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What's the biggest factor determining the sound of your music: Recording, mixing or mastering?
The Audiophiliac interviews mastering engineer Dave McNair about who should get most of the credit for great sounding recordings, and his answer may surprise you.
Steve Guttenberg
Jan. 14, 2015 6:10 a.m. PT
Ex-movie theater projectionist Steve Guttenberg has also worked as a high-end audio salesman, and as a record producer. Steve currently reviews audio products for CNET and works as a freelance writer for Stereophile.
Dave McNair with some of his mastering tools. Chris Henderson
A lot of audiophiles believe that mastering plays an absolutely decisive role in the sound of recorded music. I'm not sure how this belief came to be, it shortchanges all of the other elements of record production. It's akin to saying a chef can save a poorly prepared meal by making the food look nice on the plate.
That's just my opinion, so I rang up a mastering engineer friend of mine, Dave McNair, and put the question to him, "What are the biggest factors determining the sound of recorded music?" Without hesitating he chuckled and said, "Mastering matters the least of anything in the entire process."
So I followed up with what matters most? McNair, "Mixing is the biggest thing, it can transform a reasonably good production." Even if the band's performances weren't stellar, and the recording sounded just passable, a very talented mix engineer can make the music sound great. McNair added that's the way it is now, back in the analog days the recording engineer's skills could make or break the sound of the final product. McNair again, "Recording analog is a total pain in the ass, you have to work really hard just to overcome the limitations of the medium."
More Audiophiliac
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Mastering engineer says the LP is the most accessible high-resolution music format
Why is the engineer who recorded Nirvana still using analog tape?
Up through the mid-to late 1980s the quality of the basic tracks was crucial because mixing tools were pretty limited -- there was equalization, compression and reverberation - that was it. In those days the recording engineers usually mixed the tunes. By the time automated consoles were introduced in the late 1980s mix engineers started to specialize.
Today's mixers can turn competent players into virtuosos; the engineer could, for example, create entirely new drum sounds that didn't exist during the recording sessions. Recording engineers no longer have to fret over getting just the right microphone for the vocals, because when the vocals are mixed they're going to be so massively manipulated, Auto Tuned, and spit out of a computer the quality of the original session tracks doesn't matter all that much.
McNair took a breath and said, "The best sounding recordings are the ones that have simple arrangements, well-played by the band in a great-sounding studio." In those cases the mixer's role is smaller, they just balance the tracks, add some nice reverb and you're done. If the sound was good to start with, and didn't require production tricks to help it along, the mix engineer will have less repair work to do. Taylor Swift and most pop music artists rely heavily on production to create their sound, the mix engineers make the magic happen.
When I asked McNair what are the "ingredients" of a great-sounding album, he said, "Starting with the most important, it's the songs, the musicians, the production, the mixer, the recording engineer, and in last place, the mastering." McNair's resume includes credits as a producer, mixer, recording and mastering engineer.
My take is great-sounding recordings have always been rare, but in 2015 the quality of the average rock album has gone way down, they are more compressed and crunchy sounding than ever before. I agree with McNair, and don't put the blame at the mastering engineers' feet, it's the total production that's responsible for the sound -- good or bad -- of music.
Dave McNair has worked with David Bowie, Beck, The Derek Trucks Band, Maroon 5, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Willie Nelson, Los Lobos, and many others.


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10 Engineering Stereotypes in Hollywood Movies | Engineer Calcs
10 Engineering Stereotypes in Hollywood Movies
January 5, 2023 May 12, 2021 by Engineer Calcs
Hollywood is rife with engineering stereotypes. Sometimes the depictions of engineers are outright wrong. But other times they're on point.
I'm going to go over the 10 most common engineering stereotypes Hollywood throws at us. I'll then discuss how accurate I think each is. You can then form your own conclusion and also get a good laugh.
#1 Instant product or device creation
The countdown to the end of the world begins. All the while, the tech doesn't exist to save the world from imminent doomsday. But lo and behold, there's a brilliant group of engineers standing by who race to the rescue. They all huddle into a dimly lit backroom filled with random junk. You then hear the banging of tools going to work, with a hammer pounding away. Coffee is also endlessly poured, keeping the engineers alert and energized.
Soon thereafter, the engineers reemerge with some ready-to-use insane invention. The entire engineering process didn't even take a week. The crazy thing is, these engineers make Elon Musk's bold timelines look tame.
But let's pump the breaks. The engineering process for new designs is a boatload of work. Heck, there's a deeply intertwined creative engineering process to just begin.
The brainstorming stage alone to come up with a design direction can take years. Then, throw in the timetable for the engineering design and development work. So quickly, it becomes clear how ridiculous movie timelines are.
#2 Expert in countless contrasting fields of study
An engineer is one-day solving differential equations on a chalkboard. Then the next thing you know, they're doing all of the following:
Playing politician
Single-handedly designing and developing the tech to combat global warming
Reverse engineering the biological effects of global warming on humans
To say this breadth of expertise is a stretch is the biggest understatement. Engineers aren't anywhere close to this flexible, in their abilities. Mastery of a single engineering subject alone takes many years. So, you don't have the time to master many diverse subjects at a peak level. Plus, your brain just doesn't have the processing power to pull this off.
It's only in movies where a single engineer wears countless hats. The engineer is a high-level designer by day and a global peacemaker by night.
#3 The one-person show
One engineer does everything from A through Z singlehandedly. For example, the U.S. President orders the development of a weather-fighting device. A single engineer then comes up with the design concept and manufactures the device. All the while, the engineer doesn't ask for any outside help. And frankly, there's no need. Because engineers are insanely brilliant and they're masters of all trades, right?…
Hopefully, you caught my sarcasm.
In real life, a single engineer never will do everything. Especially, when we're talking about working on bleeding-edge high-tech devices. In the real world, many different expert engineers need to collaborate together.
#4 Inventing in the garage
Decades ago, Bill Hewlett and David Packard founded HP in their garage. Ever since it has become sexy for Hollywood to show engineering work in garages.
Now, what's lost in translation are the products Bill and David worked on. Sure, their garage was a research lab and workshop. But their first product was an audio oscillator. Not a fusion reactor!
Yet, Hollywood shows engineers building all types of advanced tech in their garages. And these garages are by no means state-of-the-art. Rather, they're plain old vanilla garages found all over suburban America.
What's more, somehow, inside the garages are millions of dollars of advanced equipment. Also, let's not forget about all the following unexplained attributes of the garages:
High power requirements
Ventilation considerations
Cleaning and safety considerations
#5 Repairing unfamiliar tech in a jiffy
When you have the 'engineer' title, you can instantly repair everything, right? This is what Hollywood wants you to believe.
It's always amusing when the government hands an engineer an alien spacecraft. The engineer then does a little head-scratching with curiosity flooding their face. The next thing you know, the engineer is knee-deep into the spacecraft. They're taking things apart and playing with all the screens.
All the while, the engineer carefully puzzles together how everything precisely works. They do this without any documentation or manuals too. This is some serious wizardry going on!
In reality, engineers need documents to reverse engineer foreign equipment and devices. Unless the engineer has years of time to try to learn how something works.
On the same token, I'm always amused when people think I can fix everything. Yes, I'm an engineer, but I'm not an expert in taking apart all your home devices and fixing them for you.
#6 Instantly hacking into networks
Time ticks down with the fate of the world resting in the fingers of an engineer. Many action movies have an engineer staring deeply into a blue screen. And background music intensely blazes on as distressed onlookers stand by in fear. The following is the typical sequence of events:
The engineer calmly takes a seat and scopes out all the lines of code. You then see the cracking of knuckles before the intense hacking begins. After a few minutes with sweat pouring down the engineer's face, the job is suddenly done.
You then hear a huge sigh of relief from all the bystanders. The engineer has done the impossible of hacking into the national security system. Incredible, right?!
I actually find this all to be pretty gnarly, given how this all unfolds in a matter of minutes. What's even more amusing is how the engineer had no prior familiarity with the system. Yet, the system parameters are all somehow magically baked into the engineer's mind.
In reality, you need to spend months figuring out vulnerabilities in a network. Only then, you can hope to make even a dent in a system.
#7 Zero social skills
Most commonly, engineers have antisocial personalities in movies. They can't look people straight in the eyes, and they speak like robots. In other words, they're painfully awkward and strange in appearance.
I find this portrayal to be one of the most potent engineering stereotypes around. It has most definitely negatively shaped the public's perception of engineers.
In reality, though, many top engineers have great social skills. Because you need to be able to communicate and sell your ideas. To point out though, there are many great engineers who lack social skills. Because brilliance often has some connection with Asperger's syndrome.
So yes, there's some truth to this depiction no doubt. There are many introverted engineers. But, it's not a blanket stereotype for all engineers.
#8 Speaking technical gibberish
In movies, you'll often hear someone tell an engineer to speak in plain English. It's because the engineer is using all these big words to explain a complex technical subject.
In real life, most engineers have some level of social awareness. Especially, great engineers who've been around the block. So, they can read their audience and adjust their vocabulary accordingly. In return, their speaking won't sound foreign to everyday people.
For example, say a socially aware engineer speaks with a non-engineer. They'll strip out the complexities and speak in everyday English. Then, when they speak with other engineers, they'll ramp up the technical jargon. And the latter is how they problem-solve when discussing hairy technical details.
As the saying goes, if you can't explain something in simple words, then you don't understand it. Hollywood seems to forget this tiny tidbit.
#9 Encyclopedia of facts
Engineers are often walking encyclopedias according to Hollywood. You ask them anything, and like Rain Man, they spit the answer right back at you. Even detailed technical specs for foreign equipment, they know right off the bat.
What's more, they know every last detail in every discipline of engineering too. I'm talking about, electrical, mechanical, nuclear, petroleum, and so on and so forth.
I will say though, I've worked with some engineers with photographic memories. I'm talking about 10x engineers who'd blow your mind. You could ask them almost anything, and they'd give you a near-accurate response each time. But still, they don't know everything under the sun.
Let's face it, it's impossible to know everything. There's just too much to know. Yet, this is one of the engineering stereotypes the public clings to the hardest.
#10 Ability to instantly retrofit existing designs
We discover an alien piece of technology on Earth. An engineer then without hesitation sticks the newfound tech in his manmade invention. And forget about the absurdness of the instant reverse engineering of the alien tech.
For example, an engineer installs an alien spacecraft engine into a manmade jet craft. The jet then all of a sudden has 1000x the power and operates without a hitch. All the while, the other existing jet components aren't reviewed and retrofitted. Because it's common sense, all manmade jet parts can handle new alien engine tech…
In reality, reverse engineering foreign equipment without documentation can take years. Then throw in the fact, the tech is new to humans. So we probably wouldn't even understand the underlying physics at work.
Then not to forget, retrofitting our tech with alien tech is a ridiculous proposition. Without a doubt, our tech would be a bottleneck. Because if aliens can travel trillions of miles to us, then we'd be nothing more than dumb apes to them. Our tech would be child's play.
Engineering stereotypes in Hollywood movies wrap up
I'm not trying to knock Hollywood movies. Maybe just a little.
Overall though, I greatly enjoy the movies even when engineers aren't accurately portrayed. Heck, many times movie producers paint engineers as genius wizards. So I doubt any real engineer would complain in these instances. Until of course, a family member asks them to fix a faucet and they can't…
The truth is, extreme character roles are what make movies entertaining. And in the end, it's just amusing to pick apart engineering stereotypes and fallacies. Because engineers in the real world are for the most part nothing like in the movies. But it doesn't mean you can't have a good ole time with a bucket of popcorn at your side.
Which engineering stereotypes in movies rub you the wrong way the most (if any)? What's your favorite movie with an engineer who has a lead role?
11 Surefire Ways To Retain Engineering Talent
7 Must Know Engineering Resume Tips

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Should Other CEOs Follow Tesla's Musk and Open Their Patents?
Dale Buss
Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla Motors, has shaken up the auto industry again, this time by announcing that Tesla Motors will let other companies use its patents, in a move inspired by an open-source agenda. And he promised that Tesla wouldn't pursue lawsuits against any company that wants to use its technology "in good faith."
The move has raised questions. Why did Musk do it? What impact will it have? And, for other CEOs and business owners, is Musk doing something we should be taking a look at?
"As altruistic as that approach may be, it still creates victims out of companies that aren't innovating fast enough to keep up in an open environment."
Such an open-source approach has swept the computer-software industry, of course, as the attitude has prevailed that technology and the industry as a whole move ahead faster if the structure of innovation invites contributions from everyone and isn't restricted to patented corporate silos. But as altruistic as that approach may be, it still creates victims out of companies that aren't innovating fast enough to keep up in an open environment, such as Microsoft and IBM.
As BloombergBusinessweek pointed out, Sun Microsystems once opted to open-source all of its products, but that move came under different circumstances. The company was known for its pricey proprietary software and had fallen on hard times because of it, the magazine noted, so it was looking for new ways to create interest in its hardware and save the company.
Would an open-source declaration work for rivals in other verticals? Would CPG companies, for instance, benefit by throwing open the pantry doors to all of the patents covering their hard-won gains with better-for-you ingredients? CEOs and business owners would need a lot of persuasion on that point.
Dale Buss is a long-time contributor to Chief Executive, Forbes, The Wall Street Journal and other business publications. He lives in Michigan.
CEOs For The Future—When The Future Is Now
CEO of the Week: Nucor's Leon J. Topalian
Measuring The Real Employee Experience In A Time Of Crisis


Aluminium Foam Sandwich Panels - Wiley Online Library Aluminium Foam Sandwich Panels: Manufacture, Metallurgy and. Applications. By John Banhart,* Hans-Wolfgang Seeliger. 1. Introduction. Metal foam can be produced in a variety of shapes ranging from simple flat products to almost arbitrarily shaped compo- nents. Currently available processing technologies either gen-.
2012-04-26 - Sandwich panel buckling BWS between steel face sheet thickness and density of the foamed steel core. This work is part of a larger effort to help develop steel foam as a material with relevance to civil engineering applications. Keywords: steel foam, metal foam, sandwich panels, composite panels, local buckling, instability, compressive strength.
Thermal Buckling of Metal Foam Sandwich Panels for - AIAA ARC (2008) A Materials Selection Protocol for Lightweight Actively Cooled Panels. Journal of Applied Mechanics 75:6, 061022. Online publication date: 1-Jan-2008. Joseph F. Rakow, Anthony M. Waas. (2007) Response of Actively Cooled Metal Foam Sandwich Panels Exposed to Thermal Loading. AIAA Journal 45:2, 329-336.
Steel Foam Sandwich Panel - Alibaba Steel Foam Sandwich Panel, Wholesale Various High Quality Steel Foam Sandwich Panel Products from Global Steel Foam Sandwich Panel Suppliers and Steel Foam Sandwich Panel Factory,Importer,Exporter at Alibaba.com.


PGT-SR for structural rearragements consists in the examination of the embryo's genetic material for the presence of abnormal fragments or entire chromosomes involved in translocation.
It has to be stressed that carriers of chromosomal translocation are also exposed to higher risk of disorders in the number of other chromosomes, unrelated to chromosomes involved in translocation. It is recommended to complement the PGD TRS targeting the chromosomes involved in translocation with the comprehensive diagnosis for aneuploidies in all chromosomes – PGS NGS 360.
PGD TRS™ preimplantation testing allows examining the cells collected from embryos for the presence of abnormalities resulting from balanced reciprocal translocations in parents. This testing technique is adapted to the needs of a given patient.
Translocation means the movement of a fragment of genetic material from one chromosome to another. Most often, the altered arrangement of the genetic material on chromosomes is inherited from one of the parents.
In the case of balanced translocation, the genetic material is not lost or in excess, but only has altered location, e.g. fragments of two or more chromosomes change places, or chromosomes join each other. A carrier of a balanced translocation produces abnormal reproductive cells, thus preventing pregnancy, causing miscarriages or disease syndromes with chromosome abnormalities as the underlying cause.
Why is it worth to perform PGD TRS™?
Most reproductive cells of the translocation carrier are abnormal, which causes poorer prognosis for fertilisation and development of healthy children. PGD TRS allows selecting normal embryos, thus significantly reducing the risk of reproductive failure.
PGD TRS allows checking for the occurrence of a "de novo" abnormality of the genetic material number in the embryo.
Preimplantation diagnosis reduces the risk of miscarriages and increases chances for giving birth to a healthy child.
The first in the world use of NGS (Next Generation Sequencing) technology in the clinical practice in preimplantation diagnosis for translocations.
Figure 2. 32 possibilities of the genetic material distribution in the reproductive cells produced by the balanced translocation carrier.
Confirmed presence of a translocation in an individual trying for a child.
The test provides information on the status of chromosomes involved in translocation. The test does not determine the status of other chromosomes. The absence of lost or extra fragments in chromosomes involved in translocations does not exclude the presence of changes in the number or structure of other chromosomes. The probability of detecting derivative regions of translocations depends on the location of the points of breakage on chromosomes and on the size of regions being subject to translocation. The type of technique used in the test is determined depending on the individual situation of a given patient with confirmed translocation. Techniques other than NGS may be applied in the test if the patients' situation so requires. The NGS technique for this test has been validated for detecting genetic material losses or gains involving a fragment larger than 5 Mpz in the material constituting blastocyst cells. The reliability of this technique is lower in case of translocations where breakage regions are located near telomeres or centromeres.
PGD TRS™. Pre-implantation diagnosis for translocations.


У застосуванні до системи розподіленої генерації MicroGrid розглянуто задачу виявлення аномалій поведінки користувача. Задача вирішується із залученням методів машинного навчання (Machine Learning), зокрема, методу детектування аномалій (Anomaly Detection). В якості ключових параметрів для найпростішого випадку задачі виявлення аномальної поведінки розглянуто усереднене електроспоживання за п'ятихвилинні проміжки часу, а також кількість спрацювань датчика руху, встановленого у приміщенні MicroGrid.
Бібл. 12, рис. 4, табл. 2.
T. M. Baziuk, I. V. Blinovv, O. F. Butkevich, I. S. Honcharenko, S. P. Denysiuk, and et. al., Intelektualʹni elektrychni merezhi: elementy ta rezhymy [Intelligent Electric Networks: Elements and Modes]. Kyiv, Ukraine: The National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine The Institute of Electrodynamics, 2016, ISBN: 978-966-02-7913-1.
D. Q. Oliveira, A. C. Zambroni de Souza, A. B. Almeida, M. V. Santos, B. I. L. Lopes, and D. Marujo, "Microgrid management in emergency scenarios for smart electrical energy usage," in 2015 IEEE Eindhoven PowerTech, 2015, pp. 1–6, DOI: 10.1109/PTC.2015.7232309.
J. Yamnenko, T. Tereshchenko, L. Klepach, and D. Palii, "Forecasting of electricity consumption in SmartGrid," in 2017 International Conference on Modern Electrical and Energy Systems (MEES), 2017, pp. 208–211, DOI: 10.1109/MEES.2017.8248891.
S. Singh and N. Singh, "Big Data analytics," in 2012 International Conference on Communication, Information & Computing Technology (ICCICT), 2012, pp. 1–4, DOI: 10.1109/ICCICT.2012.6398180.
A. Gulenko, M. Wallschlager, F. Schmidt, O. Kao, and F. Liu, "Evaluating machine learning algorithms for anomaly detection in clouds," in 2016 IEEE International Conference on Big Data (Big Data), 2016, pp. 2716–2721, DOI: 10.1109/BigData.2016.7840917.
Xueqin Zhang, Chunhua Gu, and Jiajun Lin, "Support Vector Machines for Anomaly Detection," in 2006 6th World Congress on Intelligent Control and Automation, 2006, pp. 2594–2598, DOI: 10.1109/WCICA.2006.1712831.
Y. S. Yamnenko and T. O. Tereshchenko, "Spectral methods for processing biotelemetrical data," Electron. Commun., vol. 21, no. 4, pp. 38–43, Nov. 2016, DOI: 10.20535/2312-1807.2016.21.4.81904.
X. Song, M. Wu, C. Jermaine, and S. Ranka, "Conditional Anomaly Detection," IEEE Trans. Knowl. Data Eng., vol. 19, no. 5, pp. 631–645, 2007, DOI: 10.1109/TKDE.2007.1009.
H. M. Abdullah and A. M. Zeki, "Frontend and Backend Web Technologies in Social Networking Sites: Facebook as an Example," in 2014 3rd International Conference on Advanced Computer Science Applications and Technologies, 2014, pp. 85–89, DOI: 10.1109/ACSAT.2014.22.
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Copyright (c) 2018 Комаревич О. М., Хохлов Ю. В., Ямненко Ю. С.


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Stordriftsnackdel är motsatsen till begreppet stordriftsfördel. Precis som ökad stordrift i form av t.ex. sammanslagningar av företag kan medföra ekonomiska fördelar så kan det även medföra nackdelar. Om stordriftsfördelar definieras finnas om genomsnittskostnaden per producerad enhet (med enhet menas en produkt, en vara eller en tjänst) minskar med ökad kvantitet, kan stordriftsnackdelar sägas finnas när genomsnittskostnaden per producerad enhet ökar med ökad kvantitet.

Stordriftsnackdelar kan uppstå av olika skäl, men kan  t.ex. bero på att den större organisationen blev mer svåröverblickbar och svårstyrd med högre krav på administration och mer komplicerad intern och extern kommunikation och längre beslutsvägar, jämfört med inom den tidigare mindre organisationen, något som kan göra att graden av effektivitet minskar i den större organisationen.

Av naturliga skäl framhålls ofta stordriftsfördelarna i ett tidigt skede av en företagssammanslagning, för om så inte hade gjorts skulle sammanslagningen kanske inte ha genomförts. För olika verksamheter är sambandet mellan effektivitet och kvantitet eller storlek dock olika tydlig. Riskerna för stordriftsnackdelar ägnas sällan uppmärksamhet i samma utsträckning som möjligheterna till stordriftsfördelar. Dock finns det många exempel på företagssammanslagningar som inte har fallit så väl ut som planerat likväl som många teorier om varför stordrift i vissa fall inte fungerar så bra som det hade framställts eller visade sig svårare än det verkade, till exempel att det kan bero på att de som gynnas av sammanslagningarna vill framhäva fördelarna och tona ner nackdelarna.

Se även
Parkinsons lag om ineffektivitet i statliga institutioner och storföretag
Peters princip om inkompetens i stora organisationer

Referenser

Mikroekonomi
Industri
Arbetsliv
Marknadsmisslyckanden

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\section{Introduction}
    Neural networks have been hugely popular in recent years due to their high applicability to a wide range of cutting edge fields including but not limited to image processing, approximation, classification, automation, and mathematics. Popular network classes such as convolutional neural networks (CNNs) and deep neural networks (DNNs) achieve exceptional performance on these tasks, but come with trade-offs like expensive computational and memory demand in CNNs, and over-parameterization and computational waste in DNNs \cite{b0}\cite{b1}. Solutions addressing these issues have included introducing sparsity to networks \cite{b2}\cite{b4}, quantizing weights and activations to use smaller bit-widths \cite{b5}\cite{b6}, and using specialized hardware such as large customized ASICs or GPUs to accelerate the calculations\cite{b7}\cite{b8}. While these powerful targeted hardware architectures are effective as accelerators to carry out intense computational demands of large networks, they are not well suited for emerging applications of AI in constrained domains such as the mobile field due to their large size, high power consumption, and massive memory requirements.

    One proposed class of networks to alleviate the traditionally high computational demand of neural networks are binarized neural networks (BNNs) \cite{b10}. With BNNs, weights and activations are constrained to either -1 or +1, significantly reducing the computation complexity of inference and lowering the needed memory to store weights. Despite these benefits, BNNs are still able to achieve impressive performance results \cite{b11}, making them a promising candidate for applications demanding a low memory footprint and reduced power consumption.

    Existing works on BNNs have found that in order to maintain results comparable to higher precision networks, the first and last layers must be kept at a high precision, as these layers are associated with the inputs and output of the network \cite{b9}. Meanwhile, the hidden layers are able to be binarized with a near negligible performance reduction. For a hardware designer looking to implement an accelerator for such networks, this presents a fascinating challenge of how to best design an architecture that can effectively handle both high precision and binary data types and operations.

\subsection{Contributions}

   In this paper, we introduce a novel Binary-Enabled Architecture for Neural Network Acceleration (BEANNA), a hardware accelerator capable of processing both high precision and binary network layers. For our high precision data type, we chose bfloat16 (Brain Floating Point), with 8 exponent bits and 8 significand bits, due to its large dynamic range and simplified computational complexity compared to fp32. At the core of BEANNA is a 16x16 systolic array based matrix multiplier. When operating in binary mode, each of the 256 processing elements (PEs) of the array can compute the partial sum result of 16 binarized input activations and weights, allowing the array to effectively act as a 256x16 systolic array for processing binary layers.

    Running at a clock speed of 100MHz on a Xilinx FPGA evaluation board, BEANNA is able to achieve a peak throughput of 52.8 GigaOps/second when operating in high precision mode, and 820 GigaOps/second when operating in binary mode. When comparing a hybrid network with binarized hidden layers to a network with only floating point layers, the hybrid network accelerated using BEANNA achieved a 194\% throughput increase, a 68\% memory usage decrease, and a 66\% energy consumption decrease per inference, all of this at the cost of a mere 0.23\% classification accuracy decrease on the MNIST dataset.
\subsection{Outline}

    The organization of this paper is as follows: Section 2 provides background on BNNs, systolic arrays, and bfloat16. Section 3 details the methods for network training and overviews the hardware architecture. Sections 4 presents and evaluates the results for BEANNA. Lastly, section 5 concludes.
\section{Background}

\subsection{Binarized Neural Networks}
Neural network computations are composed of many inner product calculations. A variety of numerical representations can be used for these computations, including floating point, half-precision floating point, 16-bit fixed point, and 8-bit fixed point. There is even existing work researching the usage of variable-bit fixed point calculations based on the dynamic range requirements of network layers \cite{b14}.

An inner product computation involving a weights vector $W$ and an input activations vector $I$, each of size $N$, requires $N$ total multiplications and $N-1$ total additions. For hardware implementations of neural networks, the complicated multiplication units required for the inner products and the large amounts of weight memory are costly. For that reason, much research has gone into methods of reducing the number of multiplications and memory usage in neural network inference.

Binary neural networks allow for input activations or weights to be expressed using a single bit, representing either -1 or +1. In the case of both binary weights and binary activations, a multiplication is simply an XNOR, and an inner product result $s$ can be computed as:

\begin{equation}
    s = sgn(W) \oplus sgn(I)
\end{equation}

Here, the $\oplus$ refers to an XNOR and popcount operation between vectors with single-bit elements. This simplification reduces the original multiplications and additions to simply $N$ XNORs and an $N$-bit popcount. Additionally, during inference only the bit vector $sgn(W)$ needs to be stored for weights, so the necessary weight memory decreases by a factor of the original higher precision weight bit-width.

Courbariaux et al. showed that binarized neural networks with weights and activations constrained to -1 or +1 can achieve phenomenal performance results \cite{b9}. To train such networks, high precision weight values $W$ are binarized for inner product computations during a forward pass. For a backwards pass, the gradient of $W$ is estimated:

\begin{equation}
    \frac{\partial L}{\partial W} \approx \frac{\partial L}{\partial (sgn(W))} = \frac{\partial L}{\partial s} \frac{\partial s}{\partial (sgn(W))} = \frac{\partial L}{\partial s} sgn(I)
\end{equation}

The high precision $W$ values are updated with these gradients, and are clipped to fall between -1 and 1 to prevent them from growing very large without affecting the binarized weights.

\subsection{Systolic Arrays}

The key mechanism used by BEANNA to perform the intensive computations required by a neural network is a systolic array matrix multiply unit. A systolic array is a homogeneous hardware structure composed of a grid of PEs that allow for highly parallelized and efficient computations. In this system, data will flow from memory and pass through consecutive PEs that perform iterative calculations before returning the results back to memory. The structure can be 1D like a simple pipeline, 2D like a grid, or an even higher dimension--as long as there is parallelism to take advantage of. While this architecture has many applications, a major use today is to accelerate neural networks; The highly repetitive multiply-add and accumulates needed in the inference phase can be exploited by the dataflow circulation of a systolic array processor. Section 3C covers the structure and PE design of the systolic array in BEANNA.

\subsection{Brain Floating Point}
\begin{figure}[h]
    \includegraphics[width=0.47\textwidth]{"bf16.png"}
    \caption{Bfloat16 vs IEEE standard data types}
\end{figure}
While neural networks can use a wide variety of data types to hold their values, some work much better than others. Google's TPU cloud accelerators \cite{b13} use a custom floating point format called bfloat16, composed of a sign bit, 8 exponent bits, and 7 mantissa bits. This  modification on the half-precision fp16 format allows for the dynamic range of fp32 at a much smaller physical multiplier size. This is since the multiplier size scales quadratically with the size of the mantissa, so using bfloat16 not only allows for a larger range than fp16, but also a smaller physical size of the hardware multiplier. Because of these benefits, the bfloat16 data type was chosen as the format for the high precision layers executed on BEANNA.

\section{Methods}
This section details the specifications of the design and the methods by which we implemented BEANNA. The neural networks were first tested and trained with PyTorch. Afterwards, the hardware architecture was coded in SystemVerilog, followed by simulation, synthesis, and implementation using Xilinx's Vivado for a Zynq Ultrascale+ MPSoC ZCU106 FPGA.
\subsection{Training}
The neural network training for BEANNA was done on the MNIST dataset using custom PyTorch layers. The network configuration of choice was a fully-connected network of 784 input neurons, 10 output neurons, and 3 hidden layers each composed of 1024 neurons. The weights and activations of the input and output layers were floating point, while for the hybrid network the hidden layers converted their weights and activations to binary.

For the output of each layer, a hardtanh activation function was applied, followed by a batch normalization layer.

\begin{equation}
\text{hardtanh}(x) =
\left\{
\begin{array}{ll}
      -1 & x < -1 \\
      x & -1 \leq x \leq 1 \\
      1 & x > 1\\
\end{array}
\right.
\end{equation}

We trained both a fully floating point and a hybrid network over 100 epochs.
\begin{figure}[h]
    \includegraphics[width=0.46\textwidth]{"training-5.pdf"}
    \caption{Network training accuracy progression}
\end{figure}

As shown in Figure 2, both the the fully floating point network and the hybrid binary network with the floating point edge layers improve in  accuracy  rapidly  in  the  early  epochs  of  training, and then slowly reach asymptotic max accuracies after around  50  epochs. The fully floating point network reached a final test set classification accuracy of 98.19\% and the binary network reached an accuracy of 97.96\%, a difference of 0.23\%.

\subsection{Hardware Overview}
BEANNA is a reconfigurable neural network accelerator designed for high inference throughput, a low memory footprint, and low energy usage by utilizing hidden layers of binary weights and activations. The primary mechanism by which it performs its computations is the systolic array based matrix multiply unit at its core. The top level overview of the hardware architecture is shown in Figure 3.

\begin{figure}[h]
    \includegraphics[width=0.48\textwidth]{"bnn.png"}
    \caption{High level overview of BEANNA architecture}
\end{figure}

The architecture is composed of a main control module, Block RAMs (BRAMs) for holding activations, weights, and partial sums, direct memory access (DMA) controllers for moving data, and a systolic array based matrix multiply unit. The control module, shown at the top of Figure 3, utilizes an Advanced eXtensible Interface(AXI4)-Lite interface to communicate with software or a external hardware controller. It communicates with three DMA controllers which move the weights, activations, and partial sums throughout the design. DMA controller 0, shown in the top left of the design, is responsible for reading the trained weights and first layer activations from off-chip memory. It also writes the final results of the inference back to off-chip memory. DMA controller 1 moves the weights from the weights BRAMs into the systolic array at the beginning of each matrix multiply. DMA controller 2 reads a layer's output activations and updates the activations BRAM with the newly calculated results.

\subsection{Matrix Multiply Systolic Array}

In the systolic array for BEANNA, shown in Figure 4, the input activations flow horizontally to the right, with activations of a single batch flowing on different rows staggered by one column. The partial sums move downwards as they get accumulated in each consecutive PE until they eventually reach the partial sum accumulator BRAMs at the bottom. From there, the results are continuously accumulated as the system performs a block matrix multiplication, meaning it sums together the multiplication results of submatrices that can fit in the 16x16 systolic array. After the full multiplication is complete, the results get written back into the activations BRAM on the left after an activation function and normalization are applied.

\begin{figure}[h]
    \includegraphics[width=0.46\textwidth]{"systolic.png"}
    \caption{Overview of matrix multiply systolic array configuration}
\end{figure}

Figure 5. shows the design of an individual BEANNA PE. It contains two computation modules, both of which perform a multiply add on their respective data types. The multiplier for the binary module is just an element-wise 16-bit XNOR. The modules multiply together the input activation and weight values, then add the product to the input partial sum. The outputs of the computations are then muxed by a control signal, which determines the result to select depending on whether the systolic array is operating in binary mode or high precision mode. As an optimization, the control also ties off the inputs of the unused computation unit to minimize unnecessary switching power usage. The resulting partial sum is passed downwards to the PE below it, while the input activation is passed rightwards to the next PE in the row.

\begin{figure}[h]
    \includegraphics[width=0.49\textwidth]{"pe.png"}
    \caption{Processing element (PE) in systolic array for bfloat16 and binary data types}
\end{figure}

 \subsection{Dataflow}
 The procedure for a single inference run by BEANNA is as follows.
 \begin{enumerate}
\item Software or hardware passes instructions to a main controller through the AXI4 Lite interface.
\item DMA controller 0 reads from off-chip memory and writes activations into the activations BRAMs.
\item DMA controller 0 reads from off-chip memory and writes weights into the weights BRAM.
\item DMA controller 1 transfers weights from the weights BRAM to the systolic array.
\item The systolic array's operation mode is set to either high precision or binary, depending on the layer type.
\item Computation begins, with activations flowing to the right in the systolic array, and the partial sums flowing downwards.
\item Values flow out from the bottom of the systolic array into the partial sums accumulators.
\item Return to 3) or 4) until the block matrix multiply is complete.
\item DMA controller 2 moves values from the partial sums accumulators through activation and normalization units, then back into the activation BRAMs.
\item Return to 3) until all the network layers are complete.
\item DMA controller 0 reads from the activations BRAMs and writes the inference results to off-chip memory.
\end{enumerate}

\section{Results}
To analyze performance, we compared a fully floating point neural network run on a hardware architecture with no binary capabilities to a hybrid neural network accelerated using BEANNA. Both networks used the same layers sizes of 784, 1024, 1024, 1024, and 10, trained on the MNIST dataset as described in Section 3A. Both networks were also run with a batch size of 1 and 256 to simulate single and batched inference.

\begin{table}[h]
\begin{center}
\caption{Performance and Speed}
\begin{tabular}{|l|l|l|l|l|}
\hline
Parameter & Floating Point Only & BEANNA \\ \hline
Testset Accuracy            &  98.19\%    &  97.96\%     \\ \hline
Inferences/second--Batch 1            &  138.42 &  409.13 \\ \hline
Inferences/second--Batch 256  &  6928.08  &    20337.60 \\ \hline
Timing (100MHz)             &  Passed    &    Passed    \\ \hline
\end{tabular}
\end{center}
\end{table}

From Table 1 above, the hybrid network accelerated by BEANNA had much faster inference times than the floating point network by about 3x for both batch sizes of 1 and 256. This is enabled by the larger systolic array size of 256x16 when processing binary layers. The difference in performance between the two batch sizes demonstrates the strengths of the systolic array architecture, as consecutive inferences can be pipelined through the hardware, resulting in a much higher average throughput. The fastest performing configuration was the batch-size 256 hybrid network, reaching a speed of over 20,000 inferences per second.

\begin{table}[h]
\begin{center}
\caption{Memory and Hardware Utilization}
\begin{tabular}{|l|l|l|l|l|l|}
\hline
 Parameter & Floating Point Only & BEANNA \\ \hline
LUTs           &    89,838       &     102,297   \\ \hline
FFs          &    25,636       &     25,615    \\ \hline
BRAMs          &    71.5         &     71.5      \\ \hline
DSP Slices    &    256          &     256       \\ \hline
Memory Usage  &    5,820,416 bytes    &     1,888,256 bytes \\ \hline
\end{tabular}
\end{center}
\end{table}

Table 2 shows the memory and hardware utilization of a base floating point only accelerator and the BEANNA architecture. Here we see that both architectures utilize a similar amount of hardware, but with one key difference--BEANNA enables the use of binary hidden layers, and thus is able to use 3x less off-chip memory than the floating point network; This improvement stems from the inherent nature of 1-bit weights requiring significantly less storage space than 16-bit bfloat16 weights. Also note that the addition of the binary hardware for BEANNA results in only a very small increase in LUT usage, as the binary logic is fundamentally very hardware efficient.

\begin{table}[h]
\begin{center}
\caption{Power Consumption (Batch 256)}
\begin{tabular}{|l|l|l|l|l|l|}
\hline
\\ \hline
 Parameter & Floating Point Only & BEANNA \\ \hline
Total Power              &    2.135 W    &  2.150 W            \\ \hline
Static Power             &    0.600 W     &   0.600 W      \\ \hline
Dynamic Power            &   1.535 W     &    1.550 W   \\ \hline
Single Inference Energy         &     0.3082 mJ    &   0.1057mJ  \\ \hline
\end{tabular}
\end{center}
\end{table}

Lastly, we looked at the power results post implementation using the Vivado Power Estimator (XPE) for Optimization and Analysis. This provided us with a general idea of how much power is consumed during normal operation. The two architectures were tested by running inference on random data. Due to BEANNA's extra binary hardware, it consumed 0.015W more power than the floating point only architecture. However, since the hybrid network had much higher inference speeds, it resulted in much lower energy costs per inference. The fully floating point network required 0.3082mJ to compute a single inference, whereas the hybrid network used a third of that amount at 0.1057mJ, demonstrating BEANNA's suitability in the lower power domains like mobile devices.

It is also important to note that while Vivado and the FPGA make a fair amount of layout optimizations, designing a custom ASIC for BEANNA would result significant improvements in speed and power due to its higher degree of specificity. The next steps for BEANNA involve designing and synthesizing an ASIC to get the most high performance benchmarks for this architecture.

\section{Conclusion}
    In this paper, we propose BEANNA, a domain-specific architecture that presents a novel systolic array based matrix multiply unit that can perform both floating point and binary calculations throughout all its PEs. BEANNA is designed to be a versatile accelerator architecture that would fit the mobile and embedded systems paradigm, as it is unique in that it supports mixed layer neural network configurations of both binary and floating point layers. When a hybrid network with floating point outer layers and binary hidden layers was implemented and tested on BEANNA, it demonstrated a speedup of 3x compared to a fully floating point network, at the expense of a 0.23\% loss in accuracy on the MNIST dataset. BEANNA also outperformed the floating point network in memory and energy usage, requiring only a third of the amount of memory and a third of the total energy per inference. Overall, BEANNA--and binary neural networks in general--prove to be a promising solution to address the challenges of designing a neural network accelerator for low power, low memory, and high throughput use cases.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaArXiv


The release of Google's Penguin as an update to the algorithm of causing quite the stir for SEOs all over the world. It was thought that the use of blog commenting as a link building Strategy had lost its value. In this article, we will look at how commenting remains to be of incredible importance and how you can still exceedingly l benefit from it. Here are the dos and don'ts of commenting in lieu of the Penguin algorithm update.
The act of posting comments on a blog that are insightful and directly relevant to the topic has always been a good way of inviting good rankings into your own site. When you engage the owner of the blog through discussions in the comment section, you are opening a can of butterflies! These are doors opened that will eventually lead to your own success. The insightful ideas and feedback that you generously provide will add value to the owner while at the same time benefiting you as well. This may also open up opportunities for meeting other readers which will of course increase your reach in building links. Remember, providing valuable and stimulating comments will spark an interest in you to other readers, and this interest in you will eventually lead to an interest in your own blog.
Commenting on topics that you are not entirely familiar about is not necessarily a bad thing. However, it is really more beneficial if you will engage through comments the blog author, and any other fellow reader on topics that you are familiar with. By engaging in discussions on topics that you are knowledgeable about you are labeling yourself as a good foundation of new ideas and also a good source of feedback.
It isn't really necessary to comment three hundred times a day; most people might actually even find that pretty extreme. Google's algorithm might tag your actions as suspicious and that is never a good situation to be in. In fact, contrary to being an extreme commuter, you might find that doing it in a more "natural" way to be more beneficial. It will practically be impossible to create comments of value if you're dishing them out by the hundreds each day. Keep in mind that comments with value will show others that you have something decent to share, and they might just be interested in knowing more about you and click on your links.
Be on the lookout for blogs and websites that are similar or somewhat related to your own. A simple search and a little research will get you tons of results. Once you find these blogs you must interact with them. Give them a buzz on the comments section just to let them know that you took an interest in them. More than likely, the owners of these blogs will respond, you can then take this as an opportunity to engage in discussions. Comments made by you that are read by the audience of another author, will increase the span of your reach. Being that these blog are of similar interests to yours, it is only natural for it to have viewers that are also into the same interest; this is a very good vantage to gain sight of your opportunities to rise in the rankings increase!
It's a really great feeling when we get to make new friends by just being active in the comments section; it feels even grander when our traffic increases because of this. A good way to keep traffic flowing into your blog is to keep in touch with blogs that you have made connections from. Chances are these people will get fond of you and be avid followers of your own blog.
1. Don't comment when you don't have something valuable to share.
Giving out comments just for the sake of increasing your rankings will only disappoint you and probably even annoy other readers, not to mention the blog owner thus decreasing your value as a blogger and a link builder.
2. Don't comment just to build links.
Yes we are all worried about whether our likes will be followed but this should not be your basis on commenting. This will not really increase your rankings. In fact, it might even do the opposite. Posting comments without any real value attached to it might annoy blog owners and other readers.
3. Do not spam comments to increase follow ups on your links; most people will label you as a spammer and will avoid you. Evasion is the last thing we need!
Google penguin has made link building a more applied process, meaning it needs all the attention you can give. Reliance on SEO tools is no longer very effective. In order to stay in the game you have to be more personally active by doing stuff manually. This is why the value of comments is as crucial a factor as ever. Now shall we practice by leaving a comment below? Have fun!


The issue introduces key facts about ReNewTwon current implementation and is also a platform for discussion on urban regeneration problems reaching beyond the project's own case studies research. The fourth issue presents, among others, a bottom-up initiative, the aim of which is the to 'defeat the ugliness of post-communist public space in Poland' and ReNewTown pilot action which aims to create a museum of socialist curiosities in Hnusta (Slovakia).
The meeting in Karlsruhe was held under the motto 'Urban Regeneration through Bonding'. The seminar discussed issues related to forms, advantages and limits of citizens' participation in urban regeneration projects. During the seminar, external experts presented the results of already implemented projects, which included the involvement of citizens in urban regeneration processes.
The Museum of socialist curiosities in Hnusta is an initiative of the Agency for Development of Gemer Region and one of four pilot actions realized within the ReNewTown project. We seek to find a model of developing new and innovative functions of public buildings constructed in the socialist era, as well of increasing the cultural and social offer in districts with socialist burden.
We present the, 'Mass Movement' bottom-up initiative which aims to 'defeat the ugliness of post-socialist public space in Poland' i.e. the gloomy, socialist housing estates and kitsch motley tower blocks.
We present the profile and role within the ReNewTown project Institute for Technology Assessment and Systems Analysis (ITAS) located in Karlsruhe, Germany.
The creation of databases on good practices, initiatives and experts in the field of regeneration urban areas built during the socialist period are one of the key results of the ReNewTwon project. The 'project in brief' section presents the project's time plan, partnership, budget and contact information.


Our very busy Public Relations Unit oversees organising meetings, seminars, workshops, celebrations, conferences, and many official visits and functions.
The Unit ensures the maximum media coverage of JNRCS' work, by coordinating media releases, inviting press to events, and ensuring social media is updated with our activities.
An important part of this role is the dissemination of the concepts of International Humanitarian Law (IHL). The Public Relations and Media Unit organises lectures where the importance of IHL in the activities of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement are disseminated. Read more about IHL here.
The Unit is additionally responsible for Secretarial functions of the Jordan National Red Crescent Society. This includes support for the Central Executive Committee, documenting and publishing reports, and preparing official documentation.
Any media requests can be directed to info@jnrcs.org.


Made of genuine brass. Bright brass receiver, buttplate and barrel band. Straight grip American walnut stock. Fully adjustable Marble semi-buckhorn rear white diamond insert and brass beaded front sight. Side ejection. Octagon barrel with 1:38 twist.
Specific Caliber: .357 Mag./.38 Spl.


text:
Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practice
Home > Senior DVC and DVC (Education) > JUTLP > Vol. 15 (2018)
Research Skill Development spanning Higher Education: Curricula, critiques and connections
Satisfying Many Masters: Teaching into Professional Degrees in the 21st Century
Advancing Non-placement Work-integrated Learning Across the Degree
Becoming Well Read: Charting the complexities of academic reading and navigating the reading journeys of undergraduate and postgraduate students
Technology-enhanced academic language support (TALS)
All Issues Vol. 18, Iss. 1 Vol. 17, Iss. 5 Vol. 17, Iss. 4 Vol. 17, Iss. 3 Vol. 17, Iss. 2 Vol. 17, Iss. 1 Vol. 16, Iss. 5 Vol. 16, Iss. 4 Vol. 16, Iss. 3 Vol. 16, Iss. 2 Vol. 16, Iss. 1 Vol. 15, Iss. 5 Vol. 15, Iss. 4 Vol. 15, Iss. 3 Vol. 15, Iss. 2 Vol. 15, Iss. 1 Vol. 14, Iss. 3 Vol. 14, Iss. 2 Vol. 14, Iss. 1 Vol. 13, Iss. 5 Vol. 13, Iss. 4 Vol. 13, Iss. 3 Vol. 13, Iss. 2 Vol. 13, Iss. 1 Vol. 12, Iss. 4 Vol. 12, Iss. 3 Vol. 12, Iss. 2 Vol. 12, Iss. 1 Vol. 11, Iss. 3 Vol. 11, Iss. 2 Vol. 11, Iss. 1 Vol. 10, Iss. 3 Vol. 10, Iss. 2 Vol. 10, Iss. 1 Vol. 9, Iss. 3 Vol. 9, Iss. 2 Vol. 9, Iss. 1 Vol. 8, Iss. 3 Vol. 8, Iss. 2 Vol. 8, Iss. 1 Vol. 7, Iss. 2 Vol. 7, Iss. 1 Vol. 6, Iss. 2 Vol. 6, Iss. 1 Vol. 5, Iss. 2 Vol. 5, Iss. 1 Vol. 4, Iss. 2 Vol. 4, Iss. 1 Vol. 3, Iss. 2 Vol. 3, Iss. 1 Vol. 2, Iss. 3 Vol. 2, Iss. 2 Vol. 2, Iss. 1 Vol. 1, Iss. 2 Vol. 1, Iss. 1
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Born in Bulgaria, spent the last 7 years moving around in Europe with my lovely Italian husband, Roberto.
We met in Budapest, Hungary while I was doing a specialisation in Hungarian language and culture. Then we moved to Milan, Italy where we spent almost three years getting an espresso in the bar and enjoying a really good pizza.
In the beginning 2015 we moved to the City of Lights, Paris – getting a baguette from the boulangerie on the corner and watching the Eiffel Tower from our living room.
After two years, this February we decided to exchange the Parisian cityscape for sunny East Bay, California.
In September 2017 we also became parents to a baby boy Andrea, who fill our hearts with joy every day!
List of favourite photographers include Robert Mapplethorpe, Annie Leibovitz, Peter Lindbergh; classics like Newton, Kertesz, Capa, Bresson and one of the most inspirational – Gianni Berengo Gardin.
Whenever I go I take a camera with me. I am taking pictures with Panasonic Lumix GH5 or Lumix GX7 with 14mm/F2.5 pancake lens or 35-100mm/F2.8; very occasionally I am using the original camera lens or 45-200/4.5. Since two months I am also going around everywhere with a tiny Sony RX100 iv – a great everyday companion.
Editing with Lightroom and Photoshop CC.
Some light years ago you wrote me a message wishing me all the best for the summer in Italy with my father. Some years later Italy takes an important role in your life. Things change. Wish you all the best. "Von Brescia nach Brescia". E.M.Remarque.
So niiiiice to hear from you!
Life is really an unpredictable journey and I believe more and less we are those who navigate the major part, but sometimes I also cannot believe I have my life in Italy now.
Thanks for finding me. I have fallen in love with your blog at first sight. You are a talented photographer. I follow very gladly.


It can get pretty tough being a dancer—especially when dealing with fatigue. Calluses, blisters, body pains, painful joints—these are parts of who we are, things we embrace; and more often than not, we refuse to say goodbye to them. All results of hard work and intense training, they somehow make us feel stronger, as if our feet and bodies are made of iron, unyielding in the dance floor. A full-body massage is something I always crave for, yet tend to stay away from during competition season. I lose the tightness and the toned muscles I worked hard for after a pampering session, and the next day I step into the studio, I feel like jelly all over again.
But once in a while, you need to treat yourself—or take a break from usual routine. Personally, I think of it as a reward—a rather short-lived one because usually, all it takes is one day to go "back to normal". That's why when Karl of TuristaTrails.com invited me to check out Soneva Spa in Quezon City, I gladly obliged. The midyear competition was over—talk about perfect timing!
Soneva Spa was a bit challenging to locate, being situated at the top floor of a rather old building along Tomas Morato, but once inside, I was instantly transported to a relaxing haven. Greens and browns dominate the space, reflecting the nature of the spa: an organic spa. In fact, the only one of its kind in Quezon City. This means that only natural, eco-friendly, and non-toxic scrubs, lotions, and oils are used.
I was served some jasmine tea while I waited for my friend in the lobby. The small reception has a few tables, a shelf display for their products, a TV, and a wall boasting of a framed photo from a pageant. Apparently, Soneva has been a partner of Ms. Earth since 2006.
When my friend arrived, we were ushered to a dimly-lit Couple Room that had two beds and a cabinet for our stuff, relaxing background music included. Two therapists entered, carrying equipment. I changed out of my clothes and into the spa garments and lay face down, excited.
I chose the Soneva Elemental Jade Stone Massage (PhP1,217/1.5hours), which started with a Traditional Hilot, followed by a therapeutic massage using real jade stones. Heated jade stones were positioned on selected areas on my back. The warm feeling would surprise you at first, but eventually it becomes more and more soothing.
Jade is believed to promote relaxation and vigor as it releases toxins and eases inflammations—and true enough, I felt so light and vibrant after the massage. I couldn't explain it. Like all the grogginess in my body got siphoned by those stones!
Part three was a foot-and-leg massage which sent me to orgasmic realms. Sorry for the term, but my eyes were practically rolling out of the sockets (my innuendo is innocent, promise—everything here is legit). But the therapist was so skillful at it; all the tight muscles in my legs and feet were targeted mercilessly, and relieved of their pains!
My friend tried the Hilot with Foot Reflexology (PhP816/1.5hours), and out of the corner of my eye, I saw her doze off totally a couple of times. She said the foot massage was unlike anything she has ever experienced.
I may not be as frequent in spas as some of you are (how I wish I could go weekly or even twice a month), but I've tried a lot of the more affordable spas and they were simply no match for this. My experience at Soneva was one of a kind, something my worn-out, tired body has become attached to, and something it would definitely want to try again!
The price point may be a little on the steep side, but this is your body we're talking about here. Soneva charges you for using safe products and for being handled by well-trained and highly skilled therapists, so I think this is reasonable. The spa also offers other facial and body treatments, so the next time you're looking for the ultimate pampering session, drive over to Soneva Spa in QC and allow them to take you to ... ummm, ecstasy.
Where do you usually go for massages? Have you tried Soneva Spa?
Our visit was sponsored by Soneva Spa. All opinions, however, are my own.


Any suggestions on Hawaii island hopping budget accomidation options?
I am staying for 6night and would like to stay on a few different islands, a night or two on each.
Planning a Kauai wedding or Hawaii wedding can be quite simple from afar if you just follow some simple guidelines. It's important to follow most of these steps in order to save yourself and others a lot of time and hassle:1 Choose your island. There's no point in finding out prices for weddings on Oahu when really you want to get married on a less densely populated island.2 Choose your wedding planner. There are many ways to go about this but the most important thing is how you feel talking to the coordinator. Check your stomach, your nerves. Do you feel comfortable or nervous? If you feel relaxed and/or excited you have found your wedding coordinator! You will spend a lot of time dealing with this person and you do not want to feel in any way awkward with them. If you get a sense that you are asking too many questions you have NOT found the right coordinator, then keep making more calls.You can drive yourself mad comparing apples to watermelons as you go through website after website doing price comparisons on unequal packages, but it's necessary to do this a little to get an idea of the company's prices. Don't waste too much time here. Sort out the most expensive companies (really, sometimes the mark up on a Kauai wedding is just outrageous!). THERE IS NOT USUALLY A NOTICEABLE QUALITY DIFFERENCE between the very expensive and the midrange prices for Kauai weddings. A QUALITY KAUAI WEDDING DOES NOT NEED TO COST SO MUCH. 3 Start putting down deposits. Once you have found who you think you want to work with, don't waste any more time and mental energy. Put down the deposit and save the date and time with the person you can connect with. You'll kick yourself later if someone beat you to it and the date or person is no longer available.4 If you haven't already, pick your wedding photographer. The wedding photographer is one of the most important people for you to choose. You want to feel comfortable with them, because if you don't, your pictures will turn out posed and fake looking. You want someone who you can share stories with, someone you and your fiancée can laugh with! Check out their work if style is important to you and then call them. Make sure they are the person you want to work with by talking to them. Make sure to ask if they are willing to do free phone consultations of exactly what you want out of your photo shoot. If you feel comfortable talking to the photographer and like their work and prices, you've found your person. If not, pick up the phone and call the next one whose online photo gallery you liked.Don't waste time on details like below until the important stuff is in place!5 Pick your location site. Unless you will be using a hotel there is no need to rush on this step. There is also no need to pay a lot of money – there are a lot of beautiful places where you can have your wedding inexpensively or totally free.6 Decide on any other extras you might want, i.e. music, chairs etc.7 Decide what flowers you want.
WTFHawaii.com went to cover the 2010 Sony Open here in gorgeous Hawaii. Swear to god we tried to do this right. We even brought along seasoned golf correspondent PirateJMess (http but alas, we failed. There's literally 0 golf footage in the whole clip. But, lets be honest, golf failed too; beer was far more interesting.
Why Obama use campaign plane for week-long Hawaii holidays? Is it wise to use election money?
A Cruise Tour is a perfect getaway with loads of fun and excitement for everybody. When you and your kids are getting bored with the same picnic spots, amusement parks, theaters and your spouse needs a change, you can plan for a cruise tour. Where you go on tour is important. But, where the cruise is being arranged can really make a vast difference. Few places on earth are as exciting and adventurous as Alaska. The exciting experiences more of it than Royal Caribbean Cruise Line! When you step onboard a Royal Caribbean Cruise Line ship, you're stepping into a world of excitement with the latest innovations and incomparable service. On all Royal Caribbean ships you'll find the Shipshape Day Spa and Fitness Center, Rock Climbing Wall, Theatre, the Casino Royal, the Windjammer Cafe, onboard shopping, Adventure Ocean Youth Program, a Solarium, balcony staterooms, an outdoor jogging track, bars and clubs. On a Royal Caribbean cruise you can do as much or as little as you want! Celebrity Cruises goal during their Alaska cruises is to helps to bring you a great experience. You will be as comfortable and enjoy each new adventure to its fullest; you get recharged and refreshed by gentle pampering from the Celebrity Cruises family. So, Celebrity Cruises will keep exploring Alaska and finding new ways to share their discoveries with you. Choosing a Cruise tour allows you to travel into the heart of Alaska and explore destinations of your choice. Welcome to Celebrity Cruises Alaska! Hawaiian Cruises along the different yet distinct islands provide an insight into the uniqueness of each island. Hawaii Island is a big one with Kilauea crater, said to be the home of the fire Goddess, Pele. Maui, once the sole property of the royals, is famous for its exquisite swimming spots. The Hawaiian culture is very different and almost every nation's culture is found here. Hence, any newcomer is automatically drawn into the Hawaiian culture, which is enjoyment and adventure. Family cruises are cheerful occasions for the family where they can spend some quality time with one another. Simply put, are great places to relax and enjoy.


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Concert Review: Paul McCartney plays B.C. Place
Playing a selection of your catalogue while a montage of classic photos scrolls by works as well as any opening act, and the crowd won't care if they hear any of these songs twice anyway. Such is the man's musical legacy.
Stuart Derdeyn
Paul McCartney opened for himself last night at B.C. Place. Leading up to the Macca experience, fans got a selection of the Macca experience. It was sort of weird.
But what do you do when you are Sir Paul McCartney?
Playing a selection of your catalogue while a montage of classic photos scrolls by works as well as any opening act, and the crowd won't care if they hear any of these songs twice anyway. Such is the man's musical legacy that he could come on stage and croak his classics and the fans would freak.
At 77, he certainly never croaks.
But his voice is taxed quite often, taking on tunes such as the opener A Hard Day's Night and many others. For every near note-perfect Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da, there were plenty of rough patches. What do you do?
One of the genuine problems of being a huge fan of artists such as Little Richard and the like when you are penning tunes in your teens is singing them six decades later. McCartney has wisely put a crew of backing musicians behind him who can play their asses off as well as harmonize all over the place.
Paul McCartney lets his music do the talking during the Freshen Up tour at B.C. Place in Vancouver July 6. Gerry Kahrmann / PNG
He has also done some really great rearrangements of tunes such as the Wings hit Letting Go, the first time it would benefit from a brass section trio of trumpets, sax and trombone. When the horns players appeared offstage at the entrance to aisle 214, it was the one bit of arena show in what was otherwise a straight ahead band-on-the-clock performance.
Not that they were dialling it in, just that the music did the talking on the stripped-down stage with its simple light show and three screens — save for Live and Let Die with its pyro, laser and fireworks overkill, that is.
Paul McCartney onstage during the Freshen Up tour at B.C. Place in Vancouver on Saturday, July 6, 2019. Gerry Kahrmann / PNG
OK, drummer Abe Laboriel Jr. was an absolute joy to hear and watch, and guitarist Rusty Anderson could be the rock 'n' roll brother of Ty Burrell's Phil Dunphy in Modern Family.
"We've got some old songs, some new songs, and some in between songs," said Sir Paul. "And this one is definitely an old one."
All My Lovin' came out in July 1963. The anti-bullying Who Cares came out on last year's well-received Egypt Station. The set was peppered with — obviously — plenty of Beatles songs, but also gave flight to McCartney's Wings era and these proved some of the evening's peaks.
Strapping on his Les Paul, McCartney ripped out the killer hook on Let Me Roll It, ending with a few bars of Jimi Hendrix's Foxy Lady to jam around in honour of the late guitarist.
Paul McCartney performs at B.C. Place July 6 in Vancouver. Gerry Kahrmann / PNG
This was followed with a story about Hendrix asking Eric Clapton to come tune his guitar during a performance in which he opened with a version of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, which had only been released two days prior.
Yes, McCartney could just be telling stories and maybe playing acoustic versions of songs and it would be a blast. In fact, some of the best performances of the evening were the strumming ones: I've Just Seen a Face and Blackbird were particularly powerful. Apparently singer Emma Stevens — whose version of the song in the Mi'kmaq language went viral — was in the audience and got a shout-out.
So did Sir Paul's wife, Nancy McCartney, when he introduced My Valentine. This song that he wrote for his wife featured Johnny Depp and Natalie Portman onscreen signing the song's lyrics. A nice touch for a song that is, frankly, pretty forgettable — particularly when up against the song he wrote to his late wife Linda McCartney.
Paul McCartney welcomes fans at B.C. Place in Vancouver during the Freshen Up tour July 6. Gerry Kahrmann / PNG
Maybe I'm Amazed is definitely a post-Beatles highlight and a monster to sing. McCartney did himself proud on this challenging piece. He also commented on how the band knows which songs get people to bring out their phones, and which ones are "black holes": "But we are going to play the new ones anyway."
The Egypt Station tune that succeeded was Fuh Yu, with its almost Coldplay-like chorus: it's the rare case of the master chasing the kids. Whatever keeps him happy and playing works for fans.
Of his contemporaries — and let's be honest, McCartney is on his way to being the last man standing — there is no one else who can regale arenas with tales of George Harrison's prowess on the ukulele before launching into Something or still have Let It Be, Hey Jude, Band on the Run, Helter Skelter and more to come at the two-hour mark in the concert.
The man's back catalogue is ridiculous.
sderdeyn@postmedia.com
twitter.com/StuartDerdeyn
Calgary's Future Womb tunefully explore trauma, recovery with debut album Banff Centre's Silent Light finds intimate beauty in the sounds of...
First Nations leader, Fair Deal panellist Jason Goodstriker dies | Calgary Herald
Alberta's chief medical examiner resigns | Calgary Herald


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News Chicago Metro/State
Black vendors look to 'Keep Black Friday BLACK'
The Black Gallery and the Black Mall have partnered for a Buy Black Friday event in hopes of highlighting Black entrepreneurship on one of the biggest shopping days of the year.
By Cheyanne M. Daniels
SHARE Black vendors look to 'Keep Black Friday BLACK'
Freedom Home Academy, 9501 S. Dorchester Ave., is the site of an all-Black vendors market in planned for Black Friday.
The "black" in Black Friday refers to the impact that one of the year's busiest shopping days has businesses' bottom line.
But Enama, a local artist, also wants it to reflect the support for Black-owned businesses.
That's why the 18-year-old created the Black Gallery, a vendors market scheduled for Friday that will focus on Black-owned businesses.
"It's always about Walmart and Lowe's and Old Navy," said Enama. But she wanted to "make this holiday ... about Black entrepreneurship, about Black business, investing in Black people and Black communities."
The Black Gallery — slogan: "Keeping Black Friday BLACK" — will feature more than 40 Black-owned businesses at the Freedom Home Academy, 9501 S. Dorchester Ave.
Everyone involved in the production — from designers to artists to the DJ to the featured businesses — are Black.
"We're trying to give people a space to network, get exposure and to gain traction," Enama said. "There's a lot of really talented Black artists, Black businesses, just Black people, especially in Chicago, who don't necessarily get the exposure that they should get."
Friday's Black Gallery will have dozens of participants.
One of those businesses is Mind How You Go fashion, founded by designer Juliana Gueno.
"It's such a beautiful thing that we didn't need anyone but ourselves to make this happen," said Gueno, 24. "I feel like it's just very powerful that we were all able to connect with each other out there in the artist community in the city."
Gueno created her brand three years ago, inspired by childhood memories. The brand name is a throwback from advice her father used to tell her and her brother, Troy, anytime they left the house.
Gueno's table will feature some of her newer designs, and she said she's looking forward to meeting other Black artists at the event.
"I hope to see how people respond to the newer work that they haven't seen yet from me," she said. "I hope to just have fun and celebrate the hard work that all of us are doing."
The vendors market runs from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. followed by a fashion show of Black brands from 8 to 9 p.m.
Juliana Gueno is one of 40 Black vendors featured at Friday's event with her clothing brand, Mind How You Go.
Provided/Troy Gueno
Friday's event is being held in partnership with the Black Mall, an organization that looks to "make Black brands household names," said founder Cassiopeia Uhuru.
Uhuru created the Black Mall 10 years ago with her fiancé, Dre Meekins, and three friends with a goal of getting people to understand the importance of buying Black. But, Uhuru said, it was like "pulling teeth."
"Thriving communities thrive because the community members actually support the businesses that are in their community and those then support the community itself," she said.
"One of the biggest issues in Black communities throughout the nation and especially in Chicago is that unfortunately, the majority of the businesses within our communities are not owned by the community members themselves," Uhuru said. "So the money actually goes out, which then creates poverty in our communities, poor school districts [and] bad commercial corridors."
Friday's vendor market will be the Black Mall's seventh annual Buy Black Friday.
Friday's vendors market is the Black Mall's seventh annual Buy Black Friday event.
Since they've started, Uhuru and the Black Mall have tracked the number of attendees and money spent.
The first Buy Black Friday had close to 100 people turn out, but now averages 750 attendees with anywhere between $10,000 and $20,000 spent.
"People bring their children and it's this great celebration and exchange that almost becomes like a reunion as well," Uhuru said.
While Friday's vendors market is free, tickets are required for the fashion show, priced from $15 to $30. They can be purchased online.
Cheyanne M. Daniels is a staff reporter at the Chicago Sun-Times via Report for America, a not-for-profit journalism program that aims to bolster the paper's coverage of communities on the South and West sides.
Enama, an 18-year-old artist, has organized Friday's Black Gallery, featuring 40 Black businesses and entrepreneurs.
Provided/Tosin Fuad
Clock running out for Bulls guard Lonzo Ball's return this season


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Ignite Power Will Bring Solar to 250,000 Homes in Rwanda by 2018
The East African country preps for millions of residential solar projects in coming years.
The Rwandan government has partnered with Ignite Power to provide rooftop solar to 250,000 households by 2018.
The initiative expands on a successful pilot that started in 2014. Rwanda has a goal of bringing electricity to 70 percent of households by 2018, an increase from about 20 percent in 2014.
Ignite Power will provide the financing for the $50 million project, according to Climate Action. Customers will pay on average about $5 per month for a rent-to-own model in which they will get a solar system that can power some lights, a radio and a television, and cell phones.
The households will be a mix of completely off-grid homes and also homes that are at the edge of the grid.
The electrification project is part of Rwanda's Vision 2020, which seeks to increase power generation from 185 megawatts to more than 500 megawatts in the next few years. Power Africa estimates Rwanda currently has approximately 10 megawatts of solar.
A key to advancing Rwanda's energy infrastructure is moving away from biomass -- particularly wood -- which still accounts for more than 80 percent of energy generation in the country. That is already a considerable drop from nearly 100 percent in 2000. The country has a goal of bringing energy generation based on wood consumption down to 50 percent by 2020.
Rwanda has already had some early success with electrification, although it was starting from very humble beginnings. The country increased access to electricity from 6 percent to 16 percent between 2009 and 2012, according to the World Bank, which helped fund the effort.
Ignite Power is not alone in building a residential solar empire in Rwanda. Other rooftop solar companies such as BBOXX, Azuri, and Off Grid Electric are also entering or already working in the country of more than 11 million people. Off-Grid Electric raised $70 million in 2015 alone.
The residential solar companies operating in Africa are leveraging micro-leasing solar platforms and mobile payments to make rent-to-own systems a possibility. The systems can usually be paid for in about two years, as is the case with Ignite Power's solution. In many regions of sub-Saharan Africa, the cost of the solar system is less than what people are paying for dirtier forms of fuel used for light, usually kerosene.
Power Africa, the U.S. government's effort to add 30 gigawatts of power to Africa by 2030, has in some way supported most of the companies expanding into sub-Saharan Africa in recent years. The commitment of $7 billion by the U.S. in 2013 has leveraged nearly $43 billion from public- and private-sector partners.
At a Power Africa summit in Washington, D.C. in January, the initiative outlined how it will get to 30 gigawatts and 60 million new grid connections and scale up deal flow for on- and off-grid power solutions.
"Power Africa is breaking the logjam on energy infrastructure and keeping eager capital flowing to worthy projects," Gayle Smith, administrator for U.S. Agency for International Development, said in a statement. Nearly half of those grid connections are expected to be met through off-grid clean energy solutions and microgrids.
Power Africa also launched a tracking tool that records energy transactions across the continent and is meant to provide more transparency for stakeholders and potential investors.


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Caravan of love
Caravan holidays in Norfolk can be fun for all age groups.
There was a time when caravanning was not the most trendy of pastimes.
Relaxing with a glass of wine and a barbecue is just part of the enjoyment.
But it has undergone a huge surge in popularity, with more and more people opting to either buy their own caravan or rent one in situ for a week's holiday.
Not only does it offer the flexibility to get away at a moment's notice, it is an affordable way to stay in some of the most beautiful settings in Norfolk.
Many of the on-site facilities have also had make-overs and now lots of campsites have fantastic showers, inviting bars and restaurants, swimming pools, children's farms and some even have their own spas.
Many parks also boast excellent environmental credentials, making the most of the surrounding nature and wildlife on their doorstep.
Kelling Heath Holiday Park in North Norfolk - inside one of the luxury holiday homes avaliable to stay in on the site. Picture: Matthew Usher.
Norfolk has hundreds of camping and caravan sites, ranging from lively parks to peaceful idylls nestled in the countryside.
Some are so close to the beach you can hear the roar of the sea, others are hidden among trees or can be discovered up bumpy tracks overlooking Norfolk's beautiful open countryside.
If you are a regular caravan user, it might be worth joining the Caravan Club. In Norfolk, the organisation has seven sites and a further 173 certificated locations - small, five-vehicle sites.
Lyn and Ken Clark are wardens at the Sandringham Estate Caravan Club site.
Kelling Heath Holiday Park in North Norfolk - one of the luxury holiday homes avaliable to stay in on the site. Picture: Matthew Usher.
"We have definitely seen changes, with more families now caravanning," says Lyn. "You can have an amazing holiday if you have a caravan and most importantly it is affordable. You can sit outside having a barbecue and a glass of wine, or if you want you can eat out, it gives you the choice."
She says there are many benefits to owning your own touring caravan and it is a great way to make the most of family life.
"It is like being home from home and you are not restricted by anything - you can eat when you want, go where you want. The Caravan Club sites are all run to the same standards and are wonderful safe places for families to be outdoors and have fun."
Not just caravans?
If you think holidaying in the great outdoors is limited to traditional caravans, think again. So many sites now offer the chance to stay in an array of inventive accommodation, from yurts and tepees to traditional wooden shepherd huts.
Shane Ingham runs a traditional carpentry and joinery company in the Fens and has recently launched Heritage Huts.
"We make wooden shepherd huts and two sites in Norfolk are already renting them out as alternative holiday lets. Over the past few years these sorts of alternatives to the traditional caravans have become more popular.
"I think when times are tough financially, people turn to more traditional, old fashioned ways of life. The huts, which are on wheels, were originally used in the 1800s. They can be made any size and are sturdy and lined and have a log burner, so they are really cosy and homely."
To own or rent?
Mark Durrant is operations manager at Kelling Heath Holiday Park, near Holt, and he says an increasing number of people are caravanning.
He says there are many things to consider if you are thinking of buying a holiday home at a specific park.
"First of all think carefully where you want to be. We find people start by renting holiday homes to get to know areas and parks and then move towards wanting to own one.
"Here a second-hand holiday home can go from £10,000 upwards, but there are also additional annual fees which you must consider, to pay for site costs and facilities.
"You need to look at all the benefits. What facilities does a park have? Are there extra benefits for owners? What is the length of the season?
"We work very closely with our customers to learn from them the best ways to improve our facilities and the park, it is especially important for those that own holiday homes on a site to feel they are listened to."
The expert says
Julian Garrood is a director of the family-owned Drayton Caravans and owner of Norfolk Caravan Hire, at Heigham Street, Norwich. He has been caravanning for 15 years - and all of them at sites in Norfolk and Suffolk.
"There are so many fantastic sites in the county, you really don't need to go any further!" he laughs. "My personal favourite it Woodlands at Sheringham - a glass of wine, a book, and I am totally relaxed there."
As well as selling caravans, Julian's business offers a try before you buy service to enable customers to find out what they really want from the caravan of their dreams, from size to spec.
"It happens so often that people say they want a four berth but then find it is too big, or a two berth and realise it's too small. Then there is the lay-out - do they want a big bathroom or do they only ever go to sites with great facilities anyway?
"But once you have made your choice and bought your caravan it really is a case of where will you go today. You can decide to go away in the morning and be on site later that day - you can really have as much holiday as you want from your caravan.
"I think the social side of it is fantastic. People chat to each other on the sites, you meet friends, and as a family you find you talk and play games together."
With a price range to suit every pocket - from £4000 to £25,000, or hiring fees from £200 a week - Julian adds: "If you are looking to buy a caravan, the best thing is to talk to a dealer to get some advice about what's right for you."
Tell us about some of your favourite spots in Norfolk for caravanning? Have you been caravanning for years and have a story to share? Email us at norfolkmagletters@archant.co.uk
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El Edificio José Miguel Carrera es la sede del Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores de Chile, ubicado en el barrio cívico, frente a la plaza de la Constitución, en la ciudad de Santiago. Fue construido entre 1937 y 1940 para albergar al Hotel Carrera, que funcionó en el lugar hasta su cierre en 2004.

Historia

Fue construido por los arquitectos Josué Smith Solar y Josué Smith Miller como parte de la construcción del barrio cívico, y de los edificios que rodean el palacio de La Moneda. De estilo art déco fue uno de los primeros edificios en altura construidos en hormigón armado en el país.

Con 17 pisos, el Hotel Carrera tenía dos subterráneos y un techo jardín con una piscina para los huéspedes, dentro de los que se pueden contar la reina Isabel II y el papa Juan Pablo II. Durante el golpe de Estado de 1973, la azotea y las ventanas del hotel sirvieron para que reporteros europeos registraran el bombardeo a La Moneda.

En 2004 dejó de funcionar como hotel, y en 2005 pasó a ser la sede del Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores, además de recibir el nombre de Edificio José Miguel Carrera. Para la habilitación de su nuevo uso se reformaron los servicios del hotel, y se desarmaron varias habitaciones para convertirlas en espacios de mayor tamaño.

Referencias

José Miguel Carrera
Arquitectura de Santiago de Chile
Barrio Cívico de Santiago
Epónimos de José Miguel Carrera
Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores de Chile


text:
/*
 * Created on Feb 7, 2005
 * Author: Andrzej Bialecki <ab@getopt.org>
 *
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package org.getopt.luke.plugins;

import java.io.BufferedReader;
import java.io.InputStream;
import java.io.InputStreamReader;
import java.io.PrintWriter;
import java.io.StringWriter;

import org.getopt.luke.Luke;
import org.getopt.luke.LukePlugin;
import org.mozilla.javascript.ScriptableObject;

/**
 * This is a JavaScript interactive shell. All elements
 * of Luke framework are made available to the plugin by putting
 * them into JS Context.
 *
 * @author Andrzej Bialecki <ab@getopt.org>
 */
public class ScriptingPlugin extends LukePlugin {

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      }
      br.close();
      execute(sb.toString());
    } catch (Exception e) {
      e.printStackTrace();
      app.errorMsg("Loading failed: " + e.getMessage());
      return;
    }
  }
}

class TAWriter extends PrintWriter {
  public Luke app;
  public Object ta;
  public StringBuffer scroll;
  public StringWriter writer;

  public TAWriter(Luke app, Object ta, StringBuffer scroll, StringWriter writer) {
    super(writer);
    this.ta = ta;
    this.scroll = scroll;
    this.app = app;
    this.writer = writer;
  }

  public void flush() {
    super.flush();
    scroll.append(writer.getBuffer());
    app.setString(ta, "text", scroll.toString());
    writer.getBuffer().setLength(0);
  }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub