverbal displays of synchrony during ordinary activities in everyday lives can deepen the experience of closeness and sexual desire between partners."


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The Mekko chart below shows some of the entities affected by large data breaches. The entities are organized in columns based on their category and the width of the column represents the number of records affected. Each entity is represented by a segment in a column and the area of the segment is proportional to the number of records affected.
This chart was built using the Aploris data visualization add-in for PowerPoint. Use Aploris to efficiently build engaging, insightful business charts


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A special "Thank You" to those who attended "A Taste of Ethiopia," January 26, 2020.
The Corvallis Sister Cities Association-Gondar Council is so thankful to the many friends and members who attended this recent Sunday evening. Your many years of continuous support have made it possible to continue the work in our sister city, Gondar, Ethiopia. In addition, a special acknowledgement also goes out to the many student volunteers who helped serve our guests during this evening of friendships, food and culture. Lastly, a standing ovation goes out to our two cooks, Yodit "Judy" Tadesse and Ligaya DiCosino.
Our Current Mission:
Citizens and city officials from both Corvallis and Gondar have worked jointly to identify mutual goals, which have formed the basis for the Corvallis Sister Cities Association-Gondar's (CSCA-Gondar) work plan. To date, efforts have focused on the following:
- Access to clean drinking water through drilling of wells.
- Restoration and rehabilitation of Gondar's watershed area with extensive tree planting.
- Establishment of a revolving loan program in a rural kebele to provide more opportunities for income generation by the residents.
- Development of a culture of readers with partial funding in a 3-year librarian and literacy training program serving 46 schools in Gondar.
- Improvement in children's learning through usage of classroom materials and professional development of teachers.
- Computer literacy for faculty and students with the creation of a computer classroom, installation of computers, and internet access.
We invite you to learn more about our activities and to become involved with our efforts!
Our Most Recent Work:


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The names chiseled onto city tenement building entrances are often pretty puzzling.
The typical tenement is more than 100 years old. With the original builders long-gone, who can explain where some of these names come from, and why they were chosen?
Like Novelty Court, on Driggs Avenue in Williamsburg. Actually, a little research turned up an explanation: this used to be the site of the Novelty Theater, according to Cinema Treasures, which disappeared from city directories by the 1920s.
A. Segal's (Secal's?) Apartments are also in Williamsburg. But who was A. Segal, and why did he put his first initial and last name on his building?
Blennerhasset sounds like Manhasset, a town in Long Island. I've never seen the name anywhere else but on this tenement near Columbia University.
Who was Frances, and how would she feel about the terrible shape the building named for her is in, on Lexington Avenue in East Harlem?


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Introduction to Survey Quality
- Major sources of survey error, examining the origins of each error source most successful methods for reducing errors from those sources
- Methods most often used in practice for evaluating the effects of the source on total survey error
- Implications of improving survey quality for organizational management and costs
Chapter 1. The Evolution of Survey Process Quality.
1.1 The Concept of a Survey.
1.2 Types of Surveys.
1.3 Brief History of Survey Methodology.
1.4 The Quality Revolution.
1.5 Definitions of Quality and Quality in Statistical Organizations.
1.6 Measuring Quality.
1.7 Improving Quality.
1.8 Quality in a Nutshell.
Chapter 2. The Survey Process and Data Quality.
2.1 Overview of the Survey Process.
2.2 Data Quality and Total Survey Error.
2.3 Decomposing Nonsampling Error into Its Component Parts.
2.4 Gauging the Magnitude of Total Survey Error.
2.5 Mean Squared Error.
2.6 An Illustration of the Concepts.
Chapter 3. Coverage and Nonresponse Error.
3.1 Coverage Error.
3.2 Measures of Coverage Bias.
3.3 Reducing Coverage Bias.
3.4 Unit Nonresponse Error.
3.5 Calculating Response Rates.
3.6 Reducing Nonresponse Bias.
Chapter 4. The Measurement Process and Its Implications for Questionnaire Design.
4.1Components of Measurement Error.
4.2 Errors Arising from the Questionnaire Design.
4.3 Understanding the Response Process.
Chapter 5. Errors Due to Interviewers and Interviewing.
5.1 Role of the Interviewer.
5.2 Interviewer Variability.
5.3 Design Factors that Influence Interviewer Effects.
5.4 Evaluation of Interviewer Performance.
Chapter 6. Data Collection Modes and Associated Errors.
6.1 Modes of Data Collection.
6.2 Decision Regarding Mode.
6.3 Some Examples of Mode Effects.
Chapter 7. Data Processing: Errors and Their Control.
7.1 Overview of Data Processing Steps.
7.2 Nature of Data Processing Error.
7.3 Data Capture Errors.
7.4 Post-Data Capture Editing.
7.6 File Preparation.
7.7 Applications of Continuous Quality Improvement: The Case of Coding.
7.8 Integration Activities.
Chapter 8. Overview of Survey Error Evaluation Methods.
8.1 Purposes of Survey Error Evaluation.
8.2 Evaluation Methods for Designing and Pretesting Surveys.
8.3 Methods for Monitoring and Controlling Data Quality.
8.4 Postsurvey Evaluations.
8.5 Summary of Evaluation Methods.
Chapter 9. Sampling Error.
9.1 Brief History of Sampling.
9.2 Nonrandom Sampling Methods.
9.3 Simple Random Sampling.
9.4 Statistical Inference in the Presence of Nonsampling Errors.
9.5 Other Methods of Random Sampling.
9.6 Concluding Remarks.
Chapter 10.1 Practical Survey Design for Minimizing Total Survey Error.
10.1 Balance Between Cost, Survey Error, and Other Quality Features.
10.2 Planning a Survey for Optimal Quality.
10.3 Documenting Survey Quality.
10.4 Organizational Issues Related to Survey Quality.
LARS E. LYBERG, PhD, is Chief Scientist at Statistics Sweden. They both have co-edited, with others, Measurement Errors in Surveys, Survey Measurement and Process Quality, and Telephone Survey Methodology (all published by Wiley).


text:
1. Insoles made of newspaper (perfect for rainy days!)
Disposable insoles made of a few layers of newspaper are able to preserve the heat inside your shoes. They can also absorb water and sweat.
2. Preserving nail varnish with your breath
Storing nail varnish can be improved with science. After you've done your nails, breathe into the flask with varnish before closing it. Carbon monoxide will replace the air (the air oxidizes the varnish) and the varnish will be liquid for a longer time.
3. Vacuum cleaning through a racket
When you vacuum clean thin fabric curtains, the vacuum cleaner's tube would stick to the curtains because of the high pressure. This slows down the cleaning considerably. To avoid this, use a tennis racket or any other hard grid: put it between the fabric and the vacuum cleaner tube for smooth, fast cleaning.
4. Un-clogging drains with lye and vinegar instead of expensive chemicals
If your bathroom drain is clogged, take a handful of sodium carbonate and pour it down the drain opening. Then, add half a glass of vinegar. In a second, you'll hear boiling sounds inside – this is lye (sodium) reacting with acid (vinegar). Open the tap and flush the drain with fresh water.
5. Legs out of bottles
Cut-off necks of plastic bottles (with caps on!) can be used as legs with adjustable height – for example, for a table fish tank.
6. A cooling wrap
Your drink will cool much faster if you wrap a wet paper around the bottle before placing it inside the freezer.
7. A shelf without a single nail
You can construct a simple book rack without a single nail, using just board and red bricks. This rustic piece of furniture would be in place at your patio or in your country house.
8. Banana shine
You can shine your leather shoes with the insides of a banana peel. The fresher the banana, the better. Afterward, wipe the shoe with a paper napkin.
9. Soft hanger for delicate fabrics
Used stockings can serve as a hanger for delicate garments like shirts, dresses or pullovers. Such a hanger will save the garments from deformation.
If using any of Russia Beyond's content, partly or in full, always provide an active hyperlink to the original material.
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friendzone - a social network is rising
friendzone discontinued! Please use use the successor InstaHub.
Source code and install instructions are in English. Documentation and excersices currently are available in German only.
friendzone is a social network for educational purpose only. Students can create their own social network as a database admin. They learn basics about working in a software project, creating and managing a database, querying (SQL SELECT) and editing (SQL INSERT, UPDATE and DELETE).
This project aims to help students develop a general technical understanding of social networks. As result, they will be able to discuss sinjects as big data and information privacy.
Live Demo:
Read more (only in German):
Standing on the shoulders of giants
Many thanks and respect to:
Prerequisits for Windows users
Mac Os, Ubuntu and Windows
 1. Create a local database named friendzone with encoding utf8_general_ci
 2. Create user friendzone and grant all rights on friendzone and for creating databases
 3. cd to your local target folder and clone remote project: git clone git://
 4. Rename.env.example file to.envinside your project root and fill in the database information. (windows won't let you do that, so you have to use Notepad++ or open your console, cd your project root directory and run mv.env.example.env )
 5. Edit.env
 - APP_ENV=production
 - APP_DEBUG=false - enable only temporaly for debugging!
 - DB_* - if you want another database than MySQL, you have to edit source code.
 - DB_USERNAME - user for database
 - DB_PASSWORD - passwort for database
 - MAIL_* - mail provider for resetting passworts (admin accounts may reset passworts without sending a mail)
 - PHPMYADMIN - url for opening phpMyAdmin - Example:
 6. Open the console and cd to your project root directory
 7. Run composer install or php composer.phar install
 8. Run php artisan key:generate
 9. Run php artisan migrate
 10. Run php artisan db:seed to run seeders, if necessary.
 11. Visit website and create first user.
 12. In the user table of your database, manually set the attribute is_admin to 1. Now your user is admin and may manage other accounts.
Thank you for considering contributing to the friendzone! Create a pull request or contact me.
Contact me if you need an other licence.
social network for educational purposes only
No releases published
No packages published


I have a requirement where I need to store the records at rate of 10,000 records/sec into a database (with indexing on a few fields). Number of columns in one record is 25. I am doing a batch insert of 100,000 records in one transaction block. To improve the insertion rate, I changed the tablespace from disk to RAM.With that I am able to achieve only 5,000 inserts per second.
I have also done the following tuning in the postgres config:
 - Indexes : no
 - fsync : false
 - logging : disabled
Other information:
 - Tablespace : RAM
 - Number of columns in one row : 25 (mostly integers)
 - CPU : 4 core, 2.5 GHz
 - RAM : 48 GB
I am wondering why a single insert query is taking around 0.2 msec on average when database is not writing anything on disk (as I am using RAM based tablespace). Is there something I am doing wrong?
Help appreciated.
Fast Data Loading
 1. Translate your data to CSV.
 2. Create a temporary table (as you noted, without indexes).
 3. Execute a COPY command: \COPY schema.temp_table FROM /tmp/data.csv WITH CSV
 4. Insert the data into the non-temporary table.
 5. Create indexes.
 6. Set appropriate statistics.
Further Recommendations
For large volumes of data:
 1. Split the data into child tables.
 2. Insert it in order of the column from which most of the SELECT statements will use. In other words, try to align the physical model with the logical model.
 3. Adjust your configuration settings.
 4. Create a CLUSTER index (most important column on the left). For example:
 CREATE UNIQUE INDEX measurement_001_stc_index
 ON climate.measurement_001
 USING btree
 (station_id, taken, category_id);
 ALTER TABLE climate.measurement_001 CLUSTER ON measurement_001_stc_index;
Configuration Settings
On a machine with 4GB of RAM, I did the following...
Kernel Configuration
Tell the Kernel that it's okay for programs to use gobs of shared memory:
sysctl -w kernel.shmmax=536870912
sysctl -p /etc/sysctl.conf
PostgreSQL Configuration
 1. Edit /etc/postgresql/8.4/main/postgresql.conf and set:
 shared_buffers = 1GB
 temp_buffers = 32MB
 work_mem = 32MB
 maintenance_work_mem = 64MB
 seq_page_cost = 1.0
 random_page_cost = 2.0
 cpu_index_tuple_cost = 0.001
 effective_cache_size = 512MB
 checkpoint_segments = 10
 2. Tweak the values as necessary and suitable to your environment. You will probably have to change them for suitable read/write optimization later.
 3. Restart PostgreSQL.
Child Tables
For example, let's say you have data based on weather, divided into different categories. Rather than having a single monstrous table, divide it into several tables (one per category).
Master Table
CREATE TABLE climate.measurement
 id bigserial NOT NULL,
 taken date NOT NULL,
 station_id integer NOT NULL,
 amount numeric(8,2) NOT NULL,
 flag character varying(1) NOT NULL,
 category_id smallint NOT NULL,
 CONSTRAINT measurement_pkey PRIMARY KEY (id)
Child Table
CREATE TABLE climate.measurement_001
-- Inherited from table climate.measurement_001: id bigint NOT NULL DEFAULT nextval('climate.measurement_id_seq'::regclass),
-- Inherited from table climate.measurement_001: taken date NOT NULL,
-- Inherited from table climate.measurement_001: station_id integer NOT NULL,
-- Inherited from table climate.measurement_001: amount numeric(8,2) NOT NULL,
-- Inherited from table climate.measurement_001: flag character varying(1) NOT NULL,
-- Inherited from table climate.measurement_001: category_id smallint NOT NULL,
 CONSTRAINT measurement_001_pkey PRIMARY KEY (id),
 CONSTRAINT measurement_001_category_id_ck CHECK (category_id = 1)
INHERITS (climate.measurement)
Table Statistics
Bump up the table stats for the important columns:
ALTER TABLE climate.measurement_001 ALTER COLUMN taken SET STATISTICS 1000;
ALTER TABLE climate.measurement_001 ALTER COLUMN station_id SET STATISTICS 1000;
Don't forget to VACUUM and ANALYSE afterwards.
are you doing your insert as a series of
INSERT INTO tablename (...) VALUES (...);
or as one multiple-row insert:
INSERT INTO tablename (...) VALUES (...),(...),(...);
second one will be faster significantly on 100k rows.
source: _URL_
 - I am using the first way: - BEGIN; - INSERT INTO tablename (...) VALUES (...); - INSERT INTO tablename (...) VALUES (...); -... - COMMIT; I'll now try the second approach. Thanks – Prashant May 28 '10 at 6:45
 - 1
 that post also suggests COPY would be even faster – araqnid May 28 '10 at 10:56
Did you place xlog (the WAL segments) also on your RAM-drive? If not, you're still writing to disk. And what about the settings for wal_buffers, checkpoint_segments, etc.? You have to try to get all your 100,000 records (your single transaction) in your wal_buffers. Increasing this parameter might cause PostgreSQL to request more System V shared memory than your operating system's default configuration allows.
 - Yes, xlog is mounted on a RAM drive. The size of one row is around 240 bytes. So for a batch of 100,000 records, I have set the wal_buffer size to 250MB. With these settings I am getting around 6000-7000 inserts per second. Is there any way to profile the postgres to see which operation is taking time. Since no data is being written on disk, memory transfer should be relatively very fast. 6000 inserts per second ~= 1.5 MB/s which I think is very slow. – Prashant May 28 '10 at 10:23
I suggest you to use COPY instead of INSERT.
You should also fine tune your postgresql.conf file.
Read about on _URL_
Your Answer


text:
Derived from the renowned multi-volume International Encyclopaedia of Laws,
this concise exposition and analysis of the essential elements of law with
regard to family relations, marital property, and succession to estates in
India covers the legal rules and customs pertaining to the intertwined
civic status of persons, the family, and property.
After an informative general introduction, the book proceeds to an in-depth
discussion of the sources and instruments of family and succession law, the
authorities that adjudicate and administer the laws, and issues surrounding
the person as a legal entity and the legal disposition of property among
family members. Such matters as nationality, domicile, and residence;
marriage, divorce, and cohabitation; adoption and guardianship; succession and
inter vivos arrangements; and the acquisition and administration of estates
are all treated to a degree of depth that will prove useful in nearly any
situation likely to arise in legal practice.
The book is primarily designed to assist lawyers who find themselves having to
apply rules of international private law or otherwise handling cases connected
with India. It will also be of great value to students and practitioners as a
quick guide and easy-to-use practical resource in the field, and especially to
academicians and researchers engaged in comparative studies by providing the
necessary, basic material of family and succession law.
The Author. List of Abbreviations. Preface. General Introduction. Selected
Bibliography. Part I. Person Chapter 1. The Status of a Person. Chapter 2.
Registration of Civil Status. Chapter 3. Personality Right. Chapter 4. Names.
Chapter 5. Nationality. Chapter 6. Domicile and Residence. Chapter 7. Mentally
Handicapped Persons. Part II. Family Law Chapter 1. Marriage.
Chapter 2. Divorce. Chapter 3. Cohabitation without Marriage. Chapter 4.
Filiation. Chapter 5. Adoption. Chapter 6. Parental Authority. Chapter 7.
Guardianship. Chapter 8. Kinship and Relationship of Affinity. Part
III. Matrimonial Property Law Chapter 1. Rights and Obligations of
Part IV. Succession Law Introduction. Chapter 1. Intestate Succession.
Chapter 2. Testamentary Succession. Chapter 3. Acts Inter Vivos Related to the
Estate. Chapter 4. Acquisition and Administration of the Estate. List of
Enactments and Rules. Index of Cases. General Index


text:
Q: What are some block play activities that teach children about the important (and timely) topics of sharing and giving?
A: According to Pamela C. Phelps, author of Let's Build, there are many ways to use blocks that explore what it means to give and share while also incorporating basic math concepts into the fun! Here are a few ideas:
First, engage the children in a discussion about Thanksgiving, what it is, as well as the harvest and the changes of autumn.
- During circle time, use 12 medium and tall cylinders, two double units, two quadruple units, and one floorboard to demonstrate an orchard. The floorboard is the ground; the double and quadruple units, the fencing; and the cylinders, the apple trees.
- Engage the children in a discussion about creating an orchard. Use rectangular-shaped blocks to show the children how they can use pieces of red, green, yellow, brown, and orange paper (represented by the blocks) to create a tree or an orchard of many trees.
- At the close of the circle, dismiss the children in sets of one and two to play in the different centers of the classroom environment. Allow four children (or the number that your block/construction area easily accommodates) stay to play in the block area. Encourage the children to work together as they build their creations.
- Cut out a tree (or trees) from cardboard. Use paper and tape or Velcro to make and hang apples and leaves on the tree (or trees). Discuss the differences between this tree and the ones made from blocks.
- Near the block area, provide colored paper pieces (red, green, yellow, brown, and orange), markers, scissors, and tape. Tell the children that they can build anything they want to build with the blocks and that the paper and tape can be used to create trees with leaves and/or apples to decorate their structure.
- After working in the block area for a while, two children might begin to build a farm and to cut paper leaves and apples and tape them onto cylinders.
- Other children might build random structures after talking about these constructions with their teacher. Then, put their blocks away and leave the area to engage in other play experiences.
This block play experience will teach children the importance of sharing and giving when it comes to creating a structure. These ideas can also be easily incorporated into more expansive Thanksgiving-themed lesson plans.
For more strategies to create and scaffold block-play experiences for young children, check out Let's Build by Pamela C. Phelps.


Take the 2-minute tour ×
My general premise is that I want to investigate the transformations between two distinct sets of vertices on n-dimensional manifolds by:
 - Minimalizing the change in the fundamental shape of the vertices (I want a convex polytope to stay a convex polytope).
 - Describing the dynamics of the transformation. (Possible applications to theoretical physics)
 - Finding constraint conditions on what can and cannot occur when the space in which the transformation is occurring is not "regular". This includes not-everywhere-differentiable manifolds, singularities, and other pathological cases.
Well, what an ambitious project. But in any case I have made some progress for the n-dimensional case with n-vertices where the space is "regular" and I haven't introduced advanced mathematics yet. I'm mostly playing around in configuration space for vertices in euclidean space or something similar.
I have defined a functional in configuration space that gives the length of all possible paths in configuration space between two distinct sets of vertices in $\mathbb{R^n}$ as follows:
$$T = \int\limits_{\lambda_{1}}^{\lambda_{2}} \sqrt{\sum_{I=1}^{n} \sum_{i=1}^{d} \left(\frac{d}{d\lambda}\left(\sum_{j=1}^{d} s(\lambda)R_{j}^{i}(\lambda)(q_{I}^{j}(\lambda) + a^{j}(\lambda))\right)\right)^2} d\lambda$$
Where $\lambda_{1}$ and $\lambda_{2}$ correspond to the start-point and end-point of the transformation. The members of the gauge group are $s$ (dilatation), $R$ (rotation), and $a$ (translation). $q_{I}^{j}$ corresponds to a point in configuration space representing $I$ vertices and it lives in $j$ dimensions. ($i$ is also a dimension index)
You can think of the equation as finding the straight line between two points (in configuration space) given all of the varied paths when you solve for constraint conditions in the Euler-Lagrange equation (recall): $$\frac{\partial{f}}{\partial{x}} - \frac{d}{d \lambda} \left(\frac{\partial{f}}{\partial{\dot{x}}}\right) = 0$$ This is represented in the figure below when the space has no curvature.
Transformative Norm Equation
Hopefully, you have a general idea about what I'm talking about, this is at about page 5 in the paper where this is introduced, there is a lot of background that I'm not going to discuss. I've constructed an explicit example with tetrahedra where a tetrahedron is approximated to another tetrahedron in a minimalized manner. Here's a figure I made: Tetrahedral Approximation that may help you understand what I'm trying to work with... in any case I'll ask my questions now.
[Optional for the intrigued reader]:
How can I begin to generalize this geodesic equation so that it can comment on spaces with different metrics, or irregular behaviour? As an example of what I am trying to reach for, I would be interested in seeing how a set of vertices could geodesically traverse a singularity in a smooth 2-manifold, and if I could define a general functional for any behaviour on any manifold (I would attempt to restrict it to 2-dimensions to start) eventually. There are two main types of singularities I would be interested in investigating, the first would be the "black hole type" in which a diffeomorphism in the manifold causes "a hole at the bottom". This means that there would be an exponential increase in curvature around the vicinity of the singularity, and I want to find out how a set of vertices deals with those imposed conditions. The other would be for a 2-manifold with no curvature and I know that for a particular configuration of vertices, with the geodesic (based on the equation above) lying along a certain line. If I create a hole (simply remove a point in the same way you can create a hole in a single-variable piecewise defined real function), what happens to the geodesic? How can I encode this information, so it either pushes right through the hole somehow, or defines a new path around it?
Main Question: For a functional (assuming I could derive one) that gives the path from a distinct set of vertices to another in an n-dimensional smooth manifold with shape preserving characteristics. When a singularity is introduced into the manifold, will the geodesic equation:
 - Somehow push through the singularity/ignore it is present.
 - Define an alternate path around the singularity (this is what I hope, so I can investigate further with applications to black hole dynamics)
 - Become undefined and nothing useful results
share|improve this question
It has to depend on whether the functional you're minimizing diverges in a good way (gets arbitrarily large) or a bad way (gets arbitrarily small) as a path taken by a configuration point approaches the singularity, and (in the latter case) on whether the divergence is tame enough to be integrated over. – mjqxxxx Dec 16 '11 at 22:10
Have you worked explicitly with an example where this happens? I simply need to figure out a way to define that functional and then see how it behaves? There are no general theorems or results in Singularity Theory or maybe Catastrophe Theory that comment on this sort of thing? – Samuel Reid Dec 19 '11 at 3:07
You make reference to a paper where this is defined more clearly, but I can't find a link to it. In your discussion of deleting point in your Riemannian manifold and then looking for geodesics, what mjqxxxx says is correct: the behaviour is very sensitive to the way your metric degenerates near the singularity. For instance, if you take $\mathbb{R}^2$ and delete a point, but keep the flat metric, geodesics are still straight lines, and you will have a family of geodesics that run in to the singularity in finite time. If you take instead a metric that looks like a [...] – Sam Lisi Dec 22 '11 at 12:45
[...] hyperbolic cusp near the singular point, and then the flat metric outside of a compact region, you will have a complete manifold and the geodesic between any two points will avoid your singularity. – Sam Lisi Dec 22 '11 at 12:45
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Your Answer
Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.


Behaviour Change
Sunday, January 18, 2015
'Take your litter home. Others do'- social consensus at its best
'Other people don't drop litter?! That means I shouldn't either!'
This sign is a nifty example of people in power using the persuasive tactics to get us to do what they want us to do. In this case, local authorities are telling us not to drop litter, while also telling us that other people don't either. But why should telling us that other people don't make us less likely to drop litter?
The persuasive tactic used here is called social consensus. The idea is that the more it appears everyone else it doing 'it', the more likely others are to join in and agree. Deutsch and Gerard (1955) propose that social consensus engages two psychological processes that promote conformity. Firstly, they suggest that social consensus provides information or social proof about what to do and think via the rule of 'if other people are doing it, it must be correct'. Secondly, social consensus provides social pressures (normative influences) to agree to or to go along with what everyone else is doing. In this case, you may still not believe that dropping litter is a bad thing, but you don't drop litter because you don't want to be the odd one out.
Croson, Handy and Shang (2009) demonstrate how social consensus can be used to influence people's giving behaviour. In their study, experimenters gave participants a scenario in which they had to pretend that they had called up a radio station to pledge $25 to charity, and were then told by the telephone handler that another person had given $10 or $50. Participants were then asked how much they thought the average listener had given that year (descriptive norms) and how much they would contribute in a subsequent year (giving). They found that people in the high social information group ($50) believed the descriptive social norm average (donations given by an average donator) to be higher than in the low social information group ($10). They also found that those in the high social information group were more likely to contribute a higher amount of money in the subsequent year than those in the low social information group, as shown in figure 1. This suggests that people are influenced by knowledge of what other people are doing, and change their behaviour to fit in. In this experiment, participants changed their giving behaviour based on how much they thought other people were giving.
Figure 1
This research helps support the idea that people will change their behaviour based on what they think other people are doing. The results from this experiment can be applied to our situation with the signit suggests that using a sign telling people not to drop their litter with the information that other people don't, will presumably make people less likely to drop their litter, due to the social influence tactic of social consensus.
Croson, J., Handy, F., & Shang, J. (2009). Keeping up with the Joneses: The relationship of perceived descriptive social norms, social information and charitable giving. Nonprofit Management and Leadership, 19, 467-489.
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