At the January ASTRO Technical Meeting, there were many things demonstrated and talked about. You may ask, does any of this stuff have a practical application? The answer is YES!
Ken brought along a magnetic field detector that he designed and constructed to find electrical cables underground. I had need to locate my neighbours underground power in the last few weeks and so asked Ken if I could borrow his unit. This device relies on current flowing through the cable being detected and so I went searching while they were cooking dinner on the electric stove. The strength of the field is displayed on a meter and almost straight away I obtained a reading. I then followed the path of the cable from start to finish by sweeping the pickup to and fro across the cable. One thing I found interesting was that as the thermostat on the cooker operated, I could see the strength of the reading rise or fall, depending whether it was turning the element on or off. On digging (very carefully) above where the cable was detected I did find it exactly where Ken's device indicated it should be.
Ken also demonstrated a servo unit that he had built. It looks like a similar device may soon find it's way into the self leaning/steering motor bike/car that was demonstrated at the March ASTRO meeting.
The Fischer and Paykel motor that I demonstrated certainly created a lot of interest as it is such a perfect design to be used as a low speed generator. Also because the coils are so accessable and easily changed for configuration etc it makes a really good choice for Adams type motor experiments. Bob has already found himself one and is at present removing it from the machine.
Lionel brought along his Adams type motor.
Peter with one of his high power magnets.
Two of Randals modified generators.
The March Technical Group Meeting began at 8.05pm with 16 people present. First up I presented the fuel mixture meter that was featured in the article in the last ASTRO newsletter. Next, Peter showed a gas charging unit that he rescued from the rubbish a couple of years ago. He intends to do some experiments with it in the near future. Peter also brought along a magnetic brake from a lift which could be useful for anyone doing magnetic experiments. He demonstrated how it had different effects on various sizes and shapes of steel. The meeting then drifted somehow onto a discussion on deionised / distilled / Ecovortec water.
Randal brought along a car and a truck generator which he had modified to become rotary converters. The output was wired to two sliprings fitted to the shaft on the front of the generators. Input is 12 or 24 volts and the output is a pure sinewave at 50Hz. The frequency is dependent on rotational speed which for a two pole generator is 3000rpm. A transformer can be wired to the output and so any voltage can be produced, even 240 volts. The estimated efficiency is around 60%. Randal pointed out that during his experiments he removed the voltage feeding the field coils, wired a diode across them and found that the generator still had an output. However he also pointed out that even with this effect there was definitely no over unity happening in the generator.
Lionel brought along his Adams type motor / generator which he had modified since the last meeting. He had changed the magnet arrangement so that when the power pulse is on, the coil repels the magnet and when the pulse is turned off, the back emf causes the next magnet to be attracted into the coil. He now has electronic switching of the pulse and has also experimented with capacitors across the coil to try and achieve some sort of resonance. The value of the capacitor has been in the range of 4.7uF to 10uF depending on the coil windings. By adjusting the timing of the pulse, Lionel found that the current dipped from 1 amp down to 0.45 amps while on 24 volts at a speed of 975 rpm.
Resulting from this demonstration was some feedback from Ken on the choice of FETs in this type of circuit with the main point being that you should use a lower voltage rated FET to get a lower RDS (resistance from the drain source) and thus have less heat wasted in the circuit. The other point that was made was that when using transformer laminations, make sure that they are not shorting out between each other by cleaning up any burrs caused by cutting them and making sure they are insulated from each other.
Ken was the last member to bring along hardware which consisted of a box full of electronic bits which will one day soon be an extremely efficient 12 volt to 36 volt voltage converter. Efficiency should be >90% due partly to the switching resistance of the five FETs in the circuit being under 5 milli-ohms. The converter will run at 20Khz and have a switching time of 30 nanoseconds. The heart of the unit is a powdered iron core that the inductor is wound on. Ken is expecting to have the unit completed by the next meeting and will bring it along to show it running. The converter's eventual use will for use in an electric bike.
We all adjourned to the Kitchen for supper but as it was early, it was decided that it would be interesting for Matthew to give some more insights into his discoveries into number sequences and the meaning of life. After the meeting I was lucky enough to score a short ride in Randal's electric car. The performance was impressive and was comparable to your average four cylinder up to the speed limit of 60Kmh which makes it an ideal vehicle for commuting around the city and suburbs. One thing that Randal demonstrated to me was how well the vehicle rolls once the power is off with no petrol engine to slow it down.
So all in all it was another successful meeting with the last two stragglers leaving the carpark at 12.15am. (I should know, I was one of them!
I have a rather unusual request from a pensioner, it seems she has a mailbox shaped like a flying pig! The pig is repeatedly getting vandalised, do we have any members with the required skills and time that could help with a pig/mailbax alarm, if so please speak to Ken or Andrew S.
No Peters page this month.
Philip James describing his brilliant steering/balance system.


text:
Events, Field Work
May 20, 2012 June 5, 2012 Flinders Archaeological Society
The historical background of the Old Plympton Railway Station has been prepared by Flinders archaeology student, Angeline Buckler:
The historic Plympton Railway Station was one of the platforms along the North Terrace Line that originally connected the City of Glenelg to the City of Adelaide. The South Terrace Line is now known as the Adelaide to Glenelg tram-line; the North Terrace Line was abandoned in 1929 and the rails have since been removed. During this time period there were two Plympton railway stations, one on each line. The station in this report was most often referred to as the North Plympton Train Station as it was located on the North Terrace Line.
While the South Terrace Line, owned and operated by the Adelaide Suburban Railway Company, had been operating since 1871; the North Terrace Line did not commence operations until May of 1880 (Blake 2010:77). The new line was initiated by the Holdfast Bay Railway Company who opened the line in competition with Suburban Company hoping to draw business from the other line by offering a shorter trip and more efficient service (South Australian Advertiser 1880:1-2). After approximately 12 months it became evident that despite the popularity of the trains there was not enough business to support two separate companies and in 1881 the two companies merged to become the Glenelg Railway Company. The Glenelg Railway Company took over management of both the South and North Terrace lines.
The railway companies created work for a number of people in the Adelaide and Glenelg areas, amongst these was Tom Dunn who served the company for 43 years and was remember with public fanfare on the day of his retirement in July of 1924 (Barrier Miner 1924:3). Tom in turn remembered a number of notable figures, including Judge Boucaut and the Bo' sun of the Buffalo, as regular patrons of the train service in his retirement announcement.
Happenings at the Plympton Railway Station
In 1883 the first serious incident at the North Plympton Railway Station was recorded; on the 4th of July a collision occurred between a goods train and a passenger train. The goods train collided with the passenger train while it was stopped at Plympton Station for refuelling shunting it along the line (South Australian Register 1883:3). The track was damaged and three people were injured, though no loss of life occurred.
The station was often used in the past as a meeting point for public rallies and sporting events, amongst which were a meeting of the Adelaide Hunt Club in 1899 (South Australian Register 1889:5) and a rally to the nearby Bronzewing Poultry Farm in 1913 (The Mail 1913:5).
In 1909 the first recorded incident of a collision between a person and a train was recorded. Warden F. W. Vasey, of the Marine Board, was knocked down by a train as he was crossing the line (Barrier Miner 1909:4). Although at the time his injuries were considered minor after a number of days he was transferred to the Intensive Care Unit of the Adelaide Hospital to recover from his injuries.
In a 1924 a second instance of a collision between a train and a person was narrowly avoided. Mrs Mary White narrowly avoided being hit by a train when a quick-thinking young station porter ran onto the line and carried her out of the train's path (The Register 1924:10). The porter, Mr John Alfred O'Donohoe; was later awarded a Bronze Medal at the Humane Society Awards for his bravery (Barrier Miner 1924:3).
During the months of July and August 1916 a gang of robbers committed a number of break-ins at train stations in the Adelaide area. On the night of the 16th of August they attempted to break into the Plympton Railway Station, the door was forced open with a pick, but the safe was not tampered with and it was reported that no goods of value had been taken by the would be burglars (The Advertiser 1916:6).
Maintenance works to keep the station up to date were carried out throughout the years that the North Terrace Line was in operation. Recorded instances of the railways attempts to keep the line up to date include the installation of a shelter at the station in 1911 (The Register 1911:5) and an application to have a post-box and a telephone installed at the station in 1917 (The Advertiser 1917:8).
In March of 1929 the last steam train ran along the South Terrace Line and henceforth electric trams ran in their place. The last passenger train was driven along the North Terrace line in November of the same year by Mr Thomas Stockley (Fitch 2006:226).
Barrier Miner 1909 A Railway Accident. 11 October, p.4.
Barrier Miner 1924 Youth Rescues Woman: Awarded Bronze medal by Royal Humane Society. 16 July, p.3.
Blake, J. 2010 Sea Change: A Pictorial History of the City of Holdfast Bay. Adelaide: Holdfast Bay History Centre.
Fitch, R. 2006 Australian Railwayman: From cadet to engineer to railways commissioner. Adelaide: Rosenberg Publishing.
South Australian Register 1880 Opening of the Holdfast Bay Railway. 29 May, p.1.
South Australian Register 1883 Collision on the Holdfast Bay Railway. 4 July, p.3.
South Australian Register 1899 Sporting. 1 July. p.5.
The Advertiser 1916 Plympton Station Broken Into. 18 August, p.6.
The Advertiser 1917 West Torrens District Council. 13 December, p.8.
The Mail 1924 After Forty-Seven Years: Railwayman Resigns. 5 January, p.3.
The Mail 1928 Railway Romance: First Iron Horse to Glenelg. 28 January, p.4.
The Mail 1913 Poultry Boys: A Profitable Afternoon. 13 September, p.5.
The Register 1911 Railway Matters. 25 November, p.5.
The Register 1924 Bravery Recognised: Humane Society Awards. 24 October, p.10.
The South Australian Advertiser 1880 Opening of the Holdfast Bay Railway. 25 May, pp.5-6.
Tagged About Time: SA History Festival, Community Archaeology Day, Field Trip, Historical Archaeology, National Archaeology Week, Plympton Railway Station, Site Survey
Previous postOld Plympton Railway Station: Aims of the Survey
Next postOld Plympton Railway Station: Timeline of Major Events

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
From Discworld & Terry Pratchett Wiki
At present, the nearest thing Ankh-Morpork has to a City Zoo, although as it is situated in the Patrician's Palace, access is by invitation only. The University Librarian is reputed to hop over the wall and spend the odd night here, but what he does is a mystery as we are specifically told there are no orang-utans here of either sex. The importation of orang-utans, nor indeed Great Apes of any species, appears to be informally discouraged, anyway. Wazir and Webb, the City's only import-export firm in live animals, adamantly refuse to touch them.
This is most probably a hangover from previous Patricians, some of whom had inventive variations on a theme of the idea of tearing a convicted felon to death by chaining a large wild animal to each limb and setting them off in four mutually opposed directions. Logically, they needed somewhere to store the creatures in between dismembering engagements. One previous Patrician of a patient disposition used four giant tortoises for this job, and must have kept them securely lest they end up as four king-sized servings of turtle soup and a Dibbler cart-load of tortoiseshell knick-knacks, a dollar each, no questions asked, squire. On Roundworld, giant tortoises are natives of Africa and certain Pacific islands. Following the general principle that Ankh-Morpork is in a pretty much "European" part of the Disc, it would seem that such long-lived creatures will not be native, may have been imported as curios or gifts, and as the species is known for its longevity, could well be up to two hundred years old.
The Patrician still maintains, possibly only out of tradition, snake and scorpion pits. Of necessity, these will need a breeding programme to replace and replenish and improve upon stock. Possibly the Menagerie includes herpetology and arachnia houses where this work might be carried out, always assuming Vetinari does not subcontract this work to the Assassins' Guild, who may be expected to have a vigorous Natural History department of their own at the Guild School. (If only as another ongoing informal test for overconfident students).
There is a reference somewhere to Carrot having taken Angua here on a date, although Carrot noted that in Angua's presence, the animals either hid at the back of the cage or were un-naturally subdued.
We learn in Snuff that Quirm has a fully-fledged City Zoo, which makes it one step ahead of Ankh-Morpork in this respect. Sam Vimes takes Young Sam there to see the elephants and gain raw material for his new, engrossing, albeit inexpensive, hobby.
The Palace Menagerie is expanded upon in Book:The World of Poo, as a strategic location where Grand-Mama one day takes Geoffrey as a treat.
Named Staff:
Mr Pontoon, the Head Keeper.
Young Gus, the apprentice keeper.
The Re-Director.
Named Animals on the Menagerie inventory
the Hermit Elephant of Howondaland.
the Swimming Shrew from Llamedos.
the Acrobatic Meerkat from Howondaland.
the Counting Camel, from Klatch.
the Ring-Maned Lion.
the Reciprocating Ocelot.
the Rotating Nogo.
the Coat-Hanger Elk from NoThingfjord.
the Chameleon Alligator from Genua.
the Bouncing Kangaroo from Fourecks.
the Bashful Panda from Agatea.
the Woolly Goat from the Trollbone Mountains.
There may also be half a dozen concubines from Ymitury.
This is not an exhaustive list and represents only those Discworld animal species quoted or described in Book:The World of Poo as resident at the Menagerie. However, the observant reader will have noticed that this STILL doesn't offer any logical reason for the Librarian to make nocturnal visits to the Menagerie at periodic intervals - there is not a single simian of any sort on this list.
There are, apparently, "real-world" animals in the Menagerie collection. (ie, those also known on Roundworld). Lions are specifically mentioned. Their dung is especially valuable to Sir Harry King.
Mr Pontoon is also clear on the distinction between "real" world fauna and the "heraldics". For e.g., he only deals with the former and the latter is the province of the College of Heralds.
Retrieved from "https://wiki.lspace.org/index.php?title=Menagerie&oldid=21534"
Discworld culture


After a morning at the Joan of Arc Experience I was in the mood for a barbecue. Just kidding! No, we were looking for something for lunch less obviously touristy than the previous evening so we gravitated towards the less picturesque side of town. Café Populaire is a pop up located next to a pleasant square beside a modern shopping centre. The whole square is surrounded by restaurants but I liked the look of CP's terrace so we plonked out front and looked at the menu.
Again, this was classic bistrot fare and being less ravenous we opted for a single course each. Onglet is always a risky pick. It can be a mouth-wateringly flavoursome, if slightly gristly, cut. More often in my experience you'd need jaws like Mrs Woof to get through a whole onglet, which is why I'll never eat in Café Rouge again. But I trusted the folks in Rouen as the menu stated that all meat was sourced locally, and having seen a whole shop earlier that day dedicated to Normandy beef I expected high standards.
My confidence was repaid handsomely. It was a high class lump, yeah there was a bit of gristle but the flesh was generous and tasty. Alongside some spuds but I regretted not having ordered a side salad. To drink there was local cider on offer but I stuck to a glass of red.
Service was very good given that there was soon a good crowd of diners (mostly locals) reaching all the way down into the square and it was a joy to enjoy late summer sunshine and watch the Rouennais go by. I hope they convert the pop up into a permanent establishment. In the slim chance that I'll be in Rouen again I would go back for an evening service.


Alfresco is an Enterprise CMS platform delivering document management, collaboration and records management functionality in both an on-premise and cloud / SaaS delivery model.
Document Management. Enterprise Content Management.


text:
Q: Add lines indicating quartiles to a scatterplot I have to plot  lines on a scatterplot at each quartile of a bivariate distribution. I plotted the scatterplot in this way:
plot (data1, data2, col = "blue")

Can anyone help me?

A: (Comment reposted as answer.)
Do you mean a bivariate distribution? something like
abline(v=quantile(data1,c(0.25,0.5,0.75)))
abline(h=quantile(data2,c(0.25,0.5,0.75)))

might do what you want, but you haven't made it very clear ...

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Malmedy (, ) este un oraș francofon din regiunea Valonia din Belgia. Orașul este una dintre localitățile belgiene cu facilități lingvistice pentru populația germanofonă. Împreună cu comuna învecinată Waimes, sunt singurele comune din Cantoanele din Est, regiunea anexată de Belgia în defavoarea Germaniei la sfârșitul primului război mondial, majoritar francofone.

Comuna este formată din localitățile Malmedy, Bellevaux-Ligneuville și Bévercé. Suprafața totală este de 99,96 km². La 1 ianuarie 2008 comuna avea o populație totală de 11.943 locuitori.

Localități înfrățite
 : Beaune;
 : Cochem.

Orașe din Belgia
Localități din provincia Liège
Comune din provincia Liège

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Next Article in Exclusives
Rockliffe's John Davies on Messaging Software
By Alison Diana
November 15, 2004 5:00 AM PT
In retrospect, it seems obvious to match the capabilities of Windows with secure messaging software. However, in 1995, when Windows NT first burst into the marketplace, IT managers at first did not have many — if any — options to help their users easily and safely communicate with each other.
This was the challenge facing John Davies. Having developed Unix-based mail solutions for the company he worked for, Davies wanted to find something easier to use, something that ran on Microsoft's burgeoning operating system. When his quest was unsuccessful, he decided to start his own company and write a program he felt sure would be of use to IT professionals at many organizations.
Although Rockliffe initially targeted small and midsize companies, at the bequest of some ISP clients the Campbell, California-based developer quickly moved into the enterprise space. Today, Rockliffe's MailSite family of Windows 2000-based, fault-tolerant messaging software is being used by organizations as diverse as Intel Online Services, Encyclopedia Britannica, the University of Cambridge and Boeing. The developer also has partnered with Hewlett-Packard to jointly develop MailSite for the HP NonStop server, and has OEM relationships with companies such as Rockwell Collins and Call Sciences.
When the E-Commerce Times spoke with Davies recently, Rockliffe's president and CEO was celebrating the company's recent winning of a contract with a large RBOC. In addition, Rockliffe disclosed information on some of its upcoming product releases and development direction.
ECT: So how would you describe Rockliffe?
Davies: We're an e-mail infrastructure software company. We've been doing this for quite some time. I founded Rockliffe in 1995. Back then, there were virtually no e-mail addresses on the Internet. Most were done on an internal network. I had been running a variety of e-mail systems. I was trying to set up an e-mail system using sendmail, and realized how difficult it was.
I came to Silicon Valley in 1986. I was interested in IT management, and got a lot of experience running IT systems and running e-mail systems. I was banging my head against the wall.
About that time, Windows NT was released and I realized there was a need for a standards-based e-mail software package for Windows NT. We shipped our first product in 1996. We started at the low-end: A single server product that was scalable to 100 users. It was good for small and medium companies. Then we had some ISPs buy it, and they really took us up-market — adding clustering, fault tolerance, load-balancing.
We have a product for service providers that runs on Windows 2003 or 2000, for clusters of servers. It supports e-mail for up to 1 million subscribers. We still have many small and medium business customers, but most of our revenues are coming from service providers. We have about 15 million seats installed worldwide: About three-quarters of those are running at service providers — ISPs, ASPs, telcos, wireless carriers.
ECT: Do most sales come from North America or do you have a large international presence?
Davies: We do have a big presence in Europe. We have a subsidiary and three offices in the United Kingdom. We get about 25 [percent] to 30 percent of our business from Europe, and 50 [percent] to 60 percent comes from the Americas, primarily the U.S. and Canada.
ECT: Please could you describe your products a little more?
Davies: We have MailSite SP for our service provider customers and MailSite SE for small enterprises. The SE package is for a single server only — no clustering or database integration. SP supports clustering, database and billing software integration, fault tolerance, creates redundancy and can be scaled to support millions of subscribers.
ECT: How do you differentiate your products?
Davies: We really differentiate ourselves in the service-provider space based on price, ease-of-deployment, especially when compared with Linux and Unix. If you look at the difference between the packages, there really is no direct competitor.
For the small, medium business, there is a lot of competition. Of course, Microsoft has a package with Exchange. The other main competition down at the low-end is Ipswitch iMail. On the solution-provider side, the other software runs on Linux and Unix. Even Microsoft Exchange doesn't have any presence in this market. We also offer provisioning and billing integration.
MailSite MP is complementary to Exchange and [Lotus] Notes. Microsoft Exchange has no antivirus or antispam built into it; neither is there any denial of service built into it. Our customers can buy MailSite MP and employ it as a gateway.
ECT: Over the years, have you noticed any changes in the sales cycle?
Davies: The bigger the deal, the longer the sales cycle. We just closed a deal with a large regional Bell operating company. This has been a very quick sales cycle. They bought a 50,000-seat license for MailSite SP.
ECT: And you also won a contract with Encyclopedia Britannica?
Davies: That was another major win for us. They bought a new product — MailSite MP [Message Protector] e-mail gateway software. They have a couple of hundred employees worldwide. They bought MailSite MP to sit in front of Exchange Server worldwide — antivirus and antispam is included as well as content filtering, e-mail policy enforcement and e-mail server attack prevention.
ECT: What is one of the biggest problems facing IT managers today?
Davies: Spam is a huge problem. There has been a significant increase in the number of viruses. Spammers and virus writers are working in tandem now — they're called zombies. This has only begun over the past six months or so.
Spam, viruses and security are very high on the list, if not at the top of the list. Denial-of-service attacks are another issue they have to deal with. That can bring a server to its knees, too. The other is dictionary harvest attacks. We have good protection against all those in both the e-mail gateways and servers.
ECT: What types of products or features will Rockville be releasing later this year?
Davies: We're actively working on Caller ID for the fourth quarter. It's an additional antispam specification being developed by Microsoft. We've been actively involved with that. We had one of our engineers at a Microsoft developer conference two weeks ago. That's going to be big.
As you add antivirus and antispam to your e-mail server and e-mail gateway, it uses more memory and CPU cycles. That is an issue. We're working with our partners to make these engines more efficient, leaner, meaner and faster.
And, we will be announcing, in the next couple of months, a partnership with a very large wireless company.
ECT: Speaking of partners, what is your relationship with HP?
Davies: HP is a development partnership. They asked us to port the back-end of MailSite to the back-end of HP NonStop Server. MailSite NS is really designed for really large ISPs running more than 1 million e-mail boxes. It's ultra-reliable, ultra-scaleable.
ECT: And how about Rockwell Collins?
Davies: Rockwell Collins is very different. They've OEMed MailSite and incorporated it into a wireless military communications application that's being used on the battlefield. We've been working with them for quite some time, a couple of years.
More by Alison Diana
Stop 'Forking Around' with Software Labels
But There's No Software for the Mac, Right?
Software Terminology: What's in a Name?
Enterprises Not Hot for Subscription Software
IBM Pushes New Software Development Tech
Demandware CEO Stephan Schambach Outlines Services for E-Commerce
HPshopping.com's Nikhil Behl Reveals E-Tail Strategy
Network Solutions CEO Champ Mitchell Highlights Internet Services
IMlogic CEO Francis deSouza Discusses Instant Messaging Networks
Hewitt Associates' Steve Unterberger Talks About BPO
Hewlett-Packard's Nick Vanderzweep on Virtualization
Omnipod CEO Gideon Stein Speaks on IM Networks
Solutionary's Earle Humphreys on Managed Security
DeepNines President Dan Jackson on Network Security
EzGov CEO Ed Trimble on the Government Market
More in Exclusives
Sports Betting Platforms Gambling With Substandard CX
Metaverse Marketing Offers New Approach To Utilizing Customer Data
Remote Work Transformation Calls for Prioritizing Employee Tech Choices
How Merchants Can Better Battle Chargebacks and Fraud
Future-Proofing Retail Operations in the Era of Supply Chain Chaos
Logiq CEO Tom Furukawa Discusses Global Trends in Digital Commerce
Supercharging Customer Retention
Apply Meaningful Metrics to Makeover Your Product Code
Will FAA Rules Be a Drag on Drone Deliveries?


text:
—Digital Fabriq
fa-bri-k'/ n. Short for Fabrique. Factory in French. We help you unlock growth in the digital space.
Tag Archives: Nissan
The many lives of Google Glass
Augmented Reality, HUD, Wearables
Everyone (or nearly everyone – my mum hadn't :) has heard of Google Glass in some shape or form. It is by far the most talked about wearable currently. Yet, it is also one of the least mainstream with only approximately 10,000 users in the world as I write this – all carefully selected for the ongoing testing phase of the product.
Following in the footsteps of Nike's Fuel band, Glass has stolen the spotlight as its deserving successor. Newsworthy in its own right, the extensive and constant media coverage is also no doubt partly the result of Google's well-oiled PR machine.
Not surprisingly, quite a few other connected wearables have since launched, all equally eager to tap into our insatiable hunger for new and shiny hi tech objects. Some loosely reminiscent of Glass in design offer super niche functionality with only limited audience reach (e.g. Nissan's 3E HUD), whilst others are of questionable use – if not taste (e.g. a collar camera for your pet, Microsoft's bra).
Despite everyone's best efforts, Glass remains unsurpassed to date in my opinion. And as I was getting tired of the abundant PR, one particularity suddenly piqued my curiosity and has since made me follow the product evolution with great interest.
Unlike most – if not all – other wearables, the device strength appears to lie in its ability to constantly evolve and extend its many practical uses. This in my view makes Glass stand out and puts it firmly ahead of the pack.
Below are some of the most recent product evolutions that are good cases in point:
Glass as the surgery tool of the future
As I found out recently on the Australian Popular Science website:
Glass as a publishing platform for apps
It may not be mainstream yet but by the time it goes to market, Google Glass will come with hundreds if not thousands of apps. I came across one of these recently – the ColorSnap Glass from Sherwin-Williams:
Glass as a life changing experience for the disabled
Google has been paying close attention to how the disabled use its eyewear, as a way of improving their lives.
Glass as a way of modernizing orchestras
More recently, a conductor and music professor has been experimenting with Glass in a number of ways. It has proven to be a useful feedback tool for her students in particular. The eyewear is also being considered as a possible alternative music stand and paper score.
According to Hunter Walk, "Google is Love + Greed". It may well be, but for as long as it endeavors to change our lives for the better, it is okay to be greedy.
The latest and finest in crowdsourcing
Crowdsourcing, Social media, Story telling, UGC
Back in March, I published my first post on crowd-sourced advertising. My focus then was on Ford and Coca Cola's novel efforts in co-creating advertising campaigns and branded content with their respective target audience.
I am pleased to say that since a few more advertisers have come out of their shell, gone the extra mile to successfully evolve (if not reinvent) the crowd-sourcing game with their consumers. Here are those that have stuck with me specifically.
In July 2013, Lexus released its LexusInstafilm.
In a nutshell, the advertiser invited 212 instagrammers to collaborate on the shoot of a promotional film for its 2014 Lexus IS model. The film was to consist of instagram shots only (all individual shots can be seen here). The shoot was planned like a military operation, with nothing left to chance, as the video below shows.
This was a one of a kind opportunity for the Lexus car lovers, creative types and Instagrammers who were lucky enough to be able to participate into the making of an ad for a brand they admire and aspire to.
Incidentally, the making of the film and final output are brilliant pieces of advertising for Instagram also – which makes me wonder what their contribution to this project might have been in $ or otherwise…
In August, Nissan's #JukeRide project took crowdsourcing to a new level by inviting motorsport enthusiasts and social media fans to help co create a new car focused on improving the performance of Nissan's Nismo team of drivers.
Ideas for new car features were captured via social media and also in person via brainstorms with ex-Formula 1 driver & brand ambassador Johnny Herbert and his team of engineers. In the end, more than 3,000 individual ideas were contributed to the #Jukeride product by over 1,000 fans. A social experiment that ladders up wonderfully to Nissan's tagline: Innovation that excites.
Harley Davidson is notorious for pioneering crowd-sourced advertising. A few years ago, with the help of a crowd-sourcing specialist agency, it launched its Fan Machine – a Facebook app that crowd-sources campaign ideas from the brand's fans. Its 2012 'Stereotypical Harley" campaign was one of the successful outcomes. Recently, they revealed they had extended their crowdsourcing strategy to product development with Project Rushmore. Their latest range of bikes is the result of a collaboration with riders and fans of the brand, as reinforced by the "Built by all of us. For all of us" tagline.
Lastly – my 2 favourites:
The award-winning "Perfect Lager Project" – a product launch campaign for winemaker Casella Wines that kicked off without the product per se. The campaign idea was indeed to use crowdsourcing to identify what made the perfect beer from Aussie beer lovers, which Casella would then brew for them. This was a clever way of standing out from the fierce local competition and overcoming the winemaker's late entry to a very crowded market.
And –
As part of its Hollywood & Vines campaign, Airbnb has just released a short film made entirely of crowd-sourced vines – a first in the art of film-making. 750 viners participated by submitting their selected shot via Vine and Twitter (nice corporate tie-up here); 100 vines made it to the final cut that screened online and on Sundance channel.
This is how it all started:
The end result is truly magic, beautifully stitched together and a real prowess considering how challenging the app's time constraints can be.
Given the diversity of crowdsourcing initiatives (from co-creating a car or a bike through co-brewing a beer to co-making an ad, a film or a song), it makes me wonder:
Is there anything that can't be crowd-sourced these days?
Beacons: a peek behind the scenes
Content marketing: how do Aussies compare with POM's?
e-commerce: what's in store for 2015?
Beacon marketing: the key need-to-knows
A consumer's point of view on this month's Missoni for Target launch campaign
Like what you've read? Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.
2013 outlook Australia Automotive branded content Burberry Coca Cola Content content marketing e-commerce Facebook FMCG Gamification General Electric Google Instagram Microsoft Mobile online shopping OOH Outdoor Red Bull Retail smartphone social media Super Bowl TV Twitter UK USA Vine
© 2013-2015 Digital Fabriq


text:
21 New Founders To Watch
https://futureofgood.co/21-new-founders-2020/
Future of Good is excited to present the 2020 list of new founders to watch.
Now is a challenging time for new social impact organizations, non-profits, co-operatives, and social enterprise startups. Demand for many startups' services is rising while fundraising is becoming more difficult and federal government support is largely falling short.
But this period of time is also presenting an enormous opportunity to rise to the challenge of rebuilding our country. And these 21 new founders are poised to do just that.
Each founder on this list is building a promising solution for a more resilient, caring, inclusive, sustainable society — solutions that are vital for communities to build back better post-pandemic.
Featuring founders of social impac
Our social impact coverage and insights enrich thousands of changemakers like you everyday. Sign up for a free account with Future of Good to continue reading this article.


text:
Q: C# WinForms App Maxing Processor But Doing Nothing Strenuous! I have a netbook with 1.20Ghz Processor & 1GB Ram.
I'm running a C# WinForms app on it which, at 5 minute intervals, reads every line of a text file and depending on what the content of that line is, either skips it or writes it to an xml file. Sometimes it may be processing about 2000 lines.
When it begins this task, the processor gets maxed out, 100% use. However on my desktop with 2.40Ghz Processor and 3GB Ram it's untouched (for obvious reasons)... is there any way I can actually reduce this processor issue dramatically? The code isn't complex, I'm not bad at coding either and I'm not constantly opening the file, reading and writing... it's all done in one fell swoop.
Any help greatly appreciated!?
Sample Code
***Timer.....
#region Timers Setup

            aTimer.Tick += new EventHandler(OnTimedEvent);
            aTimer.Interval = 60000;
            aTimer.Enabled = true;
            aTimer.Start();
            radioButton60Mins.Checked = true;

            #endregion Timers Setup

private void OnTimedEvent(object source, EventArgs e)
        {
            string msgLoggerMessage = "Checking For New Messages " + DateTime.Now;
            listBoxActivityLog.Items.Add(msgLoggerMessage);
            MessageLogger messageLogger = new MessageLogger();
            messageLogger.LogMessage(msgLoggerMessage);

            if (radioButton1Min.Checked)
            {
                aTimer.Interval = 60000;
            }
            if (radioButton60Mins.Checked)
            {
                aTimer.Interval = 3600000;
            }
            if (radioButton5Mins.Checked)
            {
                aTimer.Interval = 300000;
            }

            // split the file into a list of sms messages
            List<SmsMessage> messages = smsPar.ParseFile(smsPar.CopyFile());

            // sanitize the list to get rid of stuff we don't want
            smsPar.SanitizeSmsMessageList(messages);

            ApplyAppropriateColoursToRecSMSListinDGV();
        }

public List<SmsMessage> ParseFile(string filePath)
        {
            List<SmsMessage> list = new List<SmsMessage>();
            using (StreamReader file = new StreamReader(filePath))
            {
                string line;
                while ((line = file.ReadLine()) != null)
                {
                    var sms = ParseLine(line);
                    list.Add(sms);
                }
            }
            return list;
        }

        public SmsMessage ParseLine(string line)
        {
            string[] words = line.Split(',');

            for (int i = 0; i < words.Length; i++)
            {

                words[i] = words[i].Trim('"');
            }
            SmsMessage msg = new SmsMessage();
            msg.Number = int.Parse(words[0]);
            msg.MobNumber = words[1];
            msg.Message = words[4];
            msg.FollowedUp = "Unassigned";
            msg.Outcome = string.Empty;

            try
            {

                //DateTime Conversion!!!
                string[] splitWords = words[2].Split('/');
                string year = splitWords[0].Replace("09", "20" + splitWords[0]);
                string dateString = splitWords[2] + "/" + splitWords[1] + "/" + year;
                string timeString = words[3];
                string wholeDT = dateString + " " + timeString;
                DateTime dateTime = DateTime.Parse(wholeDT);
                msg.Date = dateTime;

            }
            catch (Exception e)
            {
                MessageBox.Show(e.ToString());
                Application.Exit();
            }
            return msg;
        }

        public void SanitizeSmsMessageList(List<SmsMessage> list)
        {
            // strip out unwanted messages
            // list.Remove(some_message); etc...
            List<SmsMessage> remove = new List<SmsMessage>();
            foreach (SmsMessage message in list)
            {
                if (message.Number > 1)
                {
                    remove.Add(message);
                }
            }
            foreach (SmsMessage msg in remove)
            {
                list.Remove(msg);
            }
            //Fire Received messages to xml doc
            ParseSmsToXMLDB(list);
}

public void ParseSmsToXMLDB(List<SmsMessage> list)
        {
            try
            {
                if (File.Exists(WriteDirectory + SaveName))
                {
                    xmlE.AddXMLElement(list, WriteDirectory + SaveName);
                }
                else
                {
                    xmlE.CreateNewXML(WriteDirectory + SaveName);
                    xmlE.AddXMLElement(list, WriteDirectory + SaveName);
                }
            }
            catch (Exception e)
            {
                MessageBox.Show(e.ToString());
                Application.Exit();
            }
        }

public void CreateNewXML(string writeDir)
        {
            try
            {
                XElement Database = new XElement("Database");
                Database.Save(writeDir);
            }
            catch (Exception e)
            {
                MessageBox.Show(e.ToString());
            }
        }

        public void AddXMLElement(List<SmsMessage> messages, string writeDir)
        {
            try
            {
                XElement Database = XElement.Load(writeDir);
                foreach (SmsMessage msg in messages)
                {
                    if (!DoesExist(msg.MobNumber, writeDir))
                    {
                        Database.Add(new XElement("SMS",
                              new XElement("Number", msg.MobNumber),
                              new XElement("DateTime", msg.Date),
                              new XElement("Message", msg.Message),
                              new XElement("FollowedUpBy", msg.FollowedUp),
                              new XElement("Outcome", msg.Outcome),
                        new XElement("Quantity", msg.Quantity),
                        new XElement("Points", msg.Points)));

                        EventNotify.SendNotification("A New Message Has Arrived!", msg.MobNumber);

                    }
                }
                Database.Save(writeDir);
                EventNotify.UpdateDataGridView();
                EventNotify.UpdateStatisticsDB();
            }
            catch (Exception e)
            {
                MessageBox.Show(e.ToString());
            }
        }

public bool DoesExist(string number, string writeDir)
        {
            XElement main = XElement.Load(writeDir);
            return main.Descendants("Number")
                      .Any(element => element.Value == number);
        }

A: Use a profiler and/or Performance Monitor and/or \\live.sysinternals.com\tools\procmon.exe and/or ResourceMonitor to determine what's going on

A: If the 5 minute process is a background task, you can make use of Thread Priority.
MSDN here.
If you do the processing on a separate thread, change your timer to be a System.Threading.Timer and use callback events, you should be able to set a lower priority on that thread than the rest of your application.

A: Inside your ParseFile loop, you could try adding a Thread.Sleep and/or an  Application.DoEvents() call to see if that helps.  Its better to do this in the parsing is on a seperate thread, but at least you can try this simple test to see if it helps.

A: Might be that the MessageBoxes in your catches are running into cross-thread problems. Try swapping them out for writing to the trace output.
In any case, you've posted an entire (little) program, which will not help you get specific advice. Try deleting method bodies -- one at a time, scientifically -- and try to get the problem to occur/stop occurring. This will help you to locate the problem and eliminate the irrelevant parts of your question (both for yourself and for SO).

A: Your current processing model is batch based - do the parsing, then process the messages, and so on.
You'll likely reduce the memory overhead if you switched to a Linq style "pull" approach.
For example, you could convert your ParseFile() method in this way:
public IEnmerable<SmsMessage> ParseFile(string filePath)
{
    using (StreamReader file = new StreamReader(filePath))
    {
        string line;
        while ((line = file.ReadLine()) != null)
        {
            var sms = ParseLine(line);
            yield return sms;
        }
    }
}

The advantage is that each SmsMessage can be handled as it is generated, instead of parsing all of the messages at once and then handling all of them.
This lowers your memory overhead, which is one of the most likely causes for the performance difference between your netbook and your desktop.


Nothing beats a good freebie - and when you're securing your online account details in the process it's even better.
That's the deal currently available from Google to celebrate Safer Internet Day; complete a quick account healthcheck and you'll instantly get an extra 2GB of Google Drive cloud storage.
Google's account checker walks you through the two minute process, covering recovery information, account permissions, app password access, and any connected devices that have access to your account.
You can revoke access, make changes and add a more complex password, plus you can switch on two-factor authentication to stay extra safe.
At the end, 2GB of Google Drive space is automatically added to your account. Not bad for the time it takes to make a cup of tea.
It's worth the tiny bit of hassle, too. Your Google account is a gateway to plenty of online websites and services beyond the ones actually owned by Google, and having it compromised could lock you out of things like Gmail.
This is the second time Google has given away Drive storage for Safer Internet Day, an international event meant to raise awareness of staying safe online. There's no clue how long you've got to earn your free space, but last year the offer was open for a week.
In the spirit of playing it safe, though, you should jump on this deal as soon as you've got two minutes spare.


text:
Portland, Oregon, United States
University of Western States (UWS) offers a world-class, integrated health care education and provides an evidence-informed approach to health and wellness.
M.Sc. Sport and Performance Psychology
M.Sc. Sports Medicine
M.Sc. Human Nutrition and Functional Medicine
University of Western States has been the leader in integrating health and science since 1904, beginning as the second oldest chiropractic educational program in the world. Today, UWS provides a comprehensive curriculum developed from over a century of research and experience providing effective health care services and professional health sciences education.
College of Chiropractic
Our graduates deliver high-quality health care based on science, the professional's skill and knowledge, and the preferences and experiences of the patient or client.
The office of student services helps all UWS students pursue academic excellence and cultivate meaningful communities by supporting co-curricular service and wellness activities.
The office of student services provides tutoring, counseling, accessibility services, operates the campus testing center and serves as the liaison between the associated student body (ASB) and the university administration.
University of Western States does not offer on-campus housing, however, the office of student services helps provide students with housing resources for Portland and surrounding areas near the university.
UWS Library
MEDLINE Complete houses bibliographic information and full-text journals pertaining to research on biomedicine, pre-clinical sciences, behavioral sciences, bioengineering, health policy development, and life science.
Library Databases at UWS
Health Centers of UWS is the clinic system that operates in conjunction with the university. There are four locations throughout the Portland area, all offering whole-person, conservative health care, including chiropractic, massage therapy and functional medicine. There is also a diagnostic imaging clinic within the Campus Health Center that takes multiple types of insurance.
The University of Western States main campus is located in a bustling neighborhood, 15 minutes from downtown Portland and close to public transportation at 8000 NE Tillamook Street.
The neighborhood, Madison South, offers a lively atmosphere and borders the neighborhoods of Sumner, Roseway, Parkrose, Cully, Montavilla and Rose City.
Some landmarks and attractions near to campus include the Grotto, Rocky Butte Natural Area, Rose City Golf Course, and Madison High School – as well as many restaurants and coffee shops.
The main campus is served by a TriMet bus stop adjacent to the site and a MAX Light Rail Station within one-quarter mile. It is also on the Tillamook Neighborhood Greenway bike route.
The University of Western States fitness center is open to all students and employees. The 4,000 square foot space is outfitted with cardio and strength training equipment, as well as day-use locker rooms with shower facilities.
The campus houses a meditation room
University of Western States encourages students to support healthy behaviors. Each quarter students can be reimbursed $20 for participating in a physical wellness activity. It can be an exercise class, wellness event, run, gym membership or team event.
The Canadian Chiropractic Club
Student Alliance for Integrative Medicine (SAIM)
Associated Student Body
University of Western States is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities.
4 (Pre-)Masters


text:
package com.flowerfat.initapp.model;

import com.flowerfat.initapp.R;

/**
 * Created by 明明大美女 on 2016/12/11.
 */

public class DefaultValue {

    public static class TrafficWay {
        public static final int TRAFFIC_NULL = 0;
        public static final int TRAFFIC_PLANE = 1;
        public static final int TRAFFIC_BUS = 2;
        public static final int TRAFFIC_BIKE = 3;
        public static final int TRAFFIC_CAR = 4;
        public static final int TRAFFIC_TRAIN = 5;
        public static final int TRAFFIC_TEXI = 6;

        public static int getTrafficWayRes(int trafficWay){
            switch (trafficWay) {
                case TRAFFIC_NULL:
                    break;
                case TRAFFIC_PLANE:
                    return R.drawable.ic_traffic_airplane_ltgray_18dp;
                case TRAFFIC_BUS:
                    return R.drawable.ic_traffic_bus_ltgray_18dp;
                case TRAFFIC_BIKE:
                    return R.drawable.ic_traffic_bike_ltgray_18dp;
                case TRAFFIC_CAR:
                    return R.drawable.ic_traffic_car_ltgray_18dp;
                case TRAFFIC_TRAIN:
                    return R.drawable.ic_traffic_train_ltgray_18dp;
                case TRAFFIC_TEXI: // 这个还没找图片
                    return R.drawable.ic_traffic_car_ltgray_18dp;
                default:
                    break;
            }
            return 0;
        }

        public static int getTrafficWayRes(int trafficWay, boolean isChoosed){
            if(isChoosed) {
                switch (trafficWay) {
                    case TRAFFIC_NULL:
                        break;
                    case TRAFFIC_PLANE:
                        return R.drawable.ic_traffic_airplane_pink_18dp;
                    case TRAFFIC_BUS:
                        return R.drawable.ic_traffic_bus_pink_18dp;
                    case TRAFFIC_BIKE:
                        return R.drawable.ic_traffic_bike_pink_18dp;
                    case TRAFFIC_CAR:
                        return R.drawable.ic_traffic_car_pink_18dp;
                    case TRAFFIC_TRAIN:
                        return R.drawable.ic_traffic_train_pink_18dp;
                    case TRAFFIC_TEXI: // 这个还没找图片
                        return R.drawable.ic_traffic_car_pink_18dp;
                    default:
                        break;
                }
                return 0;
            } else {
                return getTrafficWayRes(trafficWay);
            }
        }
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
News Release 29-Oct-2019
Should preschool writing be more communication and less ABCs?
Writing instruction in early education should be about more than letter formation and penmanship, argue Michigan State University researchers who found preschool teachers don't often encourage writing for communication purposes.
"Few teachers in this study think about writing as communication," said Hope Gerde, associate professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies. "However, all children have ideas, and when we allow young children to communicate their ideas using whatever type of 'writing' they can produce - whether it's scribbles, drawing or letter-like formations - writing is an age-appropriate and engaging endeavor."
There's been little research on how preschool teachers view writing in early education, including child interest and enjoyment, she said. But it's important to understand teachers' beliefs because those beliefs influence instruction. In addition, using writing as a communication tool is an effective way to strengthen writing skills at an early age - which improves academic success.
In the study, published in the Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, researchers observed teachers' material resources and practices to support writing. They then interviewed teachers to ask about beliefs and instruction.
Gerde and Tanya Wright, associate professor in the Department of Teacher Education, interviewed 32 preschool teachers from varying programs, such as Head Start and nonprofit child care centers, to determine how they support writing instruction in their classrooms.
They found environmental supports, such as designated writing spaces, were in place in 94% of classrooms. However, while materials were available, there was limited discussion of how children were taught to use the materials.
At the same time, only 22% of teachers reported placing writing materials in other classroom areas or allowing children to bring writing materials into play centers. But meaningful opportunities to write exist within children's play experiences, such as writing a grocery list or taking an order at the classroom restaurant, Gerde said.
The most widely observed activities reflected a focus on handwriting, such as teachers reminding children to write their names on artwork; writing letters for children to copy; describing the procedure for creating a letter; signing in; and tracing their names.
In addition, researchers found teachers provided few opportunities or activities focused on supporting children to communicate their ideas through composing (journaling, writing a thank you card) and few classrooms provided evidence of meaningful writing, such as books made as a class or writing a message to a family member.
Teachers agreed that, in general, young children enjoy writing. During interviews, however, teachers reported there is a lack of guidance on teaching children to write in preschool, despite having research-based curricula. In fact, recent work led by Gerde identifies that even research-based curricula are uneven in their guidance for supporting early writing.
Since Common Core standards for elementary school students emphasize writing composition, could teachers, who focus primarily on handwriting, be putting preschool students at a disadvantage?
"These findings may be particularly useful to teacher education and professional development programs as they consider ways to change preschool teachers' beliefs and practices for early writing," Gerde said.
Gary Bingham, from Georgia State University, also contributed to the study.
(Note to media: Please include link to original study in coverage: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10901027.2019.1593899).
Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education
Kristen Parker
kristen.parker@cabs.msu.edu
/Scientific community/Education/Educational methods/Teaching
/Scientific community/Education/Educational levels/Early education/Preschool
/Social sciences/Communications/Written communication
https://msutoday.msu.edu/news/2019/should-preschool-writing-be-more-communication-and-less-abcs/


Power plants are becoming a popular attraction for foreign visitors in Iceland. According to Samorka, which is a federation of the Icelandic electricity industry, district heatings, waterworks and sewage utilities in Iceland, tens of thousands of tourists visit the largest power plants every summer. This both applies to hydro- and geothermal power plants.
The power plants are therefore among the most popular tourist attractions in Iceland. Some of the plants are open all year around.
The most popular power plant to visit is Hellisheiðarvirkjun Geothermal Power Plant. Around 50,000 guests are forecast to visit the Geothermal Energy Exhibition at Hellisheiðarvirjun this year. Around 95 percent of guests are foreign, the largest number from the United Kingdom. The exhibition includes multimedia presentations about the harnessing of geothermal energy in Iceland. You can read more about Iceland's geothermal diversity here.