text:
The good, the bad, and the 405
Photo by my kid
"This other Eden, this precious stone set in the silver sea, this earth, this realm, this Los Angeles." -- Steve Martin (and Shakespeare), L.A. Story
This past March, I moved back to southeastern Pennsylvania after twelve years of living in Los Angeles. When I went to the bank to transfer my account, I told the teller I'd moved here from Los Angeles. He said, quite seriously, "I'm so sorry." A couple of weeks later I was in a salon having my hair cut, and during the conversation I mentioned that I had just moved here from Los Angeles. The stylist said, and again, she was completely serious, "Why would you do that?"
There are many good things to say about living in Los Angeles. If you're a fangirl, there's no place like it. When I first moved there in 2001, I was in the grip of a powerful obsession with Buffy the Vampire Slayer, my favorite show ever. I visited way too many Buffy locations and went to several autograph events. I even went to a political fundraiser thrown by Joss Whedon and Hercules T. Strong that included many of the actors from Buffy, Angel and Firefly. It was practically orgasmic. I talked with nearly everyone.
I also got to see Buffy shot on location in the streets. Once, I stood five feet away from Sarah Michelle Gellar, who avoided eye contact and pretended I wasn't there. (Can't blame her. Even though I think I appear innocuous, I probably had "crazed Buffy fan" written all over my face. But hey, Nick Brendon talked to me. I couldn't have looked that crazed.)
It wasn't just Buffy fangirl stuff, either. A friend who was writing an article for a sci-fi magazine took me along to Paramount near the end of the run of Star Trek: Enterprise, and I got to assist while she interviewed Scott Bakula. He scolded me. How many people can say they were scolded by Scott Bakula?
Let's face it -- if you're not in Los Angeles, it's a lot less likely that you will drive home from work, glance over, and see Beau Bridges driving the car in the next lane. Or see Helen Hunt at the next table at a museum café, Hudson Leick from Xena in a coffee shop, or Don Cheadle at Trader Joe's. Once at work there was extensive shooting for a movie, but they didn't let us get close and didn't tell us what the movie was, and I eventually forgot about it. Months later, I was watching a sci-fi movie in a theater and suddenly I was at work, and I practically jumped out of my seat.
It's more than just TV and movies, of course. The weather on the west side of Los Angeles might be the best in the world: pleasant and sunny nearly all the time. People in other places talk about the weather, but people in Los Angeles talk about the traffic because the weather is nearly always the same. And there's a joke -- okay, more of an expression -- that there are four types of weather in southern California: earthquakes, floods, landslides and wildfires. It's nice in SoCal nearly all the time, but when it's not, boy howdy. Seeing and smelling wildfires is terrifying. If there are rain storms, the city grinds to a halt and the local newscasters act as if the world is coming to an end.
Newscaster: "And what a surprise this weekend when the weather turned unseasonably low. Here's Harris Telemacher, our wacky weatherman, with a report."
Harris: (interviewing a man on the street) "And when the weather dropped down to 58 degrees this weekend, how did you cope?"
Man: "I went to make sure all the windows were shut."
Harris: "And, what about your pets? Were they outside? What happened?"
Man: "Well, the cats were out till around ten. But it got a little too cold for them and they came in."
Harris: "The cats were out till around ten. But it got a little too cold for them and they came in! Well, that's how L.A. coped with that surprise low of 58 degrees that turned the weekend into a real weenie shrinker."
(from the movie L.A. Story)
There's so much other non-Hollywood related stuff to see and do, too. When I first moved to Los Angeles, I made a list of everything I'd always wanted to do while living there, and I did nearly all of them. My favorite place in Los Angeles is the Griffith Observatory, and I'm probably going to do a separate post about it. There's the beach and the Santa Monica Pier -- that pier has been in countless movies and TV shows. Even Fred and Gunn made it there.
Sara: "What did you have in mind?"
Harris: "Well, I was thinking of taking you on a cultural tour of L.A."
Sara: "That's the first fifteen minutes. Then what?"
Harris: "Some of these buildings are over twenty years old."
There's the Hollywood Bowl. There's Mulholland Drive and Topanga Canyon -- I loved Topanga Canyon. There's Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, if you like that sort of thing. There's the incredible Pacific Coast Highway, a ten hour drive from Los Angeles to San Francisco, which is absolutely breathtaking. There's all the Hollywood stuff, like the Chinese Theater. There are world class museums and amazing concerts. The local conventions manage to get great guests because most of the TV and movie people live in the area. I never did get to Comic-con in San Diego, though. And I always intended to do the Academy Awards red carpet someday, but never did get around to it. Oh, well.
Trudi: "He said it's the first day of spring."
Harris: "Oh, shit! Open season on the L.A. freeway!"
I'm sure there are places where the traffic is worse, but L.A. has to be in the top ten. Construction has been snarling traffic on the 405 freeway pretty much eternally. If a president or world leader comes to town, and they often do, streets and freeways are closed down, occasionally during rush hour. I once spent two hours trying to drive the seven miles from work to home; I think that was George W. Bush's fault. During my second to last week in L.A., they found a dead body on the 405 freeway at three in the morning and the lanes were closed. During my last week in L.A., Netanyahu was in town and everything ground to a halt.
For some reason, there are no dedicated left turn traffic lights on the west side, and there is rarely a break in the stream of cars. If you want to make a left turn, you have to inch forward into an intersection and hope that you can sneak through as the light is turning yellow. This strategy isn't as successful when a lot of people want to turn left; you can sit at a light waiting to turn left through cycle after cycle of traffic lights. It's ridiculous.
But if you're a car enthusiast, L.A. is sort of amazing. I mostly can't tell one car from another, but even I'm aware enough to notice the famous, expensive ones. I've sat in traffic next to a Rolls Royce. I got stuck behind a purple Masarati once when I went to my doctor, whose office is in Beverly Hills. And there are tasteful black limos everywhere. Every time I saw a limo in traffic, I'd wonder who was in the back seat. You can't tell, though. Darn those tinted windows.
(I once saw a stretch limo sitting in a parking lot with a "for sale" sign on it. That doesn't happen in the real world. My car pool partner and I joked about buying it. How much does a limo cost? Where on earth would we park it?)
Harris: "You know, you're really nobody in L.A. unless you live in a house with a really big door."
Do I miss Los Angeles? A little. It can be a fun place to live. I miss the weather, although it's certainly nice to have rain now and then. But I don't miss paying a fortune for a shabby one bedroom apartment, and a lot more for food, gas, insurance, pretty much everything. I don't miss the pollution and the eternal black grit that dusted everything.
Although I sort of miss, and this is weird, the billboards. In Los Angeles, nearly all of the billboards are movie or television-related. Right before the sixth season of Buffy, billboards with the words "Buffy Lives" were all over town. Did that happen anywhere else?
by Billie Doux
Labels: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, California, L.A. Story, Los Angeles, Santa Monica Pier, Scott Bakula, Star Trek Enterprise, Steve Martin
Josie Kafka said...
What a wonderful post, Billie!
I just spent 2 hours and 20 minutes coming home from work, so I...yeah, 405. But I spent at least 5 of those minutes looking up at the partly-cloudy sky and thinking about how beautiful partly-cloudy weather is. :-)
Friday, April 25, 2014 at 6:47:00 PM EDT
What a lovely post. Although I have spent a lot of time there, I am not a huge fan of Los Angeles. You reminded me of those parts of the city that I do enjoy.
Santa Monica Pier and Venice Beach are my favorites. No surprise, really, that this beach baby would be drawn to the sea.
Sunday, April 27, 2014 at 6:29:00 AM EDT
sunbunny said...
Everything about LA seems so normal to me. I've never lived anywhere else (unless you count almost year I spent in Orange County). Billboards, Bentleys, Priuses, homeless people, always needing sunglasses, never needing a coat, two hour commutes. That's my normal.
Because I grew up here, I'm one of those 'never done the touristy stuff' people. Never been to the Santa Monica pier (shock! gasp!), never been to the Griffith Observatory (it was closed for renovations during my field trip years), never hiked up to the Hollywood sign, and I've spent minimal time in Venice (ick).
Chris, I find it funny that you say you don't like LA but you like the spots that are the most stereotypical LA. You really do need to get your butt back out here so I can show you the best of it. We have AMAZING museums, fabulous food, beautiful mountains, great surfing, and really, really gorgeous sunsets.
Monday, April 28, 2014 at 10:54:00 PM EDT
Josie - don't get used to the partly cloudily. We're back up to the high 90s by the end of the week. :(
Billie Doux said...
It was very nice to have my apartment windows open ten months of the year, to walk outside without a coat nearly all the time. But the sameness just got to me after awhile. I used to looonnnng for a good rain storm, and almost never got one. I'm getting one right now. It's gray, pouring rain and 50 degrees right now.
Maybe in a few years I'll long for Los Angeles sunshine. We'll see.
Tuesday, April 29, 2014 at 5:33:00 PM EDT
I enjoyed your post a lot Billie. My three uncles always lived in L.A. (two have passed away), so when I was growing up we went to visit several times. I have been back since as an adult. Of course, I adore it when I visit, but I have often wondered how it would feel to live there. I really think the traffic would bother me, and I might miss the seasons, having grown up in Pittsburgh and having lived in Cleveland for most of my life. However, this miserable winter made me have some second thoughts about my feelings about being a seasons person. :)
Sunbunny, you lived in "the OC" for a year?! I had no idea. :-)
My parents, who live in a well-maintained "Other Desert City" (as the sign on the I-10 describes it) are always horrified by the condition of LA's streets and highways. Every time they come to visit, the talk about how driving in LA is like driving "in a third-world country." I think of that exaggeration each time I have to swerve out of my lane to avoid a newly-sprouted pothole that could easily hide a full-grown armadillo.
Wednesday, April 30, 2014 at 4:58:00 PM EDT
HannahBanana said...
If I could count how many times my dad called me to ask about the weather and I replied with "sunny....72". The quotables from LA Story are hilarious but have such truth behind them. I always had a fascination with Los Angeles from an old Hollywood lovers perspective. So much rich film history that I could never get enough of. I fan girled and saw all the fun locations (Buffy's house, which I think is down the street from the My So Called Life house, which is down the street from the houses they used in the old Teen Wolf movie), Alto Nido apartments where Joe Gillis lived in Sunset Blvd....I'll never say that I hate LA. I love it. And this coming from an SF bay area gal. Love your site Billie, thanks for posting!
Thursday, May 1, 2014 at 4:08:00 PM EDT
Josie - I went to school at UC Irvine for a year but it really wasn't for me so I transferred.
Oh the potholes, THE POTHOLES. I remember once taking Vermont I think it was and I seriously thought my car wouldn't be able to make it down the street it was so bumpy (although, to be fair, the car's shocks are terrible). And then there's Mulholland. New potholes after every rainstorm plus that one in the dip under that tree that is just always there no matter what they do.
Friday, May 2, 2014 at 3:31:00 AM EDT
Gavrielle said...
In New Zealand, Los Angeles is regarded as somewhere where you change planes for London, unless you're taking the kids to Disneyland. But when I had air miles I needed to use up and LA was the only place I could use them for, I found it had way more to offer than I had thought. What really surprised me was the number of amazing museums. Not like the vacuous stereotype at all! I really want to visit again and go to the Griffith Observatory and the Disney Concert Hall.
Sunday, May 18, 2014 at 8:39:00 PM EDT
Welcome to Billie Doux's personal blog. Looking for reviews? They're all at Doux Reviews.
ALL POSTS, LATEST FIRST
I'm dreaming of a sane 2022
An inconsequential window cat photodiary
And decrease the surplus population
Yes, I love them now
My outrage won't fit on this blog
Shoot us both, Spock
Kara and Desmond Doux
Kittens!
Save us, Stormy Daniels. The Republicans certainly won't
Surprisingly fun
Too hot for tourism
Valentine's Day without my fuzzy sweetheart
Catless
Just a little panic
Has sanity prevailed?
Does catnip alleviate anxiety?
We like sheep
The end of the Republican Party
Hate won
America's original sin
Apologies in advance for discussing Trump
The Eiffel Tower, of course
Vive la France
Republican politics and macaroni salad
Painting a bunch of rocks
Thanksgiving in Ferguson
Life after death: I want to believe
The most difficult cat I ever knew
Pining for the fjords
They're stark naked, so get used to it
Bits of Oslo, the Spektrum and the King
Get outta town
Sleepless in Pennsylvania
And now for something completely different: Hummingbirds
George W. Bush, portrait artist
My sister Ruthie
My new life, and my new blog


Why Are Teachers and Kids Working in Buildings That Are Falling Apart?
We desperately need dedicated educators willing to build a career around serving today's learners and today's communities-our tomorrow depends on it. Under the guise of "reform", public education and teaching have been under a years-long attack driven by private interests in collusion with policymakers looking to profit from and gain control of a private education market while alleviating financial obligations to the public and public servants. For teachers this has led to increased frustration and willingness to get out of the profession and retire as soon as they can- or even retire early. For young college-bound people who could be great assets to communities as teachers it has led to them being pushed into other pursuits.


When it comes to road conditions and traction stability on the roads in Colorado Springs, CO, no two drives are the same. Your vehicle might naturally stick to the road better on days where the weather is clear and the roads are free of snow, sleet and rain, while you may find it a little more difficult to stay in control on harsher days when these conditions are much more apparent. The bottom line is that all-wheel-drive is a major necessity for seasonal driving, both effective and secure in nature, and exactly what you can discover across the Subaru lineup.
Subaru vehicles are famous for their symmetrical all-wheel-drive system, and it isn't difficult to see why. This system maximizes as much traction and stability as possible through the maintaining of power in all four wheels, also supported by its centerline configuration for an even balance of weight distribution. The results are noticeable immediately, as road conditions that were once less than ideal become an afterthought in your drive. You may begin to notice your vehicle stick to the road much more in these types of normally uncomfortable environments, providing for peace of mind and a secure path ahead as you travel throughout the year.
While the symmetrical all-wheel-drive in your Subaru vehicle will undoubtedly improve traction and stability on the road during the wintertime, investing in some winter tires can help this system thrive even more as the perfect complement. Winter tires are designed to function over both the ice and snow, and provide support to the symmetrical all-wheel-drive system in your Subaru for even stronger traction and control on the roads during the holiday months.
Have any questions about Subaru symmetrical all-wheel-drive? Give us a call or stop down to chat at Heuberger Subaru today.


This past weekend, I (and every other Guild Wars 2 player that's prepurchased the expansion) got a chance to play a small but significant chunk of Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns, the game's first expansion. The beta test ran on live servers, and featured mostly the same bit of new content Arenanet have showed off at PAX, Gamescom, and in their recent closed beta stress tests.
I have to concede that a lot of what I'll be talking about here won't make much sense to those who've never played Guild Wars 2; MMOs are a complex genre and I've put over 1200 hours into this particular one. While the base game does come free for those who prepurchase Heart of Thorns, the expansion is almost entirely aimed at experienced players, so I'll be focusing on those elements in this hands-on.
The main thing that set this beta weekend event apart from the stress tests is that all of the Elite Specialisations announced so far (as well as the new Revenant legend) were on offer. Elite Specialisations, if you haven't followed any Heart of Thorns news up until this point, will change all of the game's existing professions in a significant way. For example, Guardians will have the option of becoming a Dragonhunter, giving them access to the longbow as a weapon and traps as utility skills. The other 3 Elite Specialisations available this time around were the Chronomancer, Reaper and Tempest. More on them later.
After creating my brand new Revenant (a Norn, of course) I was immediately thrown into The Silverwastes, a map added during the course of last year's Living Story Season 2. A quick introduction and fort defense event later and I could make my way into the new map: Verdant Brink.
Verdant Brink is a place filled with beauty and destruction; the gorgeous rivers and jungle are juxtaposed by the crashed airships of the Pact Fleet and the Elder Dragon Mordremoth's vines infecting everything they touch. It's a startling introduction to the dangers we'll be facing in the heart of the Maguuma Jungle.
I'm not exaggerating there: the very first enemies I ran into Verdant Brink killed me almost immediately. These were not the mindless foes we've come to expect from Guild Wars 2's open world: Mordrem Guard enemies come in multiple varieties (snipers, stalkers, tormentors and cavaliers off the top of my head) and will use some pretty smart tactics, like tormentors knocking you to the ground so snipers can take you out.
Other enemies include Smokescales (reptiles that cover the ground in mist in which you're unable to hit them, then use a teleporting omnislash-like attack that takes you down to low health in no time), multiple types of mushroom enemies (all of which explode on death, and have abilities like charging to knock you down and shooting poisonous spores at you) and two types of beetles (one that sprays gunk that makes you take more damage, and another that we've seen in Dry Top and The Silverwastes before and can only be damaged from the front). All of these are more than manageable once you start noticing their patterns and telltale animations but man, was it a surprise to be facing challenging enemies outside of dungeons.
There's a lot to do in Verdant Brink: the Pale Reaver and Itzel event chains are some of the best work Arenanet have ever done and when night falls, all hell breaks loose and players have to defend rally points from Mordrem. The night events are not all that exciting as is, but Arenanet have confirmed that not all the events were switched on for the weekend – we only had access to around 25% of Verdant Brink, and many of the events likely involved moving to other parts of the map.
Other than the events, there were also Adventures to complete: scored, timed challenges with leaderboards so you can compete to be the best. There were two that I managed to find: one involved burning vines with a flamethrower while avoiding explosive mines, and the other was a basically a jumping puzzle where you had to also collect bugs.
These adventures (and getting around the map) are made much easier once you unlock some masteries, another new addition in Heart of Thorns. Instead of simply upping the level cap, Arenanet have chosen to go with a horizontal progression system called Mastery where you can unlock new abilities across all characters. Click here for more info on that.
Gliding is simply fantastic, allowing you to take in the beautiful vistas while getting around far more easily. I really can't put into words how great it feels to fly across Verdant Brink, and it's a pity that gliding will only be available in the new Heart of Thorns maps.
Bouncing mushrooms are useful in that they can get you up cliffs and across gaps in an instant, helping you avoid having to run around/up to get where you need. They can also help you achieve leaderboard times on adventures more easily.
This was my first time playing the Revenant profession, and I really enjoyed it. The class' unique mechanic is the ability to invoke Legends to change their utility bar skills, effectively giving them access to 2 heal skills, 6 utility skills, and 2 elite skills – double the amount of every other profession. To balance this, all skills except their auto attack cost a unique resource called energy to activate, which you gain over time while in combat and resets to 50% when you leave combat or switch legends.
These mechanics lead to the Revenant being nearly as complex as the Elementalist to play, having to juggle multiple bars of skills to suit the situation at hand. It also means Revenants can't mix and match utility skills: each of the four Legends has its own heal, utility and elite skills that players are unable to change. I found myself primarily using the Jalis and Shiro legends, giving me a healthy mix of tanking and DPS skills. As for weapons, I fell in love with the staff almost immediately, and switched between almost all the other available weapons in my second weapon set: hammer, sword/sword, mace/axe and sword/axe. All offer something different from the game's other professions, especially since Revenants use the hammer as a ranged weapon and staff in melee.
Dragonhunter and its longbow finally brings a decent ranged weapon to the Guardian, but they may be better off sticking to melee. The trap utility skills, however, are awesome.
Chronomancer gives the Mesmer some powerful new time bending skills. With smart play, they'll be able to use their most powerful skills twice, and reduce the cooldown of their and allies' abilities. The new off-hand shield and well utility skills look like they'll see a lot of use.
Tempest brings some interesting additions to the Elementalist, but may not be worth taking over current specialisations if you're looking to maximise DPS. The warhorn and attunement overload skills are a ton of fun, though, and some of their new shout utilities will probably see use.
Reaper may finally make the Necromancer a worthy contender over other professions. Reaper Shroud skills are incredibly powerful, and look good to boot. The greatsword and new shout abilities could do with a few buffs, though.
Unlike Destiny and most other games that have run "beta tests" in recent years, this was a real beta weekend, for better or worse. On one hand it was extremely buggy: most events bugged out and couldn't progress, some features weren't functioning as intended, and I fell through terrain on at least one occasion. On the other, Arenanet are really taking a lot of the feedback to heart: already, they buffed most of the Revenant's skills since the last beta test to a state where it's on-par with other professions.
Despite all the bugs and limited area we could play in, I already miss the Revenant and Verdant Brink. Many were worried that Heart of Thorns wouldn't provide enough new to Guild Wars 2 but after this weekend, I'm more than pleased with the work Arenanet have been doing. With Verdant Brink and at least 3 other new maps, the new WvW borderlands, new PvP game mode and ladder system, guild halls, "challenging group content", elite specialisations and the mastery system, I already know I have a lot to look forward to when the expansion releases later this year.
Dom has published 215 posts. Read all of Dom's posts.


We consider CBR to be a focused community development programme in the field of disability prevention and rehabilitation, that enables community members; to obtain a better understanding of disability issues, and provides a positive environment for, and improve the quality of life of people with disabilities.
Unsing the philosophy of community development as a way of implementing CBR led to seeking out better tools. One of the newest approaches we learn from Action Aid India (SABALA) during 'Program Managers' of CBR training in 2001 at Bangalore to implementing community development programmes is participatory rural appraisal (PRA) using this method efficiently we are able to involve the community in the process of developing CBR programmes and to gather information about community attitudes, priorities and needs. It helped the communities mobilize their human and natural resources to define problems and prepare a systematic and site-specific plan of action. In this process our field staff view themselves as resources that can act as facilitators, trainers and helpers rather than doers. The major features of this process are community meetings where directed activities are used to focus on disability issues.
Cultural activities during community meetings are a major crowed puller and we get the message right across the illiterate community with tangible results. It helps us to change the attitude of the community to the disabled and change the fatalistic attitude of the disabled themselves. We found the use of cultural activities in PRA the most effective tool in planning CBR and its implementation, monitoring and awareness building. The success of any CBR greatly depends on awareness building which in turn enabled greater participation of the community.
The concept of community-based rehabilitation (CBR) was proposed by the World Health Organization (WHO) in the late 1970s to increase the coverage of rehabilitation services for disabled persons. Initially it focused on medical and functional aspects of rehabilitation needs. Soon afterwards other agencies of the United Nations, United Nations Organization for Educational, Scientific and Cultural Development (UNESCO) and International Labour Organization (ILO) proposed similar approaches for dealing with the educational and occupational aspects of rehabilitation. Implementations of field activities based on this approach, which values existing resources, skills and capacities in the families and communities, were known as the "WHO Model", "UNESCO Model" and "ILO Model" of CBR.
Gradually it became clear that, for CBR to be effective, disabled persons require a multi-sectoral approach that covers all aspects of life. It was also evident that these activities related to medical, social, psychological, educational and occupational aspects have limited impact on the lives of persons with disabilities and their families unless attitudes change in the communities, unless there are effective national policies and laws which guarantee equal opportunities to all citizens, and unless persons with disability themselves have the possibility of making choices and are empowered to take decisions concerning their own lives. This evolution in the concept of CBR resulted in a collaboration involving WHO, UNESCO and ILO in 1994. A paper entitled Joint Position Paper on CBR ensued, which attempted to go beyond the different "models".
It defines CBR as: …a strategy within general community development for rehabilitation, equalization of opportunities and social inclusion of all children and adults with disabilities. CBR is implemented through the combined efforts of people with disabilities themselves, their families and communities, and the appropriate health, education, vocational and social services.
Rehabilitation cannot be dispensed over the counter and must be realized as a process in which persons in the community are intimately involved. The Community Based approach aims at the most cost effective method, reaching the largest number of persons and utilizing readily available resources in the community.
The last decade has witnessed attempts to integrate disability into community development projects that showed some tangible benefits for disabled persons. However disabled persons tend to be recognized only by their disability and not by any other parameters such as genger, poverty level, ethnic and so on is resulting in their exclusion from the benefits of inclusion in a development programme. Lack of mobility, education and skills in disabled persons prevent them from being a part of development programmes, while expectations of charity and poor motivation on the part of the disabled also contribute to their exclusion. It is against this scenario CBR programme assume its importance. Community Based Rehabilitation is now acknowledged as an effective approach to solving problems associated with disability.


-A bike lane is a lane reserved for cyclists, and it's usually on the rightedge of the roadway. Bike lanes are separated from the rest of traffic by a solid or striped line.
If you ride regularly, you probably have somebody in your life who's just itching to tell you that the city ought to put a bike lane on every major street. "It will be safer," these folk proclaim. Are they right?
No. Bike lanes only do two things: they make life worse for cyclists, and they allow politicians and uninformed advocates to feel that they've "done something for cycling."
Rob Ford cuts $60 vehicle tax for motorists and makes up for it by taxing transit riders $60.
Finding money left over (as there are more transit riders) he uses the excess to pay for concrete to wall-out cyclists from the roads.
This is Rob Ford math. Does it work for you? BTW most transit riders are low income. They pay for the tax cuts.
He wants people underground and cyclists behind walls. Rob Ford loves cars and hates people.
Forester and his followers—they call themselves"Foresterites"—advocate what they term "vehicular cycling." In vehicular cycling, a cyclist operates a bicycle as if it were a car. Forester has created courses that teach cyclists how to break away from what they had been taught as youngsters. Instead of staying glued to the gutter at the right edge of the roadway, the vehicular method calls for cyclists to enter the flow of traffic when appropriate.
If Myslin had subscribed to this school of bicycling, so the argument goes, he would have entered the stream of traffic and stayed behind the truck as any car would have, instead of pulling along its right side. He would have followed the truck and crossed the intersection after its sweeping right turn, avoiding that vicious but all too common right hook.
So I'm sitting in that 1/2 lane waiting for the light to change and just as it turns green, a cyclist brushes by me on my right yelling "are you nuts?" He then proceeds to ride in the door zone and weave in and out among the parked cars hugging th curb. THen he gets up on the s/w for 1/2 a block, then back to the gutter. BTW, I"m easil;y keeping up with him andn I watch him turn right on Main St., cross the road and onto the s/w, going down main against traffic! Is he nuts???
This is a 2003 Lightfoot Cycles Courier, my personal transportation. This fall I installed a Heinzman Electric hub motor kit. It's a Mountain drive 500W motor w/36v NiCad battery pak.
The beauty of the NiCad battery pak is it only takes 2 hrs tops to charge it.
This is a heavy bike to begin with. I would guess with tools, cargo box, fenders and fairing, It probably weighs about 80#. My average speed doing errands in town is about 8.5 mph.
With the electric assist my average increases to 10.5mph or there-a-bouts. On the level I can maintain speeds up tp 25 kph which makes it very effective for traffic cycling. But it's a lot easier on me, and I don't think that is a good thing.
. I find that used judiciously, the motor has a range of about 20 miles, and when it runs out of juice, it's a lot harder to pedal than without. Consider that the weight of motor and battery is another 11 kg/22 lbs and the electric motor hub IMO does not freewheel as well as a regular bike wheel. So suffice it to say, it's only good for in town, but in town it's damn good.


Two weeks back on a mall visit, I quickly hopped into their Faces store, only to pick up the new CC cream.I brought home the darker shade despite the SA telling me not to..there is much more to the cream..read on.
The cream comes in two shades, this one is sand and there is a lighter one too.I picked up sand as I could see more yellow tones to it,the lighter one had more pinker tones.The cream comes in a matte black packaging, I quite like the packaging in black and yellow, and the print on the pack too. The pricing is not bad either though you can find cc creams cheaper than 400 rupees.
The tube comes in a simple screw cap.This will remind you of some Lakme foundation you might have used, or some souffle foundation you might have used.The cc cream reminds of some light foundation when I swatch it. The color is surely yellow and warm.unfortunately it turned out very sandy on me, I should have picked the lighter shade no doubt on that.
The texture is very light, it is almost like a tinted moisturizer or light souffle foundation.I could judge it will give you coverage whatsoever.The texture is light and the skin almost drinks it up.Secondly, the finish is matte.This was quite a relief for me as I hate those shiny bb creams and cc creams.The light matte look of this had an appeal for me.
Coverage is poor, it works lightly to add some color coat on me, there is no coverage of pores of pigmentation honestly. The coverage could be better.It mattifies skin so I think girls who are looking for brightness can forget about it.It looks like a light matte foundation.It photographs well since it looks very natural toned on the skin like wearing no foundation.
The biggest downside of this cream for me is that it is very strong for my sensitive skin,it gave itchy skin when ever I wore it.The reasons is that my skin reacts to very strong anti-aging r sunscreen agents in products.I think this will work fine for girls who have no issues with sunscreens or anti aging products.I have used at least 4 bb creams earlier and this never happened. I was not happy with the poor coverage and the strong elements they might have used in this, sensitive skin and dry skin can skip it.
The staying power is 3 plus hours beyond which the oil resurfaces.I also fear this shade is dark or else it oxidizes slightly on me.It did not give me any brightness on the skin whatsoever, it looked like a natural lightweight semi-matte foundation.
I will not recommend it to problematic, sensitive or dry skin.If at all you trust the brand and are looking for a light weight tinted moisturizer like product, try it at the store and then buy it.
Oh…turned out to be a dud….Faces skin care products are unpredictable..but i adore their lipsticks v much..nicely reviewed Neha..


Belle Claire is a pornographic actress from Czech Republic. She was born and raised in Praha. Miss Claire entered the adult industry in 2014. Since then she has worked with many notable productions including Mofos, 21 Sextury, Mile High and Private.


text:
Q: Technologies for writing a web Paint program I would like to do a a web Paint program.
Basically I would like to mimic the Windows Paint program in a web application.
The features that I don't really know how to implement are:

*

*the drawing of 2D shapes (line, circle, etc) in a web browser

*drag and drop

*resize dynamically (seeing preview as you are moving the mouse for resizing)

I am guessing there will be HTML5, CSS3 and Javascript. I am mainly wondering if there are Javascript libraries that I could use to make my life easier.
Best regards

A: Yes, you want to use canvas (the 'new flash'). It is a HTML5 element widely supported in newer (mobile) browsers.
Here are some links to get you started:
a complete ms-paint copy salvaged from the archive (last one I could find)
http://mudcu.be/sketchpad/
http://dev.opera.com/articles/view/html5-canvas-painting/
http://www.codeproject.com/Articles/355230/HTML-5-Canvas-A-Simple-Paint-Program-Touch-and-Mou
Some popular library's are:
fabric.js, KineticJS and Processing.js
Good luck!

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Actor | Director | Writer
Known for Yellowstone (2018-2020), Wind River (2017), Sicario: Day of the Soldado (2018), The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
@IanBohen (twitter.com) | 3 official web sites & 4 more links
Become a member to see Ian Bohen's STARmeter.
Become a member to see Ian Bohen's contact information.
Television in Production (1 title)
Yellowstone (2020)
(TV Series) - Ryan (6 episodes, 2020) Ryan (6 episodes, 2020) See fewer
Episode #3.6 (2020) Season 3, Episode 6 - Ryan Ryan See fewer
Fanboy (2019)
(Short) - Craft Maitre D' Craft Maitre D' See fewer
Give Me Your Hand (2018)
(Video) - Cameo Cameo See fewer
Freddy Freddy See fewer
Sicario: Day of the Soldado (2018)
Carson Wills Carson Wills See fewer
Wind River (2017)
Evan Evan See fewer
The Tow (2016)
(Short) - Director, Writer , Writer (story) Director, Writer , Writer (story) See fewer
The Black Eyed Peas: #WHERESTHELOVE (Feat. The World) (2016)
(Video) - Ian Bohen Ian Bohen See fewer
The Juilliard of Broken Dreams (2015)
(Short) - Director Of Photography Director Of Photography See fewer
5 Souls (2013)
Noah Noah See fewer
Cop with Gordon Cop with Gordon See fewer
Vile (2011)
Julian Julian See fewer
Morning Love (2011)
(Short) - Cinematographer, Director, Editor Cinematographer, Director, Editor See fewer
Irreversi (2010)
Adam Adam See fewer
Interpretation (2008)
(Short) - Dan Dan See fewer
Marigold (2007)
Barry Barry See fewer
Ted Exiler Ted Exiler See fewer
Hometown Legend (2002)
Brian Schuler Brian Schuler See fewer
Pearl Harbor (2001)
Radar Operator #2 Radar Operator #2 See fewer
Young Hercules (1998)
(Video) - Young Hercules Young Hercules See fewer
Monster Mash: The Movie (1995)
Scott (Romeo) Scott (Romeo) See fewer
Wyatt Earp (1994)
Young Wyatt Young Wyatt See fewer
Delivering (1993)
(Short) - Jimmy Wakefield Jimmy Wakefield See fewer
Yellowstone (2018–2019)
(TV Series) - Ryan (18 episodes, 2018) Ryan (18 episodes, 2018) See fewer
Sins of the Father (Aug 28, 2019) Season 2, Episode 10 - Ryan Ryan See fewer
Teen Wolf (2011–2017)
(TV Series) - Peter Hale (42 episodes, 2011) Peter Hale (42 episodes, 2011) See fewer
The Wolves of War (Sep 24, 2017) Season 6, Episode 20 - Peter Hale Peter Hale See fewer
(TV Series) - Edwin Stillwell (8 episodes, 2014) Edwin Stillwell (8 episodes, 2014) See fewer
Call It Macaroni (Sep 24, 2014) Season 2, Episode 1 - Edwin Stillwell Edwin Stillwell See fewer
(TV Series) - Pete Franco (1 episode, 2014) Pete Franco (1 episode, 2014) See fewer
Ancestors (Jan 20, 2014) Season 2, Episode 10 - Pete Franco Pete Franco See fewer
The Client List (2013)
(TV Series) - Adam (1 episode, 2013) Adam (1 episode, 2013) See fewer
When I Say I Do (May 26, 2013) Season 2, Episode 12 - Adam Adam See fewer
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2013)
(TV Series) - Thomas Pope / Jonathan Harris (1 episode, 2013) Thomas Pope / Jonathan Harris (1 episode, 2013) See fewer
Ghosts of the Past (May 8, 2013) Season 13, Episode 21 - Thomas Pope / Jonathan Harris Thomas Pope / Jonathan Harris See fewer
Major Crimes (2012)
(TV Series) - Daniel Dunn (4 episodes, 2012) Daniel Dunn (4 episodes, 2012) See fewer
Long Shot (Oct 15, 2012) Season 1, Episode 10 - Daniel Dunn Daniel Dunn See fewer
Breakout Kings (2012)
(TV Series) - Pete Gillies (7 episodes, 2012) Pete Gillies (7 episodes, 2012) See fewer
Served Cold (Apr 29, 2012) Season 2, Episode 10 - Pete Gillies Pete Gillies See fewer
(TV Series) - Richard Eldridge (1 episode, 2012) Richard Eldridge (1 episode, 2012) See fewer
War of the Roses (Feb 16, 2012) Season 4, Episode 15 - Richard Eldridge Richard Eldridge See fewer
Body of Proof (2011)
(TV Series) - Mitch Barnes (1 episode, 2011) Mitch Barnes (1 episode, 2011) See fewer
Gross Anatomy (Nov 29, 2011) Season 2, Episode 9 - Mitch Barnes Mitch Barnes See fewer
Drop Dead Diva (2011)
(TV Series) - Handsome Man (1 episode, 2011) Handsome Man (1 episode, 2011) See fewer
Hit and Run (Jun 19, 2011) Season 3, Episode 1 - Handsome Man Handsome Man See fewer
CSI: Miami (2010)
(TV Series) - Doug (1 episode, 2010) Doug (1 episode, 2010) See fewer
Manhunt (Oct 24, 2010) Season 9, Episode 4 - Doug Doug See fewer
Prison Break (2009)
(TV Series) - Darrin Hooks (1 episode, 2009) Darrin Hooks (1 episode, 2009) See fewer
Cowboys and Indians (May 8, 2009) Season 4, Episode 20 - Darrin Hooks Darrin Hooks See fewer
(TV Series) - Roy Hazelitt (2 episodes, 2007) Roy Hazelitt (2 episodes, 2007) See fewer
The Hobo Code (Sep 6, 2007) Season 1, Episode 8 - Roy Hazelitt Roy Hazelitt See fewer
Babylon (Aug 23, 2007) Season 1, Episode 6 - Roy Hazelitt Roy Hazelitt See fewer
Joan of Arcadia (2004)
(TV Series) - Peter (1 episode, 2004) Peter (1 episode, 2004) See fewer
Wealth of Nations (Oct 29, 2004) Season 2, Episode 6 - Peter Peter See fewer
Cold Case (2004)
(TV Series) - Nelson Miller 1943 (1 episode, 2004) Nelson Miller 1943 (1 episode, 2004) See fewer
Factory Girls (Oct 10, 2004) Season 2, Episode 2 - Nelson Miller 1943 Nelson Miller 1943 See fewer
(TV Series) - Petty Officer Thurmond (1 episode, 2004) Petty Officer Thurmond (1 episode, 2004) See fewer
Trojan Horse (May 14, 2004) Season 9, Episode 22 - Petty Officer Thurmond Petty Officer Thurmond See fewer
Any Day Now (1998–2001)
(TV Series) - Johnny O'Brien / Young Johnny O'Brien (15 episodes, 1998) Johnny O'Brien / Young Johnny O'Brien (15 episodes, 1998) See fewer
Children Are the Most Important Thing (Mar 11, 2001) Season 3, Episode 20 - Johnny O'Brien Johnny O'Brien See fewer
To Have & to Hold (1998)
(TV Series) - Reed Sanderson (1 episode, 1998) Reed Sanderson (1 episode, 1998) See fewer
Driveway to Heaven (Oct 28, 1998) Season 1, Episode 5 - Reed Sanderson Reed Sanderson See fewer
Hercules: The Legendary Journeys (1997–1998)
(TV Series) - Young Hercules (4 episodes, 1997) Young Hercules (4 episodes, 1997) See fewer
Top God (May 4, 1998) Season 4, Episode 21 - Young Hercules Young Hercules See fewer
Dawson's Creek (1998)
(TV Series) - Anderson Crawford (1 episode, 1998) Anderson Crawford (1 episode, 1998) See fewer
Kiss (Feb 7, 1998) Season 1, Episode 3 - Anderson Crawford Anderson Crawford See fewer
Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction (1998)
(TV Series) - Son (segment: The Gun) / Son (2 episodes, 1998) Son (segment: The Gun) / Son (2 episodes, 1998) See fewer
The Plane/The Gun/The Portrait/The Pass/The Caller (Jan 23, 1998) Season 2, Episode 1 - Son (segment: The Gun) (uncredited) Son (segment: The Gun) (uncredited) See fewer
The Gun (Jan 23, 1998) Son (uncredited) Son (uncredited) See fewer
Baywatch Nights (1997)
(TV Series) - Teen Lilly (1 episode, 1997) Teen Lilly (1 episode, 1997) See fewer
Zargtha (Apr 5, 1997) Season 2, Episode 16 - Teen Lilly Teen Lilly See fewer
Townies (1996)
(TV Series) - Jeremy (1 episode, 1996) Jeremy (1 episode, 1996) See fewer
It's Go Time (Nov 13, 1996) Season 1, Episode 8 - Jeremy Jeremy See fewer
If These Walls Could Talk (1996)
(TV Movie) - Scott Barrows (segment "1974") Scott Barrows (segment "1974") See fewer
Picket Fences (1996)
(TV Series) - Russell 'Doze' Feuer (1 episode, 1996) Russell 'Doze' Feuer (1 episode, 1996) See fewer
Liver Let Die (Jun 26, 1996) Season 4, Episode 22 - Russell 'Doze' Feuer Russell 'Doze' Feuer See fewer
Her Last Chance (1996)
(TV Movie) - Matt Arnold Matt Arnold See fewer
Boy Meets World (1996)
(TV Series) - Denny (1 episode, 1996) Denny (1 episode, 1996) See fewer
Life Lessons (Feb 23, 1996) Season 3, Episode 18 - Denny Denny See fewer
Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman (1995)
(TV Series) - Cole Younger (1 episode, 1995) Cole Younger (1 episode, 1995) See fewer
Baby Outlaws (Feb 25, 1995) Season 3, Episode 21 - Cole Younger Cole Younger See fewer
Walker, Texas Ranger (1995)
(TV Series) - Keith Reno (1 episode, 1995) Keith Reno (1 episode, 1995) See fewer
War Zone (Feb 11, 1995) Season 3, Episode 15 - Keith Reno Keith Reno See fewer
(TV Series) - Jeremy Scanlon (1 episode, 1994) Jeremy Scanlon (1 episode, 1994) See fewer
Camp Wannabe (Oct 15, 1994) Season 2, Episode 10 - Jeremy Scanlon Jeremy Scanlon See fewer
The Torkelsons (1992)
(TV Series) - Capulet (1 episode, 1992) Capulet (1 episode, 1992) See fewer
Swear Not by the Moon (Jan 19, 1992) Season 1, Episode 15 - Capulet Capulet See fewer
MTV Fandom Awards (2016)
(TV Special) - Himself - Winner Himself - Winner See fewer
Wolf Watch (2014)
(TV Series) - Himself / Himself - Guest (2 episodes, 2014) Himself / Himself - Guest (2 episodes, 2014) See fewer
Episode #2.10 (Aug 25, 2014) Season 2, Episode 10 - Himself Himself See fewer
Wolf Watch 322 (Mar 10, 2014) Season 1, Episode 10 - Himself - Guest Himself - Guest See fewer
Teen Wolf Revelations (2013)
Revelations 307 (Jul 16, 2013) Season 1, Episode 8 - Himself Himself See fewer
Dylan Sprayberry
Dylan O'Brien

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
2-wire switch
BIM (Building Information Modelling)
BMS (Building Management System)
Corridor hold
Daylight harvesting
Energy measurement
Emergency monitoring
Lux level sensing
Lux level switching
Microwave presence detectors
Neon (permanent)
Neon (temporary)
Notional corridors
Passive infrared sensor
PIR presence detectors
Scene setting
Slave switch (timers)
SELV switching module (safety extra low voltage)
Step down illuminance
Switching or dimming
Timeout or Time delay function
User remote control
Volt free contacts
Walk towards / walk across
These products don't require a neutral connection.
These products require a neutral connection.
Requires a user to manually switch lights on. Occupancy sensors switch lights off when the room is empty.
See also: Presence and Absence Detection Explained.
BIM describes the process of designing a building collaboratively using one digital system rather than as separate sets of drawings. View more information on our BIM Object Downloads.
A system that controls and monitors a building's mechanical and electrical equipment.
In a building, when lights are on in a room, the corridors lights are held on to allow for safe exit or movement around the building. Feature available on Vitesse Plus, An-10 and RAPID.
Lights are dimmed up or down in respond to ambient levels of daylight to maintain a set light level as specified by the designer to meet the relevant standards required. Daylight harvesting is also known as 'Maintained illuminance' and 'Daylight monitoring'.
Our patented Energy Measurement Technology provides actual energy usage data for all luminaires connected to the system. Energy Measurement allows for comprehensive metering of building wide lighting energy costs. Using a web based reporting suite reportable information is accessible via the front end PC or remotely.
Emergency lamps and ballasts are tested every few minutes to ensure presence, communications and detection of lamp failure.
Flexible test scheduling feature available on RAPID via graphical interface.
The lighting within a space dims progressively from the source of natural illuminance in response to changes in natural light levels. Feature available on Vitesse Plus and RAPID.
View more information on Graduated dimming.
Heating, Ventilation & Air Conditioning.
IP40: Protected from tools and small wires greater than 1mm. Not protected from liquids.
IP54: Protected from limited dust ingress. Protected from water spray from any direction.
IP55: Protected from limited dust ingress. Protected from low pressure water jets from any direction.
IP65: Protected from total dust ingress. Protected from low pressure water jets from any direction.
IP66: Protected from total dust ingress. Protected from high pressure water jets from any direction.
LUX level sensing detectors only turn lights on when natural light falls below a pre-set level.
See also: Switching Detectors with LUX Level Sensing and Direct Dimming Detectors with LUX Level Sensing.
LUX level sensing detectors only turn lights on when natural light falls below a pre-set level. Also known as 'switching with LUX level sensing'.
Microwave detectors emit high-frequency electro-magnetic waves. Any change in the receiving echo triggers the detector.
A motion detector is a device that detects moving objects, particularly people. Such a device is often integrated as a component of a system that automatically performs a task or alerts a user of motion in an area. They form a vital component of security, automated lighting control, home control, energy efficiency, and other useful systems. Motion detectors are also known as 'presence detectors'.
A permanent neon allows a switch to be easily located in the dark.
A temporary neon indicator shows when the timer is running.
Corridors of light, keeping working staff safe and secure whilst providing significant energy savings compared to illuminating an entire large open plan office for example. Feature available on Vitesse Plus and RAPID.
An occupancy sensor is an indoor motion detecting devices used to detect the presence of a person to automatically control lights or temperature or ventilation systems. The sensors use infrared, ultrasonic, microwave, or other technology. The term encompasses devices as different as PIR sensors, hotel room keycard locks and smart meters. Occupancy sensors are typically used to save energy, provide automatic control, and comply with building codes. Occupancy sensors are also known as 'presence detectors'.
A passive infrared sensor (PIR sensor) is an electronic sensor that measures infrared (IR) light radiating from objects in its field of view. They are most often used in PIR-based motion detectors.
PIR presence detectors work by detecting the movement of body heat. The 'switching' occurs due to an infrared signature being registered as differing from one point to another.
Monitoring systems from a remote device, not in the building. Feature available on RAPID.
Scene selection allows the recall of pre-programmed lighting levels to create different moods or to suit different uses within an environment. Feature available on Vitesse Plus, An-10 and RAPID.
Slave push button switches allow one timer to be controlled from a number of locations. Also known as a 'bell switch'.
SELV switching
Safety extra low voltage. A low voltage current runs between a switch and luminare / system. This reduces the risk of shocks.
Luminaires are switched down to a lower illuminance when the room isn't occupied.
The detector or system has the ability to switch or dim the luminaires. Switching detectors simply presents lighting in an 'off' state or an 'on' state. Dimming differs by changing the light output of a specific luminaire or array of luminaires.
If a switch is activated and no movement is detected the lights will switch off after a pre-set time, minimising unnecessary lit space.
The period of time set on a sensor that holds lights on after the last movement is detected.
Pre-program light levels to recall at anytime or use simply to operate lights on/off.
The output channel comprises a mains voltage relay capable of on/off switching. The unit provides an isolated voltage free contact output.
The difference in detection range when walking towards or across the sensing area (sectors) of a PIR detector.
View more information on Walk towards / walk across.


text:
Tag Archives: Season 15
December 6, 2009 · 10:27 pm
Who Won The Amazing Race Season 15, and Did They Deserve It?
"Amazing Grace, How Sweet the Sound!"
For three seasons, I have asked this question, and for three seasons I always wonder why I asked it in the first place.
You see, I like to think myself objective about The Amazing Race, more capable than most of separating my personal feelings for each individual team from my analysis of each individual leg. This isn't to suggest that I don't have teams I like more than others, but ever since I started writing television criticism I like to keep my distance to manage disappointment (like last year's early exit from Mike and Mel and this year's tragic end for Justin and Zev) and be able to avoid sounding too bitter if something goes wrong.
However, the reason I asked this question in the first place (and why I continue to ask it despite my supposed objectivity) is that the final leg of The Amazing Race always raises this question whether we're trying to detach ourselves or not. The very nature of the race is that we've seen these teams at their highest and lowest, and the editors have done everything in their power to make their inevitable finish in this race as meaningful as possible.
For Meghan and Cheyne, that finish would symbolize the strength of their relationship as evidenced by their teamwork throughout the race (the frontrunners). For Brian and Ericka, the win would symbolize the strength of their relationship and more importantly their ability to bounce back from near defeat (the underdogs). And for Sam and Dan, after intense focus on "dishonest acts" in recent weeks, the win would demonstrate that doing everything it takes to win the Race is both opportunistic and highly effective (the villains).
And for at least some viewers, each of these teams would represent a "deserving" victory of The Amazing Race's 15th journey around the globe – for me, I'd say that any one of them would have deserved it, but I think it's tough to argue that the "right" team didn't win.
So, time to found out: who won The Amazing Race?
Filed under The Amazing Race
Tagged as Bouquet, Brian and Ericka, CBS, Cirque de Soleil, Entertainment, Episode 11, Final Leg, Globetrotters, Graceland, Las Vegas, Love, Mandalay Bay, Meghan and Cheyne, MGM Grand, Monte Carlo, Mr. Las Vegas, Phil Keoghan, Poker Chips, Prague, Reality TV, Recap, Review, Roadblock, Sam and Dan, Season 15, Taxis, Television, The Amazing Race Season 15, The Beatles, TV, Wayne Newton, Who Won the Amazing Race?
The Amazing Race Season 15 – "Episode 9 (Estonia)"
"We're Not Meant For the Swamp"
When you're down to five teams, all bets are off on The Amazing Race.
This is a sentiment that goes for the teams themselves, certainly, but also for the race producers. This is a stage in the competition where there are no more non-elimination legs, and where a single mistake will cost you the race, so the teams certainly need to be willing to play this game to the fullest. However, for the producers, this is when the creation of race-ending narratives becomes their true goal: now, the teams that go home are largely perfunctory, while the teams that stay are integral for building tension in the finale to come in only a few weeks.
This is why this week's leg becomes more about what the producers want, and don't want, us to see than what's actually happen: the results of the leg are never particularly in doubt, as the producers are worried about viewers spotting something far more…indiscrete than the end of the episode.
Tagged as Blurring, Brian and Ericka, CBS, Censorship, Crotch Blur, Detour, Editing, Entertainment, Episode 9, Estonia, Flight Time and Big Easy, Foot Race, Gary and Matt, Harlem Globetrotters, Megan and Cheyne, Phil Keoghan, Producers, Reality TV, Rivalry, Sam and Dan, Season 15, Speed Bump, Stockholm, Television, TV, Volleyball, We're Not Meant For The Swamp
November 9, 2009 · 12:43 am
The Amazing Race Season 15 – "Episode 8 (Sweden)"
"This is The Worst Thing I've Ever Done in My Life"
At the heart of every solid episode of The Amazing Race is a narrative of fall and redemption. It is morbidly entertaining to see a team fall apart in the face of pressure, watching as an individual turns into a blubbering mess right in front of us, and when they eventually triumph over adversity (or, at the very least, come to terms with their predicament) it's even more engaging. There's something about the Race that brings this out in people, which is why this week's trip to Sweden is particularly intelligently designed: it is all about creating a scenario where teams will fall apart, and as such given an opportunity to redeem themselves.
It's also a chance, through the use of the new Amazing Race "Switchback," for the show to right one of the wrongs in its past by revisiting a particularly infamous challenge. By returning to the scene of the most gruelling roadblock in the show's history, the show gets to demonstrate how it should have done things last time, in the process creating a good combination of pathos and tension that justify the way in which the task makes the rest of the leg largely irrelevant.
Tagged as Birthday, Brian and Ericka, Brothers, CBS, Detour, Dynamite, Entertainment, Episode 8, Flight Time and Big Easy, Gary and Matt, Harlem Globetrotters, Hay, Hay Bale, Meghan and Cheyne, Nobel, Phil Keoghan, Reality TV, Roadblock, Sam and Dan, Season 15, Season 6, Sweden, Switchback, Television, This is the worst thing I've ever done in my life, TV, Yelling
The Amazing Race Season 15 – "Episode Six (Dubai)"
"Do it for the Hood! Do it for the Suburbs!"
Every now and then, The Amazing Race turns mean. In most episodes, there is a moment when everything bunches together so that previous mistakes are erased, but in the sixth episode of the show's fifteenth season throws the teams to the wolves of Dubai in an effort to test both luck and skill in ways that previous legs might not have. Where some other episodes seemed to be decided by pretty major mistakes, in this instance any small mistake is going to fundamentally alter your position in this race in a way that would doom even a good team.
In the end, the episode is a reflection of how both strong alliances and some less than strong relationships are tested when you place them under this kind of pressure, this kind of tension. The result is a really ugly moment, a really unfortunate personal collapse, and a really smart Wal-Mart purchase.
Tagged as 835, Atlantic, Brian and Ericka, Briefcase, Calculator, Canaan, CBS, Detour, Do it For the Hood! Do it for the Suburbs!, Dubai, Elimination, Episode 6, Exchange Rate, Flight Time and Big Easy, Gary and Matt, Gold, Harlem Globetrotters, Hookahs, Leap of Faith, Maria and Tiffany, Meghan and Cheyne, Mika, Mika and Canaan, Phil Keoghan, Reality TV, Roadblock, Rowing, Sam and Dan, Season 15, United Arab Emirates, Water Slide, Waterslide
The Amazing Race Season 15 – "Cambodia"
"Sean Penn, Cambodia, Here We Come!"
The job of being an editor on The Amazing Race is really a tough one. In each episode, you need to turn the unsuspenseful into the suspenseful, and emphasize the zany in the mundane. Of course, it helps that often The Amazing Race is suspenseful, and that it is often extremely zany, and that the cast of characters involved can often enhance both of these elements. As such, it is likely every editor's dream to receive a team like Zev and Justin, who deciding that Phnom Penh is actually Sean Penn, and who strike up a hilarious and fantastic relationship with their cab driver Thierry.
However, the editors also have to come to terms with how, precisely, they're going to send someone home. Last week, Marcy and Ron got sent home after struggling with a Detour (they were just too slow, plain and simple), so Marcy got a lot of talking heads about her father's time in Vietnam. The episode was a sendoff, albeit it a slight one, a last hurrah. In other instances, the editors love playing up irony or the impact of a single mistake, and sometimes they even play a game of Schadenfreude.
But as the teams race through Cambodia, the editors have the toughest job of all: turning triumph into adversity in a split second. It's a chance of pace the episode handles with the grace of a newborn giraffe, heightening my sympathy for the difficulty of the editors' job while also lowering my interest in this season, all in one fell swoop.
Tagged as Cambodia, Detour, Editing, Elimination, Entertainment, Episode 3, Flight Time and Big Easy, Harlem Globetrotters, Lance and Keri, Leg, Passport, Phil Keoghan, Phnom Penh, Pit Stop, Roadblock, Sean Penn, Sean Penn Cambodia, Season 15, Television, Thierry, TV, Zev and Justin
Season Premiere: The Amazing Race Season 15 – "Japan/Vietnam"
"They Thought Godzilla was Walking Down the Street"
There's a point in the 15th Season Premiere of the 7-time Emmy winning The Amazing Race where Sam and Dan (the gay brothers) note that they have a problem: at various point in the race, both of them step up to be the leader and the result is a heated argument in Vietnam and a delayed arrival at the pit stop. At heart of that moment, and this episode, is the idea of leadership, of being able to find an individual dynamic that allows two teammates (who could be very similarly or very different) to trust one another to get to the mat in first place.
Leadership was the central theme in a premiere that challenges racers to herd large groups of both people and fowl, something that is challenging for one person when they don't speak the language but which becomes even more difficult when you have two people who can't decide who the leader is, or when you have one teammate completing a task while another yells at them from the nearby gazebo. The teams that succeed on the race are those who are able to establish a team, which operates in such a way that they each lead one another, and where splitting them apart or asking them to lead others sees them shifting roles to fit the situation.
This year's premiere isn't quite as emotional as last year's, nor does it feature such an intense finish line dash, but over its two hours we get to see a good balance of tasks which test the fortitude of these teams, challenge their ability to handle both luck and the game's contrivances, and perhaps most importantly answers the question of whether or not Phil Keoghan would make a good Japanese Game Show host (the answer? Of course he would.). It's an enjoyable return for a show that I really enjoy, although one which is particularly tough to cover in the early going.
Tagged as Asperger's, Brian and Ericka, Dan and Sam, Detour, Duck Herding, Elimination, Episode 1, Eric and Lisa, Flight Time and Big Easy, Garrett and Jessica, Gary and Matt, Harlem Globetrotters, Japan, Japanese Game Show, Lance and Keri, Leg, License Plates, Los Angeles, Maria and Tiffany, Megan and Cheyne, Mika and Canaan, Miss America, Non-Elimination, Phil Keoghan, Roadblock, Ron and Cindy, Season 15, Speed Bump, Sushi Roulette, Teams, They Thought Godzilla Was Walking Down the Street, Tourists, Vietnam, Wasabi, Zev and Justin


text:
Bernie Whitebear, An Urban Indian's Quest For Justice by Lawney Reyes
When American Indians left reservations in the 1950s, enticed by the federal government's relocation program, many were drawn to cities like Tacoma and Seattle. But in these new homes they found unemployment and discrimination, and they were no better off. Sin Aikst Indian Bernie Whitebear was an urban activist in the Pacific Northwest during the last decades of the twentieth century, a man dedicated to improving the lives of Indians and other ethnic groups by working for change and justice. He unified Northwest tribes to fight for the return of their land and was the first to accomplish this in the United States. But far from a fearsome agitator, Bernie was a persuasive figure who won the praise and admiration of an entire community.
His biography is an inspiring story for readers at many levels, an account of how one American Indian overcame hardships and obstacles to make a difference in the lives of his people—and an entire community. Written by Lawney L. Reyes (Lakes)
6" x 9" soft cover


Discussion in 'General' started by vaio1, Jul 20, 2009.
how can I change the profile of a user from simple customer to Reseller maintaining the his website configuration?
Thats not possible as resellers and customers in ISPConfig 2 are stored in different database atbles and have different database fields and options. You have to create a new reseller and then move the client as sub client to this reseller.


text:
/*	SCCS Id: @(#)winprocs.h 3.4	2003/01/08	*/
/* Copyright (c) David Cohrs, 1992				  */
/* NetHack may be freely redistributed.  See license for details. */

#ifndef WINPROCS_H
#define WINPROCS_H

struct window_procs {
    const char *name;
    unsigned long wincap;	/* window port capability options supported */
    unsigned long wincap2;	/* additional window port capability options supported */
    void FDECL((*win_init_nhwindows), (int *, char **));
    void NDECL((*win_player_selection));
    void NDECL((*win_askname));
    void NDECL((*win_get_nh_event)) ;
    void FDECL((*win_exit_nhwindows), (const char *));
    void FDECL((*win_suspend_nhwindows), (const char *));
    void NDECL((*win_resume_nhwindows));
    winid FDECL((*win_create_nhwindow), (int));
    void FDECL((*win_clear_nhwindow), (winid));
    void FDECL((*win_display_nhwindow), (winid, BOOLEAN_P));
    void FDECL((*win_destroy_nhwindow), (winid));
    void FDECL((*win_curs), (winid,int,int));
    void FDECL((*win_putstr), (winid, int, const char *));
    void FDECL((*win_display_file), (const char *, BOOLEAN_P));
    void FDECL((*win_start_menu), (winid));
    void FDECL((*win_add_menu), (winid,int,const ANY_P *,
		CHAR_P,CHAR_P,int,const char *, BOOLEAN_P));
    void FDECL((*win_end_menu), (winid, const char *));
    int FDECL((*win_select_menu), (winid, int, MENU_ITEM_P **));
    char FDECL((*win_message_menu), (CHAR_P,int,const char *));
    void NDECL((*win_update_inventory));
    void NDECL((*win_mark_synch));
    void NDECL((*win_wait_synch));
#ifdef CLIPPING
    void FDECL((*win_cliparound), (int, int));
#endif
#ifdef POSITIONBAR
    void FDECL((*win_update_positionbar), (char *));
#endif
    void FDECL((*win_print_glyph), (winid,XCHAR_P,XCHAR_P,int));
    void FDECL((*win_raw_print), (const char *));
    void FDECL((*win_raw_print_bold), (const char *));
    int NDECL((*win_nhgetch));
    int FDECL((*win_nh_poskey), (int *, int *, int *));
    void NDECL((*win_nhbell));
    int NDECL((*win_doprev_message));
    char FDECL((*win_yn_function), (const char *, const char *, CHAR_P));
    void FDECL((*win_getlin), (const char *,char *));
    int NDECL((*win_get_ext_cmd));
    void FDECL((*win_number_pad), (int));
    void NDECL((*win_delay_output));
#ifdef CHANGE_COLOR
    void FDECL((*win_change_color), (int,long,int));
#ifdef MAC
    void FDECL((*win_change_background), (int));
    short FDECL((*win_set_font_name), (winid, char *));
#endif
    char * NDECL((*win_get_color_string));
#endif

    /* other defs that really should go away (they're tty specific) */
    void NDECL((*win_start_screen));
    void NDECL((*win_end_screen));

    void FDECL((*win_outrip), (winid,int));
    void FDECL((*win_preference_update), (const char *));
};

extern NEARDATA struct window_procs windowprocs;

/*
 * If you wish to only support one window system and not use procedure
 * pointers, add the appropriate #ifdef below.
 */

#define init_nhwindows (*windowprocs.win_init_nhwindows)
#define player_selection (*windowprocs.win_player_selection)
#define askname (*windowprocs.win_askname)
#define get_nh_event (*windowprocs.win_get_nh_event)
#define exit_nhwindows (*windowprocs.win_exit_nhwindows)
#define suspend_nhwindows (*windowprocs.win_suspend_nhwindows)
#define resume_nhwindows (*windowprocs.win_resume_nhwindows)
#define create_nhwindow (*windowprocs.win_create_nhwindow)
#define clear_nhwindow (*windowprocs.win_clear_nhwindow)
#define display_nhwindow (*windowprocs.win_display_nhwindow)
#define destroy_nhwindow (*windowprocs.win_destroy_nhwindow)
#define curs (*windowprocs.win_curs)
#define putstr (*windowprocs.win_putstr)
#define display_file (*windowprocs.win_display_file)
#define start_menu (*windowprocs.win_start_menu)
#define add_menu (*windowprocs.win_add_menu)
#define end_menu (*windowprocs.win_end_menu)
#define select_menu (*windowprocs.win_select_menu)
#define message_menu (*windowprocs.win_message_menu)
#define update_inventory (*windowprocs.win_update_inventory)
#define mark_synch (*windowprocs.win_mark_synch)
#define wait_synch (*windowprocs.win_wait_synch)
#ifdef CLIPPING
#define cliparound (*windowprocs.win_cliparound)
#endif
#ifdef POSITIONBAR
#define update_positionbar (*windowprocs.win_update_positionbar)
#endif
#define print_glyph (*windowprocs.win_print_glyph)
#define raw_print (*windowprocs.win_raw_print)
#define raw_print_bold (*windowprocs.win_raw_print_bold)
#define nhgetch (*windowprocs.win_nhgetch)
#define nh_poskey (*windowprocs.win_nh_poskey)
#define nhbell (*windowprocs.win_nhbell)
#define nh_doprev_message (*windowprocs.win_doprev_message)
#define getlin (*windowprocs.win_getlin)
#define get_ext_cmd (*windowprocs.win_get_ext_cmd)
#define number_pad (*windowprocs.win_number_pad)
#define delay_output (*windowprocs.win_delay_output)
#ifdef CHANGE_COLOR
#define change_color (*windowprocs.win_change_color)
#ifdef MAC
#define change_background (*windowprocs.win_change_background)
#define set_font_name (*windowprocs.win_set_font_name)
#endif
#define get_color_string (*windowprocs.win_get_color_string)
#endif

/* 3.4.2: There is a real yn_function() in the core now, which does
 *        some buffer length validation on the parameters prior to
 *        invoking the window port routine. yn_function() is in cmd.c
 */
/* #define yn_function (*windowprocs.win_yn_function) */

/* other defs that really should go away (they're tty specific) */
#define start_screen (*windowprocs.win_start_screen)
#define end_screen (*windowprocs.win_end_screen)

#define outrip (*windowprocs.win_outrip)
#define preference_update (*windowprocs.win_preference_update)

/*
 * WINCAP
 * Window port preference capability bits.
 * Some day this might be better in its own wincap.h file.
 */
#define WC_COLOR	 0x01L		/* 01 Port can display things in color       */
#define WC_HILITE_PET	 0x02L		/* 02 supports hilite pet                    */
#define WC_ASCII_MAP	 0x04L		/* 03 supports an ascii map                  */
#define WC_TILED_MAP	 0x08L		/* 04 supports a tiled map                   */
#define WC_PRELOAD_TILES 0x10L		/* 05 supports pre-loading tiles             */
#define WC_TILE_WIDTH	 0x20L		/* 06 prefer this width of tile              */
#define WC_TILE_HEIGHT	 0x40L		/* 07 prefer this height of tile             */
#define WC_TILE_FILE	 0x80L		/* 08 alternative tile file name             */
#define WC_INVERSE	 0x100L		/* 09 Port supports inverse video            */
#define WC_ALIGN_MESSAGE 0x200L		/* 10 supports message alignmt top|b|l|r     */
#define WC_ALIGN_STATUS	 0x400L		/* 11 supports status alignmt top|b|l|r      */
#define WC_VARY_MSGCOUNT 0x800L		/* 12 supports varying message window        */
#define WC_FONT_MAP	 0x1000L	/* 13 supports specification of map win font */
#define WC_FONT_MESSAGE	 0x2000L	/* 14 supports specification of msg win font */
#define WC_FONT_STATUS	 0x4000L	/* 15 supports specification of sts win font */
#define WC_FONT_MENU	 0x8000L	/* 16 supports specification of mnu win font */
#define WC_FONT_TEXT	 0x10000L	/* 17 supports specification of txt win font */
#define WC_FONTSIZ_MAP	 0x20000L	/* 18 supports specification of map win font */
#define WC_FONTSIZ_MESSAGE 0x40000L	/* 19 supports specification of msg win font */
#define WC_FONTSIZ_STATUS 0x80000L	/* 20 supports specification of sts win font */
#define WC_FONTSIZ_MENU	 0x100000L	/* 21 supports specification of mnu win font */
#define WC_FONTSIZ_TEXT	 0x200000L	/* 22 supports specification of txt win font */
#define WC_SCROLL_MARGIN 0x400000L	/* 23 supports setting scroll margin for map */
#define WC_SPLASH_SCREEN 0x800000L	/* 24 supports display of splash screen      */
#define WC_POPUP_DIALOG	 0x1000000L	/* 25 supports queries in pop dialogs        */
#define WC_SCROLL_AMOUNT 0x2000000L	/* 26 scroll this amount at scroll margin    */
#define WC_EIGHT_BIT_IN	 0x4000000L	/* 27 8-bit character input                  */
#define WC_PERM_INVENT	 0x8000000L	/* 28 8-bit character input                  */
#define WC_MAP_MODE	 0x10000000L	/* 29 map_mode option                        */
#define WC_WINDOWCOLORS  0x20000000L	/* 30 background color for message window    */
#define WC_PLAYER_SELECTION  0x40000000L /* 31 background color for message window    */
#define WC_MOUSE_SUPPORT 0x80000000L	/* 32 mouse support                          */
					/* no free bits */

#define WC2_FULLSCREEN		0x01L	/* 01 display full screen                    */
#define WC2_SOFTKEYBOARD	0x02L	/* 02 software keyboard                      */
#define WC2_WRAPTEXT		0x04L	/* 04 wrap long lines of text                */
					/* 29 free bits */

#define ALIGN_LEFT	1
#define ALIGN_RIGHT	2
#define ALIGN_TOP	3
#define ALIGN_BOTTOM	4

/* player_selection */
#define VIA_DIALOG	0
#define VIA_PROMPTS	1

/* map_mode settings - deprecated */
#define MAP_MODE_TILES		0
#define MAP_MODE_ASCII4x6	1
#define MAP_MODE_ASCII6x8	2
#define MAP_MODE_ASCII8x8	3
#define MAP_MODE_ASCII16x8	4
#define MAP_MODE_ASCII7x12	5
#define MAP_MODE_ASCII8x12	6
#define MAP_MODE_ASCII16x12	7
#define MAP_MODE_ASCII12x16	8
#define MAP_MODE_ASCII10x18	9
#define MAP_MODE_ASCII_FIT_TO_SCREEN 10
#define MAP_MODE_TILES_FIT_TO_SCREEN 11

#if 0
#define WC_SND_SOUND	 0x01L		/* 01 Port has some sound capabilities       */
#define WC_SND_SPEAKER	 0x02L		/* 02 Sound supported via built-in speaker   */
#define WC_SND_STEREO	 0x04L		/* 03 Stereo sound supported                 */
#define WC_SND_RAW	 0x08L		/* 04 Raw sound supported                    */
#define WC_SND_WAVE	 0x10L		/* 05 Wave support                           */
#define WC_SND_MIDI	 0x20L		/* 06 Midi support                           */
					/* 26 free bits */
#endif

struct wc_Opt {
	const char *wc_name;
	unsigned long wc_bit;
};

#endif /* WINPROCS_H */

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


First Meeting about NEWTON Remote Education Pilot has been held at "Da Procida" Institute in Salerno, Italy on March 29th, 2017.
Participants in the event were Fabio Di Salvadore and Giuseppe Guarino for QUI! Group, Carmine De Nicola for Beyond, the NEWTON Advisory Board Prof. Domenico Cariello and some teachers of the two involved Italian Associated Partners, "Da Procida" and "Santa Caterina-Amendola" Institutes (Prof. Clementina D'Amico, Prof. Rosangela Cuoco, Prof. Anna Pisacane, Prof. Maria Grazia Rubino, Prof. Ciro Calabrese).
Aim of the event was to share among the participants current status and issues about designing, definition and organization of the Pilot and plan future activities.
Participants' point of view and ideas about learning pathways definition and content generation, training on NEWTON technologies, regulations and key competencies on educational process, disabilities and special needs typologies to be considered in the Pilot were analyzed in detail.


Tobias Hill is a London born poet and award-winning author. Today on The Tattooed Book I'll be reviewing a collection of short stories that won him the Pen-Macmillan Prize for Fiction, titled Skin.
The first story in this collection is the title's namesake, Skin, and is the tale that drew my attention to the collection.
We meet Tomoyasu when he is twelve years old, growing up in a poor area of Japan where he's lost his sister after she froze to death on the floor of a silkworm factory. His most prized possession is a photograph his Father has sent him of what he believes to be an American spy and from here his love for all things American grows.
As an adult he sells his parents home and land, buying his Mother an apartment and moving to Kobe with the proceeds. Here he ends up working for the Company, from making bodies disappear to running a stall at the Star Festival he'll do anything to make some money and earn their respect. After being told to 'cover his skin' he realises he'll never be taken seriously until he's tattooed and takes his savings to Horicho, a tattooist his best friend recommends. At first, he refuses but later gives in to other pressures and begins to work on Tomoyasu.
Each chapter alternates between Tomoyasu and another lead character, Constable Yasuhiro Abe. Yashiro is on the hunt for a killer, a man who carried out a crime known as "washing the feet," the murder of any Yakuza who attempts to retire. The case has been a tough one to crack especially as the remains were so hard to identify, with only partial pieces of tattooed skin left. When he's told to move on from the case it changes from work to an obsession.
After Skin, there are eight other stories, one of the best being Losing Track, the story of a young man working in a casino who falls for a woman who is part of a gambling scam. Others include Zoo, where a woman tracks down a man who has been stealing dead animals from London Zoo and The Memory Man, where a man searches for a woman with no memory.
Many people steer clear of short stories, finding themselves unable to feel fully immersed in such brief glimpses of new worlds but thankfully the title story of Skin is one of the longest tales, coming in at sixty-five pages. Beautifully written, with insights in Japanese culture and a great little twist at the end, Skin by Tobias Hill really is a pleasure to read and shines out as the most enjoyable piece within this collection. You warm to both the leads, Tomoyasu and Yasuhiro in equal amounts as they carry out their own battles, one to belong and the other to hunt.
A couple of the shorter stories do fail to grab, with minimal character descriptions it can occasionally be difficult to differentiate between them but the longer tales are brimming with unusual plots that capture your attention as well as imagination. The idea of being an outcast and attempting to belong seems to be an ongoing theme with the main characters and the author's life in both Japan and London influencing the stories strongly. Overall Skin by Tobias Hill is a fascinating collection that is definitely worth reading for the title story alone.
If you like Skin by Tobias Hill then you'll love Madame Zero by Sarah Hall.
Read a short extract of Skin on Tobias Hills' website.


ScreenFect™UP-293 is a transfection reagent kit which is highly efficient for production of antibodies and proteins in Expi293F™ or FreeStyle™ 293-F cells. ScreenFect™ UP-293 Booster, which is added to transfected cells, enhances remarkably protein expression level in cells.
This figure compares transfection reagent performance in Expi293F™ cells. Cells were transfected with a secreted Luc expression vector using commercially available transfection reagents and cultured in 30 mL of Expi293™ Expression Medium. 96 hours after transfection, cell supernatants were measured for emission intensity by Luciferase assay.
ScreenFect™UP-293 achieves the highest luciferase expression level in comparison to other commercially available transfection reagents.
Expi293™, Freestyle™, Expi293F™ are registered trademarks of Thermo Fisher Scientific.
Heavy and light chains expression vectors were transfected using commercially available transfection reagent in Expi293F™ Cells. The Expi293F™ Cells were cultured in 30 mL of Expi293™ Expression Medium. 120 hours after transfection, supernatants were collected and electrophoresed. IgG was measured by CBB staining.
ScreenFect™UP-293 has the same capabilities at other company's product.
This figure compares transfection reagent performance in FreeStyle™ 293-F Cells. Cells were transfected with a secreted Luc expression vector using commercially available transfection reagent and cultured in 30 mL of FreeStyle™ 293 Expression Medium. Emission intensity of cell supernatants was measured by Luciferase assay, 96 hours post-transfection.
ScreenFect™UP-293 provides considerably higher expression level than Product C.
① One day prior to transfection, prepare culture cells to be appropriate cell numbers for transfection using a 125mL or 250mL of Erlenmeyer shake flask . Note: Recommended seeding cell density is >0.8x106 viable cells/mL.
Just before transfection, prepare 28mL of cell suspension with the cell densities below in a 125 mL of Erlenmeyer shake flask.
Note: cell viability must not be < 90 %.
③ Mix ScreenFect™UP-293 Transfection Reagent well with a vortex mixer.
Add 60µL of ScreenFect™UP-293 Transfection Reagent into 940µL of ScreenFect™UP-293 Dilution Buffer in a sterile microfuge tube and mix it using pipette strokes.
Add 30µL of ScreenFect™UP-293 Transfection Reagent into 970µL of Opti-MEM™ I Reduced Serum Medium in a sterile microfuge tube and mix it using pipette strokes.
Add 30µg of plasmid DNA with a density of 1µg/µL into 970µL of ScreenFect™UP-293 Dilution Buffer in a sterile microfuge tube and mix it using pipette strokes.
Add 30µg of plasmid DNA with a density of 1µg/µL into 970µL of Opti-MEM™ I Reduced Serum Medium in a sterile microfuge tube and mix it using pipette strokes.
Mix the diluted transfection reagent and the diluted DNA solution with rapid pipette strokes and spin down it. Incubate it for 5-20minutes at room temperature.
Note: Do not vortex the mixed solution.
⑦ Add the 2mL of the lipoplex solution into the cell suspension in the Erlenmeyer Shaker Flask with slowly swirling.
Note: The final volume should be approximately 30mL in the flask.
Incubate the cells at 37°C(8% CO2), rotating at 125rpm on an orbital shaker for 16hours.
⑨ Add 150µL of ScreenFect™UP-293 Booster to the cells.
Continue to incubate the cells at 37°C(8% CO2), rotating at 125rpm on an orbital shaker.
Collect cells or culture supernatants containing target proteins in 48-120 hours after transfection.
Note: The incubation period required for successful transfection depends on the target protein and cell viability.
Expi293F™, Freestyle™ and Opti-MEM™ are registered trademarks of Thermo Fisher Scientific.
*ScreenFect™UP-293 Dilution Buffer is not necessary for the use of FreeStyle™ 293 Expression System.
*Use ScreenFect™UP-293 Dilution Buffer provided with this kit.
* The details given show the information available as of April 2019.


text:
Haftar war crimes trial to resume in Virginia in June
One of the war crimes trials facing General Khalifa Haftar in the United States has resumed and a new hearing has been set for 16 June. [...] (206 words)
This article may be accessed by subscribers and e-wallet holders (USD 6)
Aida Elzagally
Ali Abdalla Hamza
Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP
Jesse Binnall
John F. Anderson
Kevin Thomas Carroll
Libyan National Army
Mona al-Suyid
First of three war crime trials against Haftar resumes in US
After being stalled for several months, one of the "war crimes" trials against Khalifa Haftar has resumed. On 11 March, judges decided to continue proceedings, in which Haftar faces Canadian-Libyan plaintiff Ali Abdallah Hamza. The legal case has been suspended since 4 Nov last year. [...]
Following election cancellation, threat of US trials' resumption stalks Haftar
The plaintiffs are pushing for the resumption of legal proceedings that were interrupted due to the elections that were to take place on 24 December last year. Khalifa Haftar was a candidate at the last elections, for which no new date has yet been announced. [...]
Haftar dodges US courts thanks to blunder from opposing side
Khalifa Haftar's long-awaited appearance before the Virginia court where he is being tried for war crimes has been postponed due to the authorities in Tripoli's interference. Proceedings against him will resume after the presidential and legislative elections scheduled in December and January respectively. [...]
Mysterious document used in Haftar trial prompts internal government investigation
The Libyan government is seeking to clarify the circumstances surrounding a document bearing the letterhead of the Libyan government which was sent to Khalifa Haftar's lawyers and which several Tripoli officials claim is fake. [...]
Haftar's US lobbyists bail out under pressure
Despite having just hired two consultants, the American lobbyists Lanny Davis and Bob Livingston have given up representing the military commander Khalifa Haftar, who is now a candidate in the Libyan presidential election. [...]
LIBYA Diplomacy 16/07/2021
Trump lawyer Binnall prepares Haftar's war crimes defence
Preliminary hearings in Khalifa Haftar's three civil war-crimes trials in Virginia will take place this and next month. The Libyan National Army's lawyer is a longtime Trump backer, while opposing councils are close to the Democrats. [...]
Secretary-General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres. © John Thys/Pool via Reuters
Guterres lobbies for the UN to take charge of militias' disarmament
The United Nations is seeking to take direct control of the disarmament of militias and the withdrawal of foreign forces away from the Libyan transitional government. Meanwhile the country's legislative and presidential elections scheduled for December 24 this year look more undermined than ever. [...]


When I initially created and released my Apps for Social Skills and Autism list, I missed placing a great application on the list. Was it because it was released about two weeks before my list was released or was it because the application was Australian and I live in the United States? Either way, it missed the first boat, but I will not forget to include it on an updated list. This application that I am talking about is Emotion Detective, perfect for children who are working on social skills and specifically emotions. Read more about the application in my review below.
I was contacted via Twitter by the developer of the application, Brooke Purslowe. It was probably one of my first direct messages via Twitter as I am definitely new to the whole Twitter scene (unlike many of my readers). Once I heard the name, I knew it would be perfect to try out with my students and review!
When you open the application you are greeted by the narrator stating "Welcome to the Emotion Detective" followed by a screen with two child detectives on it. The developer of the application told me that the narrator has an Australian accent throughout the application, but I feel that the narrator was understandable throughout. There are three options: Start, Start Saved Game, and Options.
The only option currently is to turn the background music up or down on a scroll bar with a man running. This will depend on the child you are working with. I turned the music down so that it would not be distracting during gameplay. The other button on the "Options" menu is the InGenuis Labs icon. Upon pressing this button, a short description of the company will appear and the current version of the application will also be stated.
If you have any previously saved games by a child, you can view them on the "Start Saved Game" list. This list will show the users' photo, name, how many cases out of four they have completed, the last time the game was played, when the user started playing the game, and the current case the user is working on.
Press the "Start" button to begin a new game and create a new user profile. The narrator will then state, "the people of Emotioniana need your superior detective skills to help solve some curious mysteries that have been occurring around town." You will see a detective badge and a picture frame on the screen with an arrow pointing to it. Press the picture frame to find a user photo to associate with a child's name on the app. You can choose to take a new picture with the Camera or you can choose one from the Camera Roll. After placing an image in the picture frame, the arrow will move to show you where to type your name. Click on the "Detective..." writing in the green box next to the label "Name" to type in the childs' name on the keyboard. The narrator will also state "What's your name, detective?". The childs' name will then appear on the badge.
Here's a picture of me on the app. Sorry about the funny looking face :P.
The narrator will describe each case to the student. Upon choosing a case, the narrator will state "Great choice! Good luck detective!" To start the game-play, press the "Next" magnifying glass. Finally, the narrator will state, "You about to embark on an exciting adventure", and you are ready to start the application play!
Before I go into the specific game-play of the application, I would like to point out two icons on the screen. One is a detective hat with a question mark. This opens a small "Help" page that gives suggestions to the parent or therapist to help the student work through the application including pointing out the parts of the fact that change with each emotion and discussing what would make you feel that emotion. The other option is the magnifying glass that has the "Menu" label. Pressing this will bring you back to the main menu, but first will show a dialouge pop-up box that asks if you would really like to leave the game due to the fact that all data will be lost. If you wish to quit, press yes, otherwise to continue, press no.
Once each image has been shown, a magnifying glass will appear on the lower left hand side of the page with the "Next" label and there will be a clapping sound. Press it to move to the next activity. The screen will now show the previous images on a grid of four and ask the student to identify different emotions by stating "touch ____". This text will also appear at the bottom of the screen. If the student presses the wrong image, the narrator will state the emotion associated with the image. If the student pressed the correct image, the narrator will also state the emotion and a new grid of four as well as emotion to be chosen will appear. The narrator is also great about conveying the emotion in her tone of voice. Once this activity has been completed, the "Next" magnifying glass will appear again and clapping will also occur.
Next, emotions shown on yellow cartoon faces will appear on a grid similar to the previous activity. The activity is the same as the child is asked to identify different emotions conveyed on the faces. This time, the child is not shown each emotion beforehand in a photo album format.
Once this is complete and the "Next" magnifying glass has been pressed, four boxes will appear with the text to "Take ___ photo". The blank has a specific emotion for the child to take a photo using the appropriate facial structure to convey that emotion. When a box is pressed, the narrator will state "show me ___" with the emotion stated. You can choose an image from the camera roll or take a new image. Once all of the images have been chosen, the "Next" magnifying glass will appear and take you to the next activity.
Here I am, practicing emotions!
The next screen has you trace parts of the faces you uploaded that change with each emotion. The child must use his or her finger to trace on the screen. To go through each image, click on the image you want to trace on the right hand side.
I look really angry with the red around my eyebrows here.
Finally, on the next screen, the student gets a break with a search and find puzzle. The child is asked to find different objects on an image. The narrator states which toy to find in a bedroom scene and the image of the toy is shown on the left hand side of the page. A hint button (light bulb) is available to press at any time to help show the area in which the item can be found. The item to be found is usually related to the theme the child chose. After the student has completed this task, a screen will appear to praise the child.
The next part of the application has the child identify body language. An image is shown of a child or adult conveying a certain type of body language. The narrator discusses the concept of body language very quickly and asks the child to choose what they might say while conveying the body language shown on the image. The child must select out of three choices what phrase matches the body language shown in the image. The child can hear the text read aloud by the narrator by pressing on it. To choose a definite answer, the child must press "Lock it in" next to the text. If the answer is incorrect, the text will be read aloud by the narrator and the child will not move on to the next scene until the correct answer is chosen. After this activity, the missing item game will play again for a break for the child.
The next activity shows two cartoon-drawn children talking. There are objects in the background that the children can talk about and the user is asked to touch an object to start conversation.
The children will begin conversing with each other with a pre-recorded conversation. A speech bubble will appear over the person who is talking. The object chosen will also be darkened to show that it has already been selected.
Following the conversation, the user is asked to rate how the detective's friend feels after the conversation is complete on a scale of sad, happy, or excited. If you wish to listen to the conversation again, press the "Listen Again" button. If an incorrect emotion is chosen, the narratore will state "try again". After the user chooses an emotion that matches the conversation, he or she can press a new item for the children to talk about on the screen. Items are generally related to the theme or background chosen. Once each item has been found and discussed, the user can move on to the find the hidden object game.
The following activity shows a picture of a child or adult in a certain situation and the narrator will describe it. The user must then infer how the person in the photo is feeling based on the context he or she is given. The face of the child or adult in the image will be blocked out by a square and the child must choose from four cartoon faces at the bottom as to how he or she infers the person is feeling.
If the emotion is chosen incorrectly, the narrator will state the emotion aloud and place the cartoon image over the persons' face.
The user will not be able to move on; however, he or she can listen again to the description by pressing "Listen Again". If the emotion chosen is correct, the cartoon image will display over the persons' face and then fade to show the real-life photo of the persons' face. A new scene and narration will then play. Once all of the scenes have been completed, the find the missing item game will play again.
Finally, the entire application play will be complete and a screen with the objects found related to the theme will appear. The narrator will then wrap-up the game-play by relating the objects back to the "Case" and congratulate the user. This game-play will then be saved. A new case can then be chosen to solve with the same activities but different scenes/images.
I don't know where to start about all of the things that I like about this application because I like so many things! I wish I had found it at the beginning of the school year rather than at the end!
I love the fact that the user first learns the emotions, then is able to identify them, and then infers emotions of others in real-life images.
I like the fact that the user can listen to conversations of others and determine how the conversation went and how the peer felt during the conversation based on what was said.
I love the fact that the user can take his or her own image and practice conveying different emotions.
Each time the user chooses a new "Case", there are new images of emotions to choose from and conversational scenes so the student will be exposed to emotions in different situations.
The narrator conveys emotion in her voice when stating an emotion or conversation.
The last thing that I like is that the application has a theme throughout! All of the buttons and narration are related to the detective theme!
I would definitely like to see the text able to be restated on every screen. There are a couple of activities in which the user cannot have the narrator restate the directions or emotions. Also, there is no narration for the screen in which a child must press an item on the screen for the children to converse about.
I would like the ability to save after each activity. This is due to the fact that if a child becomes fatigued or distracted during a session, it is hard to go back to the beginning another day.
The grid of cartoon-drawn emotions does not go through and have students learn them beforehand, and it might be good for them to have that opportunity.
When you upload photos for the grid of four images of yourself conveying emotions, the text leaves as soon as an image is uploaded. It would be nice to have each emotion word in text below the image even after each photo is shown. This way if the teacher reviews the emotions with the student at the end of uploading all four, it will be easier to determine which face went with which emotion and if the emotion is appropriately conveyed in the image taken of the student.
I would love the ability to focus on different activities separate from playing through a whole case. Maybe this could be added on. This way, students would get extra practice if they are working on a certain problem area (learning emotions, identifying emotions, inferring emotions, etc.). Some of my students are at different levels of learning emotions and this way, we can get more practice in the area of need.
This is a rather big request, but it would be neat to have a PDF file attached to print and send home of all of the photos of the people showing different emotions for the child to identify/learn. Doesn't have to have the scenes on it, just the cartoon images and real-life photos of individuals conveying emotions. If the scenes are added to the document, one would have to create a paragraph narrative to go along with it, or have questions to go along with it. It would also be great to have faces for the students to draw different emotions on.
This application is available for the iPad for $18.99. That is a great price considering everything that went into this application in regards to the theme as well as the different levels of emotion-related activities. I would absolutely recommend this application the speech-language pathologists, therapists, and parents of children who are working on identifying and inferring emotions!
Consonantly Speaking was given an application code by the developer to review the application. No other form of compensation was given.