text:
1. 0.5s fast measurement
Read the surface temperature of the object to be measured within 0.5s.
2. Professional temperature hole
The laser point is an auxiliary observation function. The real measurement is that the temperature sensing area is working, so the temperature sensing area can be accurately measured according to the measured object. The range of the object distance ratio is up to 12:1.
3. Laser 9-point measurement
With 9-point laser, more accurate and effective temperature measurement.
4. Color display
Large screen with backlit display, color screen design, clear data.
5. MAX value measurement
MAX temperature measurement for quick locking of higher temperature data when measuring higher temperature objects.
6. Adjustable emissivity
Facing different material surfaces, it can debug the emissivity to achieve higher precision measurement.
Range of temperature measurement: -50~480℃/ -58°F~896°F
Measurement accuracy: 1.5%+1℃/1.5%+5℉
Repeat accuracy: ±0.5%/±1℃(2℉)
Response time: <500ms
Emissivity: 0.1~1.00 Adjustable (Step size: 0.01)
D: S: 12: 1
Laser aiming: <1mW 650nm laser grade II
℃/°F Unit conversion: Yse
Backlight display: Yes
Laser positioning: 9-point ring indicating the temperature sensitive area
Screen display mode: VA color screen
Overrange hint: "HI" or "LO"
Power supply: 1.5V battery * 2 AAA (Not included)


Request PDF on ResearchGate | Bore finishing—The ballizing process | The ballizing process is a relatively new microfinishing process that involves the forcing. Request PDF on ResearchGate | A Study of the Ballizing Process | The ballizing process which involves the forcing of a precision ground tungsten carbide ball. PDF | Ballizing is a method of finishing an internal diameter. This process involves the forcing of a precision-ground metallic ball through a slightly undersized.
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What is Burnishing Balls or Ballizing? It is a metal-displacement process, in which an oversize ball is pushed through an undersize hole.
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The ball expands the hole by displacing an amount of material equal to the interference fit. The ball displaces metal by plastic flow leaving a layer of denser metal on the ID wall. In some materials, the ID is work hardened by cold-work ballizing, and wear life of the Balliizng wall increases.
Burnishing in manufacturing There are several forms of burnishing processes, the most common are roller burnishing and ball burnishing ballizing. In both cases, a burnishing tool rubs against the workpiece and plastically deforms its surface. The workpiece proccess be at ambient temperature, or heated to reduce the forces and wear on the tool. The tool is usually hardened and coated with special materials to increase its life.
Ball burnishing, burnishing balls, or ballizing, is a replacement for other bore finishing operations such as grinding, honing, or polishing. A ballizing tool consists of one or more over-sized balls that are pushed through a hole. The tool is similar to a broach, but provess of cutting away material, it plows it out of the way.
Ball burnishing is also used as a deburring operation. It is especially useful for removing the burr in the middle of a through hole that was drilled from both sides.
Roller burnishing, or surface rolling, is used on cylindrical, conical, or disk shaped workpieces. The tool resembles a roller bearing, but the rollers are fixed so they slide against the workpiece surface instead of rolling. It is simultaneously rotated and pressed into the workpiece. Typical applications for roller burnishing include hydraulic system components, shaft fillets, and sealing surfaces.
Burnishing balls also occurs to some extent in machining processes. In turning, burnishing occurs if the cutting tool is not sharp, if a large negative rake angle is used, if a very small depth of cut is used, or if the workpiece material is gummy.
As a cutting tool wears, it becomes more blunt and the burnishing effect becomes more pronounced. In grinding, since the abrasive grains are randomly oriented and some are not sharp, there is always some amount of burnishing.
This is one reason the grinding is less efficient and generates more heat than turning. Results you can depend on The results of burnishing balls are predictable and nearly foolproof. This compares favorably to most reaming and grinding operations.
Industrial Tectonics, precision ball manufacturer, offers balls in a variety of sizes and tolerances. We can help you determine the type of ball you need, taking into consideration your workpiece and the degree of precision you require.
Ballizing, ball burnishing with tungsten carbide balls | ITI Ball
Because ballizing uses only a precision ball for sizing and finishing, and not a complex tool assembly, small holes often are easier to ballize than to grind, hone, or roller burnish. In fact, you can ballize a hole as small as 0.
Defective parts are almost impossible profess produce. Consequently, the process lends itself to automation. Please contact us for more information or you may get a custom quote online for your burnishing ball or ball burnishing questions or needs.


text:
You want to know when a satellite will pass in order to receive an image transmission or to work an amateur satellite. However, you cannot access internet for whatever reason, and therefore can't simply look up a pass prediction chart or live tracker.
Can you/how would you calculate approximately where a satellite would be at any given time, or calculate when the next pass would be? Do satellites always follow a scheduled path to repeat and cycle through? What basic orbit information should I collect about each satellite I need beforehand?
Is the satellite always actively kept in this exact timing, or does it slowly "drift" from its scheduled path? I ask this because if it does drift, this would eventually make any planning useless without direct connection to the satellite, if that makes any sense.
A simple path/time map (like below) would be best, but (offline) software also works.
Edit - Do the satellites transmit data about their position that I would be able to receive and decode?

source: openbmb/Ultra-FineWeb


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Spell checking requires the deployment of several server-side components onto a J2EE compatible application server (e.g. Jetty, or Apache Tomcat).
The following server-side components are required to enable spell checking:
Allowed Originsephox-allowed-origins.warSupplies configuration for server components to communicate with your application.
Spell Checkingephox-spelling.warSpell checking service for JavaScript editors.
This guide will help you set up the Spelling server-side components, and show you how to use them in conjunction with editor clients. The steps required are:
 1. Install a Java application server (or use existing)
 2. Deploy server-side components
 3. Create a configuration file and configure the allowed origins service
 4. Pass the configuration file to the Java application server
 5. Restart the Java application server
 6. Set up editor client instances to use the spelling service
1. Install a Java Application Server
Server-side components require a Java Application Server to run.
If you don't already have a Java application server installed you can easily install Tomcat or Jetty with their default settings. These are both simple, open source Java application servers and they're easy to install and configure. The editor SDK supports both of these platforms. You can find the instructions and download links below. For the later setup, it's also helpful if you note any domain name and port number you specify during installation of the web application server.
Memory Requirement
Please ensure that you configure your Java Server (Tomcat/Jetty etc) with a minimum of 4GB.
Please refer to the Services Troubleshooting page if you require instructions on how to explicitly define how much RAM will be allocated to your Java server.
2. Deploy Server-side Components
You'll need to ensure you deploy all of the WAR files packaged with the SDK:
 - ephox-allowed-origins.war
 - ephox-spelling.war
The easiest way to deploy these files is to simply drag and drop them into the webapps directory of your Tomcat/Jetty server (or equivalent folder of another Java application server), and then restart the server.
More information on deploying components/applications:
Deploying applications with Tomcat 6.0
Deploying applications with Jetty
3. Create a configuration file and configure the allowed origins service
It is recommended that you use a plain text editor (eg: gedit, vim, emacs, notepad etc) when creating or editing the application.conf. Do not use editors like Evernote as there is a good chance of smart quotes being used where plain quotes should be used and this will cause the services to fail.
Services requires a configuration file named application.conf to be referenced by the application server.
The SDK comes packaged with an example configuration file (examples/application.conf) that can be used as a reference guide. You can use this example file (after modifying it with your settings). We recommend that you make a backup of the file before editing it.
The allowed-origins configuration element will need to be specified in order for the spelling server-side component to work.
This element configures the allowed-origins service which allows all server-side components to communicate with specified domains.
The origins attribute must list all the domains that instances of the editor will be hosted on. Only requests from the listed origins will be processed by the server-side components. Requests from any other domains will be rejected.
The url attribute defines the location of the allowed-origins service.
elementallowed-originsStores CORS setup information
An array of strings representing the domains allowed to communicate with the services.
Note: Be sure to include the protocol (https or http) and any required port number (eg:8080) in the string.
This string is a concatenation of two values:
String 1: The URL location of the allowed-origins service
String 2: The API to access in the service (/cors).
Entering Origins
The origins are matched by protocol, hostname and port. So you may need a combination of all three, depending on which browser /s you use. If you are serving the editor and services from http://localhost & port 80, then the list of origins should have an entry for "http://localhost" and any other servers with ports, like so:
 origins=["http://localhost", "http://any-other-servers:port"]
 url = "http://localhost/ephox-allowed-origins/cors"
This only applies to port 80 because this being the default http port, browsers omit it when talking to the server. For every other port and hostname, the recommended setting is to make one entry with the port and one without the port. This is because different browsers behave differently with regards to the Origin header. So the config file should resemble:
ephox{ allowed-origins{ origins=["http://hostname", "http://hostname:1234"] url = "http://hostname:1234/ephox-allowed-origins/cors" } }
Ensure that you have the right protocol specified, and for more examples see the section below. If you experience issues, please use the Troubleshooting guide (in the Tip below) and you should be able to see if the browser sends a different origin to the one that you have specified. Both must match for the services to work.
Depending on your configuration and the browser you use, you may need to specify the port number as well when listing the origin. If you observe that requests are failing with services not being available, it may be because the port number is required. Refer to troubleshooting guide - section titled Investigating Using the Browser's Network Tools
allowed-origins Example
ephox {
 allowed-origins {
 origins = [ "http://myserver", "http://myserver:8080", "http://myotherserver", "http://myotherserver:9090", "https://mysecureserver" ]
 url = "http://myserver:8080/ephox-allowed-origins/cors"
4. Pass the configuration file to the Java application server
You'll need to reference the configuration file created in Step 3 as a parameter passed to the JVM running the services. Once the server has been configured to use the file, restart the server.
If the path to your application.conf file has spaces in it, you must ensure you prefix each white space with an escape character (\).
Example: " -Dephox.config.file=/config/file/location/with/white\ space/application.conf"
The following examples demonstrate how to reference application.conf for Tomcat or Jetty instances.
Tomcat (Unix)
Make/edit a script at /tomcat/install/directory/bin/
Ensure the file contains a single line, like (this must be the absolute path as before):
CATALINA_OPTS=" -Dephox.config.file=/config/file/location/application.conf"
Tomcat (Windows):
Setting configuration varies based on installation of tomcat. You can choose one of following options to complete configuration setting.
Option A. Installation though Windows Command line (CMD) with tomcat binary file:
Make/edit a script at DRIVE:\tomcat\install\directory\bin\setenv.bat (This file might not exist for some versions of tomcat, create it in bin folder)
The file should contain a single line:
Example setenv.bat
set CATALINA_OPTS= -Dephox.config.file=DRIVE:\config\file\location\application.conf
After setting up configuration, you can launch tomcat by startup.bat or catalina.bat
Option B. Windows Service Installer:
 1. From start menu, open Monitor Tomcat and see popping up window.
 2. Go to Java tab and see Java Options.
 3. In Java Options, insert new line, which is
 4. Then you can go to General tab to start Tomcat.
Jetty (simple configuration):
You can specify your application.conf as a parameter to this command, along with other jvm parameters:
java -jar /jetty/install/directory/start.jar -Dephox.config.file="/config/file/location/application.conf"
Jetty (automatic configuration for services launching on system start-up)
Edit /etc/default/jetty and add the line:
JETTY_OPTS=" -Dephox.config.file=/config/file/location/application.conf"
Edit /opt/jetty/start.ini and add the line:
The first new lines of the file should read:
# Jetty start.jar arguments
# Each line of this file is prepended to the command line
# arguments # of a call to:
# java -jar start.jar [arg...]
5. Restart the Java application server
Once you have created a configuration file, configured the allowed origins service, and passed the configuration file to the Java application server you must restart the Java application server.
6. Set up editor client instances to use the spelling service
With the above steps completed you can now direct the editor client instances to use the server-side spelling component.
Set the spelling.url configuration property to the URL of the deployed server side spelling component. This URL is provided to you by your Java application server.
Example Client Config
var config = {
 spelling : {
 url: '' // Spelling service URL
var editor = textboxio.replace('_TAG_', config);
 - No labels


text:
The Nuns of S. Apollonia and that Virile Castagno!
Camille will be our leader for this article on audience reception, the role of gender in patronage in the Quattrocento, and how style intersects with these two issues in the Last Supper fresco in the fresco of the Refectory of S. Apollonia in Florence. Naturally, I have some questions!
1. Do you agree with the author in assigning the choice of the artist of this fresco to the abbess of A. Apollonia? Is the evidence compelling in your opinion?
2. What were the other functions of the refectory and how did the iconography of the frescoes intersect with the uses of this space?
3. The profusion of females in the Passion scenes above the Last Supper is singled out as having special relevance for the nuns in the convent. Do you think this is true?
4. What is the relationship between women, food, the Eucharist, and Castagno's rendering of the Last Supper?
5. Do you agree that Castagno's hard-edged, "virile" style is in a sense a fulfillment of the patron's wishes for this refectory Last Supper? Why or why not?
6. Why was virility a virtue, as it were, for the nuns of S. Apollonia?
7. In what way did the tenor of Castagno's fresco correspond to the punishments sometimes endured by the nuns who failed to follow the Benedictine rules?
8. In what way is Mary "present" in the Last Supper according to the author?
9. Do you agree with the author's reading of the marble panels in the fresco of the Last Supper?
10. Have women always sought a "place setting" at the Last Supper in both art and life? Discuss!


text:
Are you curious about the native plants growing around you? "What is this species, and what do I need to know about it?" On Sept. 26, 2014, OHA invited the community to bring photos and/or samples to our "Evening with the Experts," event, along with observations about the plant. Community members were encouraged to bring digital photos on USB flash drives, SD memory cards, or email in advance to _EMAIL_. The event was open to everyone, whether they brought in a mystery plant or not. There were plenty of examples available for everyone to learn from.
The event began with a brief overview provided by the panel of botanists. Dana Visalli presented on what flowers are for, how their shapes and colors function, and how they reproduce. George Thornton presented on habitat types, followed by Erica Heinlen's brief overview of bryophytes (mosses, lichens, etc.).
Participants were then invited to bring plant specimens and photos to the panel of experts, and plant enthusiasts were also on hand to assist with plant identification using field guides and keys. Samples of interest were projected onto a large screen for the whole group to see, and specimens, as they were labeled, were made available for display on tables.
Download the event handouts:
- Common Plant Attributes / Characteristics of Common Wildflower Families (1.4 MB)
- Guide to Identifying Plant Families (1.3 MB)
- Plant Families, Methow Naturalist (3.9 MB)
- Recommended Plant Field Guides (136 KB)
About the Experts:
George Thornton, retired Oroville high school teacher, long-time local botanist, and President of OHA's board, will spearhead the event. Thornton grew up in the Okanogan and raised his family here, contributing to the community as a teacher and a botanist, and volunteering with a wide variety of community organizations. His interest in plants began at an early age and developed throughout this life; on Sept 26 he will share from his wide-ranging experience with unique and rarely seen Okanogan Highland plants, as well as the more common species. Thornton provided the first Highland Wonders presentation in November of 2010 on "Botanical Gems of the Okanogan Highlands," and has also lead an OHA outdoor Native Plant Hike at Lost Lake and a Cedar Ecology event near Chesaw.
Dana Visalli contributed his knowledge on the panel, returning to Highland Wonders after his initial presentation on Highland Wildflowers in November of 2012. Visalli has worked for the last 22 years as a professional botanist and naturalist. He has published the quarterly natural history journal, "The Methow Naturalist" for the past 19 years, and has directed a summer ecology camp for children for 22 years. He lives in the Methow Valley, where he is an organic market gardener, and maintains the regional species lists for flowering plants, mosses, lichens, birds, amphibians, reptiles and mammals. "I am becoming increasingly entranced by the story of the journey that life is on," Visalli says. "Plants are a big part of that story, becoming more complex over time. There are 300,000 different species of plants on earth, each one of them intricately adapted to a particular environment. They are beautiful and intriguing in their own right, and of course they make our lives, and all animal life on land, possible. So let's get into them!"
Erica Heinlen joined the Highland Wonders team for this event, sharing her unique specialty in mosses. The community is fortunate to have a mosses expert living in Tonasket, and OHA is pleased that she generously shared her skill and understanding at this event. Heinlen studied botany at the University of Washington and worked for the local Forest Service for several years doing vascular plant surveys. She caught an interest in bryophytes (mosses) on the job and so attended the University of Alberta and obtained her Masters degree in bryophytes in 2002, focused on mosses of the Okanogan Highlands. She has been working part-time for the Forest Service and contracting other bryophyte work since then. Heinlen was also available to help identify lichen, in addition to mosses.
Do you have a mystery plant you'd like to bring to a future event? Please follow these important guidelines: Download and print Guidelines for Plant Photos & Specimens
- Record the date and your name; write notes about the plant's location, elevation, habitat (surrounding plants including trees, site characteristics such as wet or dry soil, southern or northern exposure, etc.), and any other helpful or background info. Take notes on general plant information such as growth habit (tree, shrub, grass, herb), general size, leaf pattern (opposite, alternate, rosette), and anything else of note.
- GPS if possible, definitely optional
- Include something for size perspective (pencil, ruler, coin are common examples).
- Take multiple images from a variety of angles and distances.
- Digital images at highest pixel density available so they can be enlarged.
- Try to get a good, focused close-up of flower or other reproductive organ, if available. A close up of the leaf, including the leaf edge, is also helpful. Also show a broad perspective where the plant grows.
- If the plant is easily accessible, you may want to take photos at various stages of growth.
- Photos need not be printed out; you can bring them in on a digital device (preferred), such as your camera, flash/thumb drive, or SD card. If you don't have a digital device, prints are fine.
- Never, never take a specimen sample unless there are ample examples – a minimum of 20 in the immediate vicinity, but 50 or more is better.
- If the plant is abundant, take roots and all, if possible and practical.
- Alternately, consider taking a single flower and then notes and photos. If it is an unusual plant, you run the risk of harming a very small population.
- Be careful if collecting seed heads. Invasive non-native plants can be transported inadvertently, or you may introduce a native species that could become "weedy" to you, once growing in a different habitat. Plants with seed heads should be pressed with the book or press sitting in an open plastic bag that will capture released seeds. Once the plant is thoroughly dried, close the bag securely.
- Let the specimen partially wilt – it presses and dries much more easily. Usually you collect in a plastic bread sack or similar bag that is large enough, so you don't have to bend or crush it too much. Do not leave the specimen in plastic for more than a couple of days, or it may begin to rot.
- Use a stack of material, an old phone book, or something that is relatively rigid and large enough to press without a lot of folding or bending of the specimen. 8.5 X 11 is minimum, larger for larger plants.
- Spread out the specimen on newspaper or other absorbent paper with minimal overlap and all parts as flat as possible – particularly the flowering or reproductive parts of the specimen.
- Use newspaper layers with rigid material (cardboard, tag board, or other heavy duty water absorbent papers) below and above the specimen. Use multiple layers to make a sandwich for multiple specimens over time.
- It takes practice to lay out specimens, so practice on common material. They also make great pressed arrangements.
- Include an ID note or paper with notes as described above.


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I was wondering if someone can explain what is informal protocols in Objective C? I try to understand it on apple documentation and some other books but my head is still spinning so i will really appreciate that if someone can explain with example.
share|improve this question
7 Answers 7
up vote 48 down vote accepted
An informal protocol was, as Jonnathan said, typically a category declared on NSObject with no corresponding implementation (most often -- there was the rare one that did provide dummy implementations on NSObject).
As of 10.6 (and in the iPhone SDK), this pattern is no longer used. Specifically, what was declared as follows in 10.5 (and prior):
_USER_ NSObject(NSApplicationNotifications)
- (void)applicationWillFinishLaunching:(NSNotification *)notification;
_USER_ NSObject(NSApplicationDelegate)
- (NSApplicationTerminateReply)applicationShouldTerminate:(NSApplication *)sender;
Is now declared as:
_USER_ NSApplicationDelegate
- (NSApplicationTerminateReply)applicationShouldTerminate:(NSApplication *)sender;
- (void)applicationWillFinishLaunching:(NSNotification *)notification;
That is, informal protocols are now declared as _USER_ with a bunch of _USER_ methods.
In any case, an informal protocol is a collection of method declarations whereby you can optionally implement the methods to change behavior. Typically, but not always, the method implementations are provided in the context of delegation (a table view's data source must implement a handful of required methods and may optionally implement some additional methods, for example).
share|improve this answer
One of the common examples given of informal protocols is to define callbacks. Suppose you are using a library that lets you download something in the background. This library lets you register a callback object to be called when complete.
- (void)download:(NSURL*)url whenComplete:(id)callback
When the download is complete, it will call a particular method on your callback object:
- (void)downloadComplete:(NSURL*)url
Of course, there is no guarantee that your callback object actually implements this method. Informal protocols provide trivial implementations of these methods on NSObject, using a category. As a result, all objects in the system will respond to the downloadComplete: method, though they will do nothing in response to that method by default. Classes that override the downloadComplete: method can provide more useful functionality.
So far, you can accomplish the same thing with a formal protocol. However, informal protocols allow you to have optional methods. A class that implements a formal protocol must provide an implementation for every method in the protocol. A class implementing an informal protocol can omit implementation for any method - it has already inherited an implementation from NSObject.
Since Objective-C 2.0, formal protocols can contain optional methods. In addition, Apple might be moving away from informal protocols for new APIs - UIAccelerometerDelegate is a formal protocol.
share|improve this answer
The use of the term callback is potentially confusing here, especially in a world where blocks exist. What you're talking about is delegation. (I realize that this answer probably made more sense in 2010.) – lwburk Nov 21 at 20:07
We define an informal protocol by grouping the methods in a category declaration,
_USER_ NSObject ( MyXMLSupport )
- initFromXMLRepresentation:(NSXMLElement *)XMLElement;
- (NSXMLElement *)XMLRepresentation;
Informal protocols are typically declared as categories of the NSObject class, Since that broadly associates the method names with any class that inherits from NSObject.
Because all classes inherit from the root class, the methods aren't restricted to any part of the inheritance hierarchy. (It would also be possible to declare an informal protocol as a category of another class to limit it to a certain branch of the inheritance hierarchy, but there is little reason to do so).
When used to declare a protocol, a category interface doesn't have a corresponding implementation. Instead, classes that implement the protocol declare the methods again in their own interface files and define them along with other methods in their implementation files.
share|improve this answer
Informal protocols are a way to add optional methods to an object by means of category.
So one doubt may arise
Will it become informal protocol if there are any optional methods on protocol itself?
The answer is no.
If the methods are declared in protocol and it is said to be conforming to a class without any usage of category then it's formal protocol.
Optional methods in protocol were introduced in objective c 2.0 so before that the purpose was achieved through informal protocol I.e by means of category.
It is a language level feature meant to be alternative for sub classing aka inheritance.
I hope it sheds some lime light on this..
share|improve this answer
All an informal protocol is is a category on some class (often NSObject) that states the interface for the protocol. AppKit uses this a lot for its delegation.
A subclass that you write can implement these methods. The difference between this and a formal protocol is that formal protocols are declared using the _USER_... _USER_ notation. There is no checking whether a class implements a given informal protocol.
I almost always use formal protocols, but I suppose an informal protocol is useful if you want to provide default behavior (just provide an implementation for your category that can be overridden).
share|improve this answer
So its about "Subclassing" thing and then implement them? I was trying syntax. – itsaboutcode Jan 6 '10 at 0:22
Based on "Jonathan Sterling" answer, can i say the following code represent informal protocol?
Apple documentation:
_TAG_
_USER_ Cat1 : NSObject {
- (void) simpleMethod;
_USER_ Cat1
- (void) simpleMethod
 NSLog(@"Simple Method");
_USER_ Cat1 (Cat2)
- (void) addingMoreMethods;
_USER_ MYClass : Cat1
_USER_ MYClass
- (void) addingMoreMethods
 NSAutoreleasePool * pool = [[NSAutoreleasePool alloc] init];
 MYClass *myclass = [[MYClass alloc] init];
 [myclass addingMoreMethods];
 [myclass release];
 [pool drain];
 return 0;
share|improve this answer
Sorta. The method declared in Cat2 is an informal protocol, more or less. The usage, though, is not -- typically, you would see if([myclass respondsToSelector: _USER_(addingMoreMethods)]) [myclass addingMoreMethods];. – bbum Jan 6 '10 at 0:31
Thanks bbum, i am not interested if its used too much, but i really wanted to understand the whole concept! – itsaboutcode Jan 6 '10 at 0:35
The point, though, is that an informal protocol is composed of methods that may optionally be implemented. Thus, the calling site must check to see if it is implemented or else the call will crash! – bbum Jan 6 '10 at 0:46
Yah you are right, we should check if it respond to. Why? because lets say NSObject has a category named "NSCoderMethods", since i dont know if it implement or not (i dont have its code), so i should always check it. Infact all the category methods should be check if they respond or not using respondsToSelector. – itsaboutcode Jan 6 '10 at 1:01
an informal protocol defines which methods an object must understand. This is called "conforming to a protocol". Conforming to a protocol is independant from the class hierarchy. When declaring a pointer to hold the reference to an object you may define to which protocols this object should conform. If you write code that assigns an object which doesn't conform to all the required protocols, you'll get a warning at compile time. Informal protocols help you to rely on a set of methods that an object understands. You don't have to invoke isKindOfClass: or respondsTo: in your code to check wether objects passed in will be suitable for your processing. Protocols are sort of aspect oriented programming.
share|improve this answer
Your Answer


We've fallen in love with our virtual assistants – Cortana, Siri, Alexa, and "Hey Google." We use them in our homes, our cars, and when we're out and about with friends. Wouldn't it be great if there was a virtual assistant that would help sellers do their jobs? Wait..there is. It's the Relationship Assistant for Microsoft Dynamics 365 and InsideView is proud to be the first partner to integrate our intelligence into it.
What is the Relationship Assistant?
The Relationship Assistant uses artificial intelligence (AI) to track and analyze your daily activities, opportunities, and communications, and suggests actions to take in the form of action cards. When you log into CRM, you see a carousel of action cards for the day displayed in order of priority. You can choose to take action, discard, or snooze. When you take action, and as you move through Dynamics 365, you receive additional action cards based on exactly what you're doing right then and there.
The assistant reminds you of upcoming activities, suggests things that might need your attention, and alerts you to opportunities and threats. The action cards provide summary information, links to related records, and actions for quick response.
 1. Summary content
 2. Actions
 3. Snooze
 4. Dismiss
Why Relationship Assistant is a must-have for smart sellers
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The Relationship Assistant helps you solve one of your biggest headaches – knowing what to focus on first. Have a large opportunity coming due? Owe someone a proposal? Or perhaps a sales development rep just opened an opportunity for one of your targeted accounts? These important items need your prompt attention and Relationship Assistant makes sure they are top of mind.
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Imagine being questioned by your boss for missing a proposal due date. Or worse, losing an opportunity because you forgot to answer a prospect's question. Perhaps you don't need to imagine it. Ouch! The Relationship Assistant can make sure these unpleasant surprises are a thing of the past by reminding you of critical due dates… without your having to set up reminders or to-do lists.
4. Keeps you a step ahead of the competition
When a key account or prospect experiences a major business event, such as being acquired or acquiring another company. This can represent a potential loss or an opportunity to grow your business. If you know about it before your competition, you can reach out first to provide a solution, make a sale, grow the account, or prevent a loss.
5. Goes where you go
The Relationship Assistant is as mobile as you are. In fact, it's even more central to the mobile experience than on your desktop. When you log into the Dynamics 365 app, you are greeted with your action cards. Imagine this. You have an appointment in 30 minutes? See who's attending, open the related opp, send an email to attendees, or get a map and directions.
These are just a few examples of how the Relationship Assistant can make your life easier and propel your success.
At InsideView, we've been using AI since our inception to aggregate, analyze, and validate data and insights. We use it to know which insights to deliver, where, and when. Today, we're pleased to extend our use of AI as the first partner to integrate into Dynamics 365 Relationship Assistant. InsideView data and insights have been embedded in Microsoft Dynamics 365 and CRM Online since 2013. What makes this new integration exciting is how it surfaces the insights. The assistant pushes the information into the forefront of the seller's workflow. And it goes a step further by suggesting actions based on those insights.
For more information about Relationship Assistant and our integration with it, you can read our press release, contact _EMAIL_, or visit us at CRMUG Summit, booth 427, next week.


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Water conservation through rainwater harvesting
RV College of Engineering, Bangalore, has over the past year collected and used close to 17 lakh litres of rainwater. This is the result of a project undertaken alongwith Bangalore based Biome Environmental, which is engaged in ecological architecture and responsible water practices, to store the rooftop rainwater and use it in day to day activities including drinking.
The only source of water for RV College of Engineering (RVCE) was borewells. This was not found sustainable. In general, groundwater has many quality issues – it is a little too hard which means there are excess minerals especially in the form of carbonates. In order to make the groundwater suitable for drinking, the water from the borewells had to be passed through a six stage purification process which included "softening" as well as reverse osmosis. Since both the issues of quantity and quality had to be addressed, the college decided to go for rainwater harvesting taking help from Biome Environmental. The project involved tapping rainwater from three large rooftops and directing it to an underground tank.
The project was funded by the KPMG Foundation. Biome had previously implemented another project funded by them at the Accept Society – a HIV centre located in Bangalore.
In the Accept project, there was a total roof area of 760sqm which included sloping roofs, from where rainwater was collected and stored.
Being a college campus, RVCE has plenty of large rooftop areas from where rainwater could be harvested. After studying the overall site plan and the lay out of the campus, Biome zeroed in on three buildings. The main challenge was in terms of the storage structure. This was going to be a big underground tank and as such we needed a fairly large area to locate it. The buildings chosen have a combined roof area of 3000sqm and in Bangalore context this means that during a single shower the campus can collect upto 80,000 litres of rainwater, going upto 1.6 lakh in the event of a heavy downpour. Seen in an annual context, the college will potentially collect 20 lakh litres of rain during the year. The annual rainfall we have assumed in case of RVCE is 724mm which is lesser than the 970mm one would assume for Bangalore city. The reason for this is that the college itself is not really located within the city but on the ourskirts in an area called Kengeri. As has been observed round the world, the city centre actually gets more rain than the outlying areas. One reason for this is the "heat island effect" or the excess build up of heat due to the roads and dense buildings in the city.
From the college side, this project was supported by Professor Shivkumar, Head of the Civil Engineering Department. Since 2004, he has been attending conferences and trying to learn more about rainwater harvesting. The college had earlier done a borewell recharge project on the campus.
Having large rooftops brought its own challenge in terms of filtration. During peak rainfall, there would be enormous volumes of water flowing through the pipes necessiating filters which could do the job quickly and efficiently and send the water into the sump tank without any inordinate delay. For this Biome designed "above ground" filters with the largest of these being 2,000 litres capacity with 1000 litres volume for First Rain Separation and 1000 litres for filtration. Basically, with any rainfall, it is the first 1mm of rain to be precise, which contains the maximum impurities and the First Rain Separator is meant to take care of this.
There are three separate filters for each of the rooftops leading directly to the sump tank which is of 1.28 lakh litres capacity. Essentially, a single rain of 50mm can fill the tank and just a few days after the completion of the project, this is what happened. On the day that the system was to be inaugurated, the sump tank was almost full of rainwater.
In addition to the storage tank we also made a "recharge well" with the intention of seeping the rainwater into the aquifer or sub surface storage. In the event of a heavy downpour there is every possibility that the sump will overflow and rather than just allowing the extra water to flow into the nearest drains, we felt it would be better to direct it to the ground.
The project was completed in March 2010 and in the first 8-9 months since its inception, the college estimated that it had collected 17 lakh litres. A sizable quantity of about two to three lakhs litres of water has gone in for groundwater recharge. What is important is that the water is pure and doesn't require as much treatment to make it fit for consumption. The "softening" process, for instance, is being bypassed in the case of rainwater.
Collecting rainwater has resulted in conservation of groundwater and also savings in terms of electricity. The college is in the process of conducting a study to estimate the real benefits from rainwater harvesting.

source: HuggingFaceFW/fineweb-edu


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A Hydrogen Recirculation System For The Treatment Of Tce-Impacted Groundwater
ABSTRACT: To speed the rate of reductive dechlorination of trichloroethylene (TCE)-impacted groundwater at the Old Jet Engine Test Site (OJETS), Offutt AFB, Nebraska, an in situ pilot-scale dissolved hydrogen addition system was installed. The test area consisted of an injection well, a recovery well, and five monitoring wells within an 8.5 m x 4.3 m (28 ft x 14 ft) test plot. Groundwater was pumped from the recovery well at a flow rate of 1.5 L/min (0.4 gpm), amended with hydrogen at 20 mL/min, and injected into the injection well, thereby creating a recirculation system. The results of the first 6 months of operation are presented in this paper. After 6 months of operation, the oxidation-reduction potential and dissolved oxygen of the groundwater decreased. Despite background sulfate levels of 280 mg/L, the mean TCE concentration declined 63% from 2.9 μmol/L to 1.07 μmol/L. Significant production of cis-1,2-dichloroethene (cDCE) was observed within the test area (i.e., 0.7 to 3.0 μmol/L), indicating that the hydrogen was promoting reductive dechlorination. The cDCE:TCE ratio increased more than ten fold from 0.25 to 2.8, despite decreasing groundwater temperatures. In summary, the dissolved hydrogen recirculation system was effective in removing TCE from groundwater without significant vinyl chloride production.


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Nature reclaiming marshlands after dikes breached
Previously dry tidelands by Port Susan already teeming with wildlife
Michael O'Leary / The Herald
The Nature Conservancy recently completed a $4 million project to restore 150 acres of former tidelands north of the mouth of the Stillaguamish River. The work involved breaching an old dike to allow in salt water and reinforcing another dike to protect farmland. Snow geese are wintering in the newly flooded area.
A sign from state Department of Fish and Wildlife marks the protected area.
Michael O'Leary / The Herald
Kat Morgan, of the Nature Conservancy, walks along the new dike at high tide when the area is flooded.
Previously diked off and dry, the 150 acres now floods at high tide with salt water from the bay and is teeming with ducks and snow geese.
"It's a great feeling," said Kat Morgan, manager of Port Susan programs for the Nature Conservancy, which owns the property.
The environmental preservation group breached an old earthen dike to allow salt water to rush into the site and reinforced another old dike to protect farmland.
The change is expected to restore original wildlife habitat to much of the east side of the bay north of the mouth of the Stillaguamish River, also known as Hat Slough.
A new tidegate also was installed to allow water to run out when flooding does occur. The $4 million project, by Northwest Construction of Bellevue, involved a lot of earth moving and was done between May and October. The money came from state and federal environmental programs and private donations.
First, the original, inner dike along the adjacent Twin City Foods farm was reinforced. At the dike's north end, a new section of dike was built to connect to the original and make it longer. Dirt was skimmed off the top of the outer dike to help build the new one.
In September, the outer dike, 14 feet high, was breached in two places. Salt water crept through at high tide and now, after more than two months, the only signs of the dike are some decayed pilings and a marshy area that grew up on the dike's outer side.
Sunny weather in August and September helped crews get the project done.
"That helped keep everything on schedule," Morgan said.
The 1.4 mile-long outer dike near the river mouth was built in the late 1950s by farmer Menno Groeneveld, the son of a Dutch immigrant, according to the Nature Conservancy. He tried to farm the enclosed area over the years with little success. The environmental group bought the property from Groeneveld's estate in 2001 for $2 million.
The outer dike not only dried up the tidelands in the enclosed area but blocked fresh water and river sediment from moving north in the bay. This starved that area of the water mix needed by native plants and animals, and it has slowly been losing marshland, Morgan said.
Removing the dike is expected to improve fish habitat by providing young salmon with cool, deep channels where they can hide, feed and adjust to the saltwater environment.
"They have to fatten up in that place," said Lisa Bellefond, external affairs director for the Puget Sound Partnership, a state-funded environmental agency based in Olympia. "These are like the teenagers that are going off to college."
The Puget Sound Partnership sets goals for restoration of each section of inland waterway, Bellefond said. In Port Susan, the target is 315 acres, meaning the Nature Conservancy project gets it half way to the goal -- not counting the potential benefits to the northern part of the bay.
"This project is incredibly important for many reasons," she said.
The area is a popular spot for birders. The Nature Conservancy has opened the outer dike to the public on a by-permission basis, but plans to keep the new and reinforced dikes closed at least until January while staff monitor the area's progress, Morgan said.
It could take five years or more for the habitat to restore itself, but changes will be visible along the way, especially in the wet season, she said.
"Winter's when the changes will happen," Morgan said.
Bill Sheets: _PHONE_; _EMAIL_.


How many standard drinks can you have before driving if you are under 20 years old? How many standard drinks can you have before driving if you are under 20 years old?
 - A. One
 - B. Two
 - C. Three
 - D. None
 The correct answer is D
 The legal limit is 0 milligrams per 100 millilitres of blood. A drink consumed before driving will almost certainly put you over this limit. So you must not drink just before driving if you are under 20 years old as there is a zero alcohol limit.
How to calculate if you are over the legal drink driving limit
You cannot calculate your blood alcohol level because it depends on a large number of variables such as your age, weight, gender, general health and fitness, the amount of alcohol you've drunk, the type of alcohol you've drunk, and whether you've eaten (how much and how recently).
A small drink could put you over the limit. If you're stopped and your breath alcohol reading is between 30-150mcg per litre of breath you could be fined and given 50 demerit points. That means you are half way to being disqualified. You will receive a notice from NZTA that you have accumulated 50 demerit points and if this total exceeds 100 within a 2-year period you will be disqualified.
If you are caught with more than 150mcg of alcohol per litre of blood then you could be fined up to $2250 and sent to prison for up to 3 months and be disqualified from driving for at least 3 months, plus you'll still get 50 demerit points. If you are disqualified you may be able to apply for a special licence with zero alcohol or an alcohol interlock requirement.
If you blow over the limit you may be asked to provide an evidential blood or breath test. It is an offence to refuse consent.
Younger drivers tend to have less ability to cope with alcohol intake. Add to that their lack of experience and you can understand why the risk of having an accident is increased dramatically.
Read more about alcohol limits, including fines and penalties, in this article.


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History of Brock
Opened in 1964, Brock University is named for Maj.-General Sir Isaac Brock, who died at nearby Queenston Heights in the War of 1812. His last words — "Surgite! Push on!" — have become the University's motto.
But the seeds of the University were sown long before the doors first opened. Brock's story is about a community that rose up and built the institution it wanted for its future.
A grassroots effort
In the late 1950s, there was growing public discussion about how Niagara should have its own university. Its founders wanted young people to get a good education without having to leave the area.
The grassroots sentiment became a movement when, in November 1957, the Allanburg Women's Institute asked the Ontario government to "favourably consider the placing of a university in the Niagara Peninsula."
Momentum spread. By fall 1962, the Brock Founders Committee was incorporated. They received approval to create a new university, then developed an administrative and academic plan. Then they began raising money.
Onward and upward
After years of meetings and fundraising, Brock opened in September 1964. It had 127 students in a refurbished refrigeration factory at the foot of the Niagara Escarpment in St. Catharines. In 1966 the landmark Brock Tower was completed, and faculties began moving "up the hill" to the University's permanent home atop the escarpment.
For the next 30 years, Brock sent thousands of graduates on to successful careers. It built a name for its personal quality of teaching afforded by attentive faculty and controlled class sizes. As the new millennium dawned, enrolment soared. Brock transformed from an undergraduate institute to a comprehensive University with flourishing research, graduate and doctoral programs.
The campus steadily expanded to keep pace with the demand for a Brock education. It's a pattern that continues with the construction of world-class research labs, a landmark fine arts complex and an international students' centre.
Today the University also operates a campus in Hamilton, Ont., primarily for teacher education.
Brock serves its community as a cultural, academic and recreational centre, bringing excellent facilities to the people who created the University all those years ago. We are committed to building our community and to fostering an environment that serves our students and our neighbours.


Naro Language Project
The Naro Language Project
The roots of the Naro Language Project lie in the efforts of the congregation of the Reformed Church in D'Kar in the 1980s to try and write their very own language. People like Aron Johannes and Dcatshau Qhomatcã spent many hours writing songs and other materials in an orthography chosen by them. Because there was felt to be a need to have a Bible translation in their language, the help of an organisation from overseas was requested. In 1991 Hessel and Coby Visser came from the Netherlands, supported by the Mission of the Christian Reformed Churches in the Netherlands.
The work of the Naro Language project, affiliated to D'kar Trust, can be divided into three major sections:
1 : Describe the Naro language
2 : Teach people to read and write the Naro language
3 : Translate the Bible in the Naro language


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- Linking behaviour and physiology of female bonobos (Pan paniscus) (2005)
- The present study investigates sexual behaviour and the importance of dominance in female bonobos. Detailed behavioural studies were carried out on four mixed-sex captive bonobo groups; morphological data and faecal samples were collected to allow non-invasive assessment of physiological parameters. First, I addressed the background for the variability in patterns of menstrual and swelling cycles in bonobos. The duration of menstrual intervals was influenced by reproductive history. Menstrual cycles and phases of maximum tumescence of the sexual swelling lasted longer in lactating females. Parity did not influence cycle patterns. Further, the variability of the duration of intermenstrual intervals was found to be mainly caused by variability in follicular phase length. The luteal phase, contrastingly, was much less variable and did not influence the length of intermenstrual intervals. This raises the question whether sexual swellings serve as a reliable indicator of ovulation in bonobos. Hormone analyses showed that the day of ovulation could not be predicted from the onset of maximum tumescence. Also detumescence of the swelling was no clear sign that ovulation had occurred. Nonetheless, sexual interactions were found to vary according to the degree of tumescence, being most frequent at maximum tumescence. The frequency of sexual interactions did not change in the peri-ovulatory phase and no difference between was seen between follicular and luteal phase. This indicates that sexual swellings are not a reliable signal of ovulation. Rather, they could be a graded signal that advertises the probability of ovulation which allows females to follow a mixed strategy of confusing and biasing paternity. Next, the context and function of same-sex sexual interactions among female bonobos were investigated. Genital rubbing took place more often between non-related than between related females. Females were able to get hold of and defend monopolisable food items without the help of other females in feeding experiments. No relationship between genital rubbing and food sharing was found and no female-female coalitions were formed during these experiments. Interventions in conflicts outside the feeding experiments were observed mainly in heterosexual conflicts but females supported each other irrespective of preferences for genital rubbing. The frequency of genital rubbing did not vary in dependence of the degree of genital swelling and the solicitation of genital rubbing was not asymmetric in dependence of the relative degree of swelling of the two partners. The degree of tumescence did not influence the frequency of received or overall aggression for a female. Although most female dyads were involved in same-sex conflicts, genital rubbing was observed in less than half of the dyads after the conflict. No increase of gg rubbing occurred 15 minutes after a conflict compared to 15 minutes before. High-ranking females took the male position during genital rubbing significantly more often than low ranking ones. The direction of initiation of genital rubbing was not influenced by social status. The data do no support the hypothesis that genial rubbing serves to form or maintain alliances, to reduce competition among females or to reconcile former opponents. However, genital rubbing may be a display of social status or may serve to reduce tension. Finally, the correlation of physiological parameters and social status in female bonobos was studied. I investigated whether females differ in their excretion pattern of the glucocorticoid 11-ketoetiocholanolone (DOA) in dependence of their social status. Based on displacements, females were categorised to either high or low social status. During the feeding experiments carried out on one group, high social status transferred in access to monopolisable food, the low ranking female was not successful in monopolising the food item. However, female social status was not reflected in the faecal excretion pattern of glucocorticoid metabolites in any of the three groups analysed. In two groups the high-ranking individuals had higher levels of iDOA than low-ranking individuals, in the other group it was vice versa. The fourth group did not allow this investigation as the high ranking individual was pregnant and pregnancy was found to result in elevated glucocorticoid levels. The results indicate that also in bonobo females, high social status translates into better access to monopolizable resources. Status dependent differences in cortisol excretion may not exist in bonobos or may become obvious only during periods of social instability. Alternatively, social status may not influence adrenocortical function but other physiological parameters of the so-called stress axes. Taken together, this study provides an interdisciplinary view on bonobo female behaviour and physiology helping to better understand the adaptive significance of a species' social and mating system.


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Recognizing the profound need for greater patient and provider familiarity with personalized genomic medicine, many university instructors are including personalized genotyping as part of their curricula. During seminars and lectures students run polymerase chain reactions on their own DNA or evaluate their experiences using direct-to-consumer genetic testing services subsidized by the university. By testing for genes that may influence behavioral or health-related traits, however, such as alcohol tolerance and cancer susceptibility, certain universities have stirred debate on the ethical concerns raised by educational genotyping. Considering the potential for psychosocial harm and medically relevant outcomes, how far should university-facilitated DNA testing be permitted to go? The analysis here distinguishes among these learning initiatives and critiques their approaches to the ethical concerns raised by educational genotyping.
Open Peer Commentaries.
- Assessing the Pedagogical Goals of Self-Testing in Evaluating the Consultation Needs of Different Student Populations
- Personalized Genomic Educational Testing: What Do the Undergrads Think?
- Introducing Personal Genomics to College Athletes: Potentials and Pitfalls
- The Professor Really Wants Me to Do My Homework: Conflicts of Interest in Educational Research


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Oct. 19, 2009 A new computerised approach to airport operations is being developed that will reduce delays, speed up baggage handling and decrease pollution.
The project is funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and led by researchers at The University of Nottingham.
The research work aims to computerise and co-ordinate four key areas of airport operations: scheduling of aeroplanes taking-off and landing, gate assignment and baggage handling. The end result will be a prototype search engine capable of analysing the many billions of possible scheduling combinations so as to provide the best advice to the controllers, who decide where in the airport to send planes.
Currently these four aspects of airport operations are, in most cases, organised manually by highly skilled staff making decisions based on observations, reports and their experience. Furthermore, each activity is run in isolation from the others, which allows the potential for any difficulties in operations in one area to affect another. This can lead to delays snowballing.
As well as enhancing the experience for passengers, crucially, the improvements in scheduling will reduce pollution by minimising the time planes are on the ground with engines running. This could save thousands of litres of aviation fuel every year, a vital improvement given the growth in air travel predicted in the coming years.
A consortium of researchers from four universities are involved in the project, assisted by Manchester and Zurich Airports which will provide crucial advice and expertise from the user's point of view.
The project will see development of computational models for each of the four airport operations which, ultimately, will be run on regular PCs. Key to the research will be examining how to run them all together to streamline overall operations.
Principal investigator on the project and Dean of the Faculty of Science at The University of Nottingham, Professor Edmund Burke, says the limitations of the current systems are widely acknowledged: "Many people in the industry recognise that automating just one of these aspects could improve the efficient running of airport operations, so integrating all four would be a huge step forward."
"We'll be developing a computer system that will work its way through the many billions of permutations created daily in each of these operations, to provide a much higher level of computer-aided decision support than is currently available," says Burke. This will provide the best possible advice to runway controllers and other airport staff to inform their decisions regarding where planes and baggage are moved to.
Among the crucial issues being tackled is the matter of how long an aeroplane needs for preparation on the ground before take off. This has to include enough time for the passenger safety briefing, which is a legal requirement, and for the engines to warm up. If sent to the runway without incorporating enough time for these activities, it will mean a delay at the runway before take off. This can lead to unnecessary congestion on the runway, aircraft unnecessarily using up fuel while waiting for take off, and, potentially, delays to other flights.
Burke adds that the involvement of the two airports will also provide invaluable assistance to the multi-disciplinary team of scientists and engineers: "Working closely with Manchester and Zurich airports will ensure access to real world expertise that should help us achieve the best possible result."
The academic team in the consortium consists of representatives from: The University of Nottingham, University of Salford, Loughborough University and University of Liverpool.
The four-year research project "Integrating and Automating Airport Operations" will begin on 1 December 2009 and is scheduled to end on 30 November 2013. It has received EPSRC funding of £681,924.
Research by the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2006 found that a 1% increase in air transport leads to a 5% increase in delays. With a 26% rise in air transport expected by 2013, compared to 2006, (according to the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation) this project could help airports change the way they operate.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.


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Nine members have taken the initiative to grant access to their databank of living plants on a single platform. The project offers a user-friendly interface with which the visitor can simultaneously consult the information in the various plant collections.
How Plantcol was created:
In 2001, the project was first initiated when the V.B.T.A. submitted a project request within the framework of the Belgian Federal Science Policy Office's Long-Term Information Society Expansion Support Programme.
In 2002, preparations were made for constructing a website. In that same year, the decision was made to collaborate with forest arboreta via the V.B.T.A. members, even if these arboreta were not members. A further expansion of an inventory of Belgian collections of cultivated plants was instigated. The non-profit organisation, "Plantencollectief" (Plant Collective), was set up, which is open to collectors and administrators throughout Flanders. The objective was to bring together collections whose existence was threatened at a single repository, for the registration, protection and acknowledgement of valuable plant collections.
In May 2003, "Plantcol" was therefore established, an umbrella electronic information system for the genetic sources of living plant material and woody plants. The establishment of this database was subsidised by the Belgian Federal Science Policy Office's Long-Term Information Society Expansion Support Programme (DWTC).


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Study: Gulf of Alaska Wind Patterns Help and Hurt Pollock Survival
For years, scientists at the Alaska Fisheries Science Center have long wondered why an abundance of very young pollock doesn't always translate into a similar abundance of adult pollock a few years later. Now they know why, and while it sheds light on a long-asked question, it also raises more about the dynamic between the Gulf of Alaska ecosystem and pollock, an important national resource.
The new study conclusively shows that the Gulf of Alaska is a wind-driven system that determines year-to-year distribution of juvenile...
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instead initiated internally.
The method number, in this case method=128, indicates which LDAPv3 bind method was used by the client. There are three possible bind method values:
0 = no authentication
128 = simple bind with user password
sasl= SASL bind using external authentication mechanism
The version number, in this case version=3, indicates the LDAP version number (either LDAPv2 or LDAPv3) that the LDAP client used to communicate with the LDAP server.
The error number, in this case err=0, provides the LDAP result code returned from the LDAP operation performed. The LDAP error number 0 means that the operation was successful. For a more comprehensive list of LDAP result codes see "LDAP Result Codes".
The tag number, in this case tag=97, indicates the type of result returned, which is almost always a reflection of the type of operation performed. The tags used are the BER tags from the LDAP protocol. Commonly used tags include:
tag=97 for a result from a client bind operation
tag=100 indicates the actual entry for which you were searching
tag=101 for a result from a search operation
tag=103 for a result from a modify operation
tag=105 for a result from an add operation
tag=107 for a result from a delete operation
tag=109 for a result from a moddn operation
tag=111 for a result from a compare operation
tag=115 indicates a search reference when the entry you perform your search on holds a referral to the entry you require. Search references are expressed in terms of a referral.
tag=120 for a result from an extended operation
tag=100 and tag=115 are not result tags as such. It is unlikely that you will see them in your access log.
Number of Entries
The number of entries, in this case nentries=0, indicates the number of entries that were found matching the LDAP client's request.
Elapsed time, in this case etime=1000, indicates the amount of time (in seconds) that it took Directory Server to perform the LDAP operation. An etime value of 0 means that the operation actually took milliseconds to perform. If you want to have microsecond resolution for this item in the access log, enter a value of 131328 (256+131072) in the nsslapd-accesslog-level configuration attribute.
LDAP Request Type
The LDAP request type indicates the type of LDAP request being issued by the LDAP client. Possible values are:
LDAP Response Type
The LDAP response type indicates the LDAP response being issued by the LDAP client. Possible values are:
REFERRAL=referral or search reference
Unindexed Search Indicator
The unindexed search indicator, notes=U, indicates that the search performed was unindexed, which means that the database itself had to be directly searched instead of the index file. Unindexed searches occur either when the All IDs Threshold was reached within the index file used for the search, when no index file existed, or when the index file was not configured in the way required by the search.
An unindexed search indicator is often accompanied by a large etime value, as unindexed searches are generally more time consuming.
Extended Operation OID
An extended operation OID, in this case either EXT oid="2.16.840._PHONE_.108.40.206" or EXT oid="2.16.840._PHONE_.127.116.11", provides the OID of the extended operation being performed. Table 8-1 provides the list of the LDAPv3 extended operations that are supported by Sun ONE Directory Server 5.2, and their OIDs.
Table 8-1 LDAPv3 Extended Operations Supported by Sun ONE Directory Server 5.2
Extended Operation Name
Sun ONE Directory Server 5.x Start Replication Request
Sent by a replication initiator to indicate that a replication session is requested.
Sun ONE Directory Server 5.x Replication Response
Sent by a replication responder in response to a Start Replication Request Extended Operation or an End Replication Request Extended Operation.
Sun ONE Directory Server 5.x End Replication Request
Sent to indicate that a replication session is to be terminated.
Sun ONE Directory Server 5.x Replication Entry Request
Carries an entry, along with its state information (csn and UniqueIdentifier), and is used to perform a replica initialization.
Sun ONE Directory Server 5.x Bulk Import Start
Sent by the client to request a bulk import together with the suffix being imported to and sent by the server to indicate that the bulk import may begin.
Sun ONE Directory Server 5.x Bulk Import Finished
Sent by the client to signal the end of a bulk import and sent by the server to acknowledge it.
Change Sequence Number
The change sequence number, in this case csn=3b4c8cfb000000030000, is the replication change sequence number, indicating that replication is enabled on this particular naming context.
The abandon message, in this case, [06/Aug/2002:11:39:52 -0700] conn=12 op=2 ABANDON targetop=1 msgid=2 nentries=0 etime=0, indicates that an operation has been aborted, where nentries=0 indicates the number of entries sent before the operation was aborted, etime=0 indicates how much time (in seconds) had elapsed, and targetop=1 corresponds to an operation value from a previously initiated operation (that appears earlier in the access log).
There are two possible log ABANDON messages depending on whether the message ID succeeds in locating which operation was to be aborted or not. If the message ID succeeds in locating the operation (the targetop) then the log will read as above. However, if the message ID does not succeed in locating the operation or if the operation had already finished prior to the ABANDON request being sent, then the log will read as follows:
[06/Aug/2002:11:39:52 -0700] conn=12 op=2 ABANDON targetop=NOTFOUND msgid=2
where targetop=NOTFOUND indicates that the operation to be aborted was either an unknown operation or already complete.
The message ID, in this case msgid=2, is the LDAP operation identifier, as generated by the LDAP SDK client. The message ID may have a different value to the Sun ONE Directory Server Operation Number, but identifies the same operation. The message ID is used in the context of an ABANDON operation and tells the user which client operation is being abandoned.
The Sun ONE Directory Server operation number starts counting at 0. In the majority of LDAP SDK/client implementations the message ID number starts counting at 1. This explains why the message ID is frequently equal to the Sun ONE Directory Server operation number plus 1.
SASL Multi-Stage Bind Logging
Sun ONE Directory Server 5.2 logging for multi-stage binds is now more explicit. Each stage in the bind process is logged and, where appropriate, the progress statement SASL bind in progress is included.
The authenticated DN (the DN used for access control decisions) is logged in the BIND result line and not in the bind request line:[06/Aug/2002:11:39:55 -0700] conn=14 op=1 RESULT err=0 tag=97 nentries=0 etime=0 dn="uid=coulbeck,dc=example,dc=com"
For SASL binds, the DN value displayed in the BIND request line is not used by the server and is, therefore, not relevant. However, given that the authenticated DN is the DN which, for SASL binds, must be used for audit purposes, it is essential that this be clearly logged. Having this authenticated DN logged in the BIND result line avoids any confusion as to which DN is which.
Access Log Content for Additional Access Logging Levels
This section presents the additional access logging levels available in the Sun ONE Directory Server 5.2 access log.
In Code Example 8-2, access logging level 512, which logs access to entries and referrals, is enabled. In this extract, 6 entries and 1 referral are returned in response to the search request in bold.
Code Example 8-2 Access Log Extract with Entry Access and Referral Logging Level (Level 512)
[06/Aug/2002:16:43:02 +0200] conn=306 op=0 ENTRY dn="ou=Special Users,dc=example,dc=com"
[06/Aug/2002:16:43:02 +0200] conn=306 op=0 ENTRY dn="cn=Accounting Managers,ou=groups,dc=example,dc=com"
[06/Aug/2002:16:43:02 +0200] conn=306 op=0 ENTRY dn="cn=HR Managers,ou=groups,dc=example,dc=com"
[06/Aug/2002:16:43:02 +0200] conn=306 op=0 ENTRY dn="cn=QA Managers,ou=groups,dc=example,dc=com"
In Code Example 8-3, access logging level 4, which logs internal operations, is enabled.
Code Example 8-3 Access Log Extract with Internal Access Operations Level (Level 4)
[06/Aug/2002:16:45:46 +0200] conn=Internal op=-1 SRCH base="cn=\22dc=example,dc=com\22,cn=mapping tree,cn=config"scope=0 filter="objectclass=nsMappingTree"attrs="nsslapd-referral" options=persistent
06/Aug/2002:16:45


Ténéré Tree
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 (Redirected from Arbre du Ténéré)
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Coordinates: 17°45′00″N 10°04′00″E / 17.75000°N 10.06667°E / 17.75000; 10.06667
Tree of Ténéré (1961)
The Ténéré Tree (French: L'Arbre du Ténéré) was a solitary acacia, of either Acacia raddiana[1] or Acacia tortilis,[2] that was once considered the most isolated tree on Earth[3]—the only one for over 400 kilometres (250 mi). It was a landmark on caravan routes through the Ténéré region of the Sahara Desert in northeast Niger, so well known that it and the Arbre Perdu or 'Lost Tree' to the north are the only trees to be shown on a map at a scale of 1:4,000,000. The Tree of Ténéré was located near a 40-metre (131 feet)-deep well. It was knocked down in 1973, supposedly by an apparently drunk truck driver.
Commander of the Allied Military Mission, Michel Lesourd, of the Service central des affaires sahariennes [Central service of Saharan affairs], saw the tree on May 21, 1939:
Death and replacement[edit]
Metal sculpture of the tree (1985)
The Tree of Ténéré was knocked down by an allegedly drunk Libyan truck driver in 1973. On November 8, 1973, the dead tree was moved to the Niger National Museum in the capital Niamey.[4]
In popular culture[edit]
The sculpture representing the Tree of Ténéré and the Tree's story feature prominently in the 2006 film La Gran final (The Great Match). In the film, a group of Tuareg nomads in the Sahara races to find a power supply and broadcast reception for their television in time to watch the 2002 FIFA World Cup Final between Germany and Brazil, eventually using the tree sculpture as a makeshift antenna.
See also[edit]
 1. ^ Riedacker, A. (1993). Physiologie des arbres et arbustes en zones arides et semi-arides: séminaire, Paris-Nancy, 20 mars-6 avril 1990 (in French). John Libbey Eurotext. p. 406. ISBN 2-7420-0019-4. Retrieved 2009-08-11. L'Hote (1961) note dans son article sur l'arbre du Ténéré (Acacia raddiana) que l'on aurait retrouvé ses racines à 30 métres de profondeur.
 2. ^ Le Roy, Robert (1998). Méhariste au Niger: souvenirs sahariens (in French). Karthala Editions. p. 108. ISBN 2-86537-778-4. Retrieved 2009-08-11. It avait fallu à cet acacia tortilis une belle vigueur et une fameuse chance pour subsister là, seul, jusqu'à élever son feuillage hors de portée des gazelles.
 3. ^ Wagensonner, Eric (2007-01-15). "Eastern Mali to Niger to Timbuktu - 2-19 September 06". Border-Crossings. Retrieved 2009-08-11.
 4. ^ a b c L'Arbre du Ténéré, Part 2
External links[edit]


text:
Grandview at a Glance (REGPCEC)
This lesson will give a broad view of the Rick Evans Grandview Prairie Conservation Education Center (CEC) and wildlife management area (WMA).
K - 12
Indoor or outdoor classroom
Rick Evans Grandview Prairie Conservation Education Center, Columbus
Education Program Coordinator, _PHONE_
45 minutes to 1 hour
Suggested Number of Participants:
10 - 30
- Learn when and why Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (AGFC) purchased Grandview.
- Learn why the nature center is named Rick Evans Grandview Prairie.
- Talk about conservation education centers versus wildlife management areas.
- Discuss WMA and CEC resources: wildlife, fisheries, habitat, facilities and culture.
- Talk about the mission of the center.
Conservation education center
Tall grass prairie
Wildlife management area
*See glossary for definations
Application for facility use
Conservation education centers brochure
Current AGFC hunting and fishing guidebooks
Current range brochure
Directions and locator map, if applicable
Fiscal year 1999 – 2003 master plan
General information sheet/public use policy
Gift shop flyer
Grandview at a Glance trunk
Grandview programming list
Leader Information flyer
Plan for conservation highlights – July 1997 - June 1998 annual report
Rick Evans Grandview Prairie site map
The Nature Conservancy Blackland fact sheet
Rick Evans Grandview Prairie has 4,885 acres of Blackland prairie. It was bought in May 1997, the first major land acquisition using money provided by Amendment 75. It fulfills several commitments made in the plan for conservation including land acquisition and improvement, habitat protection and restoration and conservation education. It is in rural Hempstead County in southwest Arkansas off Highway 73 near Columbus, Arkansas
- Begin by discussing when and why Rick Evans Grandview Prairie became a part of AGFC.
- Acquisition – Grandview Plantation was bought for $2.8 million in May 1997 from Ted Kengla. It was the first major land acquisition using money provided by Amendment 75. It was officially named the Rick Evans Grandview Prairie Conservation Education Center and wildlife management area in honor of Rick Evans of Callion, Arkansas. Rick Evans was an AGFC commissioner in the 1990s (chairman, _PHONE_) who was instrumental in acquiring this imperiled property.
- Location – rural Hempstead County in southwest Arkansas, near the cities of Columbus and Washington.
- Background – Capital improvements on the site: two area residences, two buildings for dining and overnight accommodations, one large metal building for game care and dog kenneling, a walk-through sporting clays range and four livestock barns.
- Man-made resources: approximately 25 watering holes, two watershed lakes, archeological sites and the Ozan canal.
- Natural resources: thousands of acres of lowto high-quality Blackland prairie habitat and a variety of fish and wildlife species.
- Current Public Use Resource Inventory – Shortly after AGFC purchased the property, the area was divided into two sections – The CEC and WMA.
- The focus of the conservation education center is to use more than 300 acres of the Blackland prairie as a youth conservation teaching tool. Personnel from the agency's education and outreach division are assigned here.
- The focus of the wildlife management division is on the remaining 4,500 acres with emphasis on prairie restoration.
- Facility resources
- There is a wildlife check station located at the WMA entrance.
- There is a visitor's center at the CEC entrance.
- Lodging facilities are located on the CEC. They are designed for dining, meeting and overnight use (max overnight capacity is 40).
- In addition, a small classroom facility is on-site.
- Currently a portable shooting tower is used for sporting clays and a trap/skeet/five-stand sporting clays range is in the works.
- Wildlife resources
- Grandview prairie has been designated by the Audubon society as an important bird area. It has been used in the Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship (MAPS) program. This is a study which documents birds and collects data.
- Wood ducks, mallards and doves are trapped and tagged for population study.
- Grandview prairie has an excellent white-tailed deer herd.
- Eastern wild turkeys were restocked and are common, and there is a small population of bobwhite quail.
- Small mammals, birds and turtles endemic to Arkansas are on the property.
- Doves, woodcocks, waterfowl and raptors including bald eagles are seasonal visitors.
- Limited hunting is available for deer, squirrel, rabbits, dove, crows and fur bearers. The permit deer archery hunt and small-game hunting is on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays only. Refer to current regulations.
- Fisheries resources
- Two watershed lakes and area watering holes serve as fisheries on the wildlife management area. Many fish species live in these habitats including largemouth bass, bluegill, redear sunfish, crappie and channel catfish.
- A covered fishing pier, boat ramp and small boat dock are available on lake No. 1. Lake No. 2 is equipped with a small boat dock and boat ramp only.
- A fishing pond is available at the center for those under 16 or 65 and over and is occasionally stocked with channel catfish. This pond is also home to special fishing derbies.
- Regulations differ for each body of water.
- Habitat resources
- Grandview prairie represents the largest national example of Blackland prairie in public ownership.
- Seasonal wildflowers and native warm-season grasses spring up.
- Cultural resources – The AGFC and the University of Arkansas archeological survey/society cooperate in surveying an archeological site. (Paleo, Caddo, Plantation Era, etc.)
- Personnel resources
- Three full-time CEC employees work on-site and in an eight-county region surrounding the Grandview prairie.
- Part-time, contract, temporary or intern labor is available.
- Our mission is to provide people with educational and recreational opportunities to promote responsible stewardship and ensure the future of Arkansas' natural resources.
- Programs are offered in conjunction with the above resources.
- Discuss some of the popular programs that are offered.
- Answer questions.
- If time permits, shift focus to information outlined in the Blackland biography lesson plan.
- How did REGPCEC get its name?
- How many acres are on the conservation education center? wildlife management area?
- What is the mission of the CEC?
- Name five features of REGPCEC.
Conservation – planned management of natural resources (including wildlife and habitat) to prevent exploitation or neglect and to ensure their availability to future generations
Conservation education center (CEC) – rural property and facilities designated for conservation education
Cultural resources (REGPCEC) – primarily Native American and plantation era sites and information found at Rick Evans Grandview Prairie Conservation Education Center
Fisheries – a unit that raises or harvests fish
Habitat – an arrangement of food, water, shelter or cover, and space suitable to animals' needs
Imperiled – in danger
Interpretation – communication that emotionally and intellectually connects the interests of the audience and the meanings intended by the source
Mission – purpose that addresses primary service and primary audience
Resource – a portion of an environment that enhances the quality of human life; also a natural source of wealth or revenue
– AGFC commissioner in the 1990s (chairman from _PHONE_) who was instrumental in acquiring Grandview, a 4,885-acre portion of the Blackland prairie ecosystem of southwest Arkansas
Skeet (high house and low house) – shooting where clay targets are thrown to simulate the angled flights of birds; angles differ through eight shooting positions, and speed and target size are consistent
Sporting clays (walk-thru, tower, 5-stand) – shotgunning sport where clay targets simulate ducks, dove, quail, and/or rabbits; angles may vary throughout shooting stations and target sizes can vary
Tall grass prairie – habitat characterized by few trees and abundant grass which grows three or more feet tall
Trap (standard) – shooting sport where clay targets are thrown in a flight pattern in front and away from the shooter through five stations; targets are the same size and can veer left or right
Wildlife – animals that are not tamed or domesticated including insects, spiders, birds, reptiles, fish, amphibians and mammals


text:
Ladislav Kosa, Iveta Macková, Ivo Proks, Ondrej Pritula, Ľubomír Smrčok, Miroslav Boča, Håkan Rundlőf
March 1, 2008
Three thermal effects on heating/cooling of K2TaF7 in the temperature interval of 680–800°C were investigated by the DSC method. The values determined for the enthalpy change of the individual processes are: ΔtransIIHm(K2TaF7; 703°C) = 1.7(2) kJ mol−1, ΔtransIHm(K2TaF7; 746°C) = 19(1) kJ mol−1 and ΔtransIIIHm(K2TaF7; 771°C) = 13(1) kJ mol−1. The first thermal effect was attributed to a solid-solid phase transition; the second to the incongruent melting of K2TaF7 and the third to mixing of two liquids. These findings are supported by in situ neutron powder diffraction experiments performed in the temperature interval of 654–794°C.


Seoul's S-Poles
By Chris Young
The multipurpose S-Poles can also function as Wi-Fi access points.
A smaller, more versatile version of the utility pole might soon become ubiquitous throughout future smart cities worldwide.
Amongst the implementors of such a technology is Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG), which announced last year that it would install new 'smart poles', or S-Poles, that act as streetlights, traffic lights, environmental sensors, smartphone chargers, Wi-Fi access points, CCTV, and more.
As a Cities Today report explains, the city of Seoul, South Korea, has already installed twenty-six smart poles in six areas of the city. Each pole's function is customized to the requirements of its specific location.
SMG is piloting a version of the S-Pole system, which is also able to charge drones and electric vehicles as well as count the footfall of nearby pedestrians.
The project, which is in the planning stage, would use drones to monitor potential disasters and provide data for emergency rescue teams.
Poles apart from traditional city technologies
The new smart poles will essentially carry out a large number of functions and are being designed to replace several traditional city technologies in the future.
"Smart poles help effectively consolidate the somewhat elaborate road facilities, not only retaining their innate functions but also highlighting various smart technological features," Lee Won-Mok, Director General of Smart City Policy at Seoul Metropolitan Government, explained to Cities Today.
"These S-Poles are expected to improve urban landscapes and enhance the safety, welfare, and convenience for our Seoul citizens. They will also serve as charging stations for drones and electric vehicles, bringing the city one step closer to becoming a smart city."
The project is part of a global shift towards multipurpose street infrastructure, as cities, vehicles, and citizens become more connected. Essentially, this trend is part of an initiative to make the cities of the future less cluttered amidst the surge in new technologies — further examples include smart bins, ground-level traffic lights, and 5G poles that are hidden in plain sight.


Light-Camera-Glitter Simulation
In one of my last blog posts, I discussed the preliminary results of trying to optimize for both the camera & light locations simultaneously. I have been working on a simulation of our geometry to try and understand this better. To recap, it seems that there is a slight ambiguity in the position of the light and camera, in that they can move slightly along two rays and still give a lower error. One thought is that it is an error in how we are modeling the light and the gaussian receptive field of the glitter. Another thought is that it may have to do with the fact that our light is not a point light source, but rather a small square; so we don't quite know what part of the light a glitter piece sees. More likely is that it some combination of these two issues.
In this blog post I want to highlight where I am in the simulation, and what it shows so far. I simulate 10,000 pieces of glitter that lay on a place, each with a surface normal corresponding to some random screen location. 500 of them (chosen at random), however, have surface normals that allow the glitter to see the simulated point light and the simulated camera. For those that 'see' the light, I give them intensity values of 1, and give intensity values of 0 for all of the rest.
I then compute the predicted intensities for each glitter pieces using a few different gaussian values for the light and the glitter receptive field. Below, the non-yellow rays are the pieces of glitter that have actual intensity values of 0, but predicted intensity values between 0.1 and 1.
The above images are made using a light gaussian size of 5 and a glitter receptive field of 40. As the predicted intensity gets higher, the rays getting lighter (and farther away from the camera), which is exactly what we would expect to happen in this system.
Next, I am adding in the actual 'optimization' part of the simulation. As a first pass, I will just optimize for everything (including light and camera) and see what happens. In doing that, I hope to understand what parameters to tune, and I can start fiddling with the way in which I am predicting intensities and how I am modeling receptive fields.
Exploring 3D Light Location as an Optimization Parameter
The second thing I am spending time this week working through is adding the light location as a parameter that can be optimized over in the calibration. This involved adding a new flag indicating if we treat the light location as known or not, and if we treat it as unknown, then we optimize for the light location in steps 1 & 3 of the 3-step optimization.
In order to make this task as 'easy' as possible, I am only optimizing for translation, rotation, focal, gaussian and light location (everything I did for WACV + light location), and I have not changed the RANSAC protocol to include the fact that the light is unknown. I also initialized the light location to be the correct light location. This blog post will focus on the results of this calibration run.
The main thing I notice is that the camera and light seem to be able to both move slightly, as if they were each attached to a string, one on each end, that was on a pulley in the middle.
The upper image shows a birds-eye view of the setup, with the monitor on the left and the glitter on the right. The bottom image shows the view of the setup looking at it from the side of the table (looking towards the drones). The dotted-line frustum is the GT camera location and zoom, while the red-outlined frustum is the optimized camera location and zoom. The blue circle is the GT location of the center of the square of light displayed on the monitor, and the magenta circle is the optimized location of the center of the light.
The main thing I notice here is that the optimized camera is millimeters closer to the glitter, along the axis in line with the lens. Meanwhile, the optimized light is millimeters farther from the glitter, almost straight back (and slightly lower).
Here we can maybe see why this is the case (again from a birds-eye view of the setup). We are treating the light location as a point light source with some gaussian (which may not be the most accurate representation of our light). So, while all of the rays may fall within some small 'square of light' on the monitor, they actually more-or-less intersect close to a point a little further behind, and in this case even below, the point on the monitor where the light actually was.
This leads me to believe that I need to take a look at the method by which I am using the gaussian representation of our light, and think about how we can represent our light more accurately. Or maybe we need an even smaller light source (more like an actual point light). Something to think about for the re-implementation of the setup!
Correcting for Checkerboard Thickness
One of the potential (definite) sources of error that we found in our exploration of camera calibration over the last several months is the thickness of the checkerboard – the checkerboard does not lie in the same plane as the glitter sheet, even when we place the checkerboard directly on the glitter. This is a factor that I had not considered at all, and it was brought to my attention recently. This is something that we will address in the next iteration of the calibration setup, but for now I want to try to correct for this in the measurements I have. In order to compute the camera location in 3D world coordinates, we implement the following process…
 1. Take ~25 pictures of the checkerboard in various/random orientations, 1 of which is a picture of the checkerboard sitting straight and flush against the glitter:
2. Find 3 orthogonal points on the checkerboard in order to establish a coordinate system for the checkerboard, shown in green/red (red just to help me know which is the upper left):
3. Map these 3 points into our glitter coordinate system using a homography:
4. Compute the 3D world coordinates of these 3 points – now these 3D coordinates are in the plane of the glitter, which is ~3mm behind the plane of the checkerboard. Herein lies the problem.
Gut Check: We know the squares are 24.5mmx24.5mm. When I compute the 3D locations of the 3 points shown above, I get the x-distance from upper left to upper right to be 98.8 (that actual distance on the checkerboard is 98). I get the y distance from upper left to lower left to be 74.0653 (that actual distance on the checkerboard is 73.5). I also compute the dot product between the two 'axis' vectors formed by the 3 points, and get -0.0021 (so they are almost orthogonal).
The MATLAB Camera Calibration Toolbox gives me a location of the camera relative to the checkerboard. I then do a change of coordinate system in order to get this camera location in world coordinates. So, if the checkerboard is being treated as being in the plane of the glitter sheet (which it is), then my relative location of the camera will be computed to be ~3mm closer to the glitter sheet than it actually is.
I think I can just subtract ~3mm from the x coordinate of the 3D location of the checkerboard points, and then compute the camera location in 3D world coordinates as I was before. The y-coordinate and the z-coordinate don't change since the checkerboard is flush with the glitter sheet (and the glitter sheet lies flat in the y-z plane). So then this effectively gives a camera location that is ~3mm behind where the checkerboard gives as the location.
My understanding then is that I will need to re-run characterization using this new camera location, and then use this new characterized data to run calibration. This seems too simple — I'll end my post here and leave it open to comments about my reasoning.
Full Camera Calibration
 - Translation: Ray intersection of consistent glitter
 - Rotation: Looking along the world coordinate system x-axis ([\frac{\pi}{2}, \frac{-\pi}{2}, \frac{\pi}{2}])
 - Focals: [10000, 10000] — this is the middle of the range of the lens we are using
 - Image Center: The actual center of the calibration test image
 - Distortion: [0, 0] — different idea is to do a quick & dirty grid search over possible distortion values and choose the best as the intialization
 - Skew: Trying various fixed values…the next portion of this post focuses on this
Below is a table with results for the calibration run using a different fixed values for the skew. All other initializations are as described above.
As you can see, the values for translation, rotation, focal and gaussian (all of the parameters from the original calibration) are relatively consistent for each experiment. However, there is quite a bit of variation in the skew and the distortion parameters.
During the second and last steps of the optimization, I am computing the 'CALTag Error' in which I compute the reprojected image coordinates of the caltags and the consistent glitter, undistort them, and then compare these to their actual image coordinates. This is where the distortion parameter gets used. During this same 'CALTag Error' process, I am using the calibration matrix, K=\begin{bmatrix}f1 & s & cx\\0 & f2 & cy\\0 & 0 & 1\end


text: Motivated by potential financial savings, four-day school weeks have proliferated across the United States in recent years, reaching public schools in 25 states as of 2018. The consequences of the four-day school week for students, schools, and communities are largely unknown. This paper uses district-level panel data from Oklahoma and a difference-in-differences research design to examine the causal effect of the four-day schedule on school district finance and academic achievement. Results indicate that four-day weeks decrease districts' federal and state revenues and their non-instructional and support services expenditures. Decreases are concentrated specifically in food services and transportation expenditures and amount to approximately 1.36% of the average four-day district's budget. I find no detectable effect of the four-day week on academic achievement.


then one or more of the nuts in the burr will not be filled in.
When there is a complete pollination failure, the burrs could have anywhere from the normal number of nuts in them but are all blanks, to as many as 7 or 8 blank nuts in each burr. This condition happens when the chestnut trees are healthy, have the right amount of moisture in the soil but the weather was too cold for nut set.
To produce a nice crop of chestnuts, a chestnut farmer has to make sure there is enough viable pollen present at the right time, the chestnut trees are not stressed, and the day time high temperatures are above 68 degrees F. Having the wind blow from the right direction or having insects move the pollen at the right time is also helpful too. The simplest approach to reducing the risk of pollination failure is to plant several pollen producing chestnut trees that cover all 3 periods of the chestnut bloom period.