The other day, my pal Scott Johnson wrote about his unfortunate recent DKA experience and I commented that there was no room for guilt (or the related self-blame) in his conversation, and I really meant it. The simple reality is that the patient cannot always be blamed for this stuff, and attempts to do so really work against effective self-care. But I'd be willing to bet that someone at the hospital he visited probably asked him what happened that lead to that situation, as if the patient was assuredly responsible (at least in part) for that situation. But I'd be willing to guess those same healthcare professionals would never dream of asking a cancer patient what they did to cause their disease.
On a similar note, a number of diabetes bloggers (including Kerri Morrone-Sparling, Rachel Baumgartel and Cherise Nicole have written posts recently about things they call diabetes "bad habits" or some other euphemistic term which frankly, seems to transfer or imply guilt and shift the blame away from the disease they are unfortunate enough to live with to the person with the disease instead. (You will note that I refrain from saying "their diabetes" because that implies ownership as if it was a house or car or pair of shoes they decided to buy, which couldn't be further from the truth -- I would never "buy" a disease like diabetes or exchange it for any other ailment, thank you very much).
"6. Blame Game. And a sixth (but certainly not the last) bad diabetes habit that I have is my role in the blame game. I put a lot of pressure on myself to get things 'right' and when the diabetes outcome isn't what I'm hoping for, I tend to blame myself. I have to constantly remind myself that strong efforts and a decent attitude go a long way in this marathon, and I can't beat myself up for every low or high that crops up randomly. Diabetes isn't fair, and it isn't easy, and it sure as hell isn't my fault, so I just need to roll with the punches as gracefully as I can."
But it really p!$$es me off when individuals without diabetes (especially healthcare professionals such as doctors, public health officials, medical associations, insurance companies, nurses, diabetes educators, nutritionists, etc.) use such stupid and damaging terminology as "your diabetes" and instruct patients that it is their disease and they must "own" it.
To the American Association of Diabetes Educators (AADE), let me make something perfectly clear: no place in the organization's Guidelines for the Practice of Diabetes Self-Management Education and Training (DSME/T) mentions "ownership" of diabetes, yet so many CDE's I have encountered over the years seems to believe that the patient needs to "own the disease" in order to manage it effectively.
One can be a very effective business manager without actually "owning" that business (although generous stock options and various other evolutions have blurred the distinction for many in recent years), ownership is NOT a requirement to be an effective manager, and the evidence on that, quite frankly, is pretty mixed and anything but clear-cut and decided either way.
Seriously, it's not MY diabetes, and the ONLY reason I have this stupid disease is because the medical profession has FAILED to cure me. In effect, that monumental failure to make me better and the resulting forcing me to live with a treatment protocol that, is only partially effective is a lame excuse for someone else's failure that is routinely passed off on the patient.
"Despite the significant advances in insulin manufacture, modification, and delivery since that time, the treatment of the absolute insulin deficiency resulting from T1DM is very challenging. Insulin administration remains relatively hazardous and not fully effective in preventing complications, even if managed meticulously."
In this particular quote, Dr. Fleming and his colleagues also cited another study by SC Gough entitled "A review of human and analogue insulin trials" which was published in the November 15, 2006 edition of the medical journal Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice which demonstrated some sobering statistics to confirm intensive control's failure even when managed "meticulously".
Now, I could diatribe further on any number of these topics, but the reason I believe the medical/disease nomenclature currently used with diabetes is long overdue for major changes, starting with framing the disease as somehow belonging to the patient, is as follows.
The Oath of Hippocrates taken by all doctors is usually translated to include some language that says something along the lines of "I will prescribe regimens for the good of my patients according to my ability and my judgment and never do harm to anyone."
"To succeed with intensive therapy a person must take three or more daily injections of insulin (or insulin pump therapy), four or more daily blood glucose tests, and follow dietary instructions. The principle underlying the belief that more diabetes education will improve a person's ability and/or desire to practice intensive insulin therapy is grounded in the [flawed] assumption that it is reasonable to expect a person to perform these acts every day for the rest of his or her life."
"Of course, in the absence of a cure, diabetes management is important to slow the progression and delay the onset of complications as much as possible, but we should not delude the public, or ourselves, that management is sufficient. At best, it is an inadequate treatment until a cure is found.
Diabetes is big business with powerful economic, social and political forces opening and closing doors to our treatments and cures. Billions of dollars are made from selling products to the diabetic community. Developing a cure costs money, and until there is a cure, there is no product to market. There is nothing to sell. At the large diabetes conferences, healthcare professionals are inundated with information about more accurate and simpler blood glucose monitors and insulin delivery systems, but the advocates for curing diabetes, and scientific advances to that end are woefully underrepresented."
"In order for this disease to be cured, there needs to be a fundamental shift in the way diabetes is viewed. We need to close the gap between the perception of diabetes as a controllable condition and the reality that it is one of the world's oldest, deadliest, and most pervasive diseases."
The sobering part is that her quotes were written in 2004, and we really need to ask whether we've seen ANY fundamental changes in attitude since that time? Not much, I'm afraid.
Even more important, I fundamentally believe that the continued framing of diabetes management as somehow "belonging" to the patient and routinely using terminology to suggest or state disease ownership causes subtle but irreparable psychological damage (though researchers never seem to look into that little subject), which contributes to the widespread incidence of depression in patients with diabetes.
"When all is said and done, the fact remains that the rate and incidence of blindness, amputation, heart attacks, and kidney failure caused by diabetes—as reported by the NIH—continue to rise. Insurance companies and healthcare providers ponder this failure and, with few exceptions, conclude that 'educating diabetics' to adhere to an intensive regimen of injections and diets will [miraculously] solve the problem. This philosophy has been the cornerstone of diabetes management and consequently the 'blame' for secondary complications has shifted [away] from the disease itself to the person who has it."
We have more than 30 years of this philosophy in clinical practice, and the reality isn't all that convincing. The statistics, by and large, are pretty sad, actually. I could cite many statistics (just look at the ADA's website if you need some), but I don't feel compelled to do so. The reality is that after decades of this, the numbers don't look great. It's time to shift some focus away from trying to improve glycemic control towards curing diabetes, and by that, I mean all types.
People with type 1 diabetes have lead the way, incidentally, with the charitable organization known as the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, which aims to fund $1 billion/year in cure-related research. That's a lot of cash towards curing one form of diabetes, but we cannot do it alone. Funds must also come from the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries, as well as the U.S. National Institutes of Health, which frankly, sets much of the research agenda. Add to that, the Food and Drug Administration, which too often, have relied on using a reduced glycosated hemoglobin (e.g. "HbA1c") as a "surrogate" for improved patient outcomes, rather than a more intelligent approach of using multiple evaluation criteria.
The medical profession seems to enjoy giving themselves plenty of credit for what they refer to as "progress" in diabetes are over the years, while simultaneously not living up to some of their own monumental failures. In fact, when I attended the ADA Scientific Sessions in Washington, D.C., my reaction after the first night was one of, well ... disgust. I attended a cocktail party that was attended by all kinds of diabetes bigwigs, the likes of which included Robert Rizza, John Buse, and a few other self-proclaimed diabetes experts. I left that meeting with the sense of nausea and thinking that those individuals have given plenty of excuses for that failure, but that doesn't entitle them to transfer their failure to me as a patient.
"The transformation of disease, as exemplified by the case of diabetes, is a valuable and elegant concept that serves to remind us that the tally sheet for medical science must carry a column for debit as well as credit."
That debit column is presently missing from their conversation, as we see a lot of blame transference and shifting, but seldom (if any) owning up to it.
Now, the following is part diatribe, and part brutal fact. Diabetes remains as a disease, because of a failure to cure it, and also because of a continued fixation (above all else) on glycemic control rather than a fixation on finding one or more cures. One look no further than the medical journals to see how disproportionate the publications are weighed towards glycemic control rather than studies and commentaries related to disease eradication and cures. For heaven's sake, how many more studies do we really need on glycemic control? That needs to be a closed chapter, folks. The benefits are known, but there are seldom studies into why so few patients actually achieve this lofty goal. When they do look into it, the result is usually to transfer blame away from the treatment protocol itself to say, lack of insurance coverage or some other convenient excuse. Why not just admit it's a lofty theory that's incredibly hard to achive, even with all the tools that exist (many of which patients must struggle to get coverage for, BTW)? I won't even address conflicts-of-interest, but the medical profession has a sloppy track record there, folks.
Also, the medical profession is quite afraid to actually use the term "cure" in almost any context, a practice that really needs to be questioned. They need to abandon the fear to use that term, and to start using it more freely, or, I believe, we'll never actually see a cure emerge.
The language of diabetes has been shaped almost exclusively by individuals who do not have diabetes. That's a big, huge problem, and one which needs to change. Patients with diabetes need to be a part of the equation, or there is risk that the medical profession's already abysmal track record on this disease will continue.
Let me just close by noting that I am ENTITLED to complain about this disease, because I never, ever, ever, ever get a break from it. That, my friends, is entitlement.
Don't anyone dare try to deny me that right, or you'll get an earful you might not be prepared for. I require an outlet to deal with it, and if complaining to anyone who will listen helps, so be it.
Plus, I'm sick of hearing comments about how "so and so really didn't take care of themselves, if they had, they wouldn't have lost their leg, their vision, or whatever other horrible diabetes complication they may have suffered" from people whose diabetes knowledge comes from watching daytime television and maybe an occasional newspaper article. No one with cancer takes blame for their disease, and no one with diabetes shouldn't have to, either. Ironically, recent research has showed that eating a diet loaded with carbohydrates may actually help to fuel cancer, but the same cannot be proven unequivocally about any type of diabetes.
I feel SOOOOOOOO much better after getting that off my mind!
If feeling "in control" helps you to deal with diabetes, great, but just because it works for you doesn't mean it will work for me or anyone else with diabetes. I need an outlet to vent my frustration.
BTW, I'll take compliments and even legitimate (meaning substantiated) critiques, but don't even bother if you just want to disagree but aren't willing to back your comments up with actual data or science. I'm really not in the mood for that kind of conversation, and I do moderate comments on this blog.
Scott, this is SUCH a great post.
I think that we've all been brainwashed to think that we should be able to flawlessly manage everything, all the time.
As someone who has worked in technical support, I can state that knowing how a problem developed (symptoms over time, unsuccessful efforts to mask or mitigate the symptoms) can help in diagnosing the underlying cause and providing the correct solution. Medical diagnosis is often also made easier with a distinct patient history. To me, the issue appears to be more in how the questions are presented (aka "bedside manner"). Perhaps that might be made easier if the patient is allowed to relate the etiology as he understands it, with the clinician then asking for information that might be missing, using basic customer service "soft skills" to put the patient at ease.
Perhaps the issue with the concept of "ownership" is that the word has been used in corporatemanagementspeak to mean "taking responsibility for" -- in the case of diabetes, taking responsibility for diet, testing, and medications (not restricted to, or from, exogenous insulin). The argument is that we own our bodies (counterargument: the government and insurance companies have co-opted that away from us) and are therefore responsible for taking care of them to the greatest extent theoretically possible (forget about how Real Life gets in the way of that).
Unfortunately, diabetes has not read the textbook on how it is "supposed" to behave, and too often decides to "do its own thing".
Fabulous post. I can see this as a nice op-ed somewhere, edited down. Really liked it.
Great post! I think the blame and shame game may be the hardest part of living with diabetes. How much better would our "control" be if we really felt supported instead of judged? I generally try to think that the less than helpful comments from others are well intended and just based on ignorance. But well intented ignorance really doesn't have to be laced with blame and interwoven with assumptions about fault. Diabetes is not a character flaw, it's a disease!
This is really a helpful article especially because there are many theories about how to maintain/live with diabetes. The most amazing part is that doctors do not tell us the truth to effectively suppress the disease they want us to keep on buying the pills so that they continue making money. The best thing to do is to learn from nations who are least affected by diabetes for instance Asians.
Thank you. A million times over, thank You for writing this.
Well said...but I fear that you are just preaching to the choir.
I will no longer use the term ownwership.
If more diabetics would look at the problem(s) as you do, perhaps rising outrage would give voice to true activism. You touched on a couple of my overarching sore points: health care professionals (doctors, CDE's) want to fit all diabetics into a neatly circumscribed "one-size-fits-all" box. It makes their jobs easier, and if the individual fails, it is because he didn't try hard enough . . . not because the cookie-cutter protocol does NOT address individuality. And secondly, the fact that the profession/industry has a captive experimental population, the disease is, in fact, just too damn profitable to cure. Hmmmm, where have I hard that.
Again, great job . . . hopefully, you'll stimulate some grey matter, open some eyes, alleviate some misplaced guilt, and shift the emphasis to where it accurately belongs: failure to aggressively seek a cure.
Absolutely great post, Scott. I know when I was in the hospital last Thanksgiving, I felt so guilty. Thanks for writing this!
Thank you for saying this. Today I woke up with a 149, then rang in at 297 when I got to work 90 minutes later. (This with no food and a mile walk in between.) And yet I sit here feeling guilty, backtracking my night and morning over & over again to figure out where I "messed up". It's screwed up to even have to think this way...sometimes it's diabetes that "owns" me.
Thank God for bloggers like you!
I have read this post several times. So true, so great.
Well said. I think some spouses might benefit from reading this as well.
Excellent, Scott. Enjoyed reading this refreshing perspective. I am so tired of having to reassure PWD that we didn't do this to ourselves and that control is elusive even with the best of intentions.
In July, I had to call ahead for a CDE appointment and explain I would be late due to a low that kept me from driving. When I arrived, the CDE had the gall to ask me WHY I had gone low. I swallowed my smartass answer, but I wanted to say "Oh, I'm sorry. You see, my pancreas doesn't work. I have di-a-be-tes and have to rely on insulin to control my blood sugar."
Thank you for this post! I would add that, as a patient with diabetes, it is very difficult to escape preconceived notions of what "good control" should look like. Most people seem to see "good control" as meaning something along the lines of "your diabetes doesn't inconvenience me regularly" and despite my best efforts, going low in public often results in friends and neighbors believing that I don't take my health seriously enough. Unfortunately, this couldn't be further from the truth.
I think you've blurred the lines a bit. I wholeheartedly agree about not carrying guilt. Despite our best efforts, bad things will happen. It is the disease. And when bad things happen because we didn't do this or that or we guessed wrong or whatever, yes, it's still the disease. Management in the "real world" is said to be successful if 60% of the decisions are right. That just doesn't translate to diabetes management. We need to be 100% correct, and it will never happen.
However, I disagree about ownership and the benefits of taking ownership. We have to own this disease to have any hope. I do. I have no intention of letting it beat me, and it has a great head start of over thirty years of partial-ownership. Have you ever seen a diabetic who refused to take ownership? I've seen too many. They are not pretty. Be truthful. You do take ownership. If you didn't, you wouldn't be writing a blog and trying to help people. And the rest of you wouldn't be reading this!
No the complications are not steadily increasing. I've seen recent articles on how amputations and blindness are actually declining in type 1's. People like Dr. Bernstein who halted and reversed his complications at age 45 are inspirational to me. He's what, 75 or 80 now? Take a look around the online communities. Diabetics by the scores are improving their chances. It is not unusual at all for example to find type 1's with sub-6 A1C's or type 2's losing significant double and triple digit weight. People are fighting back and helping others fight back. You can't do this without owning your disease.
And please don't tell me I'm compromising the quality of my life by choosing a carb restricted diet. Besides being a requirement of fighting back, I am finding it is actually enabling me to enjoy life as I had always hoped I would. I'm pressing on with my head held high, and yes, I own this f***ing monster!
My planned last words are "I owned you!"


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What is there to say about me…or what isn't there?
I was born and raised in a small town in the middle of nowhere in West By-God Virginia. I, unfortunately, attended public school where the only categories of person were the rednecks, the dirties, the jocks. So, that left me all alone in a category all my own. I hated sports, hated huntin' and fishin' and rubbin' snuff, I showered daily, so truly I didn't have a clique to call my own.
After Star Wars came Doctor Who, then Batman, then Nightwing, and so on and so forth. So here I am now, college student, comic book collector and blog writer extraordinaire!


And you know what we firm believers of a good self esteem boost do when our children master a new trick?
... and we ALL know that it goes on and on and on and on and onnnnn (my friends).
He is so sweet! You cannot see a picture of him without smiling. Impossible!
HE IS REDONK CUTE. Seriously.
Lurker here - that child is delovely. He make my ovaries hurt.
haha awww so cute! I can't believe how fast he's growing.
Oh my goodness, he's so cute! I love the drooly chin.
It's exciting every time! Love baby tricks. Now make him do "Touchdown" (put his arms up in the air). If you can get him doing that by football season, you will definitely be the hit of the tailgate!
I hate to admit this, but when I saw the clap, I wanted to clap. I may or may not have for this adorable lil one of yours. Don't judge.
Those pics are the best! What a happy chunkertons. Wish he could teach my boy some growing lessons.
looks like sea-bass and i feel the same all-consuming joy about food. i hear ya, lil bro. i hear ya.
"Ode to Joy" was composed in anticipation of these pics!


As I write this final post for my college career, I am working the last hour of my shift at the front desk of Career Services.
Before I had a single college class, I interviewed for this position. This job and this office have been a constant over the past four years while my classes, my friends, and my houses have all changed each year. I cannot help but think back to the girl who walked into that interview and realize how much I too have changed. Lessons learned, friendships made, and milestones reached.
The end of anything can be scary. It can also be exciting. When I am feeling overwhelmed, I think back to what I have learned.
To those of you with more time here at UMD, cherish it. To my fellow Graduates, congratulations and good luck! I am so grateful for my experience at UMD. I will never forget the people I met or the memories I made.
Belief, according to StrengthsFinder, attributes this strength to "people who are especially talented in the Belief theme have certain core values that are unchanging. Out of these values emerges a defined purpose for their life." Belief is not in my top five strengths, however, it is in my roommate's top five. When I asked her what it meant to her, she said it means she looks for work that aligns with her values before the amount of money she could earn. These values do not necessarily mean religious values. She also told me this strength makes it easy for her to disagree with those who do not share her values.
My roommate's description of how this strength is noticeable in her life is similar to the people who are quoted in the book StrengthsFinder 2.0. One example describes a man who does a lot of work with the Boy Scouts because he finds value in the future. Another lady accepts a lower salary, compared to others in similar positions, because she values the work she does. And lastly, a lady working in a stressful position finds motivation from her belief in the importance of her work.
To better define your core values, think about a good day and ask yourself what values were apparent that day? Then consider how you can structure your life to have more days that include these values.
Look for positions or organizations you can join that define themselves by what they give back to society.
Consider how the meaning or purpose of your work can help others find meaning or purpose in their own work.
Write a "purpose statement" for your life and share it with your friends and family. The emotional appeal of this can inspire them.
Save letters, pictures, or other mementos that remind you of the difference you make in the work that you do. On a bad day, these can be powerful reminders of the importance in the work you do.
Do not spend every moment working. Make time for your personal life and your own needs as well.
Spend time think about your "calling." Once you have articulated this mission, learn about careers that can help you fulfill it.
Environments that are a good fit with your own mission and beliefs will bring out your best. Seek employment in companies and organizations that exhibit a strong sense of mission – that is, a commitment to positively affecting the quality of people's lives.
Environments that are people-oriented, that provide service to others, or that reward personal growth are likely to allow your Belief talents to flourish.
Workplaces that respect your commitment to your family and allow for balance between work and family demands will enable you to thrive.
For more examples of Belief in action, read the section in StrengthsFinder 2.0 or log into strengthsquest.com.
Quick note: StrengthsFinder and StrengthsQuest are actually the same assessment. Where they differ is the resources available to the assessment taker. StrengthsFinder has resources aimed at individuals working in Corporate America type of companies while StrengthsQuest has resources aimed at college students. You can take StrengthsQuest, for $15, at the Career & Internship Services office in SCC 22.
Hope these made you laugh. Enjoy the weekend everybody!
As college students, we are at the start of our careers, and, for many of us, our 20s. My four years at UMD have flown by faster than I could imagine. At the same time, when I think back to who I was as a freshman versus who I am as a senior, I can tell I have grown older in the blink of the eye called college. In high school, our parents and teachers stressed the importance of college. In college, our parents and teachers stress the importance of preparing for a career. But in our careers, we must take the initiative to move ourselves ahead in our chosen fields.
In the last few weeks, I have received multiple emails about how to 'get the most out of your 20s.' Graduating high school and college I have considered milestones in my personal and professional development, but never making the most out of my 20s. I mean it's not like I get a diploma when I turn 30. So, how do I measure the success of my twenties? Well, reading these articles, I have found new goals and goals that seem more obvious. The point is, it is important to continue consciously setting goals even when there is no one else pushing you.
Tip 1 – Hitting the life snooze: Many life events such as marriage, babies, and lifespan are being delayed. Don't let this extra time to find yourself pass you by.
Tip 2 – Making the right mistakes: mistakes teach us about who we are, but a mistake no one wants to make is wasting time with "placeholders," or knowingly squander away this time of your life.
Tip 3 – Willing luck to happen: Don't be afraid to network, ask for advice, or seek help from people who know better!
This article reviews a TED Talk given by University of Virginia clinical psychologist Meg Jay on why this decade is so important. It looks at the common mistakes people make during their 20s, and seeks advice from managers of twenty-something-year-olds on how to prevent these mistakes.
This last article applies more to your personal development during your 20s…these tips can apply to guys too!
As I get ready to enter the "real world" and start my "big girl job," I am terrified. In another four years I will be half way through my twenties, and if these next four years go by as fast as the last, I better not miss a beat. My fear is of the unknown. This is not a foreign feeling for seniors in college, or high school, or anyone for that matter. But, it is especially important that we 20-somethings do not waste these years by missing opportunities to build our careers and ourselves.
Have you ever read some thing with bad grammar or misspelled words before? Maybe just a obvious mistake or to, nothing which makes the message unclear!
Notice anything wrong with the opening of this post?
Even the smallest of mistakes can be distracting to readers, and cause them to question the intelligence of the writer. When applying for jobs, your cover letter and resume give employers their first impression of you. You never want to miss out on an opportunity because you did not proof read! Applying for jobs is just one example. Written communication skills are one of the most important skills you can develop to be successful. The National Association of Colleges and Employers consistently list them in the Top Ten Skills and Qualities Employers Seek in Job Candidates, a list they publish annually.
Grammar is so important, our office designated an entire training session for student employees to clarify some common mistakes people make in writing.
Do you really need that semicolon? Short, simple sentences may work better.
Who versus whom – who refers to the subject of a sentence, whom refers to the object of a sentence. Visit Grammar Girl for a quick and dirty tip to remember the difference.
Use versus Utilize – you utilize something if it is doing a job it is not intended to do (e.g., He utilized his lacrosse stick as an ice scrapper).
When writing your resume, use action verbs followed by specific details of how and why you completed a task to give employers a complete idea.
Do not over use the same verb or adjective. Mix it up!
Have a friend, teacher, tutor, Career Counselor, Peer Educator, or parent proof read any important document before you send it!
Last week, I attended two jobs fairs specifically for the advertising industry. These were a little different than a typical fair, such as the U of M Job and Internship Fair. The structures of these fairs were more involved than just going from employer booth to employer booth. Each day included keynote speakers from executives in the industry, panels on different topics, and portfolio critiques for students interested in the creative side of advertising.
My first fair was the Mosaic Career Fair sponsored by the American Advertising Federation (AAF) and Leo Burnett at DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois. Right away I noticed the creative freedom in dress. Students were still professional and properly clothed but in more colors, flashier jewelry, and trendier heels than what you could expect at fairs in other industries. This change in style of dress did not mean it was a more relaxed atmosphere. In fact, it being an industry-specific fair meant the students who attended were very focused on their career ambitions.
The second fair I attended was the Chicago Advertising Federation's Career Day. This fair was slightly more formal than the first. Students had choices for which panels they wanted to attend, there were assigned tables for a networking lunch, and several agencies presented about their firm, what they do, and why.
As a member of UMD's Advertising and Marketing Club, I received a student membership to AAF. Through their emails, I learned about these fairs. If you are a member of any professional organization, check to see if they host any career fairs geared toward your industry of interest. Even if you are not a member, you may still be able to attend (AAF charged a small fee for non-members).
The biggest benefit of attending these industry-specific fairs was the amount I learned about the advertising industry and the agencies within it. Also, I was able to network with employers, learn about opportunities, and make connections. Getting into any industry can be very competitive. Familiarizing yourself with the culture, the people, the companies, and their work to help you build relationships and stand out to employers.
We have discussed the basics of what to wear (ladies & gents), and we have thought about the best shoes for job fairs. Now, it is time to figure out what accessories and materials you will need while you are there.
I will break it down into three sections: ladies, gents, and the stuff applicable to both.
No more than 7 pieces of jewelry, each earring counts as 1.
Jewelry should be understated. When speaking with employers, you want them focused on you and your elevator pitch, not distracted by the sparkle of your dangling earrings in the light. For this reason, make sure you remove any facial piercing as well.
It may seem like you cannot show any creativity to be professional. That is not true. There are ways of making your outfit "you" without losing its professionalism. Adding a belt or scarf to your outfit can be a subtle way to add color or pattern without being a distraction in conversations. Below are examples of pieces you could use to put together a stylish professional outfit. In the case of a job fair, replace no. 5 with a padfolio (discussed further in the Common section below).
Guys may have more accessory options than they realize. Cufflinks, neckties, belts, watches, earrings, rings, and any facial piercings can all be considered accessories. As I told the ladies, keep it simple. Remove any earrings, gaudy rings, or facial piercings. Cufflinks tend to be a little formal for jobs fairs. If you do wear them, try to keep them understated. Neckties, belts, and watches are all standard accessories for professionally dressed men. As long as they look appropriate with your suit, you shouldn't have to think too much about these accessories.
One last note, get your hair cut 1-2 weeks before the fair. A fresh haircut is noticeable, so make sure it has some time to settle in before the fair. Also, come to the fair with a clean-shaven face.
Accessories for everyone should include a padfolio with paper and a pen for taking notes.
TIP: When researching employers before the fair, jot down some notes on the back pages as well as potential questions for each employer you plan to speak with at the fair. In-between employers go into the student lounge and refresh your memory on company facts and the questions you want to ask. Also, make some notes about the employer you just spoke with (e.g., the representatives' names, the hiring process, etc.). This will be very helpful when sending thank you emails after the fair.
Cell phones are necessary accessories for almost everyone. The important thing here is to keep them out of sight and silent (not just vibrate) when speaking with employers. Remember, even once you're walking away from a booth, the employer can still be watching you. So, don't whip out your phone until you are back in the student lounge. Even if you're using the mobile guide for the job fair, keep your phone usage in the employer booth area to a minimum.


text:
Dietrich von Kittlitz otherwise Dietrich II of Meissen or Dietrich II von Kittlitz (died 29 August 1208) was Bishop of Meissen from 1191 to 1208.

He was a member of the noble family of Kittlitz. During his episcopate the Priory of St. Afra in Meissen was founded, in 1205.

Bibliography
 Eduard Machatschek: Geschichte der Bischöfe des Hochstiftes Meissen in chronologischer Reihenfolge (...), pp. 136–145. Dresden 1884

External links
 Marek Wejwoda: Dietrich II. (von Kittlitz) in Institut für Sächsische Geschichte und Volkskunde (ed.): Sächsische Biografie

Roman Catholic bishops of Meissen
Year of birth unknown
1208 deaths

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Send in your questions and comments and we'll get back to you promptly.
Less than 47% of men are aware of the life threatening consequences of prostate cancer.
National Prostate Cancer Awareness Foundation, Inc.


text:
Google.PayOnline might come to Ukraine in 2019. What is it?
28 November, 2018, 18:18
Dmytro Demchenko
Google.PayOnline payment service might be launched in Ukraine in 2019. According to Interfax Ukraine, it was announced by Andrey Radevich, Sales Manager, Google Ukraine, at FinRetail 2018. AIN.UA explains the details below.
#1. What is it?
Google.PayOnline allows to pay for goods online in just two clicks — users don't have to manually enter card details. All details are retrieved from Google account to which users can link their cards.Google launched this technology in the U.S. in October 2017, known as Pay with Google. Upon its launch the service partnered with such companies as Instacart, Yelp!, Doordash, and others. The company promised to expand its partnership base to include Airbnb, Deliveroo, and few other services.
#2. How does it work?
Google.PayOnline pulls the details of card that is linked to user's Google account. If you have ever paid for goods within Google ecosystem (games, apps, YouTube movies, etc.) or subscribed to services (Google Play Music, YouTube Premium), then your card details are already in your account.Otherwise, you must do it yourself. One of the ways of doing this — go to Play Market, Account, select Payment methods, and add your card.
#3. Is there anything similar already in place in Ukraine?
Yes. Holders of Mastercard have been enjoying MasterPass service for over two years now. It is a digital wallet to which users can link their cards and pay online without manually entering card details. The technology supported 2,000 websites when it was launched.
#4. I sell goods on the Internet. How do I connect this service?
When Google.PayOnline starts working in Ukraine, companies and online sellers will have to connect this service to their websites. This can be done with Google Payment API. Google does not charge for using the service.
#5. How essential is it for businesses?
Google says that it is an essential service. According to Radevich, 69% of buyers leave a website or close a mobile app if payment process is too complicated. In terms of the Ukrainian market, earlier, Dmitriy Sholomko, Director General, Google Ukraine, said that within a year since Google.Pay's launch in Ukraine the number of payments using this app increased 90-fold, which put Ukraine in Top-5 most active users of the app. That means that Ukrainian users are ready to use similar services.
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Q: In C#, what's the best way to deal with partially received messages using SocketAsyncEventArgs Buffer In order to clean some messy code and get a better understanding of the SocketAsyncEventArgs class, I'd to know what's the most efficient technique to reassemble partially received messages from SocketAsyncEventArgs buffers.
To give you the big picture, I'm connected to a TCP server using a C# Socket client that will essentially receive data. The data received is message-based delimited by a \n character.
As you're probably already aware of, when using the ReceiveAsync method, this is almost a certitude that the last received message will be uncompleted such as you'll have to locate the index of the last complete message, copy the incomplete buffer section and keep it as start for the next received buffer and so on.
The thing is, I wish to abstract this operation from the upper layer and call the ProcessReceiveDataImpl as soon I get completed messages in the _tmpBuffer. I found that my Buffer.BlockCopy is not much readable (very old code also (-:) but anyway I wish to know what are you doing in this typical use case?
Code to reassemble messages:
public class SocketClient
{
    private const int _receiveBufferSize = 8192;
    private byte[] _remBuffer = new byte[2 * _receiveBufferSize];
    private byte[] _tmpBuffer = new byte[2 * _receiveBufferSize];

    private int _remBufferSize = 0;
    private int _tmpBufferSize = 0;

    private void ProcessReceiveData(SocketAsyncEventArgs e)
    {
        // the buffer to process
        byte[] curBuffer = e.Buffer;
        int curBufferSize = e.BytesTransferred;
        int curBufferOffset = e.Offset;
        int curBufferLastIndex = e.BytesTransferred - 1;
        int curBufferLastSplitIndex = int.MinValue;

        if (_remBufferSize > 0)
        {
            curBufferLastSplitIndex = GetLastSplitIndex(curBuffer, curBufferOffset, curBufferSize);

            if (curBufferLastSplitIndex != curBufferLastIndex)
            {
                // copy the remain + part of the current into tmp
                Buffer.BlockCopy(_remBuffer, 0, _tmpBuffer, 0, _remBufferSize);
                Buffer.BlockCopy(curBuffer, curBufferOffset, _tmpBuffer, _remBufferSize, curBufferLastSplitIndex + 1);
                _tmpBufferSize = _remBufferSize + curBufferLastSplitIndex + 1;

                ProcessReceiveDataImpl(_tmpBuffer, _tmpBufferSize);

                Buffer.BlockCopy(curBuffer, curBufferLastSplitIndex + 1, _remBuffer, 0, curBufferLastIndex - curBufferLastSplitIndex);
                _remBufferSize = curBufferLastIndex - curBufferLastSplitIndex;
            }
            else
            {
                // copy the remain +  entire current into tmp
                Buffer.BlockCopy(_remBuffer, 0, _tmpBuffer, 0, _remBufferSize);
                Buffer.BlockCopy(curBuffer, curBufferOffset, _tmpBuffer, _remBufferSize, curBufferSize);

                ProcessReceiveDataImpl(_tmpBuffer, _remBufferSize + curBufferSize);
                _remBufferSize = 0;
            }
        }
        else
        {
            curBufferLastSplitIndex = GetLastSplitIndex(curBuffer, curBufferOffset, curBufferSize);

            if (curBufferLastSplitIndex != curBufferLastIndex)
            {
                // we must copy the unused byte into remaining buffer
                _remBufferSize = curBufferLastIndex - curBufferLastSplitIndex;
                Buffer.BlockCopy(curBuffer, curBufferLastSplitIndex + 1, _remBuffer, 0, _remBufferSize);

                // process the msg
                ProcessReceiveDataImpl(curBuffer, curBufferLastSplitIndex + 1);
            }
            else
            {
                // we can process the entire msg
                ProcessReceiveDataImpl(curBuffer, curBufferSize);
            }
        }
    }

    protected virtual void ProcessReceiveDataImpl(byte[] buffer, int bufferSize)
    {

    }

    private int GetLastSplitIndex(byte[] buffer, int offset, int bufferSize)
    {
        for (int i = offset + bufferSize - 1; i >= offset; i--)
        {
            if (buffer[i] == '\n')
            {
                return i;
            }
        }
        return -1;
    }
}

Your input is very important and appreciated!
Thank you!
Updated:
Also, rather then calling the ProcessReceiveDataImpl and block further receive operations, will it be useful to queue completed messages and make them available to the consumer?

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
What is CFD trading, and why is it banned in the US
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Mississippi's governor: Full speed ahead with new abortion restrictions
Carl Westwood
"We have to prove that being pro-life is not simply about being anti-abortion, and, in our state, we are enacting policies to do exactly that," Reeves told host Mike Emanuel, without specifying what policies he meant or how they would be implemented.
Mississippi is facing a fresh challenge from the Jackson Women's Health Organization, which is arguing that a prior Mississippi Supreme Court ruling had said that the right to have an abortion was found in the state's Constitution.
"Unless there is an injunction which forces us not to enforce it, then, of course, we're going to enforce the law," Reeves said. He said he expects Mississippi's law to be upheld within the state.
The state is not alone in terms of new court cases: So-called trigger laws that kicked in (or will kick in) around the nation have been challenged on various legal grounds. In and out of courtrooms, activists on both sides of the issue have also brought up all sorts of questions and issues that did not come into play until Roe. v. Wade was overturned.
Emanuel peppered Reeves with a series of questions based on scenarios that have emerged since the Dobbs ruling, some of them concerning the ability of people to go to other states to obtain abortions and some concerning medications that can be sent through the mail or otherwise obtained from outside the state.
"In our state," Reeves said, "the enforcement is done by the state board of medical licensure. We have a state board of medical licensure which actually oversees the practice of medicine in our state, and they ensure that any physician that is practicing, whether it's through telemedicine or otherwise, that any physician that practices in our state is practicing not only based upon the standards of care that we require in our state, but also based upon state law."
Emanuel also asked the governor about the state potentially using surveillance of email and cellphones to guarantee Mississippi residents were not obtaining abortions, something that was clearly not an issue before the Roe v. Wade ruling.
"I have no reason to believe that there will be any surveillance of mail or phones," Reeves said.
In response to another question, Reeves suggested that discussions about exceptions for rape within state laws were basically a distraction, since very few abortions were obtained because of rape and incest. Mississippi's law allows for exceptions for rape or incest, though some lawmakers are seeking to eliminate those provisions.
"If the far-left really believe what they want you to believe," he said, "if they really believe that the American people were with them and were for abortion on demand, then they wouldn't be talking about all of these exceptions and minor numbers."
The Mississippi law also allows exceptions to save the life of the mother, though it can be tough to know exactly when that element might come into play — and whether physicians could face repercussions for making that determination.
"There's always the potential for confusion," Reeves said, "but when you think about the exception for the life of the mother, in essence you have a true medical decision that has to be made by the physician because you have two lives at stake."
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© Overpasses For America | All Rights Reserved


text:
Daniel Lieberman On Why We Avoid Exercise
By Doug Fabrizio • Jan 7, 2021
Renee Bright / KUER
The new year means a lot of us are committing to new exercise routines — routines we're going to "get right" this time. Only, what if we didn't evolve to exercise at all?
Our guest, paleoanthropologist Daniel Lieberman, says regular exercise — working out, on purpose, to get healthier — was never part of the plan for natural selection. (Hey, as long as the species keeps breeding, right?) But we're also not supposed to sit around all day and do nothing. We did evolve to use our bodies and even to work them pretty hard — when necessary. With medical professionals lamenting our sedentary lifestyles, the key, Daniel Lieberman told us, is to exercise the right way. He'll join us Friday at noon to share his research.
Daniel Lieberman's book is Exercised: Why Something We Never Evolved to Do Is Healthy and Rewarding. [IndieBound|Amazon|Audible| Bookshop]
Sleep, For Your Health
By Doug Fabrizio • Nov 13, 2013
Sleep. It's something you do every day, hopefully. If you're like most people, sleep's probably the first thing you sacrifice when life gets hectic. But what scientists and researchers are discovering about the profound effects of sleep on our bodies might make you think twice about staying up late to watch another episode of your favorite TV show. Dr. Michael Breus, aka the "Sleep Doctor," joins us Thursday to explain how sleep impacts our minds, our muscles, our weight, even our genes, and how what you eat effects how you sleep.
Everything You Know About Obesity Is Wrong
By Doug Fabrizio • Oct 2, 2018
Huffington Post/Highline
Nearly 80 percent of American adults are clinically overweight or obese. Journalist Michael Hobbes says the medical community has responded to this crisis by shaming people for being fat rather than helping them.
Why You Eat What You Eat
By Doug Fabrizio • Feb 8, 2018
Rachel Herz is a neuroscientist who studies the psychology of eating. Which is to say, she explores what influences the things you eat and the things you don't, how food affects us mentally, emotionally, and how it can change your behavior.
What Doesn't Kill Us...
Wednesday, we're asking this question: Is it true that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger? Investigative journalist and anthropologist Scott Carney went looking for answers. He joins us to talk about pushing past perceived limitations.


text:
Justia Patents Seismic Or Geological Sample MeasuringUS Patent for Error detection in seismic data Patent (Patent # 5,535,286)
Error detection in seismic data
Jun 27, 1994 - IBM
An apparatus for detecting errors in frames of seismic data that can be presented as images, such images being expected to exhibit an inherent symmetry about an axis, the apparatus comprising: a storage device for storing a frame of seismic data which can be presented as an image; a selection device for selecting an axis within the image as the axis of symmetry; a divider for dividing the data about the axis of symmetry to create first and second sets of data; and a comparison means for comparing the sets of data according to preselected matching criteria to determine, based on the degree of matching, whether the extent of mismatch in the frame of data is within a predetermined tolerance.
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The present invention relates in general to the detection of errors in seismic data and in particular to apparatus for detecting errors in frames of seismic data that can be presented as images.
Due to the techniques used for collecting seismic data, an image produced to represent that data will typically be expected to exhibit an inherent symmetry about an axis. However seismic survey data is subject to various errors from many causes; the most frequent cause of errors are background noise and misplaced equipment. Analysis of the seismic data is typically a very long process with the data passing through many stages of computational processing. Hence it is desirable to identify errors in frames of data as early as possible to avoid wasting valuable time processing bad data. A reliable technique for detecting errors could save much re-work.
Typically a company involved in obtaining and analyzing seismic data will have to transport a great deal of hardware to the survey location, will carry out a large number of seismic tests, and then will return to the laboratory to analyze the data. Seismic tests usually involve positioning cables in lines on the surface of the land (or towing cables behind a ship on the surface of water), each cable having a number of sensors attached to it along its length. A shock wave is then generated, eg. by firing a shot, at a location on the surface symmetrically disposed with respect to the cables, and the shock waves are detected along these cables of sensors. Given this type of arrangement, it is apparent that viewing the collections of signals as an image and checking for symmetry is a good way of detecting errors.
However, up until now, this has been done by geophysicists checking by eye. Obviously this is very time consuming, labor intensive, and prone to errors, and so it would be highly desirable to reduce the time that a geophysicist must spend inspecting the data. The seismic industry has applied theories of geophysics in an attempt to solve the problem of error detection, but has been unable to solve the problem purely within the domain of geophysics.
It is hence an object of the present invention to provide an improved technique for detecting errors in frames of seismic data, which requires much less human activity.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a technique for detecting errors, which can be carried out at the survey site so that, if necessary, data can be re-acquired before the testing equipment is removed from the site.
According to the present invention, the foregoing and other objects are attained by an apparatus for detecting errors in frames of seismic data that can be presented as images, such images being expected to exhibit an inherent symmetry about an axis, the apparatus comprising: a storage device for storing a frame of seismic data which can be presented as an image; a selection device for selecting an axis within the image as the axis of symmetry; a divider for dividing the data about the axis of symmetry to create first and second sets of data; and a comparison means for comparing the sets of data according to preselected matching criteria to determine, based on the degree of matching, whether the extent of mismatch in the frame of data is within a predetermined tolerance.
Typically the comparison means will comprise a matching device for comparing the sets of data to determine the degree of matching between such sets, and decision logic, responsive to output from the matching device, to determine whether the extent of mismatch is within the predetermined tolerance.
In preferred embodiments the comparison means will also comprise an edge detector for determining the data points representing discontinuities in the image, and to create an edge list of such data points. Such edge lists will then be used as the basis of comparison by the matching device. The advantage of using an edge list as the input to the matching device is that it will typically present many less points for comparison than the original data would present (eg 2058 edges in a 128.times.128 image (16384 bytes)). Hence the speed of the comparison process is improved.
The divider can be arranged to operate on the whole frame of seismic data prior to passing the first and second sets of data separately through the edge detector. In this arrangement the edge lists created by the edge detector will be received by the matching device for comparison. However, in preferred embodiments, the edge detector is arranged to operate on the whole frame of seismic data, and then the edge list is operated on by the divider so as to create two edge lists as the first and second sets of data for comparison by the matching device. This latter approach reduces computing overhead since only one set of data has to be passed through the edge detector rather than two; the edge detection process has a significant setup overhead.
The divider may just divide the data about the axis of symmetry, or additionally may include a mirroring means for re-ordering the data in the first set of data so that it can be represented by an image which would be the mirror image of the image previously representing that set. In preferred embodiments the divider includes a mirroring means and the comparison means is then arranged to compare the second set of data with the re-ordered first set of data. By employing a mirroring means in the divider, a much simpler form of comparison means can be used than would otherwise be necessary.
Typically the mirroring means re-orders the first set of data created by the divider by employing a buffer in which to store data from that set of data constituting a row of an image, the contents in the buffer then being read out in reverse order and stored as the re-ordered first set of data.
The selection device can be implemented by means of an amplitude peak detector which selects the axis of symmetry as the position in the data having the highest detected intensity. However, in preferred embodiments, the selection device uses information contained in the seismic data, giving the positioning of the shot for that frame of data, to select an axis as the axis of symmetry.
The edge detector can use any one of a number of edge detection techniques. However, in preferred embodiments, the edge detector employs a Canny edge detection algorithm in order to identify the data points representing edges. The Canny algorithm is a known edge detection algorithm and so will not be described in detail herein; the article by J. F. Canny entitled "A Computational Approach to Edge Detection", IEEE Trans. Pattern Analysis & Machine Intelligence, 6:679-698 (1986), describes the algorithm in detail.
In preferred embodiments, the matching device uses a stereo matching algorithm. A particularly preferable stereo matching algorithm is the PMF algorithm, which has shown in the present circumstances to be more efficient and robust than alternative techniques.
Typically the seismic data represents geological structure created from seismic disturbance measurements taken at fixed points from a source of disturbance.
Viewed from a second aspect the present invention provides a method of detecting errors in frames of seismic data that can be presented as images, such images being expected to exhibit an inherent symmetry about an axis, the method comprising the steps of: (a) storing a frame of seismic data that can be presented as an image in a storage device; (b) selecting an axis within the image as the axis of symmetry; (c) employing a divider to divide the image about the axis of symmetry to create first and second sets of data; and (d) comparing, in a comparison means, the sets of data according to preselected matching criteria to determine, based on the degree of matching, whether the extent of mismatch in the frame of data is within a predetermined tolerance.
The present invention solves the error detection problem by utilizing a number of techniques developed for image processing to create an apparatus which can quickly and reliably identify errors with the minimum of user interaction. The apparatus will `flag` frames of seismic data which show deviations from symmetry, after allowing for certain natural variations, so that a user, typically a geophysicist, can decide whether such frames should be discarded or retained for further processing.
The above as well as additional objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed written description.
The novel features believed characteristic of the invention are set forth in the appended claims. The invention itself however, as well as a preferred mode of use, further objects and advantages thereof, will best be understood by reference to the following detailed description of an illustrative embodiment when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
FIG. 1 shows a typical arrangement used to gather seismic data;
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating two different techniques for embodying the present invention;
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the elements of the apparatus according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating the process steps involved in dividing and re-ordering the edge list;
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating the re-ordering process carried out by the divider; and
FIG. 6 shows a frame of raw seismic data obtained from a cable of sensors, and various other images representing various stages during the error detection process.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
FIG. 1 illustrates a typical technique used to obtain seismic data representing the geological structure of an area of rock below the earth's surface. Lines of cables 10 are set out on the earth's surface, each cable incorporating a number of geophone sensors 20. Then a source of sound 30 is placed within the vicinity of the cables and is activated to emit a shot, causing shock waves to pass down into the ground. These waves reflect off the various layers of rock 50 in the ground 40 and the reflected waves are detected by the array of geophone sensors 20. Next the source 30 is moved to a different position and again a shot is fired. The process is repeated a number of times so as to create a series of shots at different locations, and to yield a large number of frames of seismic data.
This data is then returned to the laboratory for processing. For each cable, the data received by the various geophone sensors on that cable for a particular shot can be used to create an image 610 such as that shown in FIG. 6. In image 610, the x-axis corresponds to geophone position (i.e. trace) and the y-axis corresponds to time. FIG. 6 shows a frame of raw seismic data obtained from a cable of sensors, and various other images representing various stages during the error detection process; this figure is purely illustrative, and in the preferred embodiment of the present invention there is no need to represent the data graphically. Although FIG. 6 illustrates a rather idealized sample, there will generally be an axis of symmetry similar to that shown.
In computer vision literature, there are various known techniques that attempt symmetry detection, see for example the article entitled "Using a Mixed Wave/Diffusion Process to Elicit the Symmetry Set" by Scott, Turner and Zissermann, Proceedings of the Fourth Alvey Vision Conference, University of Manchester, 31 Aug.-2 Sep. 1988, page 221, and the article entitled "Recognize the Similarity Between Shapes under Affine Transformation" by Hong and Tan, IEEE Second International Conference on Computer Vision, 5-8 Dec. 1988, page 489. Neither of these techniques are particularly robust or efficient. Applications in the computer vision field have generally been to simplified, artificial images. Seismic data presents a problem which is quite different in character since it generally has significantly greater information content, but does have the simplification that the whole image exhibits symmetry about a fairly obvious axis that is usually vertical (since the rock interfaces tend to be approximately horizontal). Most known symmetry detectors employ complex techniques which concentrate on the problem of finding the axis of symmetry; clearly these techniques are not required for typical frames of seismic data.
In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the problem of finding the axis of symmetry can be solved either by using a straightforward peak detector or by using information about the positioning of the shot with relation to the geophones. This will be discussed in more detail later with reference to FIG. 3. With the axis identified, the matching problem then becomes one of comparing the set of data to the left of the axis with the set of data to the right of the axis.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating at a high level two different techniques of implementing the invention to detect errors in a frame of seismic data. In both techniques the first step is to identify the axis of symmetry in the frame of seismic data represented by image 100.
Then if technique (a) is chosen, the seismic data is divided into two sets of data; the first set contains data that can be represented by the left half of the image 100, and the second set contains data which can be represented by the right half of image 100. The data in the first set is then reordered so that it would be represented by an image which is the mirror image of the image previously representing that set. The left set can then be represented by image 120 whilst the second set can be represented by image 130.
These two sets of data are then passed separately through an edge detector, typically employing `Canny` edge detection, to yield two edge lists 140 and 150. The edges in this context can be defined as discontinuities in intensity which are associated with boundaries between areas in the original data or image representing that data.
Finally, the two edge lists are passed to a matching device 160 for comparison with each other. The matching device must then apply some kind of symmetry matching method to the edge lists. Since one of the sets of data has been re-ordered (or `mirrored`), the comparison that needs to be made can be seen to be similar to the matching of a pair of images in stereoscopic vision, where two cameras (or two eyes) see two slightly different views. There are some robust algorithms available for stereo matching; the PMF algorithm produced by Pollard et al has shown itself to be particularly suitable. Details of this algorithm can be found in the article by S. B. Pollard, J. E. W. Mayhew, and J. P. Frisby entitled "PMF: A Stereo Correspondence Algorithm using a Disparity Gradient Constraint", Perception, 14:449-470 (1985).
If technique (b) is chosen, the edge detection stage is carried out directly after the identification of the axis of symmetry, and before the frame of seismic data is divided. This yields an edge list 170 containing all the discontinuities located in the whole frame of seismic data. This edge list is then split using details of the axis of symmetry to produce two edge lists. The first edge list is then reordered using a process described later to yield a modified first edge list which, if represented graphically, would be a `mirror image` of the representation of the unmodified first edge list. These two edge lists 180 and 190 are then passed to the matching device 160 for comparison.
Technique (b) is preferred over technique (a) since it reduces computing overhead by requiring only one set of data to be passed through the edge detection stage.
The apparatus of the preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the block diagram shown in FIG. 3.
The results from a particular set of seismic tests are stored in an external storage device 210 such as a magnetic tape device. If there is a general understanding of the rock distribution in the survey area from which these results were obtained then some pre-processing correction can be made to the raw data. Since sound travels faster through matter as the matter's density increases, knowledge of the rock distribution can be used to establish an understanding of the velocity distribution across the survey area, and this can be used to introduce a correction factor into the raw data stored in storage device 210. Once this correction has been made, images representing such seismic data will be expected to exhibit an inherent symmetry about an axis. This correction technique is one that is generally applied to such seismic data and so will not be described in any further detail herein.
Once any pre-processing corrections have been made, then the apparatus 200 is activated to read one frame of seismic data from the external storage device 210 into internal storage 220. This data will also include information about the width and depth of the data, and about the positioning of the shot with respect to the geophone sensors.
The axis detector 240 then accesses the seismic data in order to select an axis as the axis of symmetry. In one embodiment the axis detector will employ a straightforward peak detection technique to determine the position in the data which has the highest intensity; this position is then used as the x coordinate for a vertical axis of symmetry.
However, in the preferred embodiment, the axis detector operates by locating the information in the data giving the positioning of the shot for that frame of data, and then uses that location as the x-coordinate to create a vertical axis of symmetry.
Next, the frame of seismic data is passed to the edge detector 250, wherein a Canny edge detection routine is applied to the data to identify the data points representing discontinuities in the data (graphically, these are the lines of maximum gradient or most rapidly changing intensity). These data points are stored as an edge list 170, which is then passed to the divider 260; the divider also receives details of the axis of symmetry from the axis detector 240.
The divider 260 divides the edge list into two separate lists with data points to one side of the axis of symmetry being stored in the first edge list and data to the other side of the axis being stored in the second edge list. Once this has been done, a mirroring means within the divider 260 is then activated to reorder the first list. The reordering is such that the reordered first edge list can be represented by an image which is the reflection (or `mirror`) of the image which would represent the unaltered first edge list. The technique used to make this separation and reordering will be described in more detail later with reference to FIG. 4.
The second edge list 190 and the reordered first edge list 180 are then passed to the matching device 160, wherein the PMF stereo matching algorithm is applied to the edge lists. This yields statistics about the proportion of edge points in one edge list that are matched or unmatched to edge points in the other edge list. In the preferred embodiment, the matching algorithm also yields values for the average disparity and the average absolute disparity; for each pair of matched points, the disparity is the displacement between the point in one edge list and its mirror point projected onto it from the other edge list.
Then in the preferred embodiment, the axis detector alters the x-coordinate of the axis of symmetry by one unit to the left (eg by the distance between two adjacent geophone sensors). The divider and matching device then repeat the above described procedure using the new axis of symmetry to yield a new set of statistics. The whole procedure is then repeated once more but with the axis of symmetry shifted by one unit to the right of the original axis of symmetry.
Having done this the matching device will have created three average absolute disparity values, one for each axis of symmetry. If `A` was the original x-coordinate of the axis of symmetry and `d` is the disparity value then the matching device will have produced the following information:
AXIS.sub.A-1    AXIS.sub.A
AXIS.sub.A+1
d.sub.2         d.sub.1 d.sub.3
If d.sub.1 is numerically less than d.sub.2 and d.sub.3, AXIS.sub.A is the axis with the local minimum disparity value and the statistics generated by the matching device 160 for AXIS.sub.A are then passed on to decision logic 270. If however d.sub.2 or d.sub.3 have values less than d.sub.1, then another iteration of the process is carried out with a further axis of symmetry chosen one unit to the left or right of the axis with the lowest disparity value, eg if d.sub.2 has a disparity value less than d.sub.1 and d.sub.3 then another iteration is carried out with the axis of symmetry having an x-coordinate of `A-2`. If this yields a disparity value greater than d.sub.2 then d.sub.2 is the local minimum value and the statistics generated by the output from the matching device 160 when the axis of symmetry had an x-coordinate of A-1 are passed to the decision logic 270.
Once the axis of symmetry giving rise to the local minimum disparity value has been identified, the decision logic 270 will determine whether the statistics (eg disparity value, percentage of edges matched, etc) output by the matching device are within thresholds preset by the user. If they are, then the frame of data stored in internal storage 220 can be passed directly to the data processing stages 280 since the indication is that the frame of data is reasonably free from errors and hence suitable for processing. If however the statistics are greater than the threshold values, then the frame of data is referred for user evaluation 290 since the indication is that it includes an unacceptable proportion of errors. The user will typically be a skilled geophysicist and will view an image representing the frame of data to see how `good` or `bad` it looks. If the user agrees that the data is `bad` then he can discard that frame of data. If on the other hand he decides that the data looks acceptable he can pass the frame of data on to the data processing stages 280.
Ideal threshold values for the statistics are typically set by the user during an initial tuning phase. In this initial tuning phase the user will view a number of frames of seismic data using the standard subjective prior art approach and decide whether each frame is `good` or `bad`. These same frames of data will then be passed one by one through the apparatus of the preferred embodiment to see if the decision logic 270 refers any of them for user evaluation. Ideally only the ones considered by the user to be bad should be referred to him, but typically the threshold values will have to be manipulated until some compromise is struck (eg all of the bad frames are passed for user evaluation plus a small proportion of the good frames).
The decision logic can be adapted to take account of a number of features when making its decision as to the quality of the frames of data. It has been found that the disparity values created by the PMF algorithm are good statistics to use as part of this decision process. If the average absolute disparity fails to reach a minimum in the region of the expected axis of symmetry then it is likely that an error exists; this fact can be used by the decision logic 270. In addition, for good data, the minimum disparity value and the depth of the average absolute disparity curve should fall below chosen threshold values. Further, the disparity curve should not exhibit ancillary minima. Given this information the decision logic has shown to perform well.
By using the above described apparatus, many images can be inspected without manual intervention. If the thresholds have been chosen correctly, very few images will be referred for manual inspection. The user can decide the optimal balance for the threshold values in order to minimize missed errors while maximizing throughput.
The above technique in which vertical axes are chosen as candidate axes of symmetry seems to work well when the seismic data represents reflections off rock interfaces lying roughly horizontal. If however the rock interfaces were at a significant angle to the horizontal then frames representing such interfaces may well not give good matching and would be referred to the user. The user would then notice that the data referred to him was in fact `good` data but that the axis of symmetry was slightly skewed from the vertical, and would hence pass the data on for subsequent data processing rather than discarding it.
Alternatively some form of skew correction circuitry could be developed to apply a correction at an appropriate stage in the process.
The process of dividing and reordering the edge list will now be described in more detail with reference to the flow diagram shown in FIG. 4. At step 410 an axis of symmetry is created using information contained in the frame of seismic data about the positioning of the sound source during that shot; this process is carried out by the axis detector 240 described earlier with reference to FIG. 3.
At step 420 an edge list is created from the frame of seismic data by performing Canny edge detection on that frame. The output of the Canny edge detection is an edge list listing all of the data points at which discontinuities occur.
Then at step 430 the first data point is accessed from the list and its x-coordinate value is compared with the x-coordinate of the axis of symmetry as determined at step 410. In the preferred embodiment, the comparison involves subtracting the x-coordinate of the axis of symmetry from the x-coordinate of the data point. If the result of the subtraction is positive (step 440) the data point is written directly to the second edge list (step 450). The positive value indicates that the edge point lies to the right of the axis of symmetry, and the value resulting from the subtraction gives the data point's position as adjusted to reflect its offset from the axis of symmetry.
If however the result is negative, the process proceeds to step 460 where it is determined whether the current data point is on a different row to the previous data point processed. If it is not, then the current data point is written to a temporary buffer (step 470). If however the current data point is on a new row, then the contents already in the temporary buffer are read out in reverse order and stored in the first edge list (step 480). The buffer is then cleared (step 490) and the current data point is then written to the buffer at step 470. This ensures that only the contents of one row are stored in the buffer at any one time.
The reason for writing such data points (for which the result of the subtraction is negative) to a buffer rather than directly into the first edge list is as follows. The negative value indicates that the data point lies to the left of the axis of symmetry as viewed in FIG. 6. It is preferable to perform a reordering (or "mirroring") operation on all data points to the left of the axis of symmetry in order to reduce the complexity of later comparison of the left-side edge list with the right-side edge-list. However, for each left-side edge point, this involves modifying the edge orientation as well as adjusting the position with respect to the axis. Simple "mirroring" by itself is insufficient, as the comparison process relies to some extent on the ordering of the edge-list. Accordingly, for the left-side edges, the edge points must be re-ordered within each row of the data. To do this it is necessary to collect all of the left-side edge points for any given row together in a buffer and then to perform the reordering.
At step 500 it is determined whether all of the data points in the edge list have been compared with the axis of symmetry. If this is not the case then the process returns to step 430 and a further subtraction step is performed on one of the remaining edge points. If all of the edge points have been compared, and so have been written either to the second edge list, first edge list, or the temporary buffer, then the process proceeds to step 510. At this step the data points remaining in the buffer (corresponding to the final row) are read out of the buffer in reverse order and stored in the first edge list. The process has then achieved the necessary reordering discussed above. Finally the buffer is cleared (step 520) and both edge lists are passed to the matching device 160 (step 530).
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating this re-ordering process. The frame of seismic data is represented by image 550, which shows the nth time slice (or row) in detail. A portion of the edge list for the nth row is represented by chart 560. Here we can see that four edge points C1, C2, C3, C4 have been identified by the edge detector for row n.
The subtraction step as illustrated in FIG. 5 shows that subtraction of the x-coordinate of the axis of symmetry from the x-coordinate of the edge points of row n yields negative values for C1 and C2 and positive values for C3 and C4. The positive values are written directly into the second (or right-side) edge list, a portion of which is shown by chart 580, whilst the modulus of the negative values are written into the buffer 570.
The re-ordering step involves, upon reaching the first left-side edge point in row n+1, reading the values for row n out of the buffer 570 in reverse order and storing them in the first (or left-side) edge list, a portion of which is shown by chart 590. In this way the first edge list comes to be filled with data points which can be represented by an image which is the reflection (or `mirror`) of the image which would represent a first edge list created without any re-ordering.
FIG. 6 shows a frame of raw seismic data obtained from a cable of sensors, and various other images representing various stages during the error detection process. As mentioned earlier these images are purely illustrative and do not need to be reproduced during typical operation of the apparatus of the preferred embodiment.
Image 610 shows a frame of raw data obtained from one cable of geophone sensors for one particular shot; this image will preferably have been corrected for noise using a known noise correction technique. Image 620 is illustrative of the image that can be produced to represent the edge list created by edge detector 250. The axis of symmetry as generated by the axis detector 240 is shown superimposed on image 620.
As discussed the divider takes the edge list represented by image 620 and creates right and left-side edge lists, the data in the left-side list having been reordered; these two edge lists are represented by images 630 and 640 respectively. Image 650 illustrates the proportion of data points matched by the matching device 160, whilst image 660 illustrates the proportion of unmatched data points.
The value of the above described preferred embodiment (corresponding to technique (b) in FIG. 2) is that it reduces computing overhead by performing a single edge-detection step, followed by an efficient splitting process. Its effectiveness has been demonstrated by processing a seismic shot which was contrived to be symmetrical and achieving 100% matching between the two sides.
While the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to a preferred embodiment, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and detail may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
1. Apparatus for detecting errors in frames of seismic data capable of being presented as images, such images being expected to exhibit an inherent symmetry about an axis, the apparatus comprising:
a storage device for storing a frame of seismic data capable of being presented as an image;
a selection device for selecting an axis within the image as the axis of symmetry;
a divider for dividing the data about the axis of symmetry to create first and second sets of data, wherein the divider includes a mirroring means for re-ordering the data in the first set of data so that it can be presented by an image which would be the mirror image of the image previously representing the set; and
a comparison means for comparing the re-ordered first set of data and second set of data according to preselected matching criteria to determine, based on the degree of matching, whether the extent of mismatch in the frame of data is within a predetermined tolerance and, if it is, to indicate the frame of seismic data is valid.
2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the comparison means comprises:
a matching device for comparing the first and second sets of data to determine the degree of matching between such sets; and
decision logic, responsive to output from the matching device, to determine whether the extent of mismatch is within the predetermined tolerance.
3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein the comparison means further comprises:
an edge detector for determining the data points representing discontinuities in the image, and to create an edge list of such data points, such edge lists being used as the basis of comparison by the matching device.
4. Apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein the divider operates on the whole frame of seismic data prior to passing the first and second sets of data separately through the edge detector, the edge lists created by the edge detector being received by the matching device for comparison.
5. Apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein the edge detector operates on the whole frame of seismic data and then the edge list is operated on by the divider so as to create two edge lists as the first and second sets of data for comparison by the matching device.
6. Apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein the edge detector employs a canny edge detection algorithm in order to identify the data points representing edges.
7. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the mirroring means re-orders the first set of data created by the divider by employing a buffer in which to store data from that set of data constituting a row of an image, the contents in the buffer then being read out in reverse order and stored as the re-ordered first set of data.
8. Apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein the matching device uses a stereo matching algorithm.
9. Apparatus as claimed in claim 8, wherein the stereo matching algorithm is the PMF algorithm.
10. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the selection device is an amplitude peak detector which selects the axis of symmetry as the position in the data having the highest detected intensity.
11. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the selection device uses information contained in the seismic data, giving the positioning of the shot for that frame of data, to select an axis as the axis of symmetry.
12. A method of detecting errors in frames of seismic data capable of being presented as images, such images being expected to exhibit an inherent symmetry about an axis, the method comprising the steps of:
(a) storing a frame of seismic data capable of being presented as an image in a storage device;
(b) selecting an axis within the image as the axis of symmetry;
(c) employing a divider to divide the image about the axis of symmetry to create first and second sets of data, wherein the dividing step includes a mirroring step which re-orders the data in the first set of data so that it can be represented by an image which would be the mirror image of the image previously representing that set;
(d) comparing, in a comparing means, the re-ordered first set of data and second set of data according to preselected matching criteria to determine, based on the degree of matching, whether the extent of mismatch in the frame of data is within a predetermined tolerance; and
(e) indicating, if extent of the mismatch is within the predetermined tolerance, that the frame of seismic data is valid.
13. A method as claimed in claim 12, wherein the comparison step comprises the steps of:
(i) forming an edge list for each of the first and second sets of data;
(ii) comparing, in a matching device, edge lists to determine the degree of matching between the edges represented by such lists; and
(iii) determining, in response to output from the matching device, whether the extent of mismatch is within the predetermined tolerance.
14. A method as claimed in claim 13, wherein the comparison step further comprises, prior to the comparing step, the step of:
(iii) determining, in an edge detector, the data points representing discontinuities in the image, and creating an edge list of such data points, such edge lists being used as the basis of comparison by the matching device.
15. A method as claimed in claim 14, wherein the edge detection step is performed on the whole frame of data and then the edge list is used as the input for the step of dividing the image so as to create two edge lists as the first and second sets of data for comparison.
16. A method as claimed in claim 12, wherein the dividing step is performed prior to the step of comparing.
4682220 July 21, 1987 Beurskens
4706205 November 10, 1987 Akai et al.
4896279 January 23, 1990 Yoshida
5179441 January 12, 1993 Anderson et al.
5206596 April 27, 1993 Beihoff et al.
5226017 July 6, 1993 Fostin
5274718 December 28, 1993 Leonardi et al.
Robust-detection of facial features by generalized symetry Daniel Reisfeld et al. Dept of Computer Science. Tel Aviv University IEEE Pattern recognition 1992, 11th Int'l. vol. 1, conf A.
Filed: Jun 27, 1994
Date of Patent: Jul 9, 1996
Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation (Armonk, NY)
Inventors: John B. Ibbotson (Southampton), John M. Knapman (Chandler's Ford), Colin L. Bird (Fair Oak), Sydney G. Chapman (Winchester), Ian Henderson (Bedford)
Primary Examiner: Joseph Mancuso
Assistant Examiner: Bipin Shalwala
Attorneys: Jonathan E. Jobe, Jr., Craig J. Yudell, Andrew J. Dillon
Current U.S. Class: Seismic Or Geological Sample Measuring (382/109); Pattern Boundary And Edge Measurements (382/199); Shape And Form Analysis (382/203); Determining Both Similarities And Differences (382/219); Borehole (348/85)
International Classification: G06K 900;


text:
describe('Upon launching app, a user', function() {

  beforeEach(function(){
    var ptor = protractor.getInstance();
    ptor.waitForAngular();

    browser.get('/');
  });

  it('can navigate to feed page', function(){
    expect(element(by.id('test')).isPresent()).toBe(true);
  });

});

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Salaries March 2, 2021
Listicle of the Day: Best- and Worst-Paying States For Accountants
Gather 'round, kids, we're going to talk about accounting salaries.
The other day, Business.org came out with a report on which states (plus the District of Columbia) pay accountants the best and the worst. To do this, the site said it used data from the Bureau of Labor's annual occupational employment stats and compared each state's average accounting salary to the state's average salaried worker to compile its ranking.
Now before you accountants in Maryland bitch about why the state's average annual salary of $81,920 is $16,500 more than the average annual salary for accountants in Mississippi but Maryland is considered one of the worst-paying states and Mississippi is considered THE best, take into account one of your favorite acronyms that you use when asking questions about salaries among your peers on the usual chatter sites: COL.
Business.org explains:
But just as with any career, accounting's profitability differs from state to state. For instance, accountants in Washington, DC are paid a higher salary than accountants anywhere else in the nation. But with DC's higher cost of living—and the fact that DC accountants make only 15.7% above the average salary there—DC is actually the worst area for accountants who want their dollar to go as far as possible.
In contrast, Mississippi ranks first on our list, with accountants there making 63% more than the average salaried worker in the state. That's an average wage of $65,420, which goes pretty far in the state US News just named the most affordable in the US.
So with all of that said, here's a map showing each state's (and DC's) average accounting salary and where the state ranks in Business.org's report:
And if you were looking for an additional breakdown of average accountant wages vs. the wages of an average salaried worker per state, you can find it here. But here's the top 10 states and the bottom 10 states (11 including DC):
IDK, these types of accounting salary studies by state don't really seem to elicit much enthusiasm or reaction than, say, ones that focus on firms in individual cities, but go for it if you feel like shouting something out about it.
Tags: Accounting Salaries, cost of living, Enough With the Lists Already, Rankings, States
The Serious Questions January 26, 2023
Last week the Chicago Bears introduced Kevin Warren, most recently commissioner of the Big Ten Conference who also has 21 years of experience as an NFL team executive, as the franchise's fifth president and CEO in its 103-year history. Warren succeeds Ted Phillips who is retiring after 40 seasons with the Bears, including the last […]


The outcome of two tight races for the Alaska Legislature hinge on the counting next Tuesday of thousands of outstanding absentee and questioned ballots from around the state.
Eleven votes separate Fairbanks Republican Sen. Pete Kelly, the incumbent president of the Alaska Senate, from his challenger, Democratic Rep. Scott Kawasaki. In Kawasaki's Fairbanks House district, Republican Barton LeBon has a 79-vote lead over Democrat Kathryn Dodge.
Neither Kawasaki nor Dodge has conceded the race. Even so, House Republicans appeared optimistic about LeBon's chances. The caucus moved quickly Wednesday to organize a new 21-member majority, with Rep. David Talerico of Healy as the speaker. Democrats protested the move was premature.
No announcements came Thursday about how the Alaska Senate would be organized, with Kelly holding a thinner margin. Republicans appeared on track to keep majority control over the chamber, though the six Democratic senators released a joint statement calling for a bipartisan coalition.
Samantha Miller, a spokeswoman for the Division of Elections, said new results from absentee and questioned ballots won't be posted until Tuesday.
Meanwhile, elections officials were dealing with problems reporting results from nine precincts in Southeast Alaska, including in Sitka, Haines and Craig. Rep. Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, D-Sitka, ran for re-election in that district against Republican Richard Wein.
Alaska's voting machines are notoriously old, but the problem was not equipment failure, Miller said.
"The machines did exactly what they were supposed to do," Miller said.
She said that coded paper that allows that machine to print out results stopped functioning, making it so tracking marks weren't read by the machines. The precincts had to mail in the memory cards, which were still arriving Thursday, Miller said. She said results would be posted as the memory cards showed up.
A 10th precinct, in Seldovia, was unable to report on election night, but those results have now been posted, Miller said.
As of Thursday evening, Kreiss-Tomkins had a comfortable 700 vote lead over Wein, with a little more than three-quarters of the vote counted.
That tally includes Sitka precincts, which were posted Thursday morning, Miller said.


'Las Sandinistas', a documentary from filmmaker Jenny Murray, premiered at the SXSW Conference, Austin's film, music and convergence festivals on March 12. It is rare when a documentary is so well done, it transcends the prejudices of both the filmmaker and the audience. 'Las Sandinistas' does exactly that. The film details the contributions made by women during the Nicaraguan Revolution.
Simplify and save money the (sort of) Andean way.
The (sort of) Andean Way.


text:
Q: Angular controller being called 10 times on init I am in the early stages of learning AngularJS and am seeing a strange behavior.  When my page loads, the associated controller is called 10 times.  I have a fiddle here that reveals behavior.  As you enter a char in the input box, you will see it is called another 11 times.

    Angular controller being called 10 times on init

        Say hello to: <input type="text" ng-model="name"/>

Characters typed, {{i()}}!

A: First of all, you see it being called exactly 10 times because that's the limit ammount of $digest cycles that can be run before angular throws an exception.
That usually happens when you change object properties during the render process. This would trigger a new render and therefore a loop wich will cause the "10 $digest() iterations reached. Aborting!" error. (a.k.a Infinite $digest loop)
You can solve this changing your code to this:

            Say hello to: <input type="text" ng-model="name" ng-change="i()"/>

Characters typed, {{keysTyped}}!

and on your controller:
     $scope.keysTyped = 0;

     $scope.i = function () {
        $scope.keysTyped++;
     };

What I've done was simply making use of Angular's two-way binding to solve the problem.
I've took your code and modified it just to make it work and explain why you're getting an Infinite $digest loop.
If all you want is to have a count of characters in the input field, all you need to do is this:

            Say hello to: <input type="text" ng-model="name"/>

Characters typed, {{name.length || 0}}!

You don't need a function to count the characters.

A: The problem you have in your code is called infinite digest loop.
When you click the button you are not just returning a value you are updating it at the same time which triggers another digest cycle which triggers another one and so on. This can happen up to 10 times and after it throws an error. If you check the console on that fiddle you added you ll see the error on the console.
Have a look at angularjs' documentation.