text:
Pileated woodpeckers a mainstay in the mountainsWritten by George Ellison
The tapping of pileateds... means attachment to a nest site
and attachment of the members of a pair to each other...
When one pair of pileateds is especially excited about
meeting its mate, it bends its head and bill far back,
waving them back and forth in an arc of 45-degrees
as it jerks its whole body in what I call a 'bill-waving dance.'
Thus, they keep their pair bonds strong with small ceremonies.
— Lawrence Kilham, "On Watching Birds" (1988)
Here in the Smokies region there are six woodpecker species one can anticipate encountering on a regular basis. Red-headed woodpeckers are sometimes reported, but I have only seen a few in the years that I've resided here. My favorite among this tribe is the pileated woodpecker. The common name can be correctly pronounced as either "pi-lee-a-tid" or "pill-ee-a-tid." "Pileated" indicates the bird has a crest on its head. The word derives from a skullcap (a "pileaus") worn in ancient Rome. Male and female pileateds can be easily distinguished: males sport red mustaches and full-red crests on their heads, while females display black mustaches and half-red, half-black crests.
Unlike the larger 21-inch-long ivory-billed woodpecker, the pileated proved adaptable to environmental changes wrought by man so that it has — after a period of setbacks — become a commonplace feature of both our backcountry and community woodlands. Spotting one of these 19-inch-long crow-sized birds isn't at all uncommon. When you do flush one, it will sound loud "yucca, yucca, yucca" calls and flash its vivid white under-wing markings.
The mainstays of the big bird's diet are ants and other wood-boring insects. Matchbook-size chips of bark and wood chiseled from a feeding tree or log are sure signs of its presence. Using its tail for support, the bird can back down a tree as easily as it can climbup a tree.
The species usually mates in February and then spends most of March digging a nest cavity. The rectangular entrance hole (other woodpeckers excavate entrance holes that are more or less round) will be located anywhere from 10 to 75 feet above ground. After the three to five eggs are laid in mid-April, incubation requires about 18 days.
Pileateds will often return to the same nest tree year after year, but a new nesting cavity is usually excavated each season. If you attempt to climb the nest tree and look through the entrance hole at the baby birds, it's not unlikely that the parents will attack you with their formidable beaks.
A mother pileated has been photographed retrieving her eggs from a nest tree that was blown down. Shortly after the tree fell, she transferred the clutch of three to a new site.
One of the advantages of being a permanent resident rather than a migratory species is that individual birds can keep up with their mates from season to season. A lot of the ritual activity associated with pileateds, especially during the fall season, has to do with maintaining ongoing relationships. The online "Birds of North America" (available by subscription) provides additional background:
"When a mate dies, the surviving bird remains in the territory and seeks a new mate from adjacent areas. Once established, the pair defends the territory by drumming, calling, and chasing off intruders. A pair of Pileated Woodpeckers evicted young bluebirds from a nest cavity used by the woodpeckers the previous year and then enlarged the cavity and nested in it.
"Reactions to climbing snakes vary from concern to possible nest abandonment. Based on video camera data at 32 Pileated Woodpecker nests in Arkansas, black rat snakes entered 14 nest cavities. Adults ejected snakes at eight cavities, though the snake returned to 5 cavities. Nestlings fledged from only three of the 14 cavities with rat snake attacks. Adults appeared able to eject snakes that were smaller than 60 inches in length from nest cavities."
Let's close with this little poem by Maxwell Corydon Wheat Jr., that I happened upon on the I-net:
Pileated Woodpecker …
dressed for his coronation
in ebony cape,
But would royalty be caught
backing down a dead hickory.


text:
Or in other words, are there differences in average Lyapunov timescale between orbits interior to Jupiter and orbits exterior to Jupiter? I'm trying to answer a question at _URL_ but I'm not totally sure if the last part of my answer is right. I'll quote the last part of it:
If the 2nd theory is true, then it's harder to answer this. One thing for sure though: Jupiter is much farther away, so its tug on the system is a much smaller factor than it is for the inner planets (where it can be a major source of instability over the solar system's lifetime)
In fact - I suspect that another factor is that from Pluto's perspective, Jupiter is practically in the center of the solar system anyways, so you're unlikely to see periods of time where Jupiter is in such a position where its constant gravitational tugs (over several Jupiter orbits) can accumulate and tug a satellite into an unstable orbit (which is what can happen with planets that orbit the Sun at distances interior to Jupiter ). Anyways I don't fully know the physics on this (yet) so some of my details could be wrong - what I do know is that it could happen to both asteroid belt objects and to Mercury's orbit - _URL_ - perhaps because there are positions where Jupiter's pull on interior bodies is in a direction opposite to that of the Sun's pull (we never hear about the Sun creating any orbital instabilities). And Mercury is much closer to Jupiter than Pluto is.
Of course, Pluto is vulnerable to Neptune's influence, but Pluto and Neptune have a 3:2 orbital resonance so it's relatively safe from collisions with Neptune (although the resonance may not be constant over the solar system's lifetime)
Anyways, we might finally know more once New Horizons reaches Pluto in a few years
 _URL_ says that there is something special about asteroids with orbits interior to Jupiter - I'll try to find more information on this.

source: HuggingFaceFW/fineweb-edu


text: Results of diffusion tensor tractography for the pyramidal tract (PT) and the aberrant pyramidal tract (APT). (A) For the reconstruction of the PT, two regions of interest (ROIs) were placed on the posterior limb of the internal capsule and the PT area of the anterior medulla (portion of anterior blue color) on the color map. By contrast, for the reconstruction of the APT, three ROI were given on the posterior limb of the internal capsule, the PT area of the anterior medulla (portion of anterior blue color), and additional ROI was placed on the isolated APT area (behind the posterior transpontine fiber at the pontine level). (B) the PT and APT were constructed in the right hemisphere (red: the PT, yellow: the APT). The APT descended along the known pathway of the PT to the posterior limb of the internal capsule and then descended through the medial lemniscus from the midbrain to the pons (blue arrows). (C) The pathways of the PT and the APT are shown at the axial views (blue arrow: the APT was separated from the PT at the upper midbrain level, green arrow: the APT rejoined with the PT at the upper medulla level).

source: openbmb/Ultra-FineWeb


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Regex in Python to put spaces between words starting with capital letters
 - Last Updated : 30 Jun, 2021
Given an array of characters, which is basically a sentence. However, there is no space between different words and the first letter of every word is in uppercase. You need to print this sentence after the following amendments:
 1. Put a single space between these words.
 2. Convert the uppercase letters to lowercase.
Input : BruceWayneIsBatman
Output : bruce wayne is batman
Input : GeeksForGeeks
Output : geeks for geeks
We have an existing solution for this problem, please refer Put spaces between words starting with capital letters link.
We can solve this problem quickly in python using findall() method of re (regex) library
Approach :
 1. Split each word starting with a capital letter using re.findall(expression, str) method.
 2. Now change the capital letter of each word to lowercase and concatenate each word with space.
import re
def putSpace(input):
 # regex [A-Z][a-z]* means any string starting
 # with capital character followed by many
 # lowercase letters
 words = re.findall('[A-Z][a-z]*', input)
 # Change first letter of each word into lower
 # case
 for i in range(0,len(words)):
 print(' '.join(words))
# Driver program
if __name__ == "__main__":
 input = 'BruceWayneIsBatman'
bruce wayne is batman
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text:
Tetrahedra Take Flight
Who knew that tetrahedra could fly? I know, pretty much anything can fly when you fill it with helium, but the movement of helium-filled tetrahedra called SmartInversion by Festo gives rise to an interesting and unusual propulsion method [source: gizmag]. Using inverse kinetics, Festo have developed what they call an "airborne geometrical band with inversion drive". The movement is difficult to describe but mesmerizing to watch:
Tetrahedra also play an important role in Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), helping simulate air flow by providing the mesh around complicated geometry so a CFD solver can generate a solution.
It's good to see tetrahedra breaking out on their own from CFD in order to carve out a new niche in real world aerodynamics.
Recent blog posts
- Perfect Gifts for CFDers
- Intuition and Fluid Dynamics
- Turbulence Model Selection
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- Symmetry for CFD to the Rescue
- Amazing 3D Maze Solved by CFD
- Amazing CFD
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- Never Settle For Facets


Start Planning
Emancipation Day
Turks and Caicos Islands
Emancipation Day 2021, 2022 and 2023 in Turks and Caicos Islands
Emancipation Day is a public holiday in the UK dependency of Turks and Caicos that commemorates the abolition of slavery in the British Empire. The law abolishing slavery was passed on 1 August, 1834, but Turks and Caicos now celebrates Emancipation Day on the first Monday of August instead to create a long weekend.
20211 AugSunEmancipation Day
2 AugMonEmancipation Day Holiday
20221 AugMonEmancipation Day
20231 AugTueEmancipation Day
20241 AugThuEmancipation Day
The movement toward abolition of slavery was gradual in Britain, but it began much earlier than most people realise. By the same token, full and true freedom took up to six years past 1834 in some cases.
In 1772, the ruling of Somerset VS Stewart concluded slavery violated English common law, though nothing was done about it. In 1796, the Slave Act somewhat restricted the right of slave holders to punish their slaves and declared, among other things, that they must get Christmas off work, be provided with food and clothes, and be subject to "compulsory religious education".
In 1807, the slave trade was abolished, along with slavery in the UK itself. Finally, on 1 August 1834, the Slavery Abolition Act (passed in 1833) was implemented. But it took four to six more years before slaves were finally fully free.
Emancipation Day is a time when Turks and Caicos remembers the horrors of slavery and celebrates its final demise.
Previous Years
20201 AugSatEmancipation Day
3 AugMonEmancipation Day Holiday
20191 AugThuEmancipation Day
20186 AugMonEmancipation Day
20171 AugTueEmancipation Day


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BELOW are 10 different settings for teaching PLACE that various churches have used effectively. With each setting you will read about advantages and disadvantages to each setting. As you read these more detailed descriptions, remember to find the approach that works best for your church and culture. Each setting is being used successfully somewhere by countless churches. But which one or which combination of multiple settings will work best for you?
After working with churches all across the United States, and on occasion in Canada and overseas, the questions are fairly predictable. One question that is asked over and over is:
"What are the best settings for teaching PLACE?"


you really don't own that
Those were my exact words to someone this week. Don't take this the wrong way, but you don't own them either.
For those of you who are thinking about hiring an architect, let me clarify an issue that often comes up when it comes to ownership of the documents or even the design. Actually what people are thinking is "what am I really purchasing?" Let's just say I actually had this discussion with someone a couple of days ago that sparked this discussion.
So who owns the documents? The answer is "it depends" because it comes down to contract law – and I can only answer if you have a contract. Moreover, I can answer based on how most architects operate. Does it matter?
Simply put, you as a client are buying a service from your architect (or in some cases a designer) and you are compensating them for their time and any other related expenses that go into them performing the duties necessary for your project.
 - You are not buying paper
 - You are not buying drawings
 - You are not buying a design
 - You will own the building though…
What you are paying for is a service that is part of a process that leads to a constructed building, space, or physical environment. Yes, much paper is exchanged and many sets of drawings are offered up on the altar of design. At some point – if your design goes through to construction – there is a set of drawings or there are sets of drawings used to give the proper information to the builder to build your project.
Think of it this way perhaps. You don't own the utensils or the recipe for the food you had at that restaurant. You don't own the surgical equipment, right to write prescriptions or tests from your doctor. You own the results. In this case, it is a building or some type of physical structure. You also own the sandwich you bought for lunch and that scar from your appendectomy.
Since the client does not own the drawings or the design, how does it work? The client is given a license to use the documents for their particular project. The license terminates when the project is complete. Yes, you can keep the building (that is as long as you pay your mortgage).
Many architects use the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Contract Documents. I use them for most projects. Some architects have crafted their own contracts (hopefully with legal help). For instance, the AIA Document B105-2007 Contract states in Article 3 Use of Documents:
"Drawings, specifications and other documents prepared by the Architect are instruments of the Architect's service and are for the Owner's use solely with respect to this Project. The Architect shall retain all common law, statutory and other reserved rights, including the copyright. Upon completion of the Project or termination of this Agreement, the Owner's right to use the instruments of service shall cease. When transmitting copyright-protected information for use on the Project, the transmitting party represents that it is either the copyright owner of the information, or has permission from the copyright owner to transmit the information for its use on the Project."
Other AIA Contract Documents have similar language that might be more specific.
Now there are cases, albeit rare, where a designer or architect might sell the documents and/or the design rights to the client for reasons they negotiate. It might be a prototypical design, the designer might be an employee of the contractor or the developer or some other unique situation where the person paying for the service is also the owner of the documents or the owner of the design. However in most cases that is not true.
Without a contract spelling out these terms, no one can predict how a court would resolve matters if something unfortunate were to arise. I am not a lawyer nor wish to be mistaken for one. But for those of us who are very careful in our documents, we make it clear that the ownership of the documents (which also means the right to USE the documents as well as the intellectual property – the intangible aspect of the design) remains ownership of the designer unless specifically negotiated otherwise.
This might not seem like a big deal to you, however, I suggest being careful about sharing drawings or aspects of the drawings that you got from your architect without their permission. You will find that in well written contracts the license to use the documents either terminates at the completion of the project or within a specific time after inactivity or the termination of the contract. The client is not permitted to take that same design to another design professional to execute it.
Drawing Screenshot
It all comes down to treating others the way you would like to be treated. We learned that in Kindergarten and Sunday School. When you don't, the legal trouble might be worse than missing snack time or nap time.
By the way, I'd also be careful how much you rip off from house designs online. (Did I say that out loud?). That came up in a telephone call this week too.
you really don't own that
7 thoughts on "you really don't own that
 1. ted rusnak says:
 Soooo, you haven't had your stamp cut out of a drawing, repasted onto some "design" you're not aware of and then have a building department call you to ask what the heck you're thinking?
 (I sued, I won).
 Or a client who adamantly refuses to sign a contract but wants the "rights" to the drawings….because they helped. This so they can build the single design in several different locations!
 (All conversations ended that day)
 I've made it a policy to spend as much time as necessary to ensure that every new client understands the obligations we have to each other and the responsibilities. It does take a lot of work to do what we do and most folks don't actually see even a small percentage of what we do.
 Thanks for at least broaching the subject. t
 2. Another great post Lee.
 I, like you, make no claim to being a lawyer, but it is my understanding that the act of committing an design to paper (or the computer screen) copyrights that design to the author. Regardless, it makes good sense to make that point clear with the clients.
 Regarding you last point, on the rare occasion i get called about doing a residential project, it is invariably by a contractor who has a client who already has "plans". They just need to have them "adjusted" slightly and maybe a couple of details. The first thing i always mention is that if they came from a plan service, i cannot work on them unless they purchased the plans with the copyright release. For some reason, i never hear back from them.
 3. I've never read this simple concept described so clearly. Kudos. All my agreements with clients spell out this "Instrument of Service" concept. But the public doesn't get it, since the meal you describe takes less than an hour prepare…the built project infinitely longer. By the time a client or builder gets peeved at our service, they have totally forgotten the notion that drove the relationship.
 4. Lee, One other way you can put that is when buying a book. You of course own the book but not the information that is with in it. You cannot take that information and go write another book. I would not suggest making copies of it and selling it either.
 5. arcadtect says:
 Excellent article. I constantly have to tell people we provide a service and they do no own the drawings or design (unless previously agreed upon in the contract)
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text:
Guest post by Nana Asiedu-Ampem University College London, Master of Engineering (MENG) student, Imperial College London, Computing Degree
Psychotherapy is a form of treatment aimed at improving the mental health of people suffering from mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety disorders. These kinds of treatment usually involve a patient suffering from a mental illness discussing their feelings and emotions in a way that allows them to be better equipped to control them. This project focuses on a type of psychotherapy known as Self-Attachment Therapy (SAT) (1) with the aid of Augmented Reality (AR).
Mental illness is often linked to a person's lack of secure attachment during their childhood (e.g. uncaring and unreliable parents) which has affected their ability to form meaningful connections that can help them overcome their illness. Self-Attachment Therapy aims to help patients suffering from mental illness form a secure attachment with themselves so they become more self-reliant when it comes to controlling their emotions. The patient initially takes the role of the "adult-self" who is perceived as a primary caregiver to an imaginary child that embodies the person's "inner-child". The adult-self represents the rational part of the patient as well as their strengths. The inner-child is a representation of the patient's emotions, insecurities and vulnerabilities. It is up to the patient, who is imitating the primary caregiver for the imaginary inner-child, to comfort and show affection towards the inner-child to make them feel loved and valued. This is mainly done through the patient verbally complimenting their inner-child. Through the process of the patient comforting their inner-child, they form an important bond with them that they can use to overcome their troubles.
The project involves making an application using the Microsoft HoloLens that performs the Self-Attachment Therapy with a patient by allowing them to visually view their inner-child through a 3D avatar model. The 3D avatar will be perceived as a hologram placed in a position set by the application in the space around them. The hologram will display several key features of a child such as their face, hair and body. The patient would be able to view the emotions of the avatar as well as interact with it through speech. The avatar will initially show a sad emotion and frown, but through the interactions with the patient they can become happy and smile. This is part of the process of the patient forming a bond with their inner-child. The goal of the project is to provide a proof of concept of an application that can significantly improve the patient's engagement with SAT by using technology to make them feel more immersed in a safe environment where they can improve their mental health.
How it was implemented
The application was developed on the Unity game engine using the C# programming language to implement scripts. The app made extensive use of the Microsoft Mixed Reality Tool Kit. A 3D model of a generic child was created in Blender. It was then imported into Unity so it can be used as the holographic representation of the patient's inner-child. The model was created by a colleague who was working on a similar project that creates child models based on the patient's features.
The model has a number of animations which allows it to express various emotional states such as: happy, sad and scared. The model also has an animation that allows it to perform a dance.
SAT comprises of 4 stages that the patient has to perform to form a loving connection with their inner-child (Check the reference for more details on the stages (1)). To help the patient feel more immersed with the therapy, the inner-child was given spatial awareness on the patient's location and their surroundings. Meaning the application places the inner child in an open space in the patient's room with its shoes positioned on the floor. This was achieved by having the HoloLens scan the patient's environment using the devices many sensors and the spatial mapping library provided by the Mixed Reality Tool Kit. This allowed the application to create an internal representation of the room's floor which is used to place the inner-child on the floor. Also, 3D meshes that matched various objects in the patient's room were created (such as tables and chairs). Unity uses ray casting to test collisions with these objects within the application. This was used to avoid placing the inner-child in positions that were obstructed with objects (e.g. a clear open space in the room will be found to place the inner-child, as opposed to placing it in the middle of a table). The inner-child is also constantly turning to face the patient. These features were implemented to make the inner-child feel like a more realistic addition to the user's environment. This will make it significantly easier for the patient to perform the therapy stages.
How it will be used
Self-Attachment Therapy was developed by the project supervisor, Edalat Abbas. He created the project so he can research how well SAT works when combined with immersive technology. This project will be used in his research to help improve the process of the therapy.
Therapists will use the application with the HoloLens to help explain the process of SAT to their patients. Patients will be able to read vital information regarding the therapy through holographic boards that follow their line of sight. This will make it much easier for therapists to administer the therapy as the patient will already have access to all important information through the application itself. Initially, SAT required patients to close their eyes and imagine a younger version of themselves that embodies their imaginary inner-child was in front of them. Some patients will struggle with consistently imagining a realistic inner-child which will hinder their ability to form a meaningful connection with them. This will be a big challenge for therapists who will find it difficult to demonstrate how their patient's inner-child should look and how they should react during each stage of the therapy. However, the HoloLens alleviates these concerns from the therapist and patient by visually providing the patient with a representation of their inner-child. This makes it much easier for the patient to perform the therapy without having to constantly imagine a child they have to interact with. This will make the therapist's work much easier as they no longer have to dictate the exact action the patient or inner-child has to perform at each stage.
There is a lot of room for future extensions that will enhance the impact of the therapy. The application could make use of the Internet to allow a patient to incorporate content they enjoy with the therapy. For example, part of the therapy has the patient sing a soothing song to relax their inner-child. The Internet can be used to play an instrumental version of a song the user enjoys to help them through the process. The therapy could also benefit through the use of a more comprehensive spatial mapping process. Currently, the room is scanned once before the therapy begins. This can be updated to allow the application to scan the patient's environment in real-time providing the application with a more detailed representation of the patient's surroundings. This can then be used to augment the user's room further by adding holograms that interact with real world objects. For example, the patient could download a photo they like from the Internet and turn it into a photo frame they can place on their wall. These extensions are intended to make the experience of performing the therapy with the HoloLens more enjoying, thus improving the patient's motivation to carry out the therapy.
1: Self-attachment: A self-administrable intervention for chronic anxiety and depression _URL_


text:
Scrabble word: PHRASE
In which Scrabble dictionary does PHRASE exist?
Definitions of PHRASE in dictionaries:
- noun - an expression consisting of one or more words forming a grammatical constituent of a sentence
- noun - a short musical passage
- noun - an expression whose meanings cannot be inferred from the meanings of the words that make it up
- noun - dance movements that are linked in a single choreographic sequence
- verb - put into words or an expression
- verb - divide, combine, or mark into phrases
- A sequence of words intended to have meaning.
- A characteristic way or mode of expression.
- A brief, apt, and cogent expression.
- A word or group of words read or spoken as a unit and separated by pauses or other junctures.
- Two or more words in sequence that form a syntactic unit that is less than a complete sentence.
- A segment of a composition, usually consisting of four or eight measures.
- A series of dance movements forming a unit in a choreographic pattern.
- To express orally or in writing: The speaker phrased several opinions.
- To pace or mark off (something read aloud or spoken) by pauses.
- To divide (a passage) into phrases.
- To combine (notes) in a phrase.
- To make or render phrases, as in reading aloud.
- To perform a passage with the correct phrasing.
- verb - to express in words
There are 6 letters in PHRASE: A E H P R S
Scrabble words that can be created with an extra letter added to PHRASE
All anagrams that could be made from letters of word PHRASE plus a wildcard: PHRASE?
Scrabble words that can be created with letters from word PHRASE
6 letter words
5 letter words
4 letter words
3 letter words
2 letter words
Images for PHRASE
SCRABBLE is the registered trademark of Hasbro and J.W. Spear & Sons Limited. Our scrabble word finder and scrabble cheat word builder is not associated with the Scrabble brand - we merely provide help for players of the official Scrabble game. All intellectual property rights to the game are owned by respective owners in the U.S.A and Canada and the rest of the world. Anagrammer.com is not affiliated with Scrabble. This site is an educational tool and resource for Scrabble & Words With Friends players.


text:
First and foremost, decide a brass wardrobe what type of heating you want most of all – gas or electric. Most electric ovens have more features and modes and are more convenient to operate than gas, because they are the most popular in recent times. However, remember that electric built-in oven consume large amounts of electricity and require wiring.
If your choice fell on a gas oven, be sure to ask immediately and a good hood.
Having defined the type of oven and find a place for it in the kitchen so that the cooking process would not need her to bend, stretch, Crouch, etc. standard Width oven is 60 cm
Before choosing recessed brass Cabinet consider what additional capabilities you need in the process of using the oven, and without which you could do. Remember that a lot depends on the price of home appliances. Of the most common additions to the ovens emit timer (which beeps or automatically shuts down the oven, cold door, pull out trolley, grill, core temperature probe for meat (with the help of this device you can check the temperature of the food during the cooking process), a filter to absorb grease and odors, convection, etc.
Find out what types of cleaning are used in any oven – catalytic or pyrolytic. For catalytic cleaning the oven inside are covered with a special enamel, which breaks down the fat in contact with it. This oven after use simply wipe with a dry cloth. However, the enamel eventually loses its properties, and to wash the oven will have the usual way. The pyrolytic cleaning the oven is self-cleaning using heat treatment. These ovens are more expensive and consume more energy.


text:
By Joel Thurtell
LOWELL, Mich. — It doesn't attract as many tourists as Italy's Ponte Vecchio, but Lowell's Main Street Bridge bears a certain similarity to that 14th-century pedestrian span over the Arno River in Florence.
Lowell's bridge, barely 100 years old (remember, folks, I wrote this story in 1979!), not only links separate halves of the Kent County town but serves as a retail district for its 3,000 residents.
The Ponte Vecchio is lined with small stalls specializing in jewelry and souvenirs, while the Lowell structure supports two barbershops, a dress boutique, a television store and an auto-parts outlet.
A visitor intent on window-shopping here might not even notice that M-21, Lowell's main artery, crosses the Flat River 15 miles east of Grand Rapids. Facing the bridge, the stores extend north and south from Main Street and are supported by concrete and wood pilings planted in the river bottom.
Although a central location is important to merchants anywhere, it is difficult to understand why Lowell's pioneers erected shops over water, unless perhaps they anticipated a fire and wanted a ready source of water. That hasn't always been helpful, however.
An early wooden span was swept by fire in 1904. Shops were rebuilt in the same locations, but a year later the Grand River backed up over a wide region of western Michigan and forced tributaries such as the Flat to rise so forcibly that sections of the bridge were torn away. Historians cannot determine why Lowell's elders constructed stores along the bridge in the first place, then rebuilt there after two disasters.
One explanation is that in the 1880′s real estate prices were relatively high, so some merchants chose sites where they would not need land titles. Another guess goes like this: In the mid-19th century the Flat River was a narrow, shallow, fast-running stream, but just before the Civil War grain millers began damming it for a source of power. One dam went in where the bridge now stands (and a successor mill remains there). As the water level rose, shopkeepers who had built close to the embankment faced gradual flooding and either moved their stores or put pilings under the buildings.
Despite all the water below, a big mill was gutted by fire in 1943. In 1958, six stores and a tavern burned out. Nor is fire the only hazard.
In 1955, old pilings under the Kroger store collapsed from rot and caused the entire sugar stock to float away in the Flat.
Some shops could become a nuisance to the millers, too. At the turn of the (20th) century, the owner of a produce store sold bananas picked from tough, many-branched stems. When these were empty, he tossed them out a back window into the river, forcing a nearby mill to open its dam, lower the river and remove the debris from turbine machinery every few weeks.
Norton Avery, who operated a photographic studio on the bridge before World War I, recalls sending an assistant to the front door to make sure no horse-drawn carriages were approaching when he was about to make portraits. The vibration of buggies on the plank roadway of that era caused his equipment to tremble and could ruin his pictures, he said.
Now 85, Avery (again, recall I wrote this in 1979; Norton Avery is either very old or very dead) saw his former shop razed recently, after its roof began sagging away from an adjacent building toward the river.
But enough others survive to make a trip to Lowell an interesting diversion for tourists.
Drop me a line at joelthurtell(at)gmail.com


text:
Did You Know?
The main threat to River Otters are water pollution and habitat destruction.
Eagle owls look very much like their great horned cousins, but are much larger birds. They have prominent ear tufts that are usually not raised upright. Eagle owls have mottled brownish feathers, and a streaked breast. Like most owls and raptors, there are no color differences between the sexes. The eagle owl has very large eyes that are a vivid orange in color.
Eagle owls have a large repertoire of hoots, growls, chirps, clicks and beak-clacks they use to communicate moods and needs. Silent and deadly hunters, the eagle owl swoops down upon its prey from above. Owlets leave the nest before fledging and are called "branchers". They climb around on tree branches until their wings are sufficiently feathered for flight.
3 eagle owls live here at PPZ, and our oldest male celebrated his 20th birthday this year! They will be getting a new exhibit built in 2010, so look for their new home soon!


How Long Before Get To Yellow Belt Karate?
How long does it take to get belts in karate?
How long does it take to go from a white belt to a yellow belt?
How do you get a yellow belt in karate?
A yellow karate belt is awarded when a new student has demonstrated that they are opening their minds to the practice of karate and to their sensei's teachings.
You might be interested: FAQ: When Did The Karate Kid Come Out 2010?
How good is a yellow belt in karate?
The yellow belt is representative of one's energy. In this mastery, the student has gained greater control over his body's energy. Stability is the symbol of an orange belt. Karate practice includes basic postures, punches, blocks and kicks.
What is the most useless martial art?
The 5 Least Effective Martial Arts
 - 5) Sumo.
 - 4) Capoeira.
 - 3) Shin-Kicking.
 - 2) Aikido.
 - 1) Tai Chi.
Is red belt better than black?
What belt comes after yellow in Taekwondo?
Belt Ranks at Akula Taekwondo
Color Rank
Yellow Belt 9th GUP
Orange Belt 8th GUP
Green Belt 7th GUP
Blue Belt 6th GUP
Is Red Belt higher than black belt?
How many stripes do you need for a yellow belt?
All students will be required to have all six (6) stripes on their belts before their test.
Can you skip belts in karate?
You might be interested: Quick Answer: How To Become Ninth Dan In Karate?
What does a yellow belt in karate mean?
Yellow Belt − It symbolizes the first ray of sun light. In karate its meaning is that now the student's mind is open to accept more possible techniques and methods. Orange Belt − This light is an indication of spreading of light on the earth.
What is the lowest belt in karate?
What are the stages of belts in karate?
Is purple belt higher than black?
Does karate have a pink belt?
While pink is not an official designation in the martial arts scale, it does have special significance here. He has been conferring pink belts to kids and adults in order to promote cancer awareness and reduce some of the fears that go along with the group of diseases that sparks such fear and raises so many questions.
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SHOEBILL STORK - Yikes!
© Zdeněk Chalupa
I couldn't resist - these pre-historic looking birds never cease to amaze me :)
This species was only classified in the 19th century when some skins were brought to Europe. It was not until years later that live specimens reached the scientific community. However, the bird was known to both ancient Egyptians and Arabs. There are Egyptian images depicting the Shoebill, while the Arabs referred to the bird as abu markub, which means one with a shoe, a reference to the bird's distinctive bill.
Shoebills feed in muddy waters, preying on fish, frogs, reptiles such as baby crocodiles, and small mammals. They nest on the ground and lay from 1 to 3 eggs, usually during the dry season.
The population is estimated at between 5,000 and 8,000 individuals, the majority of which live in Sudan. BirdLife International have classified it as Vulnerable with the main threats being habitat destruction, disturbance and hunting.
Shoebill moving aside a duck


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Plotting: What Is The Direction of the Magnetic Lines of Force Around a Magnet?
What is the direction of the magnetic lines of force around a magnet?
- bar magnet
- sheet of paper
NOTE: Never touch a compass with a magnet. Touching a compass with a strong magnet can change the polarity of the compass needle, causing the end marked north to become a south pole and all directions to be reversed.
- Place the magnet near the bottom edge of the sheet of paper.
- Place the compass on the paper, about 1 inch (2.5 cm) above the north-pole side of the magnet.
- Use the pencil to mark a dot on the paper in front of the north pole of the compass pointer.
- Move the compass forward until the south pole of the compass needle points to the dot.
- Mark a new dot on the paper in front of the north pole of the compass pointer.
- Again, move the compass forward until the south pole of its pointer is in front of the second dot.
- Continue making dots on the paper in front of the compass's north-pole pointer until the compass reaches the south-pole end of the magnet.
- Repeat the procedure, this time starting at the south-pole side of the magnet.
- Observe the pattern of the plotted dots.
The plotted dots form a curved pattern from one end of the magnet to the other.
The invisible magnetic field around the magnet is made up of lines of force that move out of the north pole of the magnet and into the south pole. Since "unlike" poles attract each other, the north pole of the compass needle always turns toward the south pole of the magnet. Each time the compass is moved, the compass pointer lines up with the line of force.
- Are there lines of force at the ends of the magnet? Repeat the experiment, this time placing the compass at the comer of the north pole of the magnet.
- Does the pattern change with different-shaped magnets? Repeat the original experiment using round-shaped and horseshoe-shaped magnets.
- Do the lines of force cross each other? Repeat the original experiment, placing the compass next to the previous line. Mark the dots as before, and observe the position of the second force-field line. Different lines of force can be plotted by starting the compass in a new position, but you will discover that force lines do not cross each other. Science Fair Hint: Take photographs as you mark each dot in front of the compass pointer. Display the photographs and the plotted dots showing the pattern of the force fields around the side and end of the magnet.
Is the force field three-dimensional? Magnetize two needles by laying them on a strong magnet for two minutes. Hold the eye end of one needle. Suspend the second needle by touching the points of the two needles together. Slowly move the needles from one end of the magnet to the other. Observe the movement of the hanging needle.
Check It Out!
The earth behaves as if it contains a large magnet that produces magnetic lines of force around the globe. As the earth revolves around the sun, there are fluctuations in the earth's magnetic field. Think about these questions:
- Why do the major changes in the earth's magnetic field occur during the equinox (when the sun is in line with the earth's equator), while minimum changes occur during the solstice (when the sun is farthest either north or south of the earth's equator)?
- During what months of the year do these major and minor changes take place?
Warning is hereby given that not all Project Ideas are appropriate for all individuals or in all circumstances. Implementation of any Science Project Idea should be undertaken only in appropriate settings and with appropriate parental or other supervision. Reading and following the safety precautions of all materials used in a project is the sole responsibility of each individual. For further information, consult your state's handbook of Science Safety.


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It's not your imagination—modern diesel engines burning ultra-low-sulfur diesel (ULSD) fuel "gel" more easily on cold winter days than diesel engines built 20 or 30 years ago.
Gelling occurs when wax, a necessary component of No. 2 diesel fuel, crystallizes at low temperatures. The "cloud point" of a particular diesel fuel is the temperature at which crystals of wax begin to form. The "gel point" is the temperature at which enough wax crystals develop to transform the fuel from liquid to semi-solid. The gel point for No. 2 diesel varies but ranges between 10°F and 20°F.
Most diesel fuel now sold in the U.S. is ULSD to meet the needs of Environmental Protection Agency–mandated Tier III and newer diesel engines. The problem with these engines is that their precise, computer-controlled fuel injectors require fuel filtered to as little as 2 microns. Wax crystals in chilled diesel fuel measure 50 to 250 microns. As soon as temperatures drop to the cloud point in a 2-micron fuel filter, wax crystals collect and restrict or stop fuel flow.
The cloud point of diesel fuel varies among refineries. A refinery in Texas might produce No. 2 diesel fuel that clouds at 20°F, while No. 2 from a refinery in Louisiana might cloud at 10°F. Cloud and gel points also vary across the country because retailers use different formulations to create "winter-grade" No. 2 diesel fuel, which they generally begin selling in October. The cloud and gel points of winter-grade No. 2 diesel vary depending on the base fuel and anti-gel additives a retailer uses, but clouding is generally prevented down to 10°F.
The cloud and gel point can be lowered well below 0°F by blending No. 1 diesel fuel, kerosene or aftermarket anti-gel fuel additives with winter-grade No. 2 diesel. The cloud point for straight No. 1 diesel can be as low as –40°F, but using straight No. 1 diesel is not recommended because of the higher cost per gallon and lower lubricity.
Pesky droplets. A second cold-weather problem associated with modern diesel engines is that ULSD fuel is more hygroscopic than traditional diesel fuel. That means it attracts water. Most of the water is captured by filters, but microscopic droplets might remain suspended in the fuel. If those droplets freeze when fuel temperatures fall below 32°F, they can accumulate and plug fuel system fittings or filters long before the fuel is chilled to its cloud point. The best preventive measure is to switch to wintergrade diesel fuel before the first frost and begin using antigel fuel additives when temperatures fall below 20°F.
Do it yourself. Home-brewing winter-grade diesel fuel by adding No. 1 diesel fuel or kerosene to winter-grade No. 2 fuel is an option, but it carries expensive risks. ULSD No. 1 diesel fuel and ULSD kerosene have less lubricity than old-school No. 1 diesel fuel or kerosene, increasing the possibility of problems with Tier III diesel engines, which are extremely finicky about lubricity. Experts recommend using a special aftermarket diesel fuel additive to lower the cloud and gel points without decreasing the lubricative quality of the fuel.
It can be tricky to identify lubricative quality. According to the American Society for Testing and Materials, No. 1 or No. 2 diesel fuel should not exceed 460 microns of wear when tested in a high-frequency reciprocating rig (HFRR). The lower the score, the better the product's lubricity. But because testing is voluntary, not every diesel fuel additive bears an HFRR rating. Finding an additive that combines adequate lubricity and good low-temperature antigelling characteristics might require patience and a good pair of reading glasses.
While I fully endorse biodiesel products and recommend them for their excellent lubricity, it's important to remember that biodiesel has higher (warmer) cloud and gel points, depending on the type of bioproducts used to create it and whether the blend is B100, B50 or B20. Combine this with the fact the biodiesel is more hygroscopic than petroleum-based diesel fuel, and you can see why biodiesel should always be treated with appropriate coldweather additives.
Strap-type wrenches are too clumsy for removing gelled, twist-on/off fuel filters in cold weather. The 22"-long Cobra slip-jaw pliers from Knipex are easy to handle while wearing gloves and make short work of stubborn filters up to 5" in diameter They're handy for warm-weather tasks as well. $100 to $125.
Be sure to visit Dan's "In The Shop" blog at _URL_, where he'll share more tips and insights. Send comments and story suggestions to _EMAIL_.
- February 2013


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Find me and follow me are two call forwarding services that are commonly used in conjunction with each other. Find me service allows the user to receive calls at any location; follow me service allows the user to be reached at any of several phone numbers.
Find me / follow me is often used in IP telephony. In some systems, the user is assigned a virtual phone number. When that number is dialed the system routes the call through a user-defined list of numbers. The numbers may be called simultaneously or sequentially, either in a preferred order or in accordance with the user's scheduled activities and locations. Once the list has been called and no connection made, the system may route the call to voice mail.


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Background and PurposeSubarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) has a high case fatality rate and young mean age at onset compared with other types of stroke, but the pathogenesis of SAH is not fully understood. We examined associations of systolic and diastolic blood pressure with incident nontraumatic SAH in a large prospective study in China. MethodsIn 2004 to 2008, 512 891 adults (59% women) from the general population were recruited into the CKB study (China Kadoorie Biobank). Participants were interviewed, measured, and followed up for fatal and nonfatal events. After excluding those with prior vascular disease, Cox regression analysis was used to relate blood pressure to incident SAH events. Analyses were adjusted for major confounders and corrected for regression dilution to give associations with long-term average blood pressure. ResultsAt baseline, mean age was 51 (SD, 11) years, and mean systolic blood pressure/diastolic blood pressure was 130.6/77.6 (SD, 21.0/11.1) mm Hg. During 3.5 million person-years of follow-up, there were 553 incident SAH cases (mean age at event, 61 [SD, 11] years), yielding an overall annual incidence rate of 12.9 per 100 000. Higher average levels of blood pressure were linearly and positively associated with higher risks of incident SAH: a 10 mm Hg higher systolic blood pressure and a 5 mm Hg higher diastolic blood pressure were associated with hazard ratios for SAH of 1.21 (95% CI, 1.13-1.29) and 1.20 (95% CI, 1.12-1.28), respectively. There was no evidence that the hazard ratios varied by age or sex or by levels of other vascular risk factors. Elevated blood pressure (systolic blood pressure, >120 mm Hg) accounted for 23% of all SAH cases. ConclusionsThe incidence of SAH in China was comparable with estimates from Western populations. Higher levels of blood pressure were positively associated with higher risks of SAH, and elevated blood pressure accounted for about a quarter of all SAH cases.
Original publication
Journal article
Publication Date
China, blood pressure, humans, risk factors, subarachnoid hemorrhage


- The return statement
Note that we often (though not always) traverse the tree in post-order, visiting a child before its parent. For example, we need to generate the return value before it's referenced in a return statement. In later posts, we'll need to generate the operands of arithmetic expressions before generating the code that operates on them.
Here's the assembly we need:
 1. To generate a function (e.g. function "foo"):
 .globl _foo
 2. To generate a return statement (e.g. return 3;):
 movl $3, %eax
☑ Task:
Write a generate function that accepts an AST and generates assembly. It can return the assembly as a string or write it directly to a file. It should generate correct assembly for all valid stage 1 examples.
(Optional) Pretty printing
You'll probably want a utility function to print out your AST, to help with debugging. You can write it now, or wait until you need it. Here's what nqcc's pretty printer outputs for return_2.c:
FUN INT main:
 params: ()
 RETURN Int<2>
This example includes some information your AST doesn't need, like the return type and list of function parameters.
☑ Task:
Write a pretty-print funcion that takes an AST and prints it out in a readable way.
Putting it all together
☑ Task:
Write a program that accepts a C source file and outputs an executable. The program should:
 1. Read in the file
 2. Lex it
 3. Parse it
 4. Generate assembly
 5. Write the assembly to a file
 6. Invoke GCC command to convert the assembly to an executable:
 gcc -m32 assembly.s -o out
 In this command, "assembly.s" is the name of the assembly file and "out" is the name of the executable you want to generate. The -m32 option tells GCC to build a 32-bit binary. You can omit that option and build 64-bit binaries if you want, but you'll need to make some changes to the code generation steps later on (e.g. using 64-bit registers).
 7. (Optional) Delete the assembly file.
You can test that your compiler is working properly with the test script here. It will compile a set of test programs using your compiler, execute them, and make sure they return the right value.
To invoke it:
./ /path/to/your/compiler
In order to test it with the script, your compiler needs to follow this spec:
 1. It can be invoked from the command line, taking only a C source file as an argument, e.g.:./YOUR_COMPILER /path/to/program.c
 2. When passed program.c, it generates executable program in the same directory.
 3. It doesn't generate assembly or an executable if parsing fails (this is what the test script checks for invalid test programs).
The script doesn't check whether your compiler outputs sensible error messages, but you can use the invalid test programs to test that manually.
Up Next
In the next post, we'll add three unary operators: -, ~, and!. Stay tuned!
If you have any questions, corrections, or other feedback, you can email me or open an issue.
Further Reading
 - Baby Steps to a C Compiler - a post about another C compiler inspired by Ghuloum's paper.
 - The C11 Standard, the current C language specification. Annex A is a summary of C's grammar, so it's a good reference for parsing. You probably don't need to read this all the way through.
1 If you're not familiar with sum types or pattern matching, there's a good introduction here.
2 An assembler converts a bunch of human-readable assembly instructions (like inc) into binary opcodes (like _PHONE_). A linker combines multiple object files (the files produced by the assembler) into a single executable. Even though return_2.c doesn't reference any external libraries, we still need the linker, for two reasons:
 - Object files produced by the assembler aren't in the right file format.
 - The linker includes some initialization code, called crt0, even though it's not explicitly referenced.
3 In case you're curious about these GCC options: -S tells GCC to generate an assembly file (return_2.s) instead of an executable. -O3 turns on a bunch of compiler optimizations - this removes a lot of boilerplate and makes the code easier to read - at least for extremely simple programs like this one. -fno-asynchronous-unwind-tables tells it not to generate an unwind table, which contains information needed to generate stack traces. Hiding the unwind table also makes the code smaller and more readable.
4 I think these directives will vary between platforms; these were generated using Homebrew gcc 7.2.0 on OS X. Here's what they mean:
 -.section __TEXT,__text_startup,regular,pure_instructions tells the assembler that this is the text section, which contains assembly instructions (other sections might contain string literals, initialized data, debug information, etc.).
 -.align 4 tells the assembler to align all the instructions at 16-byte intervals - the 4 here is a power of 2, 2^4 = 16. On some architectures.align 4 would mean align at 4-byte intervals. This directive is important because instructions (and data) can be fetched more quickly from word-aligned addresses on most CPU architectures. On a 64-bit machine, a word is only 4 bytes, but some SIMD x86 instructions require data to be 16-byte aligned; I think that's why GCC emits.align 4.
 -.subsections_via_symbols is used to eliminate dead code. It indicates that each chunk of assembly beginning with a symbol can be treated as an individual block, and removed if it's not used by any other block. More info in the documentation here.
5 A register is a very tiny, very fast memory cell that sits right on the CPU and has a name you can refer to in assembly.


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PostgreSQL defines a series of system columns in all tables, which are normally invisible to the user (e.g., they will not be shown by queries unless explicitly requested). These columns contain meta-data about the content of the table's rows. Many of these contain data which can help to differentiate between tuples (an individual state of a row) when working with transaction blocks. (See Chapter 5 for more on transactions.)
As a result of these system-defined columns, in addition to the user-defined columns of a table, any inserted row will have values in each of the columns described in Table 3-26.
Table 3-26. System Columns
Object identifier: the unique object identifier of a row. PostgreSQL automatically adds this 4-byte number to all rows. It is never re-used within the same table.
The table object identifier: the oid of the table that contains a row. The name and oid of a table are related by the pg_class system table.
Transaction minimum: the transaction identifier of the inserting transaction of a tuple.
Command minimum: the command identifier, starting at 0, associated with the inserting transaction of a tuple.
Transaction maximum: the transaction identifier of a tuple's deleting transaction. If a tuple is visible (has not been deleted) this is set to zero.
Command maximum: the command identifier associated with the deleting transaction of a tuple. Like xmax, if a tuple is visible, this is set to zero.
Tuple identifier: the identifier which describes the physical location of the tuple within the database. A pair of numbers are represented by the ctid : the block number, and tuple index within that block.


Phylogeny shape and the phylogenetic comparative method
Emília P. Martins, Elizabeth A. Housworth
Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review
37 Scopus citations
We explored the impact of phylogeny shape on the results of interspecific statistical analyses incorporating phylogenetic information. In most phylogenetic comparative methods (PCMs), the phylogeny can be represented as a relationship matrix, and the hierarchical nature of interspecific phylogenies translates into a distinctive blocklike matrix that can be described by its eigenvectors (topology) and eigenvalues (branch lengths). Thus, differences in the eigenvectors and eigenvalues of different relationship matrices can be used to gauge the impact of possible phylogeny errors by comparing the actual phylogeny used in a PCM analysis with a second phylogenetic hypothesis that may be more accurate. For example, we can use the sum of inverse eigenvalues as a rough index to compare the impact of phylogenies with different branch lengths. Topological differences are better described by the eigenvectors. In general, phylogeny errors that involve deep splits in the phylogeny (e.g., moving a taxon across the base of the phylogeny) are likely to have much greater impact than will those involving small perturbations in the fine structure near the tips. Small perturbations, however, may have more of an impact if the phylogeny structure is highly dependent (with many recent splits near the tips of the tree). Unfortunately, the impact of any phylogeny difference on the results of a PCM depends on the details of the data being considered. Recommendations regarding the choice, design, and statistical power of interspecific analyses are also made.
Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)873-880
Number of pages8
JournalSystematic biology
Issue number6
StatePublished - Dec 2002
Externally publishedYes
 - Comparative method
 - Eigenvalues
 - Eigenvectors
 - Evolution
 - Phylogeny
 - Principal components
 - Theory
ASJC Scopus subject areas
 - Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
 - Genetics
Fingerprint Dive into the research topics of 'Phylogeny shape and the phylogenetic comparative method'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.
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Product Details
- Contain:
1. 168 cards with different colours and characters. Each card consists of 2 HappiPlayground characters. There is a total of 8 characters namely Panda, Yani, Pucci, Pengi, Tiger, Bunni, Pinki and Elita.
2. An English and Chinese language guide
- Material: Paper
- Made with: Soybean Oil (an edible oil that can be fully integrated with the natural environment after decomposition; safe for children's use)
- Suitable for: 3 years old and above
- Diameter of each card: 7.4cm
- Made in Taiwan


text:
08 January 2019 | News
In the analyses, it was found that more samples of lipid compounds were present in blood samples from men who consumed more eggs.
image creditthespruceeats.com
According to a new study by the University of Eastern Finland, the average daily intake of one egg increases the number of circulating metabolites that are associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes. The study was published in Molecular Nutrition and Food Research.
Egg is one of the most controversial foods. Its eating has traditionally been called for to limit the amount of cholesterol, but the egg also has an abundance of bioactive compounds with beneficial effects on the body's functions. Thus, it is difficult to deduce the health effects of an egg solely on the basis of its cholesterol content.
The research team has previously reported that an average of one egg per day was combined with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes in middle-aged eastern Finnish men in coronary heart disease risk material. - The purpose of the latest study was to search for metabolites that could explain the connection found through metabolic analysis. Metabolomics analysis provides comprehensive information on, for example, blood sample compounds, says younger researcher Stefania Noerman.
In the analyses, it was found that more samples of lipid compounds were present in blood samples from men who consumed more eggs. The same compounds were also found in men who did not develop type 2 diabetes. In addition, the study team found that several blood-measured compounds, such as the amino acid tyrosine already detected in previous studies, predicted an increased risk of type 2 diabetes.
The study provides indications of mechanisms that can at least partially explain the relationship between egg eating and the lower risk of type 2 diabetes in this study. However, before we can make more definite conclusions about the effects of egg eating on the body, more cellular studies and experimental human studies using advanced research methods, such as metabolomics, are needed, says Noerman.


text:
Yanking Top Rectangles
Usually we copy or move text by killing it and yanking it, but there are other methods convenient for copying one block of text in many places, or for copying many scattered blocks of text into one place. To copy one block to many places, store it in a register (see Registers). Here we describe the commands to accumulate scattered pieces of text into a buffer or into a file.
Append region to contents of specified buffer.
|M-x prepend-to-buffer||Prepend region to contents of specified buffer.|
|M-x copy-to-buffer||Copy region into specified buffer, deleting that buffer's old contents.|
|M-x insert-buffer||Insert contents of specified buffer into current buffer at point.|
|M-x append-to-file||Append region to contents of specified file, at the end.|
To accumulate text into a buffer, use M-x append-to-buffer.
This reads a buffer name, then inserts a copy of the region into the
buffer specified. If you specify a nonexistent buffer,
append-to-buffer creates the buffer. The text is inserted
wherever point is in that buffer. If you have been using the buffer for
editing, the copied text goes into the middle of the text of the buffer,
wherever point happens to be in it.
Point in that buffer is left at the end of the copied text, so
successive uses of
append-to-buffer accumulate the text in the
specified buffer in the same order as they were copied. Strictly
append-to-buffer does not always append to the text
already in the buffer---it appends only if point in that buffer is at the end.
append-to-buffer is the only command you use to alter
a buffer, then point is always at the end.
M-x prepend-to-buffer is just like
except that point in the other buffer is left before the copied text, so
successive prependings add text in reverse order. M-x copy-to-buffer is similar except that any existing text in the other
buffer is deleted, so the buffer is left containing just the text newly
copied into it.
To retrieve the accumulated text from another buffer, use the command M-x insert-buffer; this too takes buffername as an argument. It inserts a copy of the text in buffer buffername into the selected buffer. You can alternatively select the other buffer for editing, then optionally move text from it by killing. See Buffers, for background information on buffers.
Instead of accumulating text within Emacs, in a buffer, you can append text directly into a file with M-x append-to-file, which takes filename as an argument. It adds the text of the region to the end of the specified file. The file is changed immediately on disk.
You should use
append-to-file only with files that are
not being visited in Emacs. Using it on a file that you are
editing in Emacs would change the file behind Emacs's back, which
can lead to losing some of your editing.


This TikTok Shows How You Can Walk to Russia From the U.S. — and Cross a 22-hour Time Zone
International travel is a lot simpler than it sounds.
A TikTok user called laubandrew posted a video that explains just how you can actually walk from Alaska to Russia. The explanation is mostly hypothetical, but it's an interesting way to show just how close North America is to the Asian continent.
aerial view of Big and Little Diomede Islands in the Bering Strait between Russia and Alaska
In the video, laubandrew notes the close proximity of two islands in the Bering Strait that mark the division between Russia and the United States. The first island is called Big Diomede, which is 25 miles off the coast of Russia, and the second island is called Little Diomede, which is about 16 miles off the coast of Alaska.
"These islands are only two-and-a-half miles apart," the TikTok user said in the video. "Which means that in the winter when the water freezes, you can walk from the United States in only 20 minutes."
Although, it's probably not recommended to walk to these islands. Although they are in close proximity to each other, the walk isn't quite so solid getting from the mainlands to the islands, especially in the dead of winter. In 1987, long distance swimmer Lynne Cox swam from one island to the other in about two hours, although this was in the middle of August.
But since they are parts of two different countries, the two islands are also in completely different time zones.
"To make matters even crazier, Big Diomede Island is 21 hours ahead of Little Diomede Island, which means that if you were to walk from the United States to Russia, you'd literally be walking into the next day. This is why they call Little Diomede 'Yesterdayland' and Big Diomede 'Tomorrowland,'" said the TikTok user.
Though we're used to seeing the U.S. and Russia on opposite sides of the map, the video certainly points out just how connected nations actually are, regardless of whether this is a practical way to travel or not.
Source: Read Full Article


text:
A cross country race is usually 5K (3.1 miles) for high school students and 3K (1.86 miles) for middle school students. The cross country season typically starts in September and ends in November. During a race, individuals and/or teams compete against one another to earn the fewest points.
|1. Event Logistics||6. Awards|
|2. Location and Course||7. Water|
|3. Organizing Heats||8. Wrap-Up|
|4. Timing||9. Additional Information / Ideas|
- The Event Planning Guide will help you consider the important elements in staging your athletic event.
- The Planning Timeline will help you carefully schedule your event preparations.
- The cross country Staffing and Supplies Checklist will help you assign roles to your colleagues and ensure you have everything you need for a successful event.
- The standard distance for a cross country race is 5K (3.1 miles) for high school students and 3K (1.86 miles) for middle school students, but the distance can be modified slightly to suit your students' needs.
- Make sure to measure the course accurately.
- Clearly identify the start and finish line(s) and mark the entire course for race day using cones or chalk.
- If participants will be out of sight for all or part of the race, plan on having plenty of marshals to guide runners and monitor the course.
- We suggest no more than 50 runners per heat.
- Decide how to organize heats in advance. You can divide participants by sex, class, age, height, skill, or simply by random assignment.
- Plan on a way to identify and separate heats. One option is to have separate areas with signs where each group can congregate. You can then walk each group to the start when it is their turn to run. Another possibility is to distribute colored or numbered stickers or wristbands to identify each heat, which you can then check as runners line up to run.
- Gather each heat 15 minutes before its start time so you can make sure all of the right participants are present for their heat.
- If you have time, you can start each heat so it finishes before the next one begins. If you are tight on time, you can space each heat several minutes apart. In that case, be sure heats are far enough apart that runners in different heats will not overlap with one another.
- Designate a timer at the finish line. If a printing stopwatch is available, click it each time a runner crosses the finish line to record their place and time. Later, you can use this information to compile the race results. Alternatively, assign a timer and a recorder. The timer will call out times as runners finish for a colleague to write down.
- Enlist several adults at the finish area to keep runners organized. When runners cross the finish line, keep them in order in a narrow area called a chute until you can note their finish places, names, and teams. Expedite this process by giving runners a sticker before the race with their name and team that you can remove at the finish line and organize on sheets of paper. If you don't have stickers, use a stack of pre-numbered index cards, indicating finish places, and hand them to runners as they finish. Runners can then proceed to a finish table to fill out their names and teams on the card. You can later match the finishers' names and places to the times on the stopwatch.
- A standard cross country team has seven scoring runners. You can allow teams with more runners as well as individuals, but they will not be considered in the team scoring.
- The first five runners' scores are included in the team score. For example, if Team A's runners finish in 2nd, 7th, 8th, 12th, 18th, 30th, and 31st, Team A receives 47 points. The team with the lowest score wins.
- Each scoring runner receives points corresponding to their overall place among other scoring runners. For example, if Team A has eight runners that finish in 1st through 8th place, and Team B's fastest runner finishes 9th, Team Bís top runner receives 8 points (Team Aís eighth runner is not included in scoring). In the event of a tie, you may consider including sixth and seventh place runners in team scores to determine a winner.
- While the sixth and seventh runners do not count towards their teamís score, they can still help their team win. If the sixth runner on a team comes in before the fifth runner on another team, they help increase the other team's score.
- For a traditional team-scored event, tally the results and present awards to the top teams and top individual finishers.
- For a less competitive event, you can station someone at the finish line to hand out participant awards as students finish or give them to each teacher or coach to distribute to their teams.
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Consider starting the event with a group warmup where you gather all participants together and have them follow along as an adult leads a simple warmup routine comprised of dynamic stretches and/or a brief jog. You can also organize a group cool-down.
- Try to position the warmup/cool-down leader above or below the runners (using stairs, a hill, or a stage) so the kids see the leader and can copy their movements. Provide a microphone if available.
- Play energizing music, if possible.
- Check out these sample warmup routines for some ideas:
In competitive settings, cross country runners often wear spikes. Spikes are shoes with metal spikes that improve a runner's traction. For a race with many beginners, or when a significant portion of the race will be run on hard surfaces (like concrete or asphalt), you may consider disallowing spikes. Check for any rules against spikes at the location of your race.Back to top


text:
The vitality, timing, and magnitude of hydropower production is driven by streamflow, which is determined by climate variables, in particular precipitation and temperature. Accordingly, changes in climate characteristics can cause alterations in hydropower production potential. This delineates a critical energy security concern, especially in places such as Canada, where recent changes in climate are substantial and hydropower production is important for both domestic use and exportation. Current Canadian assessments, however, are limited as they mainly focus on a small number of power plants across the country. In addition, they implement scenario-led top-down impact assessments that are subject to large uncertainties in climate, hydrological, and energy models. To avoid these limitations, we propose a bottom-up impact assessment based on the historical information on climatic trends and causal links between climate variables and hydropower production across political jurisdictions. Using this framework, we estimate expected monthly gain/loss in regional hydropower production potential under the continuation of historical climate trends. Our findings show that Canada's production potential is expected to increase, although the net gain/loss is subject to significant variations across different regions. Our results suggest increasing potential in Yukon, Ontario, and Quebec but decreasing production in the North Western Territories and Nunavut, British Columbia, and Alberta.
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License
which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited


Some of the largest spiders encountered in Montana are wolf spiders …and when you see one carrying around a blue, pea-sized "golf ball," you take notice. Wolf spider mothers attach their egg sacs to their spinnerets and carry on with normal life. After the spiderlings emerge, they clamber onto their mother's back and remain there for up to two weeks or more, until they are ready to be on their own. Wolf spiders are fast, ground-dwelling hunters that chase down their prey. Many species live in burrows.
Photos by: Kelly Dix on 4/25/21 in Lolo, MT


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Ethics of Wearables: How Health Providers Use Health Data Insights from Wellness Technology
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Posted on Dec 02, 2020, 10 a.m.
Wearable devices have opened new possibilities for personal fitness, enabling proactive individuals to set personal health and wellness goals, chart progress, and challenge themselves to reach higher standards.
While wearables offer a number of applications for individual health, they also present some significant ethical concerns. In particular, questions have arisen about the role of organizations that harvest and store the information recorded by wearable devices. These issues surrounding the ethics of wearables touch on a number of hot-button issues, including individual privacy rights and data consent.
What Is Wellness and Wearable Technology?
The wearable technology market has surged in popularity in recent years. Research indicates that the total number of connected wearable devices worldwide will surpass 1.1 billion by the year 2022. This includes a wide range of different wearables that are designed for an array of health and wellness applications.
Types of Wearables
Wearables include any electronic devices that are worn by individuals for the purpose of collecting data about their personal fitness and daily exercise. There are several specific types of wearables that are popular today.
 - Fitness trackers. Products such as the Fitbit are simple wristbands with built-in sensors. They are designed to gather a variety of information including the number of steps a user takes over the course of the day.
 - Smart heart watches. Wristwatches now come with sensors that monitor heart rate trends throughout the day.
 - Wearable ECG monitors. Some doctors ask patients to wear these portable ECG devices. The goal is to provide information about heart rates during daily activities such as walking, running or swimming.
 - Wearable blood pressure monitors. For patients with blood pressure concerns, these monitors can look just like ordinary wristwatches.
 - Wearable blood sugar monitors. These track glucose levels and help users manage their diabetes.
Wellness Technology Applications
Given the range of wearables on the market today, it should come as no surprise that these devices support many different health and fitness applications. Some examples include the following.
 - mHealth apps. These applications enable patients to automatically transmit information to their physicians who can monitor heart rate, blood pressure level and other vital signs.
 - Sleep trackers. Some apps are designed to monitor sleep cycles and provide automated suggestions about ideal bedtimes or wake-up times.
 - Heart trackers. A number of apps specifically designed for patients with cardiac issues enable them to monitor their core vitals.
Wellness Information
Ultimately, the goal of wearables is to collect information. Sometimes, this information simply enables users to track their own progress and take stock of personal fitness goals. In other cases, it is shared with healthcare organizations or doctors.
There are several types of information that wellness and wearable technology can document:
 - Heart rate
 - Blood pressure
 - Sleep patterns
 - Steps taken/pace while walking or running
Additionally, some wellness apps ask the user to manually input important information, such as medications they take, blood sugar level and more.
5 Ethical Issues of Wearable Technology
The use of wearable technology for data collection has generated a number of ethical questions, including concerns about disclosure of data collection, the selling of data, manipulation of insurance premiums, different ways of interpreting data and concerns about data loss due to poor cybersecurity.
1. Disclosure of Data Collection
One source of ethical concern is the nature of data authorization and consent. Generally speaking, when users sign up for an app that gathers their data, it requires them to sign a privacy agreement that authorizes the app to gather and store their health vitals. However, some experts warn that these privacy agreements do not sufficiently explain who uses that data and how, making the consent anything but informed.
2. Selling of Data
While many users expect their data will remain private and anonymous, there are concerns that data will be sold to health analytics companies, or used to target ads for weight loss supplements and other personal wellness products. Again, clear policies about the sharing of data may help, but the notion of meaningful informed consent is shaky.
3. Insurance Premiums
Many insurance companies have encouraged users to adopt wearable devices, which has generated concerns about personal health data being used to manipulate insurance premiums. Simply put, an insurance company that has raw data showing an individual to be in suboptimal health may use that as a license to increase charges.
4. Data Interpretation
Wearables are sometimes criticized for offering inaccurate information, which can lead to misguided data interpretation. Step counters provide the best example. While these applications often fare well in tracking steps taken while walking, they can be ineffective when documenting the results of a swim or a bike ride.
5. Cybersecurity
Finally, there are concerns that wearables have lax cybersecurity protocols, which could allow the breach of sensitive information. For example, some users may connect their wearables to unsecured networks, or connect them to other apps and platforms with insufficient cybersecurity protections.
How Health Providers Use the Data
By gathering and analyzing data, health providers can develop preventative care strategies, track patients' compliance to those strategies and measure vital signs. Health informatics professionals play a crucial role in ensuring there is sound, usable data for physicians to draw from.
Types of Data
Health providers may seek different types of data depending on a patient's clinical needs. For example, patients who are in a high-risk category for heart disease may agree to have blood pressure or heart rate numbers transmitted to their physician. For patients with diabetic concerns, a physician may ask them to manually input blood sugar numbers which can then be uploaded to the physician's health informatics system. Physicians can also track elements such as posture and daily activity levels, helping them advise their patients on overall wellness and lifestyle goals.
Preventative Strategies
One of the main purposes of data collection is to help physicians create prevention strategies. For example, by collecting blood pressure numbers for cardiac patients, doctors may advise changes to medication, diet or exercise level in the interest of preventing heart attack and stroke. For elderly patients, physicians can use mobility data to create fall prevention strategies.
Reducing Clinical Visits
Another perk of wearable technology is that it can help prevent the need for clinical visits. For example, there may be no need for a patient to come in for a regular blood pressure checkup if their wearable device transmits healthy or positive numbers. As long as physicians can be alerted to important shifts in patients' vital signs, they can minimize the need for routine follow-ups. This provides convenience to the patient and also lowers healthcare costs.
The Role of Health Informatics
Health informatics professionals play an important function in ensuring that data transmitted to a health organization is properly stored, and that physicians have the proper analytic tools at their disposal. Health informatics professionals can also scrutinize the data for trends that may reveal population health issues, an important consideration for public health officials.
Wearables Provide Many Benefits, but Also Ethical Concerns
There's no denying that wearable devices have opened up new opportunities for physicians and their patients to communicate, and also for health officials to track population health data. However, the benefits of this up-and-coming technology are accompanied by some clear ethical concerns. As technology becomes even more widespread, it's more critical than ever for health providers and patients alike to think through issues related to informed consent, data storage, and security.
Further Reading
This article was written by the healthinformatics team at the University of Illinois at Chicago as a resource guide. As a major research university, UIC is dedicated to providing world-class education, and as a university of national and international stature, the UIC is committed to creating and disseminating new knowledge through its innovative curriculum.
Materials provided by:
Content may be edited for style and length.
This article is not intended to provide medical diagnosis, advice, treatment, or endorsement,than%20any%20other%20wearable%20category.
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text:
About Our School
Pathfinder K-8 is located at the Cooper Elementary Building on Pigeon Point in West Seattle.
Pathfinder K-8 is an alternative public school where children are engaged in expeditionary learning. Native American cultures are the foundation from which we teach about many cultures, providing opportunities for our students to make their own cultural connections.
Pathfinder educates students to become passionate, lifelong learners, respecting themselves, others and the environment.
At Pathfinder we believe:
- A safe, respectful environment is essential for learning.
- High academic and behavioral standards encourage children to reach their personal best.
- A complete education comes from a caring community, including the partnership of students, staff, parents and other contributors.
- Children must learn to solve problems and be responsible citizens in social and academic settings.
- Multicultural education broadens awareness of and fosters and appreciation for diversity.
- Children need current technology, and the appropriate tools and physical environment to support their learning.
- Teaching our children to respect and care for our natural environment creates future stewards for our planet.


text:
This is a story how mite has subdued the beekeeper as his slave. :(
New York Times 21.1.2016
Evolution and Space reseach professor TwT reveals what is going on.
Steps of varroa evolution: :shock:
* First Varroa Jakobsonii stansformed to V. destructor.
* Then it become fluvinate resistant 1997
*Varroa become small-cell-resistant 2010
*Varroakind has stansformed to use human as his feeding substrate 2016.
Doctors have found that 60 years old man in Wolfforth Texas, who is full of varroa mites. Professor TwT have found, that the mite is new to science. He named it Varroa texacano.
It was found in 2010 that varroa have developed small cell recistancy and it was spreading among africanized feral bees. Bees and varroa are working together. We have not noticed yet if Varroa texacano can live in normal commercial comb size. It has better place:HUMAN
Our reporter is on his way to Wolfforth and he will tell, what is situation.
It is also found that to mite human is an biolocical energy pack and mites can join they power. They can destroy those, who are their enemy. They use ultra wave power and they can oscillate electric shocks. 4032 cars are burned during one year in Texas.


Non-Converting Cost %: Illuminating Trends in Your Account
By, Senior Account Analyst at Hanapin Marketing
I'd like to start off this post with a big hat tip to Kevin Klein, a fellow account manager at Hanapin, for his thoughts, feedback, and assistance. All of which were all essential for bringing this post together. Now back to your regularly scheduled programming.
"Taken out of context, I must seem so strange." – Ani DiFranco
Early this month we stressed the importance of teaching metrics to clients, and not simply bludgeoning them with data, and then expecting them to take everything at face value. It's an important lesson, and one that account managers— the ones wielding the blunt force data— would do well to internalize.
Today I'm going to show you a metric, and its suggested application practices. Then I'll provide an insightful alternative.
The Lin/Rodnitzsky ratio, also called The Aggressiveness Scale, refers to the following formula:
CPA of total search queries / CPA of search queries that have converted.
Then, based on the number resulting from this formula, the L/R ratio comes equipped with a suggested plan of action. A 2 on this scale, supposedly, is the sweet spot of consummate account curation. A 1 means you're too conservative, and should probably undergo some keyword expansion. A 4 means the opposite. Time to cut back.
Here's the problem: the L/R ratio doesn't consider any account specific intangibles besides converted keywords (such as goals and performance), and makes the assumption that if there are performance issues, that those issues are caused, or even correlated to, excess keywords.
But we can take one aspect of the L/R ratio, extract it, and apply it in a more constructive way. The L/R ratio measures the amount of an account's spend towards keywords that have not converted. However, it presents this information in an abstract way (1, 2, 3 etc, on a limitless scale). So why not just calculate the exact % of your non-converting spend? Seeing that 60% of your account's spend is going to non-converting keywords is a whole lot more meaningful than seeing your account is a 4.2 on The Aggressiveness Scale, right
In order to find the % of Non-Converting Cost (NCC) in your account, filter out keywords with at least 1 conversion.
Now, take the cost of your converting keywords ($12,792.48), and subtract it from your total cost ($87,437.93), to find your NCC ($74,645.45). Then divide NCC by total cost, and multiply it out by 100 to find your NCC% (85.3).
Once you have a solid grasp on your NCC— and a number to represent it that is meaningful rather than represented in a non-intuitive way— you can than begin to figure out if it truly has any impact, positive or negative, on your account.
Here are a few different examples.
The above stacked line graph measures an account's rolling 14-week NCC% versus its Return on Ad Spend numbers. As is starkly illustrated in the data visualization, there is a very clear (and seemingly dependent) relationship between NCC% and ROAS. In fact, whoever manages this account can look at the graph and note that when the account has an NCC of 86% or greater, it tends to fall short of its ROAS goal, and vice versa. That's a pretty fantastic piece of information to have about your account, and one that the L/R ratio does not provide.
Here's another account, this one possessing a very different NCC/ROAS relationship than the one above.
Here you'll see that over the course of 12 months, ROAS and NCC stuck together like your upper and lower teeth after a withdraw from the bank of Jujyfruit. This relationship defies conventional wisdom— you'd think that super efficient spend would translate to an increased return. For whatever reason (and whoever runs the account can hypothesize on this), that's not the case here. But what's important is that you can use NCC% to identify that relationship, and then set your course of action.
If the trends are any indication, and they are— this is a massive account, with a trove of history, and a ton of data— cutting back on NCC%, which is what the L/R ratio would advise, is not what this account needs. See? Context. Valuable stuff.
A final example, this time utilizing a CPL goal from a lead-gen account.
This is example is interesting because there does not appear to be a tangible relationship between the goal metric (CPL) and NCC%. While in example 1 there was a clear inverse relationship, and in example 2, both data sets mirrored each other, example 3 possesses elements of both, making it difficult to use NCC as a benchmark, because performance has been volatile.
So in 3 different accounts, we see 3 different NCC/goal relationships. Looking at the data this way allows the account manager to operate with the aid of perspective, instead of blinding reducing or building out.
^ See what context can do for comprehension? Bet it now makes a lot more sense why I started with that quote.
Concluding Thoughts
The primary point of any metric should be how it relates to business goals. Performance should improve after removing wasted spend is a straightforward concept. By cutting down on excess you can focus on high converting queries. If NCC is high you can dig into the two major problem areas. Are you bringing in poor quality traffic or is it a CRO/site design problem?
The issues come into play when relying solely on a number. NCC normalizes this ratio to something more manageable. On an account specific basis it reveals hints for maximizing gains and orienting an overall strategy. Of course you'll always need to account for seasonality, market changes, and new strategies but looking beyond the CPA and into your NCC helps in understanding where your money is going. It may alarm you at first if it is a high number but remember PPC is full of managers who would be ecstatic for a 1% conversion rate.
For example, in e-commerce bids are often cheap, and the queries plentiful. While it's important to hone high traffic keywords with exact matches, there will be too many queries to always have exact matches. So long as these are quality queries and enough users convert, you can feasibly increase spend for higher and higher ROAS, even if you're technically increasing your overall NCC.
For accounts with high average order values, the increases in revenue will quickly overcome the higher NCC. It's up to you to find the correct level for your accounts. You may find that you can't sustain or profit from a high NCC%, or you may find that by attempting to quickly bring down the NCC, you slash too much potential revenue.
For a lead gen example, NCC allows you to justify and analyze just how much you will pay for those extra conversions. For example, you may have 20 more seats open in a university class, which you try to fill via paid search. While you usually optimize for a $250 CPA, filling those excess seats may justify a much higher CPA (since the relative value of tuition and credit hours is so high, you really don't want seats to go to waste). While optimizing towards a specific ratio would tell you not to do this, understanding that you are devoting an extra 50% of spend for additional conversions provides a deeper perspective for allocating your budget.
Do you utilize any metrics such as the Lin-Rodnitzsky ratio, Aggressiveness ratio, or something like the NCC? What situations have you found it most useful or where did you find it not so useful? Feel free to leave a comment and share your ideas with us and fellow readers.
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 - Ben
 What is the L/R ratio? I don't think that was ever explained. Was that the initial formula you gave? If os, how does this relate to the NCC%?
 - Kevin Klein
 Yep Ben, L/R ratio is short for Lin/Rodnitzsky ratio, which is: CPA of total search queries / CPA of search queries that have converted.
 The L/R ratio relates to NCC%, because L/R ratio calculates perceived excess spend based on CPA differential. What NCC% does is simply give you a raw number, so you know exactly how many of your keywords are not converting.
 - Zina
 I really missed the attributing conversions metric per keyword in this post. Dropping (non-converting) weight in AdWordscampaigns while they are attibuting conversions on other keywords seems like a very bad idea indeed…
 - Benjamin Hoffman
 Nice article Jacob… do you see a benefit in tracking both LR ratio and NCC at the same time?


text:
Marble Chips and Acids
Date: Around 1999
I would be ecstatic if you have, or know of any site
that does, an investigation on the reaction between hydrochloric acid and
marble chips. (I am investigating how the concentration of acid affects
It is for my GCSE coursework, and as i have missed the last 2/3 months of
school; due to serious health problems, i am desperately stuggling.
I would really appreciate it if you could help in all areas (plan,
conclusion and analysis etc.). If anyone has handed in or re-written a
GCSE investigation to do with this experiment, i would be SO grateful if
you would email me with either a web page or details.
Newton isn't in the business of doing people's schoolwork for them. We're
here to help them learn, which isn't the same thing.
You have chosen a somewhat difficult system to investigate, as it involves
two different phases (solid marble chips and liquid HCl in solution). The
progress of the reaction will depend on many variables other than the
concentration of the HCl. Two that are especially prominent because of the
two-phase nature are: 1. The ratio of surface area of the chips to the mass
of the chips. Smaller chips or chips of irregular shape will have
proportionately more surface area than large or blocky chips. 2. The
mixing between the two phases. As the reaction proceeds, HCl near the chips
will be depleted, and the concentration there will be less than the average
concentration throughout the reaction mixture. This could really throw off
your investigation. To minimize problem 1, you will need to use similar
marble chips for each experiment. They should be the same size and general
shape from run to run to give you interpretable results. For your analysis,
it may be a good idea to estimate the surface area (in, say, square
centimeters per gram) of the chips. This number may change as the reaction
proceeds, so you may also want to determine the area as a function of time
or extent of reaction as well. To minimize problem 2, you will need to keep
the reaction mixture well-mixed throughout the course of the reaction.
Before I go further, I should establish exactly what reaction is occurring.
CaCO3(s) + H+(aq) + Cl-(aq) --> Ca++(aq) + HCO3-(aq) + Cl-(aq)
HCO3-(aq) + H+(aq) + Cl-(aq) --> H2CO3(aq) + Cl-(aq)
H2CO3(aq) --> H2O + CO2(g)
Add these all together to get
CaCO3(s) + 2H+(aq) --> Ca++(aq) + H2O + CO2(g)
Depending on what the rate-determining step of this reaction is, the
kinetics should be either first or second order in acid.
There are several ways that you can follow the reaction, and it may be a
good idea to try more than one of them. As the reaction proceeds, solid
marble (CaCO3) disappears, acid (H+) is consumed, and carbon dioxide gas
(CO2) is produced. You could measure these by:
CaCO3: Stop the reaction after some period of time by filtering out and
washing the marble, and weigh it.
acid: Measure the pH of the reaction as it proceeds (requires a pH meter,
which is expensive), or fish out the marble and titrate the remaining acid.
CO2: Trap the gas evolved into an inverted graduated cylinder or a balloon,
and measure its volume. You could also trap it onto a chemical adsorbent,
such as Ascarite of soda lime, and weigh the charged sorbent. (Both
measurements would need to be corrected for water vapor in the collected
As for analysis and conclusions, you will need some data first. This should
be enough to get you started.
Richard E. Barrans Jr., Ph.D.
PG Research Foundation, Darien, Illinois
Click here to return to the Chemistry Archives
Update: June 2012