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 - We explore "top N" sector rotation strategies based upon momentum signals.
 - We find that too much concentration (i.e. N is too small) leads to poor performance, whereas performance does not appear to materially degrade for larger N.
 - We find that shortto long-term signals all appear to generate higher total returns than the S&P 500 and there may be room to benefit from diversification by using multiple signals.
 - However, in attempting to use momentum information in an optimization, we struggle to generate any value.
 - We find that the majority of "top N" returns actually come from the tilt towards an equal-weight sector approach, with momentum adding little-to-no beneficial information.
 - Of 1,000 randomly generated "top 4" sector strategies, 97% out-performed the S&P 500 from 2000-2012, highlighting the importance of decomposing strategy returns into the contribution of each step of the portfolio's construction. In this case, by more appropriately measuring the impact of momentum information after accounting for the return generated by equal-weight tilts, we find no benefit since the turn of the century.
In last week's commentary ("Es-CAPE Velocity: Value-Driven Sector Rotation," August 26th, 2019) we explored value-based sector rotation in the 20thcentury. Specifically, we deconstructed the Shiller CAPE US Sector Rotation strategy and ultimately found that the largest driver of performance was not value, but a momentum-based filter.
Given the success of the momentum-based filter and the fact that momentum often exhibits negative correlation to value, in this week's research note we wanted to explore the application of momentum-based signals in US sector rotation.
To perform this analysis, we will apply momentum-based signals to portfolios build from the SSgA Sector Select ETFs. After REITs were spun out of the Financial sector in 2016, a Vanguard REIT ETF was included in the investible universe. With the introduction of the Communication Services sector and a significant re-classification of Consumer Discretionary and Technology companies in September 2018, we utilized hypothetical indices that more accurately reflect the re-categorization (when historically applied) to generate momentum signals.
How Many Sectors?
To begin our analysis, we will start with a very traditional sector rotation model: a "top N" system. In this system, sectors are ranked on a quantitative signal and then the top N sectors with the strongest signals are equally weighted.
For example, in a top 4 12-month momentum system, sectors would be ranked based upon their prior 12-month total return and the strategy would allocate 25% of the portfolio to the top 4 ranking sectors for the next month.
The choice of N largely depends upon our expectations of signal strength, accuracy, and relative performance between ranks. For example, if the signal demonstrates a monotonic improvement in return (i.e. higher ranks imply higher returns) with a strong degree of accuracy, we might choose a small N to maximize our returns. The stronger the improvement, the more concentration risk we may be willing to bear.
On the other hand, if the signal is largely flat, with a drop-off in performance for lower ranking sectors, than we might treat it more as a screen, equally weighting a large number of sectors and avoiding just a few.
Below we plot the equity curves for different 12-month top N momentum strategies, where N is varied from 1 to 9. We have shaded the graph from darker-to-lighter blues in an effort to determine if there are any parameterization-based patterns that emerge visually.
We can quickly see that the more concentrated strategies – for example, Top 1 and Top 3 – have the lowest total returns. However, among more diversified strategies, there appears to be a large degree of consistency in their terminal wealth. This might suggest that momentum, when applied in the last century, served better in avoiding the worst sectors rather than picking the best.
Source: CSI Data; S&P Dow Jones; Calculations by Newfound Research. Results assume the reinvestment of all distributions. Results are gross of all fees, including, but not limited to, manager fees, transaction costs, and taxes. Past performance is not an indicator of future results.
Longversus Short-Term Momentum
Below we plot all the top 4 systems with momentum lookbacks ranging from 1 to 18 months. Again, we vary the shades from darker-to-lighter blues in an effort to determine if any visual patterns emerge.
Interestingly, we can see that both short- (1-to-3 months) and long-term (16-to-18 months) momentum appear to perform the worst on a total return basis, while more intermediate-term measures (10- and 11-month momentum) appear to perform the best.
Of course, in the short-term, results can vary dramatically and even a 20-year period is not sufficient to determine if a cluster of parameterizations is superior. If we plot rolling 1-year returns, we can see dramatic dispersion in results versus the average return of the different parameterizations. For example, fromJune 2007 to June 2008, the 1M variation under-performed the average result by over 1100 basis points, but from February 2009 to February 2010, it out-performed by over 2000 basis points.
With no statistical difference in Sharpe ratios over the period, we would suggest that – once again – different parameterizations represent an opportunity for diversification.
Tracking-Error Based
The above analysis suggests that sector-based momentum may be most effective if we simply try to avoid the worst sectors and apply an ensemble of parameterizations. One potential way of improving our model, then, is via optimization. Specifically, we can seek to maximize our momentum exposure subject to tracking-error constraints with respect to the S&P 500.
To implement this idea, we:
 1. Generate N-month returns for each sector
 2. Calculate a covariance matrix from sector returns (exponentially weighted over the prior 252 days).
 3. Given current S&P 500 sector weights, select portfolio that maximizes weighted N-month returns subject to a given tracking error constraint.
The goal of this process is for the optimization process – despite the added computational complexity and embedded estimation risk – to more intelligently apply our active risk budget.
We also construct a variation where instead of maximizing the weighted N-month returns, we will transform the N-month returns to ranks and maximize the weighted rank. This can be thought of as a regularization step, sacrificing potential non-linear information but reducing the impact of outlier returns.
The results here are a bit of a head scratcher, as we have almost completely lost any out-performance generated in the top N models.
Which suggests that, perhaps, the out-performance had nothing to do with momentum-based information, but rather something else entirely.
It Was Always You, Equal Weight
If we return to our foundational framework that any active strategy is really just the market-capitalization-weighted portfolio plus a dollar-neutral long/short portfolio overlaid on top, then we can really think of our top N portfolios in a two-step active process:
 1. Start with the S&P 500 and tilt to equal-weight sector implementation;
 2. Remove low-momentum sectors and re-allocate capital among the rest.
To more accurately demonstrate the impact of our momentum decisions, then, we really should be isolating the impact of each of these steps.
For example, plotting the weight differences over time, we can see that equal-weight sectors are typically overweight Utilities and Materials and underweight Technology. We would expect this to dramatically help in the dot-com fallout, but hurt us after 2008.
If we actually generate the performance of this long/short strategy, we can see the results almost perfectly line up with our expectations: it was a generally profitable trade in the new century through early 2012, at which point it began to reverse.
If we plot the S&P 500, an equal-sector portfolio, and a top 4 momentum strategy, we can see that there is actually very little performance differential between the equal-sector approach and the momentum strategy. In fact, the momentum strategy does not appear to add much value at all other than active noise.
Which very much confirms the results we saw in our tracking-error-based solution: in the last century, the edge has not been in momentum.
Rather, it would appear that a top N momentum strategy was merely able to back its way into harvesting the return benefits of the equal-weight portfolio. The question we must now ask is whether that represents skill in the signal or merely luck.
Given the abject failure of momentum to dislodge itself from the equal weight portfolio after 2012, our initial guess is "luck."
But to explore this idea further, we generate 1,000 randomly generated "top 4" strategies. At the end of each month, each strategy randomly selects four sectors and holds them in equal weight over the next month. Note that as the number of strategies increases, the average allocation across all strategies should approach an equally weighted sector portfolio.
We then plot the distribution of annualized excess returns (versus the S&P 500) of each randomly generated strategy from 7/2000 to 3/2012.
The grey bar highlights the zero excess return line and the orange bar highlights the annualized return of the top 4 momentum strategy.
Two things are immediately apparent:
 - Simply throwing a dart to select sectors from 7/2000 to 3/2012 proved to be a very effective strategy. In


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- The humanistic approach is based on the idea that we have a natural tendency to grow and develop as peope psychologically.
- Maslow and Carl Rogers both make up the theory and ideas.
Marslow's Hierachy of needs:
- The hierachy of needs draws attention to the needs that need to be met in order of priority to become a fully complete person. There are six types:
1) Physiological needs: Are basic needs such as the need of air, water, food, shelter. These needs have to be met before we can expect to meet our other needs.
2) Safety needs: We need next to avoid pain and harm, we need to be safe.
3) Belongingness: This refers to our need to belong and feel secure, this need is likely to be met first within our family.
4) Love needs: Once we feel secure and we belong, we need to love and be loved in return.
5) Self esteem: We need to feel that we are worthwhile. Self esteem develops as we become more competent and independent and from the recognition we get from other people.
6) Self - actualisation: These needs come at the top of the pyramid and refer to our need to become whole.
Self - actualisation:
Self actualisation is the process of becoming a whole complete person. Maslow researched a list of features that people who are complete havev in common.
-Spontaneous and uncoventional
- Identify with others and genuinely want to help them
- Tend to have close relationships with few people only
- Appreciation of people is fresh, not steriotyped
- Sense of humour is based on seeing jokes in…

source: openbmb/Ultra-FineWeb


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World of Women
How Chilean employers justify paying women less
Readers talk back
Must reads site wide
Gender pay gap is a problem for most women globally but at least Australian women are able to openly discuss and debate it.
Chilean women don't mention the gap for fear of losing their job. Arguments for paying women less in Chile centre on the role of women in that country. They are seen as homemakers while men are seen as workers.
Statistics from a national survey show that in 2009 women earned 15.8 per cent less than men. The difference is 37 per cent among male and female graduates.
Chile's Direccion del Trabajo (labour office) found that eliminating the gender gap would have a significant impact on poverty so perhaps it's time they started talking about it.
This story was first reported on IPS news

source: HuggingFaceFW/fineweb-edu


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Alaska, but they are known to have litters ranging from one to six in other parts of their range. At birth, the young flying squirrel (nestling) is hairless, and its eyes and ears are closed. Development is slow in comparison with other mammals of similar size. Their eyes open at about 25 days, and they nurse for about 60 to 70 days. By day 240, the young are fully grown and cannot be distinguished from adults by body measurements and fur characteristics. Mortality rate for flying squirrels 1 and 2 years old is about 50 percent, and few live past 4 years of age. Complete population turnover can occur by the third year.
Individual flying squirrels nest in tree cavities, witches' brooms, and drays. In Interior Alaska, most brooms and cavity entrances have southerly exposures. Nests in cavities are usually located about 25 feet above the ground but may range between 5 and 45 feet. Flying squirrels excavate chambers in witches' brooms and line them with nesting materials. A dray nest is a ball-like mass of mosses, twigs, lichens, and leaves with shredded bark and lichens forming the lining of the chamber. Flying squirrels build drays entirely by themselves or modify the nests of other species (e.g., bird nests, red squirrel nests). The dray is usually positioned close to the trunk on a limb or whorl of branches with its entrance next to the trunk. Most drays in Alaska are probably conifers.
Food habits: The flying squirrel is omnivorous. While little is known about its diet in Alaska, the food it consumes in other parts of its range include mushrooms, truffles, lichens, fruits, green vegetation, nuts, seeds, tree buds, insects, and meat (fresh, dried, or rotted). Nestling birds and birds' eggs may also be eaten. Those observed foraging in the wild in Interior Alaska ate mushrooms (fresh and dried), truffles, berries, tree lichens, and the newly flushed growth tips on white spruce limbs. In spring, summer, and fall the diet is mostly fresh fungi. In winter it's mostly lichens. Flying squirrels are not known to cache fungi for winter in Alaska, but they are known to do so elsewhere in their range. Witches' brooms and tree cavities would be likely places to find their caches.
Predators and parasites: Owls, hawks, and carnivorous mammals prey on flying squirrels. Primary predators are probably the great horned owl, goshawk, and marten due to their common occurrence and widespread range in Alaska's forests. Three different flea species may infest a single squirrel.
Economic and ecological value: Flying squirrels are important to forest regeneration and timber production because they disperse spores of ectomycorrhizal fungi like truffles. Truffles are fruiting bodies of a special type of fungus that matures underground. They are dependent upon animals to smell them out, dig them up, consume them, and disperse their spores in fecal material where the animal travels. The animal serves to inoculate disturbed sites (e.g., clearcuts, burned areas) with mycorrhizae that join symbiotically with plant roots and enhance their ability to absorb nutrients and maintain health. The flying squirrel's ecological role in forest ecosystems, therefore, gives it economic value. In addition, they may be important prey for a variety of hawks, owls, small carnivores, and furbearers like marten, lynx, and red fox. Many Alaskans value flying squirrels just for their interesting habits and aesthetic qualities.
Management considerations: Logging for house logs, wood for fuel, and lumber can have devastating effects on flying squirrel populations if clearcut size is too large or if some scattered tall conifers in large cuts are not retained as cover and for travel across the open spaces. Management should include retention of other squirrel species in shared habitats. Snags with woodpecker holes or other natural cavities and coniferous trees with witches' brooms must also be maintained in managed forests in order to provide adequate habitat for flying squirrels.
The red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) makes itself quite conspicuous with its lively habits and noisy chatter. Cone cuttings on stumps or rocks are common and tracks in snow are numerous where this squirrel occurs. It can be found in spruce forests over most of Alaska and has a wide range in North America. It occupies a wide variety of forest habitat, occurring in the hardwood forests of eastern North America and the coniferous forests of the west and north.
General description: The active rodent averages 11 to 13 inches in length (28-33 cm), including tail, and is a rusty-olive color on the upper parts of its body with a whitish belly and underparts. In summer, a dark stripe on the side separates the upper rusty color from the white of the belly. The bushy tail is often a lighter orange or red with light tipped hairs.
Life history: Red squirrels are solitary but pair for mating in February and March. Females usually breed when they are 1 year old. Three to seven young are born after a gestation period of 36 to 40 days. The young are born blind and hairless, weighing about ¼ ounce at birth. They are weaned at about 5 weeks but remain with the female until almost adult size.
The young leave the female and are independent during their first winter. This means that they have to be successful at gathering and storing a winter's supply of food.
Behavior: Much of the red squirrel's time in the summer is spent cutting and storing green spruce cones. There may be several bushels of cones stored in a cache. Caches may attain a diameter of 15 to 18 feet and a depth of 3 feet. Red squirrels also cache mushrooms on tree branches. They eat seeds, berries, buds, fungi, and occasionally insects and birds' eggs. They are busy collecting and storing food from early morning until dusk and also on moonlit nights.
Nests may be a hole in a tree trunk or a tightly constructed mass of twigs, leaves, mosses, and lichens in the densest foliage of a tree (making the nest almost completely weatherproof). A loose mass of twigs and leafy debris in a high tree is used as a "fair weather" nest. Their ground burrows, also known as middens, are used mostly for food storage. There is usually one large active midden in each territory with perhaps an inactive or auxiliary midden.
The home range of red squirrels is about ½ to 1 acre, and each squirrel knows its territory well. Each squirrel has several nests in its territory and always seems to know which retreat is nearest. Territorial behavior seems to be most rigid during caching of food and relaxes somewhat in the spring.
The red squirrel is active all year but may remain in its nest during severe cold spells and inclement weather. They are agile climbers and, being extremely curious, will often attempt to enter buildings, upsetting anything they can move and gnawing on woodwork. Once in a house or cabin, they can be very destructive, tearing out insulation and mattress stuffing for use as nesting material and caching food stores in any available niche.
Predators: The main predators of red squirrels are hawks, owls, and marten. Other predators may occasionally take a squirrel but are not serious threats. Around populated areas, one of the predators is the domestic housecat.
Human use: The red squirrel is used to a limited extent by man for food and fur. Squirrels may be small but the meat is good eating. In parts of Canada and Alaska the pelts are sold for their fur. Red squirrels may damage trees, cutting off twigs by the bushel, but they are also helpful because they distribute and plant seeds of spruce and other trees.
The Arctic Ground Squirrel (Spermophilus Parryii) was named "tsik-tsik" by the Inupiat Eskimos on account of a call this little rodent makes when it is alarmed?
Tsik-tsiks are found in both arctic and alpine tundra. They fatten themselves on seeds, mushrooms and berries—almost doubling their body weight over the summer—in preparation for fall hibernation. Although they insulate their winter burrows with grasses and block the entrances with dirt, winter temperatures inside the burrows still fall well below 0° F.
During hibernation, the body temperature of the arctic ground squirrel drops from 98.6° F to 26.4° F—that's below the freezing point of water and is the lowest known body temperature of any living mammal. Most mammals, including people, would be frozen solid at that body temperature! Scientists aren't sure just how these diminutive rodents do it, but they apparently have developed a unique mechanism that allows their body fluids to become supercooled—to fall below the freezing point without crystallizing into ice and damaging cell tissue.
Periodically throughout the winter, the tsik-tsik will rouse itself, briefly raising its body temperature more than 70° F in four hours, before going back into hibernation. Not until late March or early April does the arctic ground squirrel finally emerge from its winter den to the light of another spring and six months of intense activity.
Arctic ground squirrels are the largest and most northern of the North American ground squirrels. This species is common in the ice-free mountainous regions of Denali. Permafrost and soil type are two of


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London: Patients who underwent hip replacement surgery have showen little improvement in their physical activity levels like walking, cycling or climbing stairs, a study has found.
Hip replacement surgery is a procedure in which a doctor surgically removes a painful hip joint with arthritis and replaces it with an artificial joint often made from metal and plastic components.
The most common reason for a hip replacement is to reduce pain on movement due to osteoarthritis (93 per cent), the study said.
It was thus expected that the amount of physical activity like walking longer distances or walking more quickly post-surgery would therefore increase.
However, "the study found that there was no clear evidence of a change in physical activity following surgery," said lead researcher Tom Withers from the University of East Anglia (UEA) in Britain.
"The lack of significant difference in physical activity after patients undergo such a common procedure suggests there is a need for further research, including further investigation into how other personal characteristics or pre-existing conditions might also influence the results," added Toby Smith, Lecturer at UEA.
In the study, the team of researchers looked at data from about 1,030 patients who had received hip replacements.
The benefits of regular physical activity following a hip replacement are well known, so this research is important for healthcare professionals because it suggests that patients need to be encouraged to be more physically active, the researchers said.
"Healthcare professionals and researchers need to better understand this lack of change and how patient's perceptions of physical activity might be modified to increase their engagement in physical activity post-operatively," Smith noted.
The study was published in the journal Clinical Rehabilitation.


the frame is being composited by the XR hardware. Any subsequent calls the developer makes to updateRenderState() will not be applied until the next XRFrame's callbacks are processed.
The timestamp provided is acquired using identical logic to the processing of window.requestAnimationFrame() callbacks. This means that the timestamp is a DOMHighResTimeStamp set to the current time when the frame's callbacks begin processing. Multiple callbacks in a single frame will receive the same timestamp, even though time has elapsed during the processing of previous callbacks. In the future if additional, XR-specific timing information is identified that the API should provide, it is recommended that it be via the XRFrame object.
The XRWebGLLayers framebuffer is created by the UA and behaves similarly to a canvas's default framebuffer. Using framebufferTexture2D, framebufferRenderbuffer, getFramebufferAttachmentParameter, and getRenderbufferParameter will all generate an INVALID_OPERATION error. Additionally, outside of an XRSession's requestAnimationFrame() callback the framebuffer will be considered incomplete, reporting FRAMEBUFFER_UNSUPPORTED when calling checkFramebufferStatus. Attempts to draw to it, clear it, or read from it generate an INVALID_FRAMEBUFFER_OPERATION error as indicated by the WebGL specification.
Once drawn to, the XR device will continue displaying the contents of the XRWebGLLayer framebuffer, potentially reprojected to match head motion, regardless of whether or not the page continues processing new frames. Potentially future spec iterations could enable additional types of layers, such as video layers, that could automatically be synchronized to the device's refresh rate.
Viewer tracking With WebGL
Each XRFrame the scene will be drawn from the perspective of a "viewer", which is the user or device viewing the scene, described by an XRViewerPose. Developers retrieve the current XRViewerPose by calling getViewerPose() on the XRFrame and providing an XRReferenceSpace for the pose to be returned in. Due to the nature of XR tracking systems, this function is not guaranteed to return a value and developers will need to respond appropriately. For more information about what situations will cause getViewerPose() to fail and recommended practices for handling the situation, refer to the Spatial Tracking Explainer.
The XRViewerPose contains a views attribute, which is an array of XRViews. Each XRView has a projectionMatrix and transform that should be used when rendering with WebGL. The XRView is also passed to an XRWebGLLayer's getViewport() method to determine what the WebGL viewport should be set to when rendering. This ensures that the appropriate perspectives of scene are rendered to the correct portion on the XRWebGLLayer's framebuffer in order to display correctly on the XR hardware.
function onDrawFrame(timestamp, xrFrame) {
 // Do we have an active session?
 if (xrSession) {
 let glLayer = xrSession.renderState.baseLayer;
 let pose = xrFrame.getViewerPose(xrReferenceSpace);
 if (pose) {
 // Run imaginary 3D engine's simulation to step forward physics, animations, etc.
 scene.updateScene(timestamp, xrFrame);
 gl.bindFramebuffer(gl.FRAMEBUFFER, glLayer.framebuffer);
 for (let view of pose.views) {
 let viewport = glLayer.getViewport(view);
 gl.viewport(viewport.x, viewport.y, viewport.width, viewport.height);
 // Request the next animation callback
 } else {
 // No session available, so render a default mono view.
 gl.viewport(0, 0, glCanvas.width, glCanvas.height);
 // Request the next window callback
Each transform attribute of each XRView is an XRRigidTransform consisting of a position and orientation. (See the definition of an XRRigidTransform in the spatial tracking explainer for more details.) These should be treated as the locations of virtuals "cameras" within the scene. If the application is using a library to assist with rendering, it may be most natural to apply these values to a camera object directly, like so:
// Apply the view transform to the camera of a fictional rendering library.
function drawScene(view) {
Or it may be easier to pass the transform in as a view matrix, especially if the application makes WebGL calls directly. In that case the matrix needed will typically be the inverse of the view transform, which can easily be acquired from the inverse attribute of the XRRigidTransform.
// Get a view matrix and projection matrix appropriate for passing directly to a WebGL shader.
function drawScene(view) {
 viewMatrix = view.transform.inverse.matrix;
 projectionMatrix = view.projectionMatrix;
 // Set uniforms as appropriate for shaders being used
 // Draw Scene
In both cases the XRView's projectionMatrix should be used as-is. Altering it may cause incorrect output to the XR device and significant user discomfort.
Because the XRViewerPose inherits from XRPose it also contains a transform describing the position and orientation of the viewer as a whole relative to the XRReferenceSpace origin. This is primarily useful for rendering a visual representation of the viewer for spectator views or multi-user environments.
Audio Listener Tracking
Each XRFrame the viewerPos. transform.matrix needs to be modified to fit with the orientation values for the AudioContext.listener front and up values. Note that in the viewer xrReferenceSpace, the position and orientation move along with the headset (and presumably the user's head). This means it has a native origin always at the viewerPos. transform.matrix, so only the orientation of the audio listener will change in this ' xrReferenceSpace'. It's also important to clarify that there's no such thing as the listener position. The scene can have multiple coexisting coordinate systems. In this example, you're getting the viewer pose in a specific xrReferenceSpace, and using the pose transform matrix to update the AudioListener with position and orientation in that reference space's coordinate system. The unstated assumption is that the audio sources will also use coordinates in that same reference space's coordinate system, and if that's the case you'll get a consistent experience. It would be perfectly valid (if a bit odd) to do everything in viewer space, keeping the AudioListener at the viewer space origin with fixed forward along -z and up along +y in that space, and then ensure that the coordinates for audio sources are in this same viewer space, relative to the current head position and orientation.
Here is an example of how to connect the viewerPos. transform.matrix to the AudioContext.listener:
// initialize the audio context
const AudioContext = window.AudioContext || window.webkitAudioContext;
const audioCtx = new AudioContext();
function onDrawFrame(timestamp, xrFrame) {
 // Do we have an active session?
 if (xrSession) {
 let listener = audioCtx.listener;
 let pose = xrFrame.getViewerPose(xrReferenceSpace);
 if (pose) {
 // Run imaginary 3D engine's simulation to step forward physics, PannerNodes, etc.
 scene.updateScene(timestamp, xrFrame);
 // Set the audio listener to face where the XR view is facing
 /// The pose.matrix top left 3x3 elements provide unit column vectors in base space for the posed coordinate system's x/y/z axis directions,
 /// so we use the negative of the third column directly as a forward vector corresponding to the -z direction.
 // The given pose.transform.orientation is a quaternion and not a forward vector, so is not used with web audio
 const m = pose.transform.matrix;
 // Set forward facing position
 [ listener.forwardX.value, listener.forwardY.value, listener.forwardZ.value ] = [-m[8], -m[9], -m[10]];
 // set the horizontal position of the top of the listener's head
 [ listener.upX.value, listener.upY.value, listener.upZ.value ] = [ m[4], m[5], m[6] ];
 // Set the audio listener to travel with the WebXR user position
 // Note that pose.transform.position does equal [m[12], m[13], m[14]]
 [ listener.positionX.value, listener.positionY.value, listener.positionZ.value ] = [m[12], m[13], m[14]];
 // Request the next animation callback
Handling session visibility
The UA may temporarily hide a session at any time. While hidden a session has restricted access to the XR device state and frames will not be processed. Hidden sessions can be reasonably be expected to be made visible again at some point, usually when the user has finished performing whatever action triggered the session to hide in the first place. This is not guaranteed, however, so applications should not rely on it.
The UA may hide a session if allowing the page to continue reading the headset position represents a security or privacy risk (like when the user is entering a password or URL with a virtual keyboard, in which case the head motion may infer the user's input), or if content external to the UA is obscuring the page's output.
In other situations the UA may also choose to keep the session content visible but "blurred", indicating that the session content is still visible but no longer in the foreground. While blurred the page may either refresh the XR device at a slower rate or not at all, poses queried from the device may be less accurate, and all input tracking will be unavailable. If the user is wearing a headset the UA is expected to present a tracked environment (a scene which remains responsive to user's head motion) or reproject the throttled content when the page is being throttled to prevent user discomfort.
The session should continue requesting and drawing frames while blurred, but should not depend on them being processed at the normal XR hardware device framerate. The UA may use these frames as part of it's tracked environment or page composition, though the exact presentation of frames produced by a blurred session will


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So what does that make The Count?
Dracula's features are "stereotypically Jewish... [his] nose is hooked, he has bushy eyebrows, pointed ears, and sharp, ugly fingers." As for his behavior, Robinson situates Dracula in the realm of fin-de-siècle national chauvinism, which viewed non-Anglo-Saxons—and Jews in particular—as dangerous interlopers loyal only to their alien tribe. "Like many immigrants, Dracula has made great efforts to acculturate himself to his new country and to blend in with the rest of the population, through studying its language and customs... [his] greatest concern is whether his mastery of English and his pronunciation would brand him as a foreigner." Likewise, Stoker mines anxieties over Jewish dual loyalty. "The one identified person whose aid Dracula enlists in escaping Britain is a German Jew named Hildesheim, 'a Hebrew of rather the Adelphi Theatre type, with a nose like a sheep,' who must be bribed in order to aid Stoker's heroes."
Robinson asserts that the purpose of her study is to widen the focus away from Dracula. She calls attention, often brilliantly, to the frequent appearance of vampiric metaphors and blood-related anxieties beginning some two decades before Stoker's work appeared, up through the First World War. She marshals evidence from dozens of German, French, and British authors (many now obscure) for allusions to perceived political and social threats evoking the fear of blood-letting and vampirism. Additionally, she casts a fine eye on some 30 illustrations culled from the satirical journals of the period, such as the German Kladderadatsch, the English Punch, and the American Puck and Harper's Weekly.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Is Dracula a Jewish stereotype?
Blood Will Tell, a new book by Sara Libby Robinson, gives some interesting evidence that Dracula was meant to evoke anti-semitic stereotypes. From Jewish Ideas Daily:
Posted by Elder of Ziyon at 3:53 PM


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This section of Exploring English describes English objects.
The object is the noun, noun phrase, or pronoun that receives the action of the verb.
Lets play soccer!
Jim kicked the soccer ball.
of Speech | Exploring English Home | Index
Map | Feedback
Knowledge Explorer Centre | Shared Visions Unlimited
Last Modified April 08, 2003


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Robert W Taylor
Funded by the Angelo King Foundation and done in collaboration with the Department of Biology De La Salle University, Manila Philippines and results recently published in the OIDA Journal of Sustainable Development. Food security will be a challenge for global cities in emerging economies. Traffic congestion, rising fuel prices, and poor road and logistical infrastructure has produced a problem in transporting agriculture from rural areas to urban markets where people reside and where the food is consumed. Urban roof agriculture is being explored in various global cities as a method to increase food security, enhance environmental awareness and as a key strategy for urban sustainability. This research project addresses the capacity of cities to reduce both their ecological and carbon footprints through utilizing under-used roof space in larger global cities in tropical global cities in the Tropics.The methods developed demonstrate the capacity to minimize the ecological and carbon footprints of growing lettuce and micro greens by saving transportation and logistical costs, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, conserving water, and saving energy costs by using solar panels as a power source for pumps and aerators.
Strategies and Technologies for Climate Change Adaptation in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (2013)
Funded by the Vietnam Educational Foundation - The development of a series of pilot projects to address climate change adaptation in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam in collaboration with Ho Chi Minh City University of Natural Resources and Environment.


"Why Fuss About Paleo Life?"
dearime asks:
Why do people fuss so much about paleo life? The population has grown so much since that it's easy to believe that we've evolved a long way from then.
Jared Diamond wrote a paper about rapid evolution on an isolated island. When modern (factory) food was introduced to the island (in the 1940s?), there was a very high rate of diabetes, presumably due to the new food. Since then, the rate of diabetes on the island has gone way down, although they still eat modern food. Diamond took this to be due to evolution (people with diabetes-resistant genes had more offspring), supporting dearime's point of view.
After the first Ancestral Health Symposium, Melissa McEwen commented how unhealthy many of the top people looked. On the other hand, Tucker Max commented how healthy the attendees looked in general. I agree with both observations. A paradox.
When I was an assistant professor, and wanted to sleep better, I believed wondering about paleo life was unhelpful because (a) we knew so little about it and (b) it must have differed in thousands of ways from modern life. Should I spend an hour trying to find out about paleo life and/or what paleo gurus recommend for bad sleep? Or should I spend an hour trying to find out how ordinary people have improved their sleep? My answer was the latter. I ignored paleo life.
Looking into how ordinary people improved their sleep did help. I eventually reached a non-trivial conclusion: Eating breakfast made my sleep worse. No paleo guru had said that — I had been right to ignore them. Yet it made evolutionary sense. Cavemen did not eat breakfast, I was pretty sure. (No refrigerators.) After that I paid more attention to what evolutionary thinking would suggest. This led to several discoveries: the effect of faces in the morning on mood, the effect of standing on sleep, and the Shangri-La Diet. It is incredibly hard to discover big new experimental effects (such as the effect of morning faces), especially in fields you know little about (my specialty in psychology was animal learning, not mood, sleep or weight control). I was impressed.
The effect of bedtime honey (more generally sweets in the evening) on sleep emphasizes the paradox or puzzle or whatever you call it. I found out about the honey effect by paying attention to what works. No paleo involved. Stuart King told me it improved his sleep. Here are three reasons to look at ordinary experience and avoid paleo theorists: 1. It turned out to help. 2. It's a huge effect and very easy. 3. Paleo theorists have said the opposite: avoid carbs, avoid sugar. If you followed their advice, you would do the opposite of what helped Stuart and me. On the other hand, I increased my belief in the effect because it made evolutionary sense: 1. It makes sense of why we like sweets. 2. It makes sense of why our liking for sweets goes down when we are hungry (surely due to an evolved mechanism). 3. It makes sense of why we eat sweets more in the evening (presumably due to an evolved mechanism that makes sweets taste better in the evening).
The short answer to dearime's question is that, in my experience, it is incredibly hard to learn anything about health. There are so many possibilities and evolutionary thinking helps choose among them — decide which to take the trouble to test.
Bedtime Honey Doubles a Measure of Strength
Unhelpful Answers (Ancestral Health Symposium 2013)
During the question period, I objected.
Speaker Everyone's different.
Speaker Anything's possible.
Correlation of Body and Soul (Ancestral Health Symposium 2013)
Geoffrey Miller, speaking at the Ancestral Health Symposium, said that every mental disorder impairs your sense of humor, so sense of humor is a good marker for overall brain function. It's a fascinating point: what is the evolutionary reason that humor exists? Miller says it helps in mate choice. We select people in many ways (spouse, lover, business partner, friend, student, teacher, etc.). Maybe sense of humor is a general signal of health.
At the first Ancestral Health Symposium, Tucker Max noted that the attendees looked much better — healthier — than usual. It was a good point. Almost no one was fat, for example. And a large fraction of them became interested in paleo because of their own poor health, which paleo helped with. At this year's symposium, I've noticed that the attendees strike me as in unusually good mental health, in the sense that I find everyone easy to talk to. For example, I had an interesting talk with a woman about "unschooling". (I realized from what she said that non-traditional schooling is close to common sense when it is done with kids who are doing badly in school Why repeat what isn't working? My experience suggests it also helps kids who have done well in school. Where it is non-intuitive. If something is working, why change it?) Likewise, all of the questions after talks are polite, none are too long, none are grandstanding.
The Feet of People Who Never Wear Shoes
In the 1940s, a podiatrist named Samuel Shulman examined the feet of a few thousand Chinese and Indians who never wore shoes. Their feet were in much better shape than the feet of people who wear shoes regularly.
The resulting complete absence of onychocryptosis [ingrown toenail] should serve to prove that proper nail care plus nonrestrictive footgear are all that is necessary to prevent the condition even in the presence of congenital nail malformations that are considered predisposing factors.... One hundred and eighteen of those interviewed were rickshaw coolies. Because these men spend very long hours each day on cobblestone or other hard roads pulling their passengers at a run it was of particular interest to survey them. If anything, their feet were more perfect than the others. All of them, however, gave a history of much pain and swelling of the foot and ankle during the first few days of work as a rickshaw puller. But after a rest of two days or a week's more work on their feet, the pain and swelling passed away and never returned again.
Chinese parks often have cobblestone-like paths that are extremely painful to walk on barefoot (for me) but that others (usually old Chinese people) walk on barefoot for health. I was surprised how clearly the pain went away day by day of exposure. A 2005 study showed that four months of walking on cobblestone mats reduced blood pressure and improved balance compared to a group that walked the same amount normally:
Participants [average age about 80 years old] were randomized to a cobblestone mat walking condition (n=54) or regular walking comparison condition (n=54) and participated in 60-minute group exercise sessions three times per week for 16 consecutive weeks.
Measurements: Primary endpoint measures were balance (functional reach, static standing), physical performance (chair stands, 50-foot walk, Up and Go), and blood pressure (systolic, diastolic)....
Results: At the 16-week posttest, differences between the two exercise groups were found for balance measures (P=.01), chair stands (P<.001), 50-foot walk (P=.01), and blood pressure (P=.01).
Some of the cobblestone walkers walked barefoot, some wore socks. A hypertension expert, apparently not understanding statistics, said he wanted a larger study. I agree with him when he says that the speed of the improvement is what's most impressive.
Because our ancient ancestors no doubt went barefoot and walked on irregular surfaces, both sets of results — the foot survey and the cobblestone experiment — support conventional paleo theorizing.
I have a cobblestone mat. I tried to walk on it. It was so painful I couldn't get past the initial difficulty. Maybe I will try again.
Progress in Reducing Acne
Thanks to Paul Nash.
Assorted Links
Thanks to Dave Lull.
Assorted Links
 - Five quantified-self stories
 - False Alzheimer's diagnosis. "Alzheimer's symptoms such as confusion, memory loss and personality changes also can be side effects from medication—even commonly used drugs. For example, the entire class of anticholinergic drugs, which includes many antihistamines, antianxiety drugs, muscle relaxants and sleeping pills... Cholesterol-reducing statins have also been linked to brain fog in some people. In many cases, the cognitive symptoms vanish when medication is stopped. "I have had people referred to me with a clear history of dementia and when I started to peel back the medications, they were much better," says Gary Kennedy, chief of geriatric psychiatry at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx, N.Y."
 - Ancestral Health Symposium 2012 (Boston) recaps. I thought Robb Wolf's talk was excellent. Jay Stanton had original ideas about weight control. Most of the other talks, not so much.
Vitamin K2 Deficiency Linked To Parkinson's Disease
Thanks to Melissa McEwen.
How Common Are Medical Errors? A Horror Story
Assorted Links
Thanks to Tom George and Mark Griffith.
Assorted Links
Thanks to Ryan Holiday, Matt Cassel, Tom George and Dave Lull.
Assorted Links
Thanks to Robin Barooah and Mike Bowerman.
Let Them Get Sick (running)
 - Corns removed (twice): $500 per treatment.
 -


[tlhIngan Hol] difference between -meH and -wI' in purpose-clause compound nouns
SuStel sustel at trimboli.name
Thu Jun 1 09:02:12 PDT 2017
On 6/1/2017 4:45 AM, Lieven wrote:
> first of all, how would you linguistically call that what I am talking
> about?
In your subject, you call these things "purpose-clause compound nouns."
Strictly speaking, none of these are compound nouns, which in TKD are
individual words consisting of multiple nouns. All of your examples may
be described as noun phrases, but you can't get more specific when
describing all of them. They break down into purpose clauses and
genitive phrases.
> I have noticed that some words are translated like {pe'meH taj}
> "cutting knife", while others use -wI': {toSwI' qal'aq} "jungle gym".
> And then, sometimes I wondered, why -wI' and not -meH?
> Of course, all phrases make sense in both ways, but is there a
> difference? Why is it not {toSmeH qal'aq} "structure for climbing"?
> Why say {chevwI' tlhoy'} and not {chevmeH tlhoy'} for "territiorial
> wall"?
> "suntan lotion" is translated as {DIr QanwI' taS} - why not {DIr
> QanmeH taS}?
> What do you think about that?
I think it's arbitrary, and you just have to learn which way it's said.
I also think you wouldn't be particularly wrong if you said *chevmeH
tlhoy'* instead of *chevwI' tlhoy',* for example. It would be like the
difference between /border wall/ and /wall of the border:/ one is said
and the other isn't, but the other is still perfectly understandable.
> Next, I think there is also a difference between combinations where
> the meH-ed verb directly influences the noun (pe'meH taj means that
> the knife is for cutting) while other situations are just real
> noun-noun combinations (as in {nISwI' DaH} which is a "array of
> disruptors" and not a "array to disrupt").
> I'm just lacking the right terms to say what I think, so maybe you can
> clarify.
Genitive is a broad concept, and Klingon noun-nouns seem to embrace that
breadth. You seem to be sensing sub-types of genitive. Here's a page
that breaks down various types that appear in Latin:
. Klingon grammar treats
them all the same.
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Take the 2-minute tour ×
In a German text, describing Russian sentences for Germans, they wrote a Russian sentence and after it
(zu Deutsch: …)
That means its translation, but why did they write "zu Deutsch" instead of "ins Deutsche" or "auf Deutsch"?
share|improve this question
that's a weird use but not unheard of. "Auf" and "in" or just "Deutsch" would be better in my opinion – Emanuel Dec 28 '13 at 20:34
3 Answers 3
One might add that sometimes, especially in colloquial use this phrase is used to indicate that a simplifying explanation is to come.
E.g. in a presentation:
"Multivariate Regressionsanalyse der Umsatzstruktur hat ergeben, dass das Geschlecht den Haupteinflussfaktor für den Erwerb von Cola Light ggu. Cola bildet. Zu Deutsch: Cola Light wird fast ausschließlich von Frauen gekauft."
In this context it would be similar to plain english
share|improve this answer
Good example. In this sense (simplifying explanation), you would hardly use "auf Deutsch" (but possibly "auf gut Deutsch"). This somewhat explains, why you would never say "zu Englisch", as it doesn't simplify anything for a German speaker. – Martin Drautzburg Jan 9 '14 at 3:11
Well, some time ago it was not that rare. Just leaving this here:
enter image description here
And supporting the last statement of the existing answer:
enter image description here
share|improve this answer
This is perfectly fine. The Duden explains zu Deutsch with auf Deutsch [heißt das]. It is also mentioned in the 21st edition of the book as „das heißt auf/zu Deutsch" (p. 210). Maybe it is considered a little old-fashioned these days, but I hear and read it quite often.
I haven't heard it as zu Englisch or in connection with other languages.
share|improve this answer
Your Answer


text:
The Emperor of China and How to Make Chrysanthemum Tea
December 13, 2012 § Leave a Comment
An ancient variety of chrysanthemum originating from China, the 'Emperor of China' resembles and is thought to be the chrysanthemum depicted in early Chinese paintings. Chrysanthemums are also grown for their medicinal properties, and their purported magic juices were an important ingredient in the life-prolonging elixir of the Daoist. Fragrant chrysanthemum tea was considered good for the health, and tonic wine was brewed from an infusion of their petals. Although thought to be rich in healing properties and lovely in form, a more modest well-being was conferred by the vigorous blossoming of the chrysanthemum. Perhaps the late flowering chrysanthemum suggests their connection to a long life, for other plants have finished flowering just as the chrysanthemums begin.
The techniques for learning to paint the orchid, bamboo, plum blossom, and chrysanthemum comprise the basis of Chinese flower and bird painting. They are referred to as "The Four Gentlemen" and are thought to symbolize great intellectual ideas. The orchid is serene and peaceful, though sophisticated and reserved from the world. Bamboo is vigorous and survives throughout the seasons, forever growing upright. The plum blossom expresses yin-yang dualities of delicate and hardy, blooming through snow and ice to herald the arrival of spring. Chrysanthemums continue to flower after a frost, are self-sufficient, and require no assistance in propogating themselves.
China owes its astonishing wealth of plant life to a combination of geographical incidents. The mountains escaped the ravages of the great ice caps and unlike much of Europe and North America, where many plants were wiped out, plant species in China continued to evolve. Additionally, the foothills of the Himalayas are moistened by soft winds from the south, creating an ideal climate for alpine plants. In this warm and moderate environment, three different floras – that of the colder, drier north; that of the sub-tropical south; and that of the alpine species – all mingled and crossed freely for thousands of years.
Chrysanthemum tea is a tisane made from dried chrysanthemum flowers. The flowers are steeped in boiling water for several minutes, and rock sugar or honey is often added to heighten the sweet aroma. Popular throughout east Asia, chrysanthemum tea is usually served with a meal. In the tradition of Chinese medicine, the tisane is thought to be a "cooling" herb and is recommended for a variety of ailments including influenza, circulatory disorders, sore throats, and fever.
Excerpt from Oh Garden of Fresh Possibilities! Notes from a Gloucester Garden.Leave a comment to be eligible to win a copy. See yesterday's post about the Magnolia virginiana.
Read more about the 'Emperor of China'
Chrysanthemum 'Emperor of China' begins its lovely tableau in mid-fall and continues to bloom through the first hard frost. Plum rose with silvery highlights, the quills shade paler toward the outer margins. When the plant is in full bloom, the rich green foliage shifts colors to vibrant hues of bronze to scarlet red. The 'Emperor of China' exudes a delicious lemon-spice fragrance noticeable from some distance.
As with New York asters, it is helpful to pinch the tips of each shoot to encourage branching and more blossoms. Repeat this process at each fourto sixinch stage of new growth until the middle of July, or when the buds begin to develop. 'Emperor of China' is hardy through zone six and thrives in full sun to light shade in well-drained soil. This cultivar forms a 21/2′ mound in only a few years. Give the plant a top dressing of compost and mulch after the first hard frost.
Tagged: Book give-away, Chrysanthemum Emperor of China, Chrysanthemum Tea, emperor of china, How to make chrysanthemum tea, Kim Smith Author illustrator, Nature, Notes from a Gloucester Garden, Oh Garden of Fresh Possibilities!, plants


text:
Do some research on peer-to-peer networks (e.g., you may search "crime activity peer to peer networks", "crime activity P2P", "pornography P2P", "child pornography peer to peer network", etc.). What kind of network crimes may use P2P networks? Find the most challenging crimes that could be based on P2P networks and write a report on how to do forensic investigations on these crimes.
Crimes on Peer to Peer Networks
The key factor behind the working of Peer-to-Peer networks is that it allows users to be connected to the Internet to link their computers with other computers around the world. These networks are established for the purpose of sharing files. Generally, the users of Peer-to-Peer networks install free software on their computers which allows them to (Fbi.gov, n.d):
(1) Find and download files located on another Peer-to-Peer user's hard drive.
(2) Share with those other users files located on their own computer.
However, the most challenging cases involving forensics investigation in my opinion are:
a) Copyright Infringement
b) Child Exploitation and Obscenity
c) Computer Hacking
These three above mentioned issues are of great concern and are increasing on a daily basis. The computer forensic investigators have a tough time dealing with issues. One such example is the MyDoom virus wreaked mayhem on personal and corporate e-mail systems across the...
This shows the steps of how to investigate P2P software related crimes


By Topic
Study of 375 nm ultraviolet InGaN/AlGaN light-emitting diodes with heavily Si-doped GaN transition layer in growth mode, internal quantum efficiency, and device performance
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7 Author(s)
Shih-Cheng Huang ; Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung 40227, Taiwan ; Kun-Ching Shen ; Dong-Sing Wuu ; Po-Min Tu
more authors
High performance 375 nm ultraviolet (UV) InGaN/AlGaN light-emitting diodes (LEDs) were demonstrated with inserting a heavy Si-doped GaN transition layer by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition. From transmission electron microcopy (TEM) image, the dislocation densities were significantly reduced due to the existence of the heavily Si-doping growth mode transition layer (GMTL), which results in residual stress relaxation and 3D growth. The internal quantum efficiency (IQE) of the LEDs with GMTL was measured by power-dependent photoluminescence (PL) to be 40.6% higher than ones without GMTL. The GMTL leads to the superior IQE performance of LEDs not only in decreasing carrier consumption at nonradiative recombination centers but also in partially mitigating the efficiency droop tendency. When the vertical-type LED chips (size: 1 mm × 1 mm) was driven with a 350 mA injection current, the output powers of the LEDs with and without GMTL were measured to be 286.7 and 204.2 mW, respectively. A 40.4% enhancement of light output power was achieved. Therefore, using the GMTL to reduce dislocations would be a promising prospective for InGaN/AlGaN UV-LEDs to achieve high IQE.
Published in:
Journal of Applied Physics (Volume:110, Issue: 12 )


text:
Rockefeller Center in midtown Manhattan is one of the most recognized commercial properties in the world. Built during the Art Deco period of the early 1930s, the 10-building real-estate, shopping, and dining complex, which encompasses six square blocks and consists of approximately 8 million sq ft of rentable space, is home to NBC studios, Radio City Music Hall, and perhaps the world's most famous ice-skating rink and Christmas tree.
The buildings of Rockefeller Center are served by a central chilled-water plant containing 14,500 tons of steam and electric chillers. Water is distributed through a primary water loop around the perimeter of the site. Six primary pumps—four with 6,000-gpm capacity at 125 hp and two with 2,000-gpm capacity at 50 hp—are located in the main plant. Seventeen primary chilled-water riser pumps, which range in size from 1,000 gpm at 40 hp to 3,500 gpm at 200 hp, send chilled water to heat exchangers located in each building. The secondary sides of the heat exchangers have pumps that serve air handlers and fan coils that serve tenant spaces.
Traditionally, one of the biggest challenges had been supplying chilled water at a temperature and flow satisfying tenant-comfort and lease requirements in all buildings throughout the year. While the supply and pumping capacity always had met requirements, co-owner and manager Tishman Speyer sought a way to deliver the water more efficiently and lower overall energy costs.
Storing Energy Is the Answer
After learning of the successful application of thermal storage in buildings throughout New York, Joseph Szabo, managing director of operations for Tishman Speyer, asked Fred Limpert of Trane and Mark MacCracken of CALMAC to determine the feasibility of applying Trane high-efficiency electric chillers and CALMAC ice-storage technology.
Trane and CALMAC spent the subsequent weeks investigating the financial and efficiency benefits of applying thermal-storage technology in Rockefeller Center.
Instead of meeting summer peak demand with a single electric chiller, Tishman Speyer elected to install an ice-making chiller sized to provide 8,600 ton-hours of energy storage. Especially during peak-demand periods, the ice-storage tanks are used instead of the electric chiller, keeping electricity demand as low as possible.
An additional benefit of the energy storage is greater operational flexibility. The stored cooling can be used as needed from a couple of hours to several hours to optimize plant efficiency while keeping demand and cooling costs low.
Because of the expansive footprint of the Rockefeller Center site, a number of locations were considered for a thermal-energy-storage plant. The optimal location was determined to be away from the main plant, on the opposite side of the property. This shifted the burden of pumping chilled water from the main plant to the outer buildings. As ice melt, or "burn," enters the primary chilled-water loop, variable-frequency drives on the main plant's primary chilled-water pumps can be ramped down.
Plant operators are able to run the primary chilled-water pumps at lower amperage levels. During summer, with ice burning during peak-demand periods (usually, noon to 6 p.m.), only one of the three chillers runs. (Typical burn times are 8 hr during summer and 15 hr during winter.) During winter, when cooling loads are low, operators can get by with only running the ice-making chiller at night—no chillers need to run during the day.
"The ice plant has provided a level of operational flexibility that has allowed my engineering staff to make intelligent decisions at any point in time that ensures we are able to balance tenant comfort with plant operational efficiency," Szabo said. "The thermal-energy-storage installation has simplified plant operations, and we no longer have to make those tough, on-the-spot decisions as to when and if to turn on chillers in the main plant. Turning on chillers of this size can result in large electrical-demand cost penalties, especially in New York City, which has a high-electrical-demand utility rate structure."
Ice = Frozen Assets
As Tishman Speyer began incorporating the energy-storage plant into its overall HVAC strategy at Rockefeller Center, it began to see a positive ripple effect on all aspects of the plant's operation. While there was an immediate benefit in allowing plant operators to shift cooling loads, there was an added benefit in allowing plant operators to use the rate of burn to meet the needs of the buildings. Burn rate can be adjusted from four hours to 10 hours as needed, based on plant conditions.
Prior to the energy-storage plant, on peak cooling days, building engineers would run one 4,000-ton steam-turbine chiller, one 4,000-ton electric chiller, and one 2,500-ton electric chiller. Incorporating ice burn into the operation of the main plant allowed Tishman Speyer to avoid putting the 2,500-ton electric chiller online.
"Not only does the ice-storage refrigeration plant provide 'banked' cooling capacity for peak-demand periods during the day, it also increases your operational flexibilities to the assets during spring and fall seasons, when you can side-stream the ice reserve with smaller refrigeration machines to reduce your overall demand in shoulder months," Szabo said.
The installation of a thermal-energy-storage system has improved the energy efficiency of Rockefeller Center and lowered overall energy costs.
Ice storage can be used for a variety of applications, from schools and hospitals to commercial office buildings and retail establishments. System design takes into account the number of chillers and tanks a building has, how often the chillers and tanks are online, if operators are needed, building size and use, and more.
While the operating staff at Rockefeller Center utilizes an ice chiller at night and a partial-storage strategy during the day, the staff at another building may utilize an ice chiller in conjunction with ice tanks to provide cooling during the day. Each installation is different, but for each, ice storage works to reduce cooling costs and peak electricity demand.
For Design Solutions author guidelines, call Scott Arnold, executive editor, at _PHONE_, or write to him at _EMAIL_.


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What is Structural Testing?
Structural testing, also known as glass box testing or white box testing is an approach where the tests are derived from the knowledge of the software's structure or internal implementation.
The other names of structural testing includes clear box testing, open box testing, logic driven testing or path driven testing.
Structural Testing Techniques:
Statement Coverage - This technique is aimed at exercising all programming statements with minimal tests.
Branch Coverage - This technique is running a series of tests to ensure that all branches are tested at least once.
Path Coverage - This technique corresponds to testing all possible paths which means that each statement and branch are covered.
Calculating Structural Testing Effectiveness:
Statement Testing = (Number of Statements Exercised / Total Number of Statements) x 100 % Branch Testing = (Number of decisions outcomes tested / Total Number of decision Outcomes) x 100 % Path Coverage = (Number paths exercised / Total Number of paths in the program) x 100 %
Advantages of Structural Testing:
Forces test developer to reason carefully about implementation
Reveals errors in "hidden" code
Spots the Dead Code or other issues with respect to best programming practices.
Disadvantages of Structural Box Testing:
Expensive as one has to spend both time and money to perform white box testing.
Every possibility that few lines of code is missed accidentally.
Indepth knowledge about the programming language is necessary to perform white box testing.


Due to COVID19 the CHAMPS 2020 has been postponed.
Computer Literacy Program
Computer literacy is significant because it is considered to be a very important skill to possess. Employers want their workers to have basic computer skills because their company becomes ever more dependent on computers. Many companies try to use computers to help run their company faster and cheaper.
As personal computers become common place and they become more powerful, the concept of computer literacy is moving beyond basic functionality to more powerful applications under the heading of literacy.
Hence we at TMT and its allied institutions give lot of importance to promotion of computer literacy whereby our younger generation gets adapted to the use and basic knowledge regarding computer as a tool.
We equally encourage our senior staff members and working professionals to undertake refresher courses about the basic computer skills so that the hesitation with computer usage gets minimized.
Beyond schools we work to establish computer centers whereby we strive to bring affordable and easy accessible computer literacy opportunity to our youth and seniors alike.


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In your case, where you have a multivariate problem, ordinary Kriging is quite inappropriate. I find your interpretation of this as an "interpolation" problem is a bit off base as well. This is an estimation problem and more suited for Machine Learning or spatial regression, not geostatistics. The grey area are Splines. This can be a univariate interpolation method but can also be used in a semiparametric form to fit a multivariate nonlinear model and estimate a surface.
I will just say now, GWR is off the table. There are considerable problems with this method and it is really only suitable for exploratory analysis of nonstationarity. There are several papers that demonstrate the instability of GWR via simulations.
Regression Kriging is a promising method but it is very important that you read the primary literature to understand what it doing. If you distill regression Kriging to its basic form your are, in essence, Kriging the residuals of a linear model. The entire point is to violate iid assumptions so you have structure in your residual error. With complex high dimensional multivariate space this estimate may be difficult to interpret and plausibly, nonsense. It is really most suited for nicely parsimonious models.
Spatial regression and mixed effects methods will require you to fit a model. Since your problem is not inferential in nature this seem like overkill and is a steep learning curve.
As far as machine learning approaches, be aware most methods do not explicitly account for spatial process without help. There are proposed methods such as the inclusion of naive spatial process via [X,Y] coordinates, including a fit Nth order polynomial of [X,Y] or the specification a distance matrix as covariates.
Because you want to include both continuous and categorical covariates you are limited in methods. It sounds like your use of machine learning methods are the best suited to your problem.
It is critical that you clearly specify your problem and then select a statistical method to fit the problem. The approach throwing methods against the wall to see what sticks is quite unsatisfactory. It would be beneficial for you to review the literature in order to understand methods, model assumptions and implications of utilizing a given method. There is considerable information online that can be discovered with a simple Google Scholar search.


How do I set up my own LPL web page?
How do I set up my own LPL web page?
To set up a web page you must have a collection of HTML files that are the content of your pages. To create these, you'll need to know how to write HTML. It's quite easy to learn HTML. Take a look at the pages for the HTML Class that we gave a while ago for some places to start.
So if you have the HTML and other files for your web page, how do you get it up on the LPL web pages?
Begin by using ssh to connect to and log in to your LPL UNIX account. In your LPL home directory, create a directory called public_html (you can do this with the command mkdir public_html). You have to make this directory world readable, so that everyone can see your webpage. To do this, you can use the command chmod a+r public_html, from your home directory. Now put all of the HTML files into this directory (or make more directories under this), and you'll be able to see them on the web.
The address of your new web pages will be:
where username is your username.
For example, the web address for rbeyer's web page is
Those are the basics! If you have questions, please email
LPL Webmaster / webmaster


text:
(c) Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, Deerfield MA. All rights reserved. Contact us for information about using this image.
Captain Luke Day's January 25, 1787 message to General William Shepard demanding that the government militia at the Springfield Arsenal lay down their arms and return to their homes, appeared in the Hampshire Gazette. In this letter, Day demands that government troops at the Springfield Armory "lay down their arms" and return to their homes. William Butler began publication of the Hampshire Gazette on September 6, 1786, in Northampton, Massachusetts. The mission of the newspaper was to inform the public about the issues pertaining to the ongoing insurrections.


Therapy Articles
Bioenergetics (Bioenergetic Analysis)
Bioenergetic Analysis is a form of psychotherapy practiced by licensed psychotherapists who have completed at least five years of specialized training and clinical supervision. Bioenergetics blends traditional therapeutic methods with body-centered techniques that help people resolve their emotional problems and therefore enhance their well-being.
Symptoms of unhappiness and stress, such as insomnia, depression, anxiety, panic attacks and decreased sexuality are often the result of blocked emotional expression and chronic muscular tension. This modality offers an integrated and effective approach to address these common manifestations of disease. Started in the 1950's by Alexander Lowen, MD (1910 – 2008) with his colleague John Pierrakos, MD (1921- 2001). For more information, please access these websites: or
© Copyright 2001 by Tarra Judson Stariell, MFT, CBT
What is Bioenergetics?
Bioenergetics is a kind of psychotherapy that facilitates accessing and reclaiming the authentic self, through exploring one's mind and the accompanying energies stored in the body. The Bioenergetic therapist is able to promote lasting change because the whole person is involved in the healing process—mind and body. Our capacity for joy, love, happiness, creativity, spirituality; our sexuality and aliveness—can all beexperienced more fully and freely with the tools and experiences Bioenergetics offers.
Bioenergetics was created in the late 1950s by Alexander Lowen, William Waller and John Pierrakos, all psychiatrists and students of Wilhelm Reich.M.D. who had discovered that a life force exists within inanimate as well as living objects that he named "bio energy." Lowen and his colleagues formed their own psychotherapy practice and branched away from Reich who was also noted for his voluminous research concerning the inter-relatedness of the mind with the body and its emotional processes. An avid researcher, Reich was very controversial and promoted ideas that although common knowledge today, were in his time revolutionary and met with skepticism and criticism.
Reich had previously been in Freud's inner circle of analysts and was among those who emigrated from Germany to the United States before the Nazis limited such departures. He taught at the New School of Social Research in New York, where he met Lowen and the others. Reich theorized that the body has a natural biological energy to it utilized for the expression of one's emotions and aliveness. He believed these responses to be biologically hardwired, instinctive movements all mammals utilize for their survival. Reich proposed that these energetic/emotional responses could become restricted and held within the musculature of a person when his or her emotional environment was not nurturing enough to support that person's developmental process and efforts towards flourishing.
While working with clients, Reich discovered the mind-body connection well-recognized today. He proposed that when a person's psyche perceives a life event as offensive, that experience is registered in the mind of that individual along with the commensurate defenses that ensured the person's survival—how they coped with the situation. These defenses can be considered behavioral patterns and are also recorded and stored as memory in the muscular tissues and organs of the body. Essentially, what happens to a body is registered in the mind of that individual, whether consciously or unconsciously as the body becomes a vault where the unprocessed experiences and unexpressed emotions of the person are stored.
Over time, this constricted energy held in the musculature of the body, creates chronic tension, or "armoring" in the muscles. Reich proposed that this armoring served as a psychological defense and contributed to neurotic behavior. When the muscular contraction was released through various therapeutic interventions, Reich witnessed how repressed emotions emerged in a cathartic manner, followed by a feeling of relief, aliveness and renewed vitality.
Since each experience in our lives is an event recorded within us in relationship to our selves, the experience, the environment, another–or others; relationship is an integral factor governing the perception and healing from any detrimental effects of that experience and relationship.
Lowen in of his numerous books describes Bioenergetic Therapy as a "way of understanding personality in terms of the body and its energetic processes
"…Bioenergetics is also a form of therapy that combines work with the body and the mind to help people resolve their emotional problems and realize more of their potential for pleasure and joy in living." (Lowen, 1977)
Currently, Bioenergetics has evolved to become a relational form of psychotherapy, utilizing the therapeutic alliance as well as the information muscular contractions and tension patterns present. These bodily characteristics are usually directly related to a person's emotional history, lifestyle and early childhood relationships. By exploring movement, breath, posture and emotional expression, a person is then able to reclaim their vibrancy and return to a more authentic state of being.
Expanding the Relationship; Bringing the Body into Therapy;
How Does Bioenergetics Expand a Therapist's Ability to Relate to their Clients?
Most research has revealed that approximately 94% of our communication is non-verbal. Some call it "body-language." In Bioenergetics, we are able to read this language of the body and have a sense about its meaning to the client. We are given tools to help the client understand how they have organized their presence in the world. The emotional experiences from our developmental history and personal environment have heavily influenced the organization of our personality and the way we relate to and experience our bodies.
Candace Pert, credited for her research on endorphins and neuropeptides, wrote in her book, Molescules of Emotion (1999) that the body has capacity for memory all throughout, especially in areas where there are concentrations of neuropeptides.
Furthermore, Carl Jung is well known for his contributions to the field of psychology. He has been quoted to have said that "your unconscious becomes your process." In Bioenergetics, we believe that the body holds that "process," or stored energy in the body until such time that the individual is able to bring the energy of that experience to consciousness and therefore process and release the emotions.
Examples of this "Body-Mind Language"
Before therapeutic interventions, someone who has been battered or abused will have what is called an "exaggerated startle response." They will unconsciously flinch or jump when they hear a loud noise or someone makes a sudden movement around them. This is just one example of a myriad of unconscious memories the body holds stored in its defensive repertoire.
Think of the expression "stand on your own two feet" as in asking someone to be grounded, responsible or capable of taking care of themselves. A person suffering from low self-esteem, a victim of abuse or trauma is most likely going to be challenged with this. A Bioenergetically trained therapist is able to see this.
In addition, a person who "shoulders their responsibilities" is probably someone who carries unneeded tension in their shoulders and neck because of unprocessed stress and psychological burdens.
Another example would be the expression, "hold your head up high" as instruction for keeping one disconnected from the feelings that might "bring you down." It is almost impossible to cry and release sadness if you "keep your chin up."
And, there are the sayings "to lose your heart, open your heart" or, "having a broken heart." Energetically, these expressions can be used to describe the posture, emotion or experience that person is having. In Bioenergetics we know someone experiencing a broken heart will most likely have a caved in looking sternum and rounded forward shoulders.
These are just a few examples in an attempt to demonstrate the body-mind connection and how our language is used to express bodily states being. It is hoped you can see how the body's energy patterns are directly related to an individual's experiences in life. Just as the psyche organizes defenses according to the quality of an experience, a person's body is present in that process and is energetically influenced by those thoughts, emotions and feelings. The Bioenergetic therapist is able to utilize this added information to facilitate the client in releasing past experiences, learn how to listen to those felt-senses in the body, and integrate this expanded awareness of self into each present moment of life.
Marriage and Family Therapy from a Bioenergetic Perspective
Bioenergetics is a relational psychotherapy using the body and its energy that serves to inform the clinician on the relational patterns of the client. Marriage, Family Therapists are relationally oriented and yet we remain under-trained about the context or vehicle that brings the client to our office, that the clients live in and through which the client relates to his or her world—the body.
Using this theoretical orientation, a Bioenergetically trained therapist is able to expand their understanding of how the client's defenses translate into bodily presentations. These somatic awareness tools add to a therapist's understanding of the client's reality. Thus, the nonverbal language presented in session is given translation.
With this expanded awareness, the Bioenergetic therapist is better able to offer the client psycho-education, insight, and alternatives to these characteristic dysfunctional patterns of being and relating in the world. Furthermore, the body's energy patterns are directly related to an individual's experiences in life. Just as the psyche has had to organize defenses in relationship to environmental responses, the person's body has also been present and experiencing the gamut of emotions and feelings—all physical felt-senses. The Bioenergetic therapist is able to utilize this added information to facilitate the client in releasing past experiences and integrating her awareness of self into the present moment.
Tarra Stariell is


Tips & Tutorials >> All Tips & Tutorials
[Part 1] Achieve Large Bright Eyes in Your Selfies!
Plagued by a constant "sleepy look" in your photos, even if you really have large, bright eyes? Here's how you can make them look big and bright in selfies using the 20° + 45° technique. (Reported by: Oliya T. Yabuta)
Avoid the front view. Use "20° + 45°" for an attractive shot
The basic way to take a "selfie" using a compact digital camera is to position the camera at "20° + 45°"! Doing so naturally makes the eyes appear bigger and brighter, and you'll look more attractive!
A common mistake in many of the poor self-portraits is illustrated in the bad example above. A front view of the face taken with the camera positioned at the eye level makes the eyes appear droopy. Also, by comparing with the good example, we can tell that the facial contour is not well-defined. To avoid such mistakes and make the eyes appear larger and brighter, use the "20° + 45°" technique.
The 20° + 45° Law
 - Position the camera "20°" higher than the face
 - Move the camera horizontally to the side by "45°"
First, with the camera held in your hand, stretch it out straight into the front. Next, lift your arm upward from this position by 20°. Make sure that the camera lens is facing you. Also, instead of lifting your chin, you should look into the camera with your eyes tilted upward. Doing so creates an up-from-under look, making the outline of the upper eyelid appear thicker, and the eyes would look bigger and brighter.
If the camera is only moved upward by 20°, this would create a deliberate impression. To make the photo turn out more natural, move the camera horizontally by 45°. Similarly, look into the camera by tilting your eyes upward instead of moving your chin. Shift your face slightly toward the camera to complete the pose, followed by pressing the shutter button. The result is a natural up-from-under look with a clear depiction of the upper eyelids, making the entire eye appear larger and brighter. At the same time, with the jawline visible, the chin also appears sharper.
Do not move your face together with the camera! Look into the camera by tilting your eyes instead of lifting your face. Finally, shift your face slightly toward the camera, and you are all camera-ready!
HINT: Hold a hand mirror together with the camera to adjust the angle of your face!
You can hold a compact hand mirror together with the camera when you are taking a selfie. Look for the angle at which the face appears sharp, and press the shutter button!
Oliya T. Yabuta
After his career with a TV production firm and a computer peripheral manufacturer in product planning and advertisement production, Yabuta became a writer and portrait photographer. He excels in writing commentaries that are beginner-friendly.


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Tides, Sea Ice, and the Thermohaline Circulation
- Learn to use a coupled sea ice-ocean model
- Determine tidal effects on sea ice
- Investigate tidal influences on deep water production
Description of Work:
Tides have been identified as the prominent factor in sea ice dynamics over the continental shelf in the Weddell Sea. Presently, few sea ice models include tidal dynamics and few tidal models include sea ice, making tidal effects on sea ice difficult to investigate. For this project, the student will investigate tidal effects on sea ice using a coupled sea ice/ocean model. Model output will also be used to determine changes in deep water production, which typically accompany changes in the sea ice cover. This project has obvious implications for climate work not only in the Antarctic and Arctic, but also globally from the connection between deep water production and the global thermohaline circulation.


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Read Pakistan Trust
Read Pakistan is a Trust registered under the Trust Act, with a team of highly professionals motivated for an educated Pakistan moving ahead on creation of reading facilities accessible to all and to train teachers / librarians/ parents to develop a greater emphasis on reading habits in the children/parents coping up with present and future challenges.
The overall goal of Read Pakistan is to ensure that every person gets a reading opportunity and to train the librarians/teachers in developing the reading habits and diffusion of knowledge in Pakistan and promotion of the lifetime reading habit and also to promote quality literacy instruction, advocate life-long reading, clarify educational issues for decision makers, and support research in literacy.
Our Values: Equal opportunities for reading and learning for all.
Vision: We envision a society in which all people have an access to reading and have equal opportunities of learning and personal and professional growth.
Mission: Providing reading facilities to all and Training of Librarians/teachers.
Strategy: Creation of reading facilities accessible to all and to train Librarians/teachers to develop a greater emphasis on reading habits in the children coping up with present and future challenges.
Our Unique Campaigns:
- 100, 000 School Libraries: History's largest campaign of school libraries in Pakistan.
- City of Libraries: To establish 500 libraries in Islamabad and to make it world's first city with such an honorable identity.
- Read Talk: world's first talk series focused and highlighting the value of books.
- Read Blog: The largest database of blogs highlighting the transformative power of reading.
- Read Africa: Providing access to books to African youth.
- CybeRead: World's largest network of literary youth.
- RadioTalk: More than 50 talks by the Chairman till to date.
- Training programs for teachers, parents, librarians and school Principals to make them capable inculcate love of books in Children to make them lifelong learners.
- Read Pakistan Book Club: World's unique and the widespread book club currently conducted in 63 universities on monthly basis in Pakistan, Canada and KSA.


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Partitions of Zn into Arithmetic Progressions
William Y.C. Chen, David G.L. Wang, and Iris F. Zhang
Abstract: We introduce the notion of arithmetic progression blocks or AP-blocks of Zn, which can be represented as sequences of the form (x, x+m, x+2m,..., x+(i-1)m) (mod n). Then we consider the problem of partitioning Zn into AP-blocks for a given difference m. We show that subject to a technical condition, the number of partitions of Zn into m-AP-blocks of a given type is independent of m. When we restrict our attention to blocks of sizes one or two, we are led to a combinatorial interpretation of a formula recently derived by Mansour and Sun as a generalization of the Kaplansky numbers. These numbers have also occurred as the coefficients in Waring's formula for symmetric functions.
AMS Classification: 05A05, 05A15, 11B50
Keywords: Kaplansky number, cycle dissection, m-AP-partition, separation algorithm


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Interactive Story Buddies
Interactive Story Buddies bring your child's book to life and truly create a magical reading experience. These intelligent stuffed animals spring to life and talk when certain phrases in the story are read aloud. Your child will be giddy with laughter and smile when their interactive Story Buddy® barks, meows, growls or purrs.
We have a wide variety of books and interactive Story Buddies to choose from. Select one or collect them all for your child and ensure book time includes a fuzzy cuddly interactive Story Buddy. We even have some special characters like Winnie the Pooh, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer® and Scooby Doo! Interactive Story Buddies are the perfect gift idea for young readers, and we will even ship them for you. They really are amazing and will have your little ones sprinting to their favorite reading spot with book and buddy in tow.


Creates an Evaluator for evaluating metrics and plots.
eval_shared_model Shared model parameters for EvalSavedModel.
desired_batch_size Optional batch size for batching in Aggregate.
metrics_key Name to use for metrics key in Evaluation output.
plots_key Name to use for plots key in Evaluation output.
run_after Extractor to run after (None means before any extractors).
compute_confidence_intervals Whether or not to compute confidence intervals.
min_slice_size If the number of examples in a specific slice is less than min_slice_size, then an error will be returned for that slice. This will be useful to ensure privacy by not displaying the aggregated data for smaller number of examples.
serialize If true, serialize the metrics to protos as part of the evaluation as well.
random_seed_for_testing Provide for deterministic tests only.
Evaluator for evaluating metrics and plots. The output will be stored under'metrics' and 'plots' keys.


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Background and purpose: Small fiber neuropathy (SFN) is a common disorder leading to neuropathic pain and autonomic symptoms. The objective of this study was to investigate associated conditions in a large cohort of SFN patients and compare the prevalence to healthy individuals.
Methods: A total of 921 patients with pure SFN were screened according to a standardized comprehensive diagnostic algorithm and compared with literature findings.
Results: No associated condition could be found in 53% of the patients. Autoimmune diseases, sodium channel gene mutations, diabetes mellitus including glucose intolerance, and vitamin B12 deficiencies were more prevalent than reported literature findings, followed by alcohol abuse, chemotherapy, monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance, and haemochromatosis. In patients who were already known with a possible underlying condition at screening, additional underlying conditions were still found in another 26.7% of patients.
Conclusions: Based on these results, it is recommended that patients with pure SFN are screened at least for autoimmune diseases, sodium channel gene mutations, diabetes mellitus including glucose intolerance, and vitamin B12 deficiency, even when they already have a potential underlying condition at referral.
Keywords: associated conditions; neuropathic pain; small fiber neuropathy.
© 2017 The Authors. European Journal of Neurology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of European Academy of Neurology.


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The Cigar Makers' International Union
(CMIU) was a labor union
that represented workers in the cigar
The union was founded in 1864
as the Cigar Makers' National Union of America and changed its name to the Cigar Makers' International Union in 1867
. It participated in the formation of the Federation of Organized Trade and Labor Unions
in 1881. The following year, seceding New York City locals formed the Cigarmakers' Progressive Union of America
, which rejoined the International in 1886. The American Federation of Labor
chartered the Cigar Makers in 1887.
The CMIU represented skilled cigar makers of various ethnic backgrounds. By its 1867 constitution the union admitted women, although the policy was openly defied by some of its own city locals The union pressed for higher wages, shorter hours, better working conditions, and the right of collective bargaining.
After 1880, Cigar manufacturers who negotiated labor contracts with the CIMU affixed blue labels to boxes of "union made" cigars. Previously, local chapters issued their own stamps including white labels, used by the Cigar Makers' Association of the Pacific Coast to show that their cigars were made by white labor, in response to the growing use of low-wage, Chinese immigrant labor. In 1875, the cigar makers' local in St Louis tried to encourage consumers to buy union-made cigars by using a red label. The national union created a standard blue "union made" label in 1880. Union stamps underwent frequent changes and are an excellent help in dating cigar boxes. The "Sept. 1880" date added top center on a label was added in 1888 and appears on all CMIU cigar (not stogie) issues until 1974.
The CMIU's membership dropped steadily as mechanization and unskilled cigar workers (known as "bunch breakers" ) replaced skilled cigar makers after World War I, and as cigarettes grew in popularity. The union was eventually disbanded in 1974.
- No. 7 - Utica, New York
- No. 14 - Chicago, Illinois
- No. 15 - New York City
- No. 17 - Cleveland, Ohio
- No. 25 - Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- No. 39 - New Haven, Connecticut
- No. 44 - St Louis, Missouri
- No. 85 - Eau Claire, Wisconsin
- No. 98 - St Paul, Minnesota
- No. 130 - Detroit, Michigan
- No. 144 - New York City
- No. 165 - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- No. 188 - Seattle, Washington
- No. 228 - San Francisco, California
- No. 291 - San Jose, California
- No. 316 - Adams County, Pennsylvania
- No. 371 - Barre, Vermont
- The CMIU was the first union that Samuel Gompers belonged to. Gompers was vice president of the National union and President of Local 144.
- Patricia A. Cooper, Once a Cigar Maker: Men, Women, and Work Culture in American Cigar Factories, _PHONE_ (University of Illinois Press, 1987)


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The bean duel with two players uses the same rules as the variant for three players with the following changes:
- Remove the Garden Beans and the Cocoa Beans from the game.
- A player may only sell beans from his bean fields on his turn.
- The game ends when the draw deck is exhausted for the first time.
- On a player's turn, he does the following in the order indicated:
1. Plant or discard offered bean cards
The player may plant or discard the bean cards his opponent left as an offer in step 3 of his turn. This is omitted by the starting player on his first turn.
2. Plant bean cards & discard
After planting one or two cards in his bean fields (as in the normal game), the player may discard one card from anywhere in his hand face up on the discard pile.
3. Draw, plant, and offer beans
The active player draws the three topmost cards from the draw deck and puts them face up on the table so both players can see them. If the topmost card on the discard pile matches any of the cards just drawn, the player adds it to them.
He does the same with the new topmost card from the discard pile until the topmost card on the discard pile does not match any of the drawn cards.
Now the player may plant any of these drawn (from the draw deck or discard pile) cards he wants, selling such beans as he can and wants in the process. He leaves any drawn cards he does not want as an offer to his opponent.
He need not plant any of the drawn cards. The players can earn more gold coins through this extended draw.
4. Draw new bean cards
The active player draws two cards from the draw deck. He draws them one at a time, placing each in turn at the back of his hand.


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prominent medieval shrine to Mary is located at Chartres, an old
French city surrounded by fertile farm country about 50 miles southwest
of Paris. In an ancient crypt under the magnificent 12th century
cathedral, medieval pilgrims honored a prized relic of Mary -- her
tunic -- which tradition said had been brought to Europe from the
east by Charlemagne in the 8th century.
There, too, pilgrims reverenced a holy well, traditionally the burial
site of the region's early Christian martyrs. From all of Europe,
people came to Chartres to be healed and to be renewed in their
faith. The great cathedral, with its vast treasury of sculpture
and stained glass illustrating the Old and New Testaments, is a
visual catechism welcoming all her enter the massive doors. Like
Mary, modern pilgrims are invited to remember and to ponder the
great things God has done for his people.
In this century, thousands of Christian young people from the universities
of France participate each August in a student pilgrimage to the
shrine of Our Lady of Chartres. They walk the old road from Paris
to Chartres like their ancestors did centuries ago.
to Europe as "holy land" in the 11th - 15th centuries
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What are managed lanes?
Highway facilities or a set of lanes where operational strategies are proactively implemented and managed in response to changing conditions.
Transportation agencies are faced with growing challenges of congestion and a limited ability to expand freeway capacity due to construction costs, right-of-way constraints, and environmental and societal impacts. Transportation officials are taking advantage of opportunities to address mobility needs and provide travel options through a combination of limited capacity expansion coupled with operational strategies that seek to manage travel demand and improve transit and other forms of ridesharing. The managed lanes concept is gaining interest around the country as an approach that combines these elements to make the most effective and efficient use of a freeway facility.
The distinction between managed lanes and other traditional forms of freeway lane management is the operating philosophy of "active management." Under this philosophy, the operating agency proactively manages demand and available capacity on the facility by applying new strategies or modifying existing strategies. The agency defines from the outset the operating objectives for the managed lanes and the kinds of actions that will be taken once pre-defined performance thresholds are met.
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United States Department of Transportation - Federal Highway Administration