text:
In an article published on the Health Affairs Blog, the National Pharmaceutical Council and the Analysis Group conducted market research to explore payer views of the potential roles that existing and new alternative payment approaches could play in managing the financial risk and impact of gene therapies. They found that although payers are thinking about how to cover gene therapies, more work is needed to fully address seven important coverage challenges:
- Financial risk and impact of gene therapies is an important concern for payers: The majority of payers, both on a regional/local level and a national level, expressed "very high" concern about managing the potential financial risk and impact. Both rare diseases and "common chronic diseases" caused concerns for payers about shifting from the current standard of care with existing treatments to one-time gene therapies.
- Payers would consider alternative payment models to manage plan risk under the right set of circumstances: Every national payer and more than half of regional payers surveyed said they expected to enter into alternative payment arrangements for gene therapies within the next three years.
- Payers expect to use a combination of new and existing approaches to manage the financial risk of gene therapy: Most payers (excluding Managed Medicaid) were most likely to expect to use a combination of approaches to manage gene therapy-related financial risk. About half of those payers expected alternative payment arrangements to play a role in managing that risk, either alone or in conjunction with other approaches.
- Given uncertainty about magnitude and duration of clinical effects, payers likely will require performance guarantees with alternative payment approaches: For approaches that smooth payments over time, nearly all payers said they would expect payment to be dependent on meeting performance-based requirements – and more than 95 percent said expecting them to pay for patients who have stopped responding to a therapy would be a "deal breaker."
- Greatest patient access challenges may be encountered at smaller employer plans and managed Medicaid plans: Nearly one-third of smaller plans surveyed said they were likely to exclude coverage for gene therapies.
- Payers' preferred approaches may not be entirely effective in addressing their concerns: Many payers said they would use stop-loss/reinsurance in conjunction with a payment agreement, but this approach could result in higher costs for patients and payers.
- Many payers were uncomfortable with "patient portability" proposals: Roughly three-quarters of payers surveyed called allowing patients to carry payments with them if they switch plans a "deal breaker." Payers were not interested in accepting financial responsibility for such patients who switch into their plans.


text:
LONDON - Britain's children are being poisoned by a "junk culture" of processed food, computer games and over-competitive education, an influential group of authors and experts warned on Tuesday.
In an open letter to the Daily Telegraph, 110 teachers, psychologists and children's authors -- including the internationally acclaimed Philip Pullman and Penelope Leach, a leading childcare expert -- called on the government to act now to prevent childhood being killed off altogether.
Forced "to act and dress like mini-adults", children are becoming increasingly depressed and experiencing growing levels of behavioral and developmental problems, they said.
Schoolchildren in a cafeteria. Britain's children are being poisoned by a "junk culture" of processed food, computer games and over-competitive education, an influential group of authors and experts warned on Tuesday. REUTERS/File
"Since children's brains are still developing, they cannot adjust as full-grown adults can, to the effects of ever more rapid technological and cultural change," the letter said.
"They need what developing human beings have always needed, including real food (as opposed to processed "junk"), real play (as opposed to sedentary, screen-based entertainment), first hand experience of the world they live in and regular interaction with the real-life significant adults in their lives."
The letter was circulated by Sue Palmer, an ex-head teacher and author of a book entitled "Toxic Childhood", and Dr Richard House, a senior lecturer at the Research Center for Therapeutic Education at Roehampton University in London.
"Children's development is being drastically affected by the kind of world they are brought up in," Palmer told the Daily Telegraph. "It is shocking."
"A child's physical and psychological growth cannot be accelerated. It changes in biological time, not at electrical speed. Childhood is not a race."
The experts condemned Britain's increasingly "target-driven" education system and urged the government to recognize children's need for more time and space to develop, demanding an urgent public debate on child-rearing in the 21st century.
Award-winning children's author Michael Morpurgo, who also signed the letter, said there was a "drip, drip, drip effect" of academic pressure and marketing which was killing childhood.
"It's gradually soaking like a poison into the culture," he told BBC radio. "There is less room for reading, for dreaming, for music, for drama, for art, and simply for playing."
© Reuters 2006

source: HuggingFaceFW/fineweb-edu


text:
Human facial attractiveness is evaluated by using multiple cues. Among others, sexual dimorphism (i.e. masculinity for male faces/femininity for female faces) is an influential factor of perceived attractiveness. Since facial attractiveness is judged by incorporating sexually dimorphic traits as well as other cues, it is theoretically possible to dissociate sexual dimorphism from facial attractiveness. This study tested this by using a data-driven mathematical modelling approach. We first analysed the correlation between perceived masculinity/femininity and attractiveness ratings for 400 computer-generated male and female faces (Experiment 1) and found positive correlations between perceived femininity and attractiveness for both male and female faces. Using these results, we manipulated a set of faces along the attractiveness dimension while controlling for sexual dimorphism by orthogonalisation with data-driven mathematical models (Experiment 2). Our results revealed that perceived attractiveness and sexual dimorphism are dissociable, suggesting that there are as yet unidentified facial cues other than sexual dimorphism that contribute to facial attractiveness. Future studies can investigate the true preference of sexual dimorphism or the genuine effects of attractiveness by using well-controlled facial stimuli like those that this study generated. The findings will be of benefit to the further understanding of what makes a face attractive.
ASJC Scopus subject areas

source: openbmb/Ultra-FineWeb


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Field accessors in Java
In Java world, we are so accustomed to writing getters and setters for our fields, that the advice by Effective Java Item 14: In public classes, use accessor methods, not public fields sort of goes without saying. All major IDEs help us here: they generate getters and setters, so that it is not that hard to produce a class like this:
Most of the lines in this class are pure boilerplate code.
Getting rid of field/get/set triples
In Kotlin, there's no way to declare a field. All you have is properties. Read/write properties are declared with the var keyword, and read-only ones – with val keyword. Thus, the class above can be rewritten as follows:
public class Address() { // parentheses denote a _primary constructor_
 public var name : String = ...
 public var street String = ...
 public var city : String = ...
 public var state : String? = ...
 public var zip : String = ...
Here we have five mutable properties, each of which has a backing field that stores the value, and two accessors: getter and setter. Thus, the byte-code generated from this class will be almost equivalent to the one for the Java class above. The only difference will be property initializers, see Null-safety.
(For even better option look here).
To use a property, one simply refers to it by name, as if it were a field in Java:
fun copyAddress(address : Address) : Address {
 val result = Address() // there's no 'new' keyword in Kotlin = // accessors are called
 result.street = address.street
 // ...
 return result
Declaring properties and accessors
The full syntax for a mutable property declaration is as follows:
var : [= ]
The initializer, getter and setter are optional. Property type is optional if it can be inferred from the initializer or from the base class member being overridden.
 : Int? // error: explicit initializer required, default getter and setter implied
var initialized = 1 // has type Int, default getter and setter
var setterVisibility : String = "abc" // Initializer required, not a nullable type
 private set // the setter is private and has the default implementation
Note that types are not inferred for properties exposed as parts of the public API, i.e. public and protected, because changing the initializer may cause an unintentional change in the public API then. For example
public val
 = 1 // A public property must have a type specified explicitly
The full syntax of an immutable property declaration differs from a mutable one in two ways: it starts with val instead of var and does not allow a setter:
val simple : Int? // has type Int, default getter, must be initialized in constructor
val inferredType = 1 // has type Int and a default getter
We can write custom accessors, very much like ordinary functions, right inside a property declaration. Here's an example of a custom getter:
val isEmpty : Boolean
 get() = this.size == 0
Since this property is purely derived from others, the compiler will not generate a backing field for it.
A custom setter looks like this:
var stringRepresentation : String
 get() = this.toString()
 set(value) {
 setDataFromString(value) // parses the string and assigns values to other properties
Backing fields
As we mentioned above, some properties have backing fields, i.e. from the client's point of view, a property is a pair of accessors (or just one getter), but physically the accessors may read and write data from/to a real field. One can not declare a field explicitly in Kotlin, the compiler figures it out for us.
In the simple cases, when we do not provide custom accessor implementations, it is obvious that a property must have a backing field, otherwise what should the default accessors do in the following case?
var counter : Int = 0
But when there is a custom accessor, it may or may not rely on a backing field.
To access a backing field of a property x, one says $x (the dollar sign cannot be used as a part of an identifier in Kotlin):
var counter = 0 // the initializer value is written directly to the backing field
 set(value) {
 if (value >= 0)
 $counter = value
The $counter field can be accessed only from inside the class where the counter property is defined.
The compiler looks at the accessors' bodies, and if they use the backing field (or the accessor implementation is left by default), a backing field is generated, otherwise it is not.
For example, in the following case there will be no backing field:
val isEmpty : Boolean
 get() = this.size > 0
The backing field is not needed because the only accessor does not refer to it.
What if I want to do...?
If you want to do something that does not fit into this "implicit backing field" scheme, you can always fall back to having a "backing property":
private var _table : Map? = null
public val table : Map
 get() {
 if (_table == null)
 _table = HashMap() // Type parameters are inferred
 return _table ?: throw AssertionError("Set to null by another thread")
In all respects, this is just the same as in Java since access to private properties with default getters and setters is optimized so that no function call overhead is introduced.
Overriding properties
See Overriding properties.
Best practices related to this feature
J. Bloch. Effective Java Second Edition
See also: JavaBeans
Similar features in other languages
Java IDEs generate accessors automatically.
For Java, there's Project Lombok : the syntax for properties is based on Java annotations.
In C#, Groovy Beans and Gosu one still writes getters and setters alongside their backing fields that are declared explicitly, although the access looks like property access. Scala does not distinguish between a field and a property, but to customize a setter one needs to write a separate function named by convention.
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 1. Jul 21, 2011
 One comment says: "there's no 'new' keyword in Up"
 Was the language once called Up or am I missing something?
 1. Jul 22, 2011
 Yes. And before that it've been called Jet
 2. Jul 22, 2011
 That comment is fixed. Thanks
 2. Jul 22, 2011
 That example stretches the semantic of "immutable" too much.
 When i see immutable field, i expect that if i will create a local copy of it that local copy will be always equal to the original field.
 1. Jul 22, 2011
 True. That's why Kotlin doesn't have fields and has properties instead.
 3. Jul 22, 2011
 Will properties be real objects with a literal syntax for looking them up like in Gosu and Fantom? Or will they just be two methods as in Scala?
 1. Jul 22, 2011
 Both. There's hash syntax, that returns an instance of Property class. Very useful for binding frameworks indeed.
 4. Jul 23, 2011
 Is there a way to provide public getters only? Think of fields that should be readable by anyone (public) but
 you want to keep control over its modifications (so private/protected for writing).
 For example, to keep some invariants or to do some further actions upon modifications.
 This is a feature I am missing in other languages a lot.
 1. Jul 23, 2011
 There's an example above. Basically, you say
 var foo : Int
 private set
 Also, the accessors can have bodies.
 1. Jul 23, 2011
 Oh, I missed that when reading the example. Awesome!
 5. Jul 23, 2011
 I'm a bit disappointed


text:
WASHINGTON — The operator of a Florida nuclear plant appears to have shipped radioactive waste to ordinary landfills, municipal sewage treatment plants and some unknown locations in the 1970s and early 1980s, according to internal documents and government records obtained in lawsuits.
Florida Power & Light Co. said that in 1982 it had mistakenly made a shipment to a landfill, but the documents appear to show numerous shipments to multiple locations. In addition, while the company conducted a survey and cleanup in the one known location, it found only one kind of radioactive material, and nuclear experts involved in the lawsuits say there must have been other isotopes for which no tests were conducted. The overall level of contamination is difficult to determine.
Plant workers used a sink to wash mops, rags and other heavily contaminated materials, thinking that the drain was connected to the plant's radioactive waste system, but instead it drained into a sanitary sewage system, according to the documents. The contaminants were then hauled away with sludge. According to documents cited by the plaintiffs, at one point the plant in St. Lucie County was shipping to regular landfills materials that were 10 times as radioactive as what it was shipping to a low-level waste dump.
A spokeswoman for FPL said the company had mistakenly made two such shipments in the early '80s, but had disclosed it at the time and removed the waste afterward.
"It's a 23-year-old event," said Rachel Scott, the spokeswoman. "It was thoroughly investigated at the time by both the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Florida Department of Health, who determined that there was no health issue."
Samples were tested in a lab and only one isotope, cobalt-60, was found, Scott said. Cobalt-60 is a material that becomes radioactive when neutrons from the reactor core are captured by atoms of metal. But the plaintiffs say records show that at the time St. Lucie's fuel was leaking fission products, like strontium and cesium, into the cooling water and thus contaminating the plant. Such contaminants would have been present in the mops and similar materials, they argue.
According to documents obtained by the plaintiffs, however, a week after the cleanup was completed at a dump site the company found contamination at a level 20 times what the state had proposed, and thousands of times higher than what the Environmental Protection Agency allowed for farmland; the surrounding area is used for cattle and citrus.


text:
What does a finish carpenter charge per hour?
How do you find a good carpenter?
To find a good carpenter near you, do the following:
- Use Thumbtack to find a list of carpenters in your area.
- Filter the list by selecting a specific carpentry service, such as general carpentry or cabinetry.
- Identify carpenters who have high ratings.
- View the carpenters' profiles and learn more about their specialties.
- Read their customer reviews and look at photos of their past work.
After you get a good sense of their quality of work, make sure the carpenter has the necessary credentials in your state. Then, request several cost estimates for your project(s).


text:
The image above shows a Royal Masque in progression. Masques were stylish entertainments produced by and for the monarch and the court. The more elaborate and lavish the production the better. Masques consisted of dramatic pageants, which incorporated drama, music, dance, ornate costumes, and elaborate scenery. While the performances often likened rulers to mythical gods and heroes, there was always room for subtle criticism of public policy and laws.
Can you create your own Elizabethan-style Court Masque? The following activity will show you how.
First, decide who you would like to honor with this masque. It could be one person or a group of people who you would like to honor. Think of a good-natured joke or humorous story about this person that you can tell at the performance.
Then, select a song or write your own that expresses how you feel about this person or group of people. You can dance to this song or sing it. If you dance to it, make sure there are enough people to dance and perform the music. If you would like to learn more about Elizabethan dances, click here.
Next, choose a scene from Shakespeare or write your own that expresses what you feel about the person or group of people you are honoring. The scene doesn't need to be long, maybe two to three minutes or one to two pages.
To dress up the revellers (actors) make some costume pieces and embellish them. Choose something simple, like necklaces, hats and bracelets and add a bit of flare: add glitter, feathers, scarves and ties. If you would like to see images of Elizabethan costumes, click here.
Rehearse it once or twice until you're comfortable and ready to perform.
Performance time! Start by introducing yourself and the person or group you're honoring. Then tell the joke or humorous story. Next perform your scene, followed by your dance, and conclude with a bow. Bravo!
Click here to continue to the next activity.
Click here to return to the main games and activities page.


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Tiple (pronounced as :tee-pleh) is the Spanish word for treble or soprano, is often applied to specific instruments, generally to refer to a small chordophone of the guitar family. A tiple player is called a tiplista.
See main article: Colombian tiple. The Colombian tiple is an instrument of the guitar family, similar in appearance although slightly smaller than an acoustic guitar. Tiples usually have 12 strings grouped in four tripled courses, although some tiples have only ten strings. The four courses of metal strings are tuned to the same pitches as the four upper strings of the guitar: DGBE. The outer two strings of each of the three lowest triple courses is tuned an octave higher than the middle string in the course.
This tiple is associated with Colombia, and is considered the national instrument. Tiple virtuoso David Pelham has this to say about the Colombian Tiple: "The tiple is a Colombian adaptation of the Renaissance Spanish vihuela brought to the New World in the 16th century by the Spanish conquistadors. At the end of the 19th century, it evolved to its present shape. Its twelve strings are arranged in four groups of three: the first group consists of three steel strings tuned to E, the second, third and fourth groups have a copper string in the middle of two steel strings. The central ones are tuned one octave lower than the surrounding strings of the group. This arrangement produces the set of harmonics that gives the instrument its unique voice."
See main article: Tiple (Puerto Rico). The tiple is the smallest of the three string instruments of Puerto Rico that make up the orquesta jibara (i.e., the Cuatro, the Tiple and the Bordonua). According to investigations made by Jose Reyes Zamora, the tiple in Puerto Rico dates back to the 18th century. It is believed to have evolved from the Spanish guitarrillo. There was never a standard for the tiple and as a result there are many variations throughout the island of Puerto Rico. Most tiples have four or five strings and most tiple requintos have three strings. Some tiples have as many as 6 strings and as few as a single string, though these types are rare.
The main types of tiple in Puerto Rico are:
The tiple that is now most often played in Puerto Rico is the Tiple Doliente. It has recently acquired a more or less fixed body shape narrowing at the top and having 5 strings (see the accompanying photo). It is usually made like the cuatro, so either constructed like a guitar, or from one piece of wood hollowed out. The bottom half of the body is rounded like a guitar, however the top half is square, or triangular. All other features (like neck and bridge) resemble the construction of a normal Spanish guitar. The peghead has tuning machines either from the side or from the back.
The Tiple doliente is tuned with 5 metal strings: e a d' g' c.
This Tiple from Venezuela, looks like a smaller version of the Colombian Tiple. It has 4 pairs of triple strings and is also known as the Guitarro, Guitarro Segundo, and the Segunda Guitarra. There is another tiple played in Venezuela but is a member of the Venezuelan Cuatro family of instruments, also called a Tiple and known as the Cinco y Medio or Cinco. It is very much like the Cuatro but it has 5 strings instead of four.
On the Spanish Balearic island of Menorca, there is an instrument called a Tiple which has 5 single nylon strings.
There is a Tiple Cubano, which has 5 doubled courses of strings, for 10 in total.
The Tiple de Santo Domingo, also known as Tiple Dominicano or Tiplet, also has 5 doubled courses, for 10 in total. The strings are steel. It is tuned C4, F4, A#4, D5, G5. All of the courses are tuned in unison.
In Peru, there is a Tiple with 4 single or doubled steel strings. It is tuned A3, E4, B4, F#5.
In Uruguay and Argentina, sometimes the Requinto guitar is called a Tiple.
The tiple was redesigned in 1919 by the American guitar company C.F. Martin & Co. for the William J. Smith Co. in New York. This tiple -- generally pronounced "tipple" -- has ten steel strings in four courses, tuned similarly to a D-tuned ukulele: AadDdf#F#f#BB. Many similar instruments were developed by other companies around the same time.
Tiple strings and tuning: A ukulele-style tuning can be used (this is the original) or the tiple can be tuned like a guitar.
Electric Tiples that have been designed usually follow the Colombian or Martin tuning and string arrangement.
See main article: Timple. Migrating from North Africa in the 16th century to the Canary Islands and then on to Murcia, the timple has become the traditional instrument of the Canaries. In Palma and in the north of the island of Tenerife some players omit the fifth string, tuning the timple like a ukulele, though nowadays this is often seen as non-standard by players in other regions where five strings are preferred. The popular timple tuning is GCEAD.
The Marxochime Hawaiian tiple bears no resemblance to the traditional tiples, instead resembling a zither. it is player with a combination of plucking, strumming, and playing with a slide similar to a lap steel guitar. The instrument is one of many zither variants marketed within the United States during the early 20th century, of which only the autoharp ever achieved lasting popularity. The instrument carries the "Hawaiian tiple" name solely for marketing purposes, as interest in Hawaiian music and culture was high in mainland America during the period when the instrument was marketed.
Puerto Rican tiple:
Tiple Dominicano, Tiple Argentino, Banjo Tiple, Tiple Uruguayo, and the Tiple Venezolano:
Marxochime Hawaiian Tiple:


text:
Humans eat various living things to survive.
Well, often we kill the once living thing then start eating it.
Turnabout is fair play.
Critters eat humans.
The Guinea Worm lives and grows inside us so they must be eating something while living in our bodies.
Sadly, a concentrated efforts is killing the Guinea Worm and it may be on the path for extinction!!!
Do your part. Assist in the efforts to prevent the extinction of this species!!!
"The rare Guinea Worm faces extinction. Yet despite growing public support for environmentalism and preservation of endangered species, few people will speak out on the Guinea Worm's behalf. In fact, the United Nations and several prominent U.S. agencies are leading a quiet campaign to eradicate this dwindling species forever from the planet. Is the Guinea Worm the world's most endangered species?"


Showing posts with label Data Architecture. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Data Architecture. Show all posts
September 27, 2017
A Mountain Of Data
So I heard this interesting perspective on information and data analytics...
Basically, it comes down to this:
"Most organizations are data rich, but information/insight poor."
Or put another way:
"Data is collected, but not used."
Hence we don't know what we don't know and we end up making bad decisions based on poor information.
Just imagine if we could actually make sense of all the data points, connect them, visualize them, and get good information from them.
How much better than a pile of rocks is that?
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
August 28, 2007
Data Architecture Done Right
Data architecture done right provides for the discovery and exchange of data assets between producers and consumers of data.
Data discovery is enabled by data that is understandable, trusted, and visible.
Data exchange is facilitated by data that is accessible and interoperable.
Together, data discovery and exchange are the necessary ingredients for information sharing.
Why is it so hard?
Primarily it's a coordination issue. We need to coordinate not only internally in our own organization (often already large and complex), but also externally, between organizations — horizontally and vertically. It's quite a challenge to get everyone describing data (metadata) and cataloging data in the same way. Each of us, each office, each division, and so forth has its own standards and way of communicating. What is the saying, "you say poTAYtos, and I say poTAHtos".
Can we ever get everyone talking the same language? And even if we could, do we really want to limit the diversity and creativity by which we express ourselves? One way to state a social security number is helpful for interoperability, but is there really only one "right" way to say it? How do we create data interoperability without creating only one right way and many wrong ways to express ourselves?
Perhaps, the future will bring artificial intelligence closer to being able to interpret many different ways of communicating and making them interoperable. Sort of like the universal translator on Star Trek.
August 24, 2007
Why Isn't There a Chief Data Architect in the Federal Government?
In the federal government, there is a Chief Enterprise Architect in the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) — this is a good thing.
But the question that I have is why there isn't a Chief Data Architect as well?
We all know that one of the essentials to good architecture is having strong data architecture that provides for data descriptions (or metadata) to uniformly describe data, data context (or taxonomies) for discovery, and that supports data sharing (or exchange).
In the Federal Enterprise Architecture (FEA), there is a Data Reference Model (DRM). Moreover, in the FEA, data is the crucial touch point between on one hand, the business functions toward achieving desired performance outcomes, and on other hand, the services and technologies that serve up the data in order to perform the functions and activities of the enterprise.
Furthermore, in developing technology solutions of the enterprise, one very important question for the business is what their information and data requirements are. The answer to this helps drive the technology solution.
For the federal government, the benefits of maturing its data architecture could be significant, especially in being able to share vital information, and thereby fill gaps and reduce redundancy across the federal enterprise. Given the size and important scope of the federal government missions, the imperative is great!
The Chief Data Architect would focus on data issues and drive such things as data standardization, common lexicon, metadata development, exchange standards and directories, service oriented architecture, and overall information sharing.
What do you think--would a Federal Chief Data Architect be a good idea to help progress this?


Singapore Flyer
Singapore Flyer (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
It's the time of year when the minds of top Ivy League undergraduates turn to interviews with investment banks and consulting firms. Here's a good interview question to test their smarts: What is the diamond planet worth? The answer: $26.9 nonillion ($26.9 followed by 30 zeros).
Sure, this is the first time in your life that you have ever thought of a nonillion. But you've surely thought of trillions before -- and that's a one followed by 12 zeros. To get to a quadrillion you just at three more zeros and if you go up three each time, it only takes five more increments of three zeros to get you to a nonillion.
That's a big chunk of change. To put those $26.9 nonillion into perspective, think about the Earth's GDP -- The World Bank estimated global GDP at about $70 trillion in 2011. The Diamond Planet is worth 384 quadrillion times more than Earth's GDP. And a mere.0182% of the Diamond Planet's raw diamonds would handily pay off what the Economist estimates is the $49 trillion in debt held by the world's governments.
The Diamond Planet is formally known as '55 Cancri e.' According to Reuters, it orbits a star in the constellation of Cancer and completes a rotation that takes Earth about 365 days in 18 hours.
The Diamond Planet's radius is double Earth's and its mass is eight times greater. The 3,900F planet is warmish -- and is "covered in graphite and diamond rather than water and granite," according to Yale researcher, Nikku Madhusudhan.
But for an aspiring consultant trying to answer this brain teaser, a key fact about the Diamond Planet is that "at least a third of the planet's mass, the equivalent of about three Earth masses, could be diamond," according to Reuters.
You may not even be familiar with what consulting firms do but you have probably heard of one of consulting's alumni -- Mitt Romney. Before he started Bain Capital, a leveraged buyout firm, he was a consultant at Bain & Co.
And when consulting firms hire undergraduate students, they screen out the ones who crack under pressure. One way they put candidates under pressure is to ask them to answer questions that require them to make calculations in their heads.
For example, one former student who interviewed at Bain's Singapore office was asked to estimate the annual revenues of "the world's largest observation wheel," the Singapore Flyer. To sail through that interview question, all you'd have to do is describe the details of the revenue formula you'd use, plug in reasonable assumptions, and calculate the correct answer in your head.
To the best of my knowledge, consulting firms have not used "What is the diamond planet worth?" in an interview yet. But it would certainly be a timely and difficult question to answer -- and one that is of interest precisely because of pressure -- a key ingredient in converting coal to diamonds (at least on Earth).


text:
What OP Stands for?
What Does OP Mean: "OP" means "Original Poster" or "Original Post". While these two terms are widely used on message boards and Internet forums, they have different meanings. The original poster is the person who initiates the discussion thread, forum topic, or Reddit post.
They often start conversations or ask questions. If they are seeking advice about a specific situation, they reply to comments or messages in that thread. When others refer to the person who started the thread, they type "OP" instead of their username.
The "original post" first appears when you open the thread created by the original poster. This is a less common use of both. It is used when the post contains a lot of information, such as "megatrends," or guides that contain many important links, updates, and images.
What does OP stand for in gaming?
OP – OP means Over Powered or more power. This phrase is commonly used when a player defeats an enemy with relative ease. GG – GG stands for Good Game and is usually said after completing a match, showing gratitude to teammates, and thanking them.
What does OP stand for in Minecraft?
OP stands for Operator. The term is commonly used only in LANs or multiplayer servers. When using a plug-in or mod, you can normally rank the player; However, in vanilla Minecraft, it means "being allowed to use the command"
What is op on Instagram?
"OP means 'original poster', which means the person who started and is responsible for the particular conversation, not just on Instagram, it is very much used everywhere on the Internet. Just to clarify things." For, on Instagram, OP would be the person who posted the image/video that people are commenting on. "


Are all trades stored in block chain?
Are all trades, like mtgox exchange, gambling, etc. stored in block chain? Or, few trades could have been skipped / ignored?
Consider this case, 'a' transfers 10btc to 'b', and then 'b' transfers 10btc to 'c'. Is it possible to store this as single trade, as 'a' transfers 10btc to 'c'?
Is it possible for an exchange to include fake bid/ask orders for it's own benefit?
Is it really possible to differentiate between two transfers, where in one transfer is between single user accounts and another one is between two users?
Within an exchange's ledger system, value may be moved between accounts without creating actual transactions in the public Bitcoin ledger, the blockchain. Exchanges that use this method keep all of their reserves in one set of accounts and simply debit and credit user accounts as necessary. Only when a Bitcoin transaction is necessary to move value from one account to another outside of the system will a Bitcoin transaction be created and broadcast.
In other systems, an exchange or other entity may actually create a new Bitcoin transaction for every trade. This method is more inline with the ideals of Bitcoin, but costs more because of the transaction fees necessary to expedite/facilitate processing.
Any transaction stored in the Block Chain are money transfers between two Addresses. However, if one controls both of the Addresses in question and runs some accounting system on top of the Address balances (such as bitcoind and the use of Accounts), one does not need to create Transactions in order to move bitcoins between two accounts. They can just update their personal ledger of the different Accounts. This option creates less noise in the Block Chain and makes the money transfers instantaneous, but requires extra effort to make sure each Account can only spend only the bitcoins they own.
Many systems can and do behave like this. I'm guessing all of the exchanges do this, as well as some eWallets and probably some casinos.
Your Answer


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Ashamed of sex?
In this TEDx presenation Alyssa Royse talks about sexuality and how societal shame about sex is causing lots of problems. How naming and trying to shame what is different is eventually self destructive. By pushing people away out of fear of being a part of their scary world would just damage your own view of sex. Limiting your possibility for sexual enjoyment. But by embracing what is different and accepting people your own self esteem improves. Working in sexual health I often feel myself falling into the trap of mainly talking about the possible negative consequences of sex (which yes is my job to explain STIs) but my job is meant to be more then that. My job is meant to be about helping young people develop safe and healthy sexual attitudes, that translate into safe and healthy sexual behaviour. Now I may not agree with absolutely everything Alyssa Royse says but the core message of acceptance is really important.
One of the greatest privileges of my work is when I get to help young people when they are at some kind of key point in the sexual maturity. That may mean talking with someone about their concerns about the body image, explaining that they do deserve respect and can say no, helping a young person thinking about their first crush on someone or that they should not feel pressured into having sex. Although my job's aims seem to focus on negative prevention issues I hope I get to help young people develop healthy positive attitudes. Rejecting the idea of shaming someone's sexuality should be a core part of this.
Popular posts from this blog
Review of Channel 4's Sex in Class
The need to talk about porn and release all the data
Agree - Disagree Sex and Relationship Statements


thank you
ZOC Secure Shell Terminal Emulator 6.50
file size: 4.28 MB
This is a Telnet, SSH V1 and V2, Rlogin, and ISDN communication application with multiple session in tabs. You can use it to automate logins and other repetitive tasks by storing your login sequences in the host directory.
Published by:
Trial Period:
30 Days
Cow Rating:
 You can automate the program through auto-macros that are executed when certain text is received or through the built-in scripting language that includes more than 100 commands. It includes VT100, VT102, VT220, Linux, ANSI, QNX 4, SunCDE, TTY, TVI 9xx, VT52, AVATAR, Wyse and IBM TN3270 emulations. The Linux emulation includes color and keyboard support with meta keys. Different configurations and keyboard layouts can be mapped to entries in the host directory. Other functions include a color scrollback buffer, a variety of session logs, trace features, a command history buffer, remote-to-local printing and file transfers.


text:
J₂S84 Series Pneumatic Pickup and Temperature Regulator and J2S81 Series Hot Cooling Bed
■This cooling device is used to pneumatically pick up the used sand which has been crashed and screened, and regulate the temperature. The temperature regulator is filled with circulating cooling water and the water consumption depends on the temperatures at both the sand inlet and desired outlet. The sand outlet temperature can be preset on the control cabinet.
-Sand is uniformly spread by a distributor valve and multistep connection is used for pneumatic pickup in series, good pickup result, and micro powder ≤0.1%;
-Large heat exchange area and good cooling effect can meet technological requirements;
-Simple structure, fewer moving parts, low sand flow speed, less abrasion and no noise;
-The sand outlet temperature can be preset and controlled automatically or manually based on actual situations.
JIER MACHINE-TOOL GROUP CO.,LTD.
E-mail : _EMAIL_


text:
Background. Although cancer has been considered as a chronic disease for those diagnosed, the long-term impact of cancer on the family caregivers' quality of life (QOL) remains unknown. Thus, the current study aimed: (a) to characterize family caregivers of cancer survivors, (b) to describe the multidimensional aspects of QOL of family caregivers of cancer survivors, and (c) to identify demographic and caregiving experience factors that may play significant roles in the caregivers' QOL around 5 years after the relative's initial diagnosis. Methods. A total of 1218 caregivers participated in the 5-year follow-up nationwide QOL Survey for Caregivers. Demographics and caregiving experiences were measured 2 years post-diagnosis of their relative's cancer. Multidimensional aspects of QOL were assessed, including mental and physical health, psychological adjustment, and spirituality at 5 years post-diagnosis. Results. Three groups of caregivers were identified: former caregivers due to the recipients being in remission, former caregivers whose recipients were deceased, and current caregivers. Current caregivers reported worst levels of QOL. Bereaved caregivers reported lower levels of psychological and spiritual adjustment than former caregivers whose recipients were in remission. In addition, caregivers' age and stress were consistent predictors of QOL across three caregiver groups at 5 years post-diagnosis. Conclusions. The findings help to increase evidence-based awareness of the long-term impact of cancer on the family caregivers' QOL. Findings also have implications for developing programs, whereby family caregivers in the various phases of caregivership will benefit by improving their QOL.
- long-term survivorship
- quality of life
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Psychiatry and Mental health
- Experimental and Cognitive Psychology


About Seesaw Sign Up
Teachers, save "Rosa Parks Timeline" to assign it to your class.
Melissa Morey
Student Instructions
Rosa Parks Timeline
1. Tap 2. Tap tool 3. Move each word box to the correct date, creating a timeline of events for Rosa Parks. 4. Tap and review your work 5. Tap and add to your journal
1st Grade, 3rd Grade, 2nd Grade, Reading, History
2151 teachers like this
Students will edit this template:


Crystal formation meanings
 Crystal formation perceptions: These are signature descriptions based on our own experience and perception, they can help you as a reference but we highly encourage you to connect with your crystals and generate your own perception about them.
1a) Diamond Face - This crystal is about inner work, the diamond face mirror provides a reflection of the self. By helping you receive your true essence, offering space to understand who you are and what your soul's mission is. This lemurian operates in commitment to self healing
1b) Time Link - This extra face on the crystal can be helpful by enhancing your own intuition and has the potential to help access other timelines as well. This energy can be intertwined between past lives or interdimensional travel.
2a) Smoky tone invites you to download knowledge from higher dimensions into your present reality.
2b) Pink tone: inspires a softening of the heart to support your soul expansion
2c) Lemon tone: motivates our words into action and manifest your wildest dreams
2d) Golden healer: represents inner manifestation, on a divine level.
3) Dolphin crystal (look for a smaller crystal that lays down on a side of the main point and it looks like a dolphin with its baby swimming on its side). This crystal is a loving guide that teaches you to enjoy the process of your own transformation and awakening. Dolphins are carriers of ancient lemurian knowledge and wisdom, they're the living libraries of Lemuria.
 4) Lemurian castles: (look for a couple of small crystal point forms on a side that together look like a lemurian light castle), they facilitate your connection with the divine and remind you that you are loved and part of the cosmic collective.
5) Record keepers: (shown as sacred geometry patterns edged on the sides of the crystal) these formations carry very specific information that the crystal releases when meeting with its keeper. If you're drawn to a crystal with record keepers, don't hesitate on getting it. It will probably unfold ancestral knowledge you've been waiting for.
6) Channeler: (the main face has seven sides and there is a triangle directly behind) They are a great tool to access your higher self's wisdom and connect with your guides in order to live according to your life's purpose. They are commonly used for divine channeling and to deepen your intuition.
7)Twin flame or soulmate crystal: Look for two crystal points that are parallel to one another and are born from a single base. When one is smaller it's often called twin and when they're about the same size they're called twin flame crystals. To me they can represent two different perspectives: on a personal level the connection in between the etheric and the physical following up with its balance. On a relationship level, this crystal can represent the "growing together" of an existing relationship or the crossing of paths for a future one, like a "soulmate calling"
8) Key: (hexagonal or angular shape edged on the crystal that looks sort of like a sacred geometry keyhole) this feels like a doorway to other dimensions waiting for the right key to activate them. I really enjoy placing a finger to it as a "key", close my eyes and unlock the door of limitation. The crystals with keys can be very helpful on DNA activations that unfold during the self-awakening process.
9) Double terminated:(this crystal has point termination on both ends) this creates a free flow of energy, letting energy come in and out of the crystal body. Which may be helpful in "filtering the energy " and getting rid of the negative aspects of that energy flowing. It can also help with balancing opposites.
10) Manifestors/keikis: (smaller crystal points coming in or out of the main crystal point)
10a) outer manifestors: highlights the material type of manifestation in one's life
10b) inner manifestors: refers to the spiritual, personal type of manifestation in one's life, such as self-realization, self-healing, self-empowerment.
11) Keikis (children): (they can also be considered manifestors if they cross the side of the main crystal, either growing inwards or outwards. Oftentimes, they are small crystal formations that lay down the side of the crystals -significantly smaller than dolphin formations) Keikis represent the pure, non-rational, innocent and unconditioned mind of the children. The unconditional love a mother and father has for their child is the energy that can be felt through this crystal's keepers. Potentially promoting group stability within a family.
12) Rainbow: (visible rainbows within the crystal structure) if you know us, you know we are rainbow hunters and lovers! The rainbows carry all the spectrum of colors, making the crystal a great tool to help balance all the different chakras.
13) Phantom: (3D phantom or ghost like crystal point shape inside of the body of the crystal) Oh man! These formations are so mesmerizing, I can get lost while watching them. They are very special and they feel very powerful. Phantoms can help you erase your judgment away and be able to see the big picture without a biased mind. In an early stage of interacting with this crystal, you might experience healing from past trauma (either this life or past lives). Once you establish a relationship with your past, they help you move to your next step towards healing it.As Phantoms relate to divine balance and universal love they will encourage you to embrace your responsibility for contributing to raising the collective consciousness.
14) Isis face: (5 sided symmetrical main face, where the top part is a triangle, visually bigger than the base) Embellished with the utmost Divine feminine essence and her undeniable power. I feel it like a warrior who is covered in armor that is based on universal love when working with this crystal formation. Truly inspiring the majesty of a goddess presence.
15) Generator: (a crystal with six faces that when looking at it from above they meet in the exact center of the crystal, like a gang of triangles hugging each other) As their name indicates, they're great generator tools or break points to leave behind what does not serve you anymore. Inspiring it's keeper to start a new chapter! They're masters of helping bring oneself to balance in a harmonious way.
16) Laser: (these crystals are longer than regular crystals, and most of the time thinner towards the point) great tools to direct energy to a specific area. Think of a crystal wand perhaps! They can be very helpful in sharpening your mind and focus your attention on what really matters in your life according to your soul's calling and life purpose.
17) Self healed: (these are marks on the crystals that were made during its formation, when the crystal broke at one point during the generation process but continued to heal the wound) I oftentimes find crystals where their self healed marks make a perfect thumb holders, making the crystal a perfect handheld instrument when using it for energy work. I see these marks similar to that of a Phoenix bird! This crystal can be a great tool to assist in the process of deep forgiveness. Coming as a reminder that anything can be healed and brought back to harmony.
18) Inclusions: (this occurs when the quartz has another crystal formation included on its body), in this case, the energy of the crystal itself is combined with the energy of the inclusion, creating combined properties. For your reference look up the inclusion's properties to see what meaning this mixture represents.
19) ET or rooted crystal: (a double terminated crystal where one end is a single point and the other is a group of very small point terminations) A very rare formation. I feel this crystal is a true representation of the starseeds work on this planet! They're a great tool to download interdimensional energies and root them within Mama Earth to help the acceleration of the planet's energy.
This information is purely metaphysical in nature and is by no means medical. By using this site and associated materials, you acknowledge and agree that you personally assume responsibility for your use of this information as a supplement to professional medical advice.
##giveaway ##crystal ##lemuria ##lemurian ##freecrystal ##beachlife ##freediving ##gopro ##lemurianquartz ##lemurian ##lemuriacrystalshop ##ocean ##paradise
♬ Butterfly's Repose - Zabawa


How to Use the Red Letter Tribe
Introduction: How to Use the Red Letter Tribe
About: my name is Adam!
So, you want to become a regular poster on State Radio's message board, do you?
It's not as easy as you may think. if you make a mistake, you could be shot down, and banished from the boards. but don't be intimidated. Most people on the tribe are kind, lovely State Radio fans, such as yourself.
Just follow these steps, and maybe one day you will be as cool as Shannon or Red.
Step 1: Creating a Username
When you come up with a username, there are a couple of things you might want to consider
1. Something creative
2. Something that is nice and easy to pronounce
3. Or just ignore the previous two, and tell everyone your name.
Step 2: Posting - Replying to a Topic
To reply to a topic, simply press the "Post Reply" button.
Now that you have done that, it is time to post your reply.
Just remember these three simple rules:
1. Keep it intelligent (this means good grammar and spelling)
2. ALWAYS stay on topic
3. Never double post (see step 4)
Step 3: Posting - Starting a New Topic
When you are ready to start a topic, choose wisely, cause' them RLT folk don't take kindly to "dumb" threads.
Here are some questions to ask yourself before posting:
1. Am I posting in the right thread? (Is it SR related, Non-SR related, about a show, or does it belong in the activism forum?)
2. Is it necessary? (does it serve any purpose whatsoever?)
3. Has this already been posted? use the search feature.
Step 4: Editing a Post
So you messed up on a post? Edit it!
Also, as mentioned in step 2, DO NOT double post! Just Edit your last one.
Here is how.
Use the Edit Button.
Step 5: Quoting
There are two ways to quote: a quote from another RLT'er, or a quote from another person/source.
To quote an RLT'er hit the "cloud button" above their post.
To quote someone else, click the quote button on the "Post Reply" page and type or copy the quote.
Step 6: Sending a Private Message
If you would like to privately contact another member you can send them a private message.
to do that click on the private message icon above one of their posts.
Step 7: Entering a URL
Putting a URL in your post can be tricky, but here's how.
1. click on "URL"
2 Enter the page you are linking to into the box.
3. Enter the URL text
Step 8: Linking to a Picture
one of the most confusing things for people is linking to a picture, here is the patented 4 step process:
1. Find the picture
2. Right/Control click, and select "view image"
3. Copy URL
4. Create a link to the page from 2 (see step 7)
Step 9: HOORAY!
Now You are Ready to be an RLT pro!
Good Luck, have fun, and Wage Peace!
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 Battery Powered Contest
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 - Plastic Contest
 Plastic Contest
 12 years ago on Introduction
 Bahaaa. "I can tell that this guy's in the military, and he enjoys camping." well done, sir.


Monthly Archive for February, 2021
: February, 2021
Does your job search progress leave you feeling empty?
Recently, I had a good conversation with a friend who mentioned how many times she heard job candidates describe their interests as being open to anything if it was a job. I often hear the same comment, and it seems to be a common theme in job searching with the mindset if you remain flexible
Say goodbye to your worst critic
Making mistakes is part of being human, and when it happens to you at work, they can reign havoc on your confidence. You can be your own worst critic without much thought. For example, a job candidate described an incident that happened to him at work a couple of years ago when he and his
Four surprising ways that networking can enhance your career
People often confuse networking as a one-time activity that starts when you need something and ends when the goal is reached. Grant it that is the stereotypical form of networking that might last for a brief moment but leaves no room for a long-term relationship built on exchanging support. When networking is viewed as sudden
Make better decisions by understanding what drives your career
What drives your career? Most people answer that question with a semi-heartfelt answer without much thought, with personal circumstances often influencing their motivation. Knowing the answer is essential because your response will direct your career steps. On average, you will spend approximately 90,000 hours at work during your lifetime, and it helps to know what


What is "then" here?
I can hardly understand the "then" here.
"Then" means at a particular time in the past or in the future.
I wasn't treated fairly, but then (again) it's life.
If you think about it more or from a different perspective, it will make more sense. If you believe that the world we live in doesn't always seem to be fair, then you, who were treated badly, is a just another example of this belief.
Your Answer


text:
> Home Page > NWS Organization > OCIO > TOC > The Gateway >|
The Central Switching System
The Source for Hydro Meteorological Data & Products
What is the Central Switching System
The central communications switching system (called the Gateway) is a major component of
the Telecommunications Operations Center's, National Weather Service Telecommunication
Gateway (NWSTG). The organizational management is through the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA) National Weather
Service (NWS), Office of the Chief Information
The Gateway is the primary data communications
switching system of the NWS. It is a global destributor of weather messages in support
of the NWS commitment to the WMO World-Wide data
exchange structure, therefore, the Gateway maintains a recognition system for all weather
data and products for purposes of exchange to global customers. This Center is a
Region Telecommunication Hub (RTH) of the WMO
Global Telecommunication System (GTS) communications network. The Gateway is the World
Area Forecast Center (WAFC) distribution system for the
World Area Forecast System (WAFS). The WAFS distribution is through a satellite
broadcast to geographical areas located over two-thirds of the globe.
The Gateway provides national and global near real-time data exchange services using
automated communication resources, transmitting a wide variety of environmental data types.
The Gateway is operated twenty four hours a day to acquire, process observations, construct
messages, and disseminate messages and files of observations, model analysis, and forecast
products. The time-perishable products are disseminated cyclically according to fixed
schedules. The Gateway is committed to maintaining a timely and reliable transmission of
products at the highest level.
The Gateway is the data source for the
Family of Services (FOS) data distribution and the data broadcast to the
Information Network (EMWIN).


R: Text Mining (Pre-processing)
This is part 2 of my Text Mining Lesson series. If you haven't already, please check out part 1 that covers Term Document Matrix: R: Text Mining (Term Document Matrix)
Okay, now I promise to get to the fun stuff soon enough here, but I feel that in most tutorials I have seen online, the pre-processing of text is often glanced over. It was always (and often still is) a real sore spot for me when assumptions are made as to my knowledge level. If you are going to throw up a block of code, at least give a line or two explanation as to what the code is there for, don't just assume I know.
I remember working my way through many tutorials where I was able to complete the task by simply copying the code, but I didn't have a full grasp of what was happening in the middle. I this lesson, I am going to cover some of the more common text pre-processing steps used in the TM library. I am going to go into some level of detail and make some purposeful mistakes so hopefully when you are done here you will have a firm grasp on this very important step in the text mining process.
Let's start by getting our libraries
install.packages("tm") # if not already installed
Now, let's load our data. For this lesson we are going to use a simple vector.
wordVC <- c("I like dogs!", "A cat chased the dog.", "The dog ate a bone.",
 "Cats make fun pets.", "The cat did what? Don't tell the dog.",
 "A cat runs when it has too, but most dogs love running!")
Now let's put this data into a corpus for text processing.
corpus <- (VectorSource(wordVC))
corpus <- Corpus(corpus)
Here is the output
Now for a little frustration. Let's say you want to see what is in text document 4. You could try
But this will be your output, not really what you are looking for.
If you want to see the actual texttry this instead
Now you can see the text
As we go through the text pre-processing, we are going to use the following For Loop to examine our corpus
for (i in 1:6) print (corpus[[i]]$content)
Punctuation generally adds no value to text mining when utilizing standard numeric based data mining algorithms like clustering or classification. So it behooves us to just remove it.
To do so, the tm package has a cool function called tm_map() that we can pass arguments to, such as removePunctuation
corpus <- tm_map(corpus, content_transformer(removePunctuation))
Note, you do not need the for loop, I am simply running it each time to show you the progress.
Notice all the punctuation is gone now.
Next we are going to get rid of what are known as stopwords. Stopwords are common words such as (the, an, and, him, her). These words are so commonly used that they provide little insight as to the actual meaning of the given text. To get rid of them, we use the following code.
corpus <- tm_map(corpus, content_transformer(removeWords),
If you look at line 2, "A cat chase dog", you will the word "the" has been removed. However, if you look at the next line down, you will notice "The" is still there.
Well it comes down to the fact that computers do not treat T and t as the same letter, even though they are. Capitalized letters are viewed by computers as separate entities. So "The" doesn't match "the" found in the list of stopwords to remove.
For a full list of R stopwords, go to: _URL_
So how do we fix this?
Using tm_map with the "tolower" argument will make all the letters lowercase. If we then re-run our stopwords command, you will see all the "the" are gone
corpus <- tm_map(corpus, content_transformer(tolower))
corpus <- tm_map(corpus, content_transformer(removeWords),
Next we will stem our words. I covered this in the last lesson, but it bears repeating. What stemming does is attempt to remove variants of words. In our example, pay attention to the following words (dog, dogs, cat, cats, runs, running)
corpus <- tm_map(corpus, stemDocument)
Notice the words are now (dog, cat, run)
Finally, let's get rid of all this extra white space we have now.
corpus <- tm_map(corpus, stripWhitespace)
I didn't use this argument with my tm_map() function today because I did not have any numbers in my text. But if I, the command would be as follows
corpus <- tm_map(corpus, content_transformer(removeNumbers))
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text:
Etymological Meaning of the Bird of Paradise Flower
All five different Bird of Paradise flowers get grouped together under the Strelitzia scientific name. While the common name comes from the bird-like appearance of the bloom, the scientific name is drawn from Queen Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. She was married to King George III when the flower was first imported into Great Britain, so the royal gardener named it after her. It's also more commonly called the crane flower in its native home.
Symbolism of the Bird of Paradise Flower
The Bird of Paradise symbolizes many different meanings because it's such an exotic and unusual flower. Everyone that encountered it developed their own idea of the bloom as a symbol. As a native lily from South Africa, freedom and beauty are the two traditional meanings that stand out the most. The Bird of Paradise also means a royalty lineage or bearing due to its association with ruling families. The sheer beauty of the contrasting petals makes it an obvious symbol of excellence and success. It's not commonly used as a birth flower, but it is the floral gift given for the 9th wedding anniversary since the Bird of Paradise is reminiscent of faithfulness. As one of the largest individual blooms used for arranging, it's usually used in the center with clusters of smaller matching flowers to make a statement.
Bird of Paradise Flower Colour Meanings
Since all the Bird of Paradise varieties feature different sets of two contrasting colors, the contrast has more meaning than the specific colors. The look created by combining bright orange and purple or gold and dark blue petals truly makes the flower look alive and like a bird about to take off from the plant's stem. All five varieties sport bright colors rather than muted or pale tones, adding passion and energy to the symbolism behind them.
Meaningful Botanical Characteristics of the Bird of Paradise Flower
While they respond well to being kept in a greenhouse or other humid and warm environment, there is still relatively little breeding of Bird of Paradise plants to produce new varieties. All five types currently available developed in the wild on their own. These plants usually rely on nectar-feeding sunbirds for pollination, so professionals and hobbyists that want to breed their own flowers must do the delicate work themselves with special tools. A few plants that share the same name with the Bird of Paradise are used for medicinal purposes, but the true version is poisonous and offers no medicinal or edible value. The unscented plant also produces no oils or absolutes for perfume formulation.
Special Occasions for the Bird of Paradise Flowers
Wondering when to splurge on a big Bird of Paradise as a gift for someone else? Stick with an appropriate occasion like:
- Birthdays, especially for adults that already have everything else
- Congratulating someone on a promotion, graduation, or other success
- Celebrating the handling of a sticky situation in a graceful way
- Birth and relocation announcements, or any celebration of a new beginning
- Farewell parties for people departing on long trips
The Bird of Paradise Flower's Message Is…
Stay open to new possibilities and seek your freedom wherever you can find it. Explore the world with a sense of optimism and excitement.


A. D. Hope
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Jump to: navigation, search
Alec Derwent Hope (July 21 1907July 13 2000) was an Australian poet and essayist known for his satirical slant. He was also a critic, teacher and academic.
 - Adam had learned the jolly deed of kind:
 He took her in his arms and there and then
 Like the clean beasts, embracing from behind,
 Began in joy to found the breed of men.
 - Imperial Adam (l. 25-28).
 - Quaking muscles in the act of birth,
 Between her legs a pigmy face appear,
 And the first murderer lay upon the earth.
 - Imperial Adam (l. 42-44).
External links[edit]
Wikipedia has an article about:


What is Phimation?
Phi is the ratio of spirals - spirals are nature's way of balancing creativity and structure.
Phi (φ) is also known as the golden ratio.
It appears throughout the universe - from DNA to galaxies - as the way nature balances performance and growth.
"-ation" indicates an action or process.
Phimation: the process of creating structured growth by balancing performance and creativity


text:
Tree Removal Regulations Waverley Council
You may be required to apply for a tree permit, or in some cases submit a development application. This will be necessary if your tree is:
- Five meters or more high with a trunk width of at least 300mm at ground level
- A canopy spread of at least five meters and trunk width of at least 300mm near the ground
- Found on the Significant Tree Register of the Waverley Council
- Is listed as a Heritage Item or forms part of such an item
Submitting the Correct Application
Knowing which form to submit is important and will save you time. For most trees in Waverley, an application is required for a tree permit.
If your tree is located in an area of Heritage Conservation, listed as significant on the Tree Register or considered as a heritage item, you'll need to complete a development application when requesting major pruning works. The same is true for removal that will impact the heritage status of the tree, heritage conservation area or heritage item itself.
Even if your tree falls into the development application category, you can still submit a tree permit application. A tree management officer from the Council will assess your request and determine if a development application is needed.
How Trees Are Inspected and Assessed
Tree inspections are performed by a highly qualified Council arborist who will provide a Visual Tree Assessment (VTA) to determine the tree's health, structure and current condition. Other criteria include:
- How pruning will affect the health of the tree
- The tree's amenity, cultural and environmental value
- Whether it is located within three meters from a residence, main building or significant structure
- Whether the form or shape of the tree is good or poor
- Whether the tree has caused damage to a building, ancillary structure, water main or sewer, and whether alternatives to remedy the damage have been explored
- Whether other vegetation has been planted nearby and if appropriate species can be planted to replace the tree
After the initial inspection and assessment are carried out, the information they reveal will be submitted as part of the tree permit application. All photographed or documented history pertaining to the tree should be submitted and will help provide a clearer, more concise assessment.


GrowFX 2.0 User Manual
Wind animation node
It allows you to create the animation of swaying pathlines in the wind.
Wind object group
Click this, and then select a Wind helper object in the viewport.
Turns on Create Wind object mode. Manually place Wind helper object by clicking in any viewport.
Displays the name of the Wind object.
Stiffness of the path, numerically determines the wavelength of the vibrations of paths. Waves move in the wind direction with speed equal to Wind Speed in the parameters of the Wind helper object. This influences the oscillation frequency: the shorter the wavelength, the greater the frequency.
Please note that if Stiffness is more than the path length, the oscillation frequency depends to some extent on the length of the path.
Flexibility of the path, numerically determines the scale of the subsidence under the influence of wind forces.
Scale Frequency
Scale of the oscillation frequency. This parameter is required to adjust the oscillation frequency.
Amplitude Multiplier
Sets the amplitude of the waving lines in the wind. Allows you to make movements smoother.
Axial rotation group
Allows to adjust the axial rotation of the oscillating paths. It can be applied to the leaves because they tend to vibrate along their axis.
Enables this feature.
Max angle
Maximum deflection angle of the axial rotation.
Strength factor
Used to adjust the amplitude of the axial rotation.
Orientation for leaves group
When on, performs axial reorientation of the direction, which means that it turns the path along the direction. Mainly it is applicable for leaves, as a leaf can bend only in one direction. So in creating wind animation or gravitation influence, when bended, the leaf turns over.
Angle strength
Used to adjust the rotation angle of the leaves.
Looping animation group
Enables the looping animation. Enabling this option disables the Scale Frequency, because it will be calculated automatically.
Looping Period
Specifies the looping period.
For the correct looping animation, don't use the Perturb Speed, Perturb Vector and Decay options in the Wind helper settings.
The right connectors allows to connect the Curve node to control the values of the corresponding parameters along the pathlines.
The visual representation of Stiffness:
Flexibility = 1.0:
Flexibility = 10.0:


irreparable injury
Definition from Nolo's Plain-English Law Dictionary
Harm that no measurable monetary compensation can cure or reverse, such as cutting down shade trees, polluting a stream, or not giving a child needed medication. Proving irreparable injury is often required in order to request a judicial injunction, writ, temporary restraining order, or other assistance in immediately blocking the activity (usually pending further court proceedings). Also referred to as irreparable harm.
Definition provided by Nolo's Plain-English Law Dictionary.


Display hidden fields from grid in edit form as texts
There are situation where we need to display the fields in edit form as texts, without a need to update it – just for information. In this article I will explain how to achieve this.
In Guriddo jqGrid there is no build-in way to display certain fields in forms as text for information purposes. Fortunately we have a custom functions with which we can do this.
In this example we will use custom_element and custom_value in editoptions object. The another requirement is that the field should be hidden in grid, but displayed into the form. Below are the settings in colModel which will do this:
colModel: [
 label: 'Freigh',
 name: 'Freight',
 width: 150,
 hidden : true,
 editable: true,
 edittype: "custom",
 editoptions: {
 custom_value: getFreightElementValue,
 custom_element: createFreightTextElement
 editrules : { edithidden : true }
In order not to display the field in grid, but in edit form we need to set the hidden option to true and edithidden option to true in editrules object
Now the field should be defined as editable and tell that a custom edit will be applied. This is done with editable: true and edittype: "custom" options in colModel. When a custom edit type is used we need to define two functions in editoptions – custom_element, which is responsible for the creation of our element and custom_value which is responsible for the manipulation of the value for that element. Bello are our two functions.
function createFreightTextElement(value, editOptions) {
 return $(""+value+"");
function getFreightElementValue(elem, oper, value) {
 if (oper === "set") {
 if (oper === "get") {
 return $(elem).text();
As can be seen the function which creates the element createFreightTextElement create a simple span element and append the value in this element. The function getFreightElementValue set the value in form when we walk through the records with navigator buttons (oper = set) and return the value when we push the Submit button form (oper= get). In case if there is a no need to submit this value to the server a serrializeEditData event should be defined in order to remove this Element. Below is the code that do this.
 { edit: true, add: false, del: false, search: false, refresh: true, view: false, align: "left" },
 // edit form options
 closeAfterEdit: true,
 delete data['Freight'];
 return data;
That is all. The example can be seen in our demo page here
Kind Regards,
Tony Tomov
Stay connected with us in your favorite flavor!


text:
EBP Compendium: Summary of Systematic Review
Current Practice, Accuracy, Effectiveness and Cost-Effectiveness of the School Entry Hearing Screen
Bamford, J., Fortnum, H., et al.
Health Technology Assessment 11(32).
Indicators of Review Quality:
The review addresses a clearly focused question
Criteria for inclusion of studies are provided
Search strategy is described in sufficient detail for replication
Included studies are assessed for study quality
Quality assessments are reproducible
Description: This health technology assessment contains a systematic review of systematic reviews and comparative studies addresing the effectiveness of school entry hearing screening.
How accurate are the tests used in school-based hearing screening in terms of sensitivity and specificity?
What is the performance of school-based hearing screening in terms of yield and uptake?
What is the effectiveness of school-based hearing screening in terms of language, education and social outcomes of children?
What are the adverse effects of school-based hearing screening?
Population: Children ages 4-6 years
Intervention/Assessment: Hearing screening
Number of Studies Included: 28
Years Included: Through 2005
Lack of quality evidence and poor comparability between studies limit the conclusions which can be drawn as to the effectiveness of school entry screening. (abstract)
Keywords: Hearing Screening
Access the Review
Added to Compendium: December 2011


The Real Reason Oranges Are Sold In Red Mesh Bags
Just because you don't see commercials for oranges on TV doesn't mean that they aren't being expertly marketed to you. According to HuffPost, the way food looks is extremely important, and in fact, it's a billion-dollar business. Essentially, foods need to look tasty, no matter what you're selling. This means lots of research has gone into making everything about the store as profitable as it can be. Everything from where products are placed on shelves to food packaging is all designed to pull you in.
Oranges, in particular, generally come in distinctive red mesh bags, and this was not a random decision on the part of the grocery industry. As it turns out, color is one of the most effective tools that the markets have. In fact, a study found that companies can use colors to "increase or decrease appetite, enhance mood, calm down customers, and reduce perception of waiting time" (via Emerald Insight).
So, which of these does the red bag do?
Selling oranges in red bags has to do with color theory
The red bag actually makes the oranges look, well, orange. If you think about it, the brighter orange an orange or tangerine looks, the riper we interpret it to be. A yellow orange can be instantly written off as unripe. That's the theory behind the red bag — by placing the thin, overlapping lines of red mesh over the oranges, they appear to be less yellow and more orange in color, which makes us interpret them as being of a higher-quality (via Mental Floss). This means you're more likely to purchase a whole bag of oranges than, say, just a few that are stacked by themselves (since those won't look as bright), which in turn means more money for the supermarket.
It's so effective that if you were to put some lemons in the same red mesh bag, they would appear much more orange. This is also why lemons are usually sold in yellow or green mesh bags — to make them look as yellow and green as possible, respectively (via Reader's Digest).
How to see beyond the red mesh bag when buying oranges
What does all this mean for your buying decisions? After all, it's one thing to know the red bag secret, but how can you really tell which oranges are the ripest if the color can't be trusted?
Buying local and organic is always a good way to beat the system and ensure high-quality produce. If you can't make it to the farmers market, though, there are still a few tricks you can use. Taste of Home recommends squeezing the fruits to look for firmness, "heft" (the heavier they are, the more juice they contain), and a thinner skin to suss out the sweetest oranges. There should be a smoothness to the rind and no obvious soft spots. Finally, don't forget to stock up between mid-winter and early spring to get oranges in season.


text:
Federation of International Mouse Resources
The APF is a founding member of Federation of International Mouse Resources (FIMRe). Through this membership we can provide Australian researchers with access to murine strains worldwide.
The goals of FIMRe are to coordinate repositories and resource centers to:
- archive valuable genetically defined mice and ES cell lines being created worldwide,
- meet research demand for these genetically defined mice and ES cell lines,
- establish consistent, highest quality animal health standards in all resource centers,
- provide genetic verification and quality control for genetic background and mutations,
- provide resource training to enhance user ability to utilize cryopreserved resources.
An article describing FIMRe was published in Mammalian Genetics last April. It can be obtained here.
The web site is still under development and will provide more information in the future.


text:
Alphabet > Letter
P is for Police Officer
*Police Officer Headband Hat & Badge
*Suggestions for making a police officer vest.
Other craft links
Holidays and Events
May - third week >
June > National
October > Crime Prevention Week
> Crime Prevention
Activity #1: Resources for
Learning about the role of the Police Officer and Crime Prevention
Activity #2: Crafts: Police Officer Hat
Let's Make a Police Officer Hat
and Badge to Honor the Police Officer an Important Community
Helper - Discuss the Letter P is for Police Officer
To pay tribute to the police officer and their dedication to serve
and protect the community, the children will assemble a simple
police officer hat and wear a badge. Children love to
dress up and do dramatic play, and this will be a welcomed and fun
Instructions for the Police Officer Head band hat and badge:
1. Select your choice of color or black and white template for
the hat and badge. I would recommend the black and white
templates because these can be colored to match the uniform
colors of the police officers in your community. Older
children may be able to help cut the large hat template.
2. Ahead of time, cut a band
about 1 to 1 1/2 inches wide and 22 inches long approx. from construction paper
or card stock. Once you print the template there is enough
paper left over on the right side to cut three strips/bands and then
tape together to form the long band as illustrated in the template.
3. The hat and badge will be assembled during the alphabet P
presentation below. Optional: Add a police
vest made with a large paper grocery bag and glue the
finished badge to it.
Other great Police Officer related crafts at DLTK's:
Officer TP Roll Craft: Young children love
puppets and this craft can be used as teacher aid to present the
activities. Make one ahead of time. Tell the children
they will make their own police officer.
A paper tube is not needed to make it, simply fold the body piece in
half, glue and have the children glue the other body parts,
attach a craft stick to hold as a puppet.
Paper Craft with Police Officer Hat: If the children
love Blue from the Blue's Clues preschool TV program, then this is
the winner and is easy for children 2+ and older.
3. Make a simple police vest using a large paper grocery
bag. With the bag opened, make a large round opening on the
bottom for the head and cut the bag open along the front. Make
round holes on the sides for arm holes. Close and lay the bag
flat and children can paint the front using tempera paint and using
a sponge. Cut a long strip of black construction paper
to form a belt - just for the front where is painted, and glue on
bag when the paint is dry. Attach the badge and the vest is
ready to wear.
Activity #3: Letter P is for Police
Officer Lesson Plan Activities and Printable Materials
Indicate the letter P is in the hat as
well as in the badge.
Crafts at DLTK's:
Officer TP Roll Craft
Paper Craft with Police Officer Hat


text:
committed to reducing their carbon footprint will find paperless solutions align perfectly with their environmental goals, simultaneously streamlining workflow and conserving resources.
On the other hand, opting not to purchase paperless board meeting software could be a deliberate choice for organizations with a minimal meeting schedule or those operating within tight budget constraints where the cost-benefit analysis does not justify the investment. Additionally, companies with a board that prefers traditional, tactile interaction with physical documents, or those operating in regions with unreliable internet access, may find that paperless solutions offer more challenges than conveniences, making the investment impractical at the current juncture.
Mostly, Paperless Board Meeting Software offers end-to-end solutions for board meeting management. This includes features such as meeting scheduling, automatic reminders, document digitization, real-time collaboration, annotation and discussion tools, voting & approval mechanisms, and meeting minutes generation.
Security is a primary concern for these types of software due to the sensitive nature of board communications. Many Paperless Board Meeting software utilize advanced security protocols like encryption, two-factor authentication, and rigorous access controls to ensure confidentiality and data privacy.
Yes, most Paperless Board Meeting Software is designed to be device-agnostic, which means it can be accessed via varying devices such as laptops, tablets, and smartphones. Additionally, they also offer mobile apps for on-the-go access, providing easy access to board materials anywhere, anytime.
This software simplifies the meeting organizing procedure. You can schedule meetings, create agendas, and distribute materials electronically before the meeting. During the meeting, participants can take notes, discuss, vote, and so on directly within the software. Afterwards, the software can automatically generate meeting minutes and distribute them.
Advances in Paperless Board Meeting software can increase productivity and efficiency of board meetings, mitigate risk with high-level security features, and significantly reduce organization's environmental footprint. The software also allows for better compliance by providing a central location for keeping historical meeting data, easily accessible for auditing purposes.


U.S. Supreme Court
Can silence before arrest be used against defendant? Supreme Court to decide
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether a defendant who refused to answer an officer's question before a formal arrest can have his silence used against him at trial.
The case is Salinas v. Texas, report the New York Times and the Washington Post. The cert petition (PDF) by Stanford law professor Jeffrey Fisher argues that the Fifth Amendment's right against self-incrimination protects a defendant's pre-arrest silence. State and federal courts are "openly and intractably divided" on the issue, according to the petition.
The case is an appeal by Genovevo Salinas, identified as one of the people who attended a party hosted by two brothers the night before their murders. Salinas accompanied officers to the police station and answered their questions until he was asked whether a shotgun turned in by Salinas' father would match shells at the murder scene. Salinas did not answer.
"When law enforcement agents question someone about his or her potential involvement in criminal activity," Fisher wrote, "the individual has two choices: speak or remain silent. If the latter necessarily creates evidence of guilt, then the right the Constitution grants him to remain silent is little more than a trap for the unwary."
Unusual sentence for would-be juror who Googled murder defendant
Commenting is not available in this channel entry.


text:
Series: Japan Anthropology Workshop Series
Based on extensive original research, this book explores the early educational experiences of foreign children in Japan. It considers foreign children's experiences of Japanese schools, examines the special tutoring such children often have to improve their language proficiency, and explores the role of mothers in encouraging their children's education. It contrasts the experiences of foreign children with those of Japanese children and sets out the extensive difficulties foreign children encounter in becoming fully accepted by and integrated into Japanese society. The book concludes by discussing the nature of citizenship in Japan and the importance of education, including early education, in shaping Japanese citizenship.
Table of Contents
Introduction 1. Foreigners in Japan 2. Foreigners Schooling and Language 3. Research on Language Tutoring 4. Education Personnel Views 5. Foreign Households and Schooling 6. Japanese Mothers and Foreign Children 7. The Educated Citizen
October 2012 | Hardback: 978-0-415-50103-3
For more information or online ordering, visit _URL_


text:
This article reviews the potential of Niklas Luhmann's autopoiesis as a contribution to organization theory. We consider organization theory to consist of three epistemological foundations, which we label equilibrium-based theory, process-based theory and recursivity-based theory. We review critically Luhmann's autopoietic theory in relation to each of these three foundations. We suggest that whereas it deviates radically from equilibrium-based theory and deviates significantly from process-based theory, it holds potential in its complementarity with Giddens's structuration theory in providing a promising basis for recursivity-based organization theory.
- Organization theory
- Systems theory


text:
This book demonstrates how to blend sewing and assembly techniques with traditional electronics to assemble simple circuits using conductive thread, solder joints for snaps, and switches for buttons. With the sewing machine as a viable substitute for the soldering iron, you can craft a new generation of objects that are interactive, quirky, and fashion-conscious.
Author Syuzi Pakhchyan, a seasoned artist, roboticist, and teacher, explains how to use smart materials such as thermoand photochromatic inks that change color by touch or sunlight, magnetic and conductive paints, polymorph plastic, fiber optics, and more.
In Fashioning Technology, you'll find:
- An invaluable reference section that breaks down the materials, components, and tools with clear, concise explanations and photos
- A wide range of projects, including electronic accessories, interactive plush toys, and color-changing blinds, all using diverse crafting techniques
- Techniques for seasoned crafters interested in incorporating simple electronics into their own projects
- Methods for makers proficient in electronics who are looking for unconventional ways to create novel projects
Each project encourages you to personalize and customize using your own designs, materials, and craft skills. Fashioning Technology translates traditional electronics into fun, fashionable interactive projects for the geek, fashionista, and the craft aficionado alike. Now you really can be the flashiest dresser in town.


Take the 2-minute tour ×
A graph has a path from node $j$ to node $i$ if and only if its adjacency matrix has a positive element $(i,j)$ of $A^k$ for some integer $k.$
A proof for this statement will be highly appreciated.
share|improve this question
3 Answers 3
Hint. In fact there are $A_{ij}^m$ walks of length at most $m$ from $i$ to $j$. The inductive proof of this is pretty much identical to the one you're asking asking for, and your question follows a corollary.
Hint 2. Use $A_{ij}^m=\sum_{k=1}^n A_{ik}^{m-1}A_{kj}$.
share|improve this answer
I think you mean walks of length exactly $m$. – Erick Wong Mar 10 '13 at 16:35
You may prove by mathematical induction. The base case is trivial. For the $k$-th iteration, note that $(A^k)_{ij}\not=0$ iff $(A^{k-1})_{i\ell}$ and $A_{\ell j}$ are both nonzero for some index $\ell$.
share|improve this answer
You can prove by induction. See Section 2.1 of this
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Your Answer


text:
ZPMOSAIC contains the value of
the zero point (magnitudes) applied to the
processed tiles in order to refer instrumental
magnitudes to the common photometric system of the
mosaic, MOSAICID. The value for ZPMOSAIC is
determined by a re-scaling process in which
individual reduced images are harmonized to become
tiles sharing a common zero point for the entire
- ZPMOSERR: FITS header keyword ZPMOSERR contains the value of
the uncertainty (magnitudes) associated with the
determination of ZPMOSAIC.
- ZPMOSSYS: FITS header keyword ZPMOSSYS contains the
photometric system in which ZPMOSAIC and
ZPMOSERR are expressed.
- MOSAICID: FITS header keyword MOSAICID contains the
the unique identity of the mosaic to
which an individual tile belongs to.
- MOSTILES: FITS header keyword MOSTILES contains the
total number of individual tiles contributing to
the larger mosaic, MOSAICID.
- TILEID : FITS header keyword TILEID contains the unique
identity of the individual tile
within the larger mosaic, MOSAICID. TILEID does not
necessarily map directly to any other FITS keyword
value (e.g. OBJECT).
This document was generated using the
LaTeX2HTML translator Version 2002 (1.62)
Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996,
Computer Based Learning Unit, University of Leeds.
Copyright © 1997, 1998, 1999,
Mathematics Department, Macquarie University, Sydney.
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The translation was initiated by eis data account on 2004-08-30
eis data account


text:
VSS UHVC (Cryo): 19 - 125 mm Stepper Motors
UHVC (Cryo) Stepper Motors
Motors for use in vacuum should not only withstand the vacuum (no bursting of air inclusions), they must not contaminate the vacuum either. By selecting suitable materials and optimised conditioning processes phytron VSS stepper motors are ideally suited for use in a vacuum.
Through many years of experience with special materials for use in Space, we have put a focus on materials with minimal molecular outgassing and high heat resistance. This is the prerequisite for a high vacuum quality and genuine measurement results in scientific and medical applications.
For exact positioning in vacuum, stepper motors are therefore particularly suitable because they can precisely position even without sensitive feedback providers. Therefore phytron VSS stepper motors can be used in particularly challenging environmental conditions (radiation, cryo temperatures and in a modified design even in Space).
Since stepper motors do not generate jitter effects while holding a position, this technology is ideal for precisely aligning optical instruments, mirrors, antennas or samples e.g. in high-resolution microscopes, particle accelerators or molecular analysis devices. As a medium-sized company, we manufacture the VSS series in Germany and modify the standard motor to perfectly fit to your application.
- Two-phase stepper motors for applications in ultra high vacuum (Cryo) up to 10-11 mbar
- Suitable for low temperatures: He (-269 °C) or N2 (-196 °C)
- Radiation resistance up to 106 J/kg
- Stainless steel housing
- Holding torques from 3.4 mNm to 9.9 Nm
- Full steps per rotation: 500 (0,72°), 200 (1,8°), 72 (5°)
- Protection class IP 00 because of outgassing holes to avoid pockets of trapped gas
Optional:Gears, Double shaft, Temperature sensors
Customised constructions:Titanium housing - Space - Reduced magnetic emission


text:
Here is the basic tip to customize your computers desktop running on Mac OS. If you are bored with same old background the do this.
- Choose System Preferences from Apple Menu. A System Preferences window will pop-up.
- Select Desktop & Screen Saver button.
- Select on the Desktop tab. On the right side you have default images of Mac. And on the left side you have an category of images.
- Select any image you like. There are plenty of them.
- As you click on the thumbnail of a image the desktop background will change. By this you can see a preview.
- Now Close the window.