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Why Can't a Teenager Be Played By a Real Teen?
The Huffington Post, January 6, 2011
A recent Los Angeles Times article recounted the fact that coming out on TV has been portrayed in the lives of even younger characters than before. While this is true and in fact notable, wouldn't it be even better if the performances were by actors
much closer in age to their actual roles?
This is a common trait on series which feature younger people in lead or major supporting roles, regardless of the subject matter. Whether it be Gossip Girl, The Vampire Diaries, One Tree Hill, 90210 or earlier series such as Dawson's Creek the actors playing kids in high school are often in their mid-twenties and sometimes in their thirties.
For example, one of the actors mentioned in the Times piece, Trevor Donovan, who plays high school senior Teddy on The CW's 90210, is 32 and was introduced as a 16-year-old when he was already 30. Unlike Leonardo DiCaprio, whose boyish looks permitted him
to credibly play a kid at 27 in Catch Me If You Can, Donovan's much more mature, handsome, almost Robert Redford look makes him appear no younger than a college senior in his best angle and usually more fit to be a surgical resident on ABC's
Grey's Anatomy.
Similarly, Matt Lanter, who plays Liam on the same show, was 25 when he was introduced a couple of seasons ago. He was working as a bartender and seemed perfectly credible in that role until he was unmasked soon after as a 16-year-old. Say what? I don't think so. And Michael Steger, who plays Navid, was 28 when he started three years ago.
Additionally, Tom Welling of Smallville began at 24 playing the high-school attendee Clark Kent and looked more like
a college jock.
Cory Monteith, Finn on Fox's Glee was 27 when the series started. Likewise, Mark Salling, who portrays Puck
onthe same show.
Does anyone really buy that Paul Wesley is the perennially 17-year-old Stefan on The Vampire Diaries? He was 27
when he began on the series and looked at best as if he were a first year law student. On One Tree Hill,
Chad Michael Murray was 22 playing a sophomore in high school when he appeared much more collegiate.
On Dawson's Creek, James Van Der Beek and Joshua Jackson played fifteen at 21 and 20 respectively, and with
Van Der Beek's craggy good looks and Jackson's deep voice they in no way conveyed the image.
On Gossip Girl's first two seasons, Chace Crawford was 22 and 23 playing high school kid Nate, while Penn Badgley
was 21 and 22 portraying Dan, both far too grown up appearing, though considering the liberties the kids are given to
essentially do what they want irrespective of parental controls, perhaps it helps to suspend our disbelief when they utter dialogue with a mature tone. This is especially true of Ed Westwick, the show's Chuck Bass, who, though only 20 at the beginning of the series, effected a pomposity capable of being a corporate power broker, driving in limousines even while
still in high school. It might have seemed even more ludicrous if he were scarred with acne.
It's well known that child labor laws cause studios to hire adult young folks to escape the necessity of shorter working hours
and having a teacher on the set to conduct required schoolwork. But in that case, why not get actors who are much closer in age to the roles they are supposed to be instead of casting actors who are not only much older chronologically but in no way look the part?
Interestingly, on CBS' The Good Wife and NBC's Parenthood, the teenage boys are played by Graham Phillips and
Miles Heizer, kids -- you won't believe it -- who are actually teenagers, and under 18 at that! Michael J. Fox was a very young looking 21, playing 17-year-old Alex P. Keaton on Family Ties, and, as he was small, helped convey the younger image.
Oddly, girls are usually cast closer to their youthful age, and even if they are already in their twenties it is at the lower end
of the decade, as opposed to the mid-twenties, approaching thirty range with respect to the guys.
There's no reason why they can't find talented 18- to 20-year-old actors to play these angst-ridden roles and, as the networks and studios often prefer to keep the high school experience going as long as they can get away with, it would make the stories that much more credible as the actors age in the course of the series length.
Nothing against Trevor Donovan -- he's as good as anyone else on 90210, but it's hard to believe he's in high school,
and that goes as well for the many other cases cited and on so many episodic series down through the ages.


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"Set a few months after the events of 'Further And Further Out'. Sam is still not entirely himself when a vision of their father in trouble sends a reluctant Dean off to track down John Winchester. AU, Contains wincest." (43,044 words) Sequel to "Further In, Further Out"


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Recently, a large number of first-party Amazon vendors didn't receive purchase orders from the site, sparking debate about whether the move was a harbinger of changes to come. These Vendor Central sellers (also known as 1P sellers), who sell their inventory directly to Amazon to manage and then resell to consumers, were told that Amazon will no longer be sending them purchase orders for their products starting 3/3/2019.
Amazon is historically bad at sharing information and communicating with vendors, sellers, press, and analysts, and the boilerplate responses the company gave vendors did little to quell fears. According to Adweek, it appears now that the massive withholding of purchase orders may have been a back end tech issue, and many of these vendors are back to business as usual on Vendor Central. This was definitely the case for several content26 clients who initially were told they'd been booted out of Vendor Central only to be reinstated the following week.
But numerous industry insiders saw too many underlying coincidences in the snafu to believe that it wasn't a precursor for Amazon streamlining their vendor and seller platforms.
According to our sources at Amazon, the process of transitioning first-party sellers (Vendor Central) to third-party sellers (Seller Central) has been in discussions at Amazon for over a year. Amazon claims that this housekeeping is simply to improve the customer experience, and that the site regularly reviews selling partner relationships and makes changes when they see an opportunity to provide a better customer experience.
Others see this move as a signifier of a larger impending change in the Amazon vendor landscape.
Amazon Moving Towards a "One Vendor" System?
Supposedly, in the near future Amazon is planning on combining both Vendor Central and Seller Central into one consolidated selling system, called One Vendor. But is this rumor fact or fiction?
Amazon claims that there is currently no program in place called One Vendor. Yet former Amazon employees who now work with agencies that assist brands selling on Amazon insist that it's real, and that it's coming.
Creating a consolidated marketplace would be more efficient for Amazon, as one marketplace is easier and cheaper to operate than two. And as an added bonus for them, it would also give Amazon complete control over which brands sell where–including dictating who must sell their inventory directly to Amazon and who are allowed to manage their own–eliminating any choice brands once had about how they want to sell their products on Amazon.
Regardless of whether One Vendor is coming or not, all brands need to begin preparing for changes to how they do business with Amazon.
If your brand received notification that you will no longer receive purchase orders on Vendor Central, it's urgent that you begin investigating Seller Central. Even if you were reinstated to Vendor Central, we believe there be a second wave of vendors that will be forced on to Seller Central later this year.
There are pros and cons to the Seller Central platform. Vendor Central is a more streamlined and simplified operation since Amazon handles shipping and inventory, but Seller Central gives brands greater control over pricing, with better insight into customer data and behavior for free. On the whole though, third-party sellers on Seller Central will likely have to carry more responsibilities to sustain business as they had known it on Vendor Central.
The consensus in the community is that these platform shifts are only being hoisted on brands that are not enterprise vendors generating large annual revenues on Amazon.
Every brand on Vendor Central that is not a multi-million dollar revenue maker should be prepared to be moved to Seller Central at any point. For many of these brands, that means Amazon will sell through their existing inventory and will not be reordering.
These Amazon vendors should take the time now to ramp up their third-party Seller Central account. It's also a good time to become more knowledgeable about the differences between the two platforms, including the change in fee breakdowns and the new daily operational oversight that is required for a direct-to-consumer model.
We've already begun talking to clients about how we can help with this transition. Reach out, and we can talk through the nuances that pertain to your brand and provide you with the best path to proceed.


Everybody has their own hot take on the media. The coldest eye likely comes from (or probably should come from) those who put their own money on the line.
Publicly-traded media companies share a lot of mandatory financial information, but what drives the perspectives of those looking a bit further down the road, without the benefit of hindsight? What are venture capital funds or those seeking to raise new money in the media business most excited—and concerned—about today? And what might that suggest for the publishing world?
In general, there's a lot of negative buzz about media by folks inside and outside the business. Conventional wisdom (surely you've seen it around) holds that there's too much content out there; traditional media consumption is falling; digital advertising is damaged by a lack of transparency and standardized measurement; new business models are unsettled; the ad tech sector was way over-invested; and the FAANG companies (Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix and Google) are sucking up all of the oxygen—not to mention the money.
Certainly, there's a parade of scare stories for digital-native content companies, as Awesomeness was sold last year to Viacom for a price somewhere between $25–100 million, down from a $650-million valuation in 2016, Bustle Digital Group purchased Mic for $5 million (down from a $100-million valuation a year earlier) and Vice Media's valuation has deflated from $5.7 billion to around $4.9 billion in little more than a year.
Yet despite those headwinds, when you look at people with money to spend (and even to raise), the situation is far more nuanced. There's a lot of money still pouring into the early-stage fundraising process, and plenty to be made (and invested) in media if you know where to look.
A high-level view of the venture capital market finds a pretty startling level of continued investment. In the last 10 years, the amount of VC money invested worldwide has tripled—from $53 billion in 2008 to $160 billion in 2017. Last year, $130 billion in VC money went to 8,400 companies in the U.S. alone. And there were twice as many deals with $100 million or more in 2018 as there were in 2017.
If you have any doubt of the flood of money in the VC world, take note that Fi, which touts its "smart" dog collar (Apple Watch for dogs?), just raised $7 million from prominent VCs including Lerer Hippeau.
The vast majority of VC money still flows toward technology, accounting for $100 billion of the $130 billion spent on U.S. companies last year. But companies that have built their reputations at least in part due to media-related savvy have continued to raise significant money. Union Square Ventures, an early investor in Twitter, Tumblr and Etsy among others, announced earlier this year that it raised an additional $429 million for two new funds. Greycroft, admittedly as much a private equity as a VC firm, has raised a fifth fund of $250 million.
If you're in the content business, you do have hurdles to overcome when hunting for money. As Richard Reisman, who helps run the New York Angels investment group, told me, a lot of folks still feel burned from earlier content investments (see a few above). Reisman noted that content is, by nature, unique and hard to scale, and at odds with the pursuit of what Union Square Ventures folks call "network effects." And as John Frankel, a co-founder of FF Venture Capital, told me, as easy as it can be for anyone to create an audience (he points to his own somewhat-surprising 25,000 Twitter followers), that's what makes it so hard to be distinctive when you build one.
There's an emerging common thread of success if you're trying to make a go of a content-related business–make sure you are creating and selling yourself as a "platform." You don't have to be the owner of the platform, but at least the equivalent of an architect, construction engineer or supporter of others' platforms.
One of many examples of a company out-pitching its service to this sweet spot is Video Call Center, run by former Wall Street analyst and serial inventor Tom Wolzien, which provides a unique and patented solution to deliver broadcast-quality live video online. At the high end of this money-raising business is Splice, which just raised $57.5 million, including from Union Square Ventures and Lerer Hippeau. It's in the music business, and not a label owner or a music producer, but a provider of software tools for many who are.
At the grandest scale, Viacom just spent $340 million to buy a still-early-stage OTT video provider, Pluto TV. Pluto is all about delivering free to consumer, ad-supported video streams without cable or satellite TV subscriptions. It's not about the content, it's about the platform (except, of course, for the consumer).
The podcasting space has generated a huge amount of interest and money recently, becoming what Fast Company called "sardine can-crowded." A global podcasting company called Himalaya recently launched with $100 million of financing. Of course, Peter Vincer, Himalaya's VP of global partnerships, describes it as a "platform." Spotify bought Gimlet, a leading podcasting studio, for $200 million. OK, so that's a pure content play, right? But then again, maybe it's really just about growing the power of the Spotify platform. You say tomato….
For businesses that have traditionally relied on some combination of circulation and subscription revenue like magazine publishers, the phrase du jour is seeking partners and capabilities that will drive "reader revenue." This is the space in which you can find Piano Media (ironically not in the music business), which just raised $22 million on its construction and operation of metered paywalls for scores of publishers online, including Hearst, Business Insider, The Economist and Ad Age. It's this reader-revenue space in which The News Project (TNP) is out mining for gold. TNP is the brainchild of Merrill Brown, my former colleague, head of content for MSNBC.com, and a long-ago magazine editor himself at the beloved Channels.
As Brown pointed out, the renewed enthusiasm for recurring subscription-type revenue, combined with the "entire reconstruction of the world's information architecture" make the market ripe for those, like TNP, seeking to help support an enduring digital presence for high-quality news and information.
Ultimately, the patchwork of the current media marketplace demands that rare blend of timing, story and the "chops" to execute. If that's all there, all platforms aboard!
Howard Homonoff is a strategic adviser to media companies on partnerships and growth strategies, a contributor to Forbes.com, an adjunct professor at The New School and senior fellow at Columbia Business School's Institute on Tele-Information. Prior to his work as a strategic advisor at PwC and MediaLink, he served as general counsel at NBC and VP and general manager of CNBC Strategic Ventures.


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Metro's Affordable Housing Team Shares Goals, Progress
LOS ANGELES (CNS) - The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority's Joint Development team updated the Metro Board of Directors today on its affordable housing program's goals and progress.
Through its Joint Development Program, Metro seeks to create ``transit-oriented affordable housing'' near Metro stations.
According to their Joint Development Affordable Housing Policy Paper, which was delivered to the board Wednesday, the program has completed 2,200 units of housing, 34% of which are considered affordable, according to Metro's website. It defines ``affordable housing'' as units for people who earn 60% or less than the Los Angeles County Area Median Income (AMI).
Including projects that are in the pipeline, Metro's portfolio consists of 4,700 units, 37% of which will be affordable.
Metro anticipates its portfolio to double over the next decade with the acquisition of 40 new sites. The program's goals focus on:
-- increasing opportunity for people of all income levels to work, live and shop near transit;
-- providing access to opportunity for people who need it most;
-- delivering housing as soon as possible and with the least amount of environmental impact; and
-- leading in housing innovations.
The group's research has found that Los Angeles County has a 350,000 housing unit deficit, and there are more than 100,000 units required for people who earn less than 50% AMI. Over 50,000 units are needed for people earning between 50% and 80% AMI, and 150,000 units are needed for people who earn more than 120% AMI. The group believes there is a need for market rate units along with subsidized units in Los Angeles.
They have identified potential policy and process tools for the project going forward, including:
-- prioritizing communities with the most need and pursuing development of 100% income-restricted sites;
-- expanding the definition of ``affordable'' to include households earning up to 80% AMI;
-- redefining ``moderate income housing'' to include households earning between 80% and 120% AMI; and
-- streamlining processes to deliver units faster.
The Joint Development team is seeking feedback ahead of its Transit Oriented Communities Town Hall in March. The entire policy paper can be read at: https://bit.ly/2M3B6Bj and feedback can be submitted to jointdevelopment@metro.net.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


I'm 19 years old. And I've had jobs before and everything, its just now I can't get one.
A couple years ago, when I was 17, I ran away from my group home, and I left with NOTHING. No birth certificate, no Soc. Sec. card, no nothing.
until i finally moved in w/ my mom. who I just met when i moved in.
because i dont have a job. But....i have no ID!!!!!
so im trying to get my signature notarized so i can send out for my B.C....which is in California, and im in Indianapolis.....but im in a catch 22. they wont let me notarize my sig. without ID. ???????????????????
Never graduated high school, tho i came close....never graduated because i ran away from the group home.
So im wondering what i should do....cuz its like im stuck...i do the Saaaaaaaaaaaaame **** every day. sleep all day, stay up all night....doing NOTHING. and im tired of it. I could sell weed/crack....because im in that type of neighborhood....but i dont have a gun in case i get robbed, and i dont want to go to jail for a lil bit of money. And I dont have the money to put it on deck in the first place anyway.
but it seems like i dont have that oppurtunity.
like i can draw pretty well, i can write pretty well...but thats basically it, besides hip-hop, which is an unrealisticdream anyway, and isnt getting me anywhere right now.
Any advice on how to become unstuck?
Wow, I definately sympathize with you predicament; it must be very stressful! I've never been in foster care so I don't know much of anything about it, but I will try to throw you some ideas. Can you go back to the foster care agency-or call them-and ask for you social or id? You can still go back to high school if you're only 19, or you can get your GED-classes are at the local community college where I live, but it's probably different in your town. If your mom will pay for you to get your high school diploma, go back now. Will she help you get your id and social? If you explain the situation to her, and how bad you feel about everything, maybe she will help you out. Sometimes its easier for an adult to get these types of things than a teen because, in general, people trust adults more. I will try to think of more ideas for you. Maybe somebody else on the forum has some ideas also. Best of luck!
thanks for taking the time to read/give advice.
yeah i would like to go back to school.....but they talkin about i need to get a job. and plus i have no car/money for the bus.
i could ask my mom to get that stuff for me...convince her if she wants me out that bad she should help me at least get a job to do it.
If you choose to go back to high school, would you be able to pick the high school or no? It depends on where you live doesn't it? Your saying that your high school is really bad, that they have fights there all the time?
I would say that its a good idea really for you to get a high school diploma/GED and I KNOW you can do it, thats one thing you don't have to worry about.
I'm really sorry to put this here but I'm not really sure what else to do.. i've messed up!
I was asked to change someone's name here on the forum and somehow I managed to change the originator of this thread's username instead! Unfortunately I didn't see what the original name was, so I'm unable to change it back to what it was.
I've looked through all your posts and can't see a reference to your username, and I've emailed you but it bounced. So i've temporarily called you "mindscribe"
You can still log in using 'mindscribe' and your current password, etc.
I'm truly sorry about that.. I honestly have no idea what happened!


I have heard of the many benefits of using coconut oil and olive oil together, rubbed into the facial and neck areas before bed. How does one do this? Can you mix more than what is needed for one application and save the rest? Which oil should be applied first if you don't mix them? Thanks to anyone who can help me!
Some people do combine coconut oil and olive oil for their daily skin care regimen. They have reported beautiful results.
Yes, you can mix a batch for later use. I would suggest that you mix 2 parts coconut oil and 1 part olive oil. Why? Because 91 percent UNsaturated olive oil is highly vulnerable to peroxidation (oxidative process that occurs in fats). In contrast, 92 percent saturated coconut oil is very stable, and can protect other fats from oxidation.
It would also be best to save the mixture in a dark, glass container. This will further protect the olive oil from premature decomposition brought about by light and heat.
If you decide to apply them separately, I suggest you start with coconut oil as it is easily absorbed by your skin.


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Physicists See Single Top Quarks at the Tevatron
"If, however, I had a sample with an unknown mix of Danes and Norwegians, I could estimate the fraction of Danes knowing only their heights."Using this premise, and some very sophisticated analysis techniques, D0 physicists first narrowed down a million billion proton-antiproton collisions worth of data to about 1,400 events that may have produced a single top quark. From there, they determined that 60 of these were single-top events.The co-leader of the team who performed the analysis, Ann Heinson from the University of California, Riverside, told PhysOrg.com, "These 60 events differed only in the tiniest details from the rest of the sample of 1,400 events. We had to use three independent methods to combine multiple measurements of different properties of the events to be able to distinguish the signal events from the background ones. We then combined the three results for maximum sensitivity."These three discrimination methods had not been used in a search before. The graduate students and postdocs who did the analyses really broke a lot of new ground."Single top quarks, as well as the Higgs, are predicted by the "Standard Model" of particle physics, the broad theory that describes elementary particles, three fundamental physics forces—strong, weak, and electromagnetic—and the relationships between them.At very high energies, like those produced in accelerators, the weak and electromagnetic forces are often thought of as two aspects of the same force, and are therefore sometimes collectively referred to as the electroweak interaction. The Standard Model states that the electroweak interaction can produce a top quark together with either a "down" antiquark, a "strange" antiquark, or (the vast majority of the time) a "bottom" antiquark.This is unlike strong-force interactions, in which the top quark is always produced with a top antiquark. It was from these interactions that physicists from both of Fermilab's main experiments, D0 and CDF, were able to first discover the top quark in top-antitop pairs.Citation: Physical Review D 78, 012005 (2008)Copyright 2008 PhysOrg.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or part without the express written permission of PhysOrg.com. The results, published in a recent edition of Physical Review D, affirm and improve upon preliminary data published last year in Physical Review Letters, which pointed to the production of single top quarks but were not precise enough to claim true discovery.Fermilab physicists hope that the techniques they used to find the single top quark could help them in their search for the proposed Higgs boson, a particle that exists so far only in theory but if actually found would have a huge impact on physics. The Higgs is expected to reveal such basic information as why nature assigned certain masses to certain particles—the origin of mass, essentially.The results are the product of a long period of analysis by Fermilab's D0 ("D-Zero") collaboration, an international group of physicists from 90 institutions. The group studies data from particle collisions that occur within the D0 particle detector; in this case, data generated by collisions between a beam of protons and a beam of antiprotons. D0 is a building-sized cylindrical device that surrounds the collision site, measuring and recording the energies and trajectories of the many, many particles produced when the beams are smashed together.Isolating one signal of interest out of the massive amounts of data collected by the D0 detector, the "signature" of a certain particle or event, is an extremely difficult task."I would say that the single top is the most subtle signal that we have been able to successfully extract from our data," said D0 co-spokesperson Darien Wood, of Northeastern University, to PhysOrg.com. "In the end, the signal is based on only a few events, but it is not particular events that you can point to. Instead, it is a subtle statistical difference in the population of events that tells you that the single top is in the mix."He clarified, "For example, I could say that the population of Danes is on average slightly taller than the population of Norwegians. But I cannot say that if I randomly pick one Dane and one Norwegian, the Dane will be taller. Nor can I look at someone's height and determine whether that person is Danish or Norwegian. (PhysOrg.com) — Scientists at the world's largest fully operating particle accelerator, the Tevatron at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab) in Illinois, have discovered convincing evidence suggesting the existence of top quarks that are not coupled to their antiparticle, the antitop. These "single" top quarks have been hunted since Fermilab scientists first discovered top-antitop pairs in 1995. This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only. Explore further Citation: Physicists 'See' Single Top Quarks at the Tevatron (2008, August 22) retrieved 18 August 2019 from https://phys.org/news/2008-08-physicists-quarks-tevatron.html The anthropology of climate change and glacier retreat read more
admin August 31, 2019 0
Quantum communication through synergy
The best of both worlds: How to solve real problems on modern quantum computers This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only. Citation: Quantum communication through synergy (2009, January 19) retrieved 18 August 2019 from https://phys.org/news/2009-01-quantum-synergy.html Conventional wisdom, when applied to quantum communication, seems to say that one must have a private channel in order to communicate privately. Nonprivate channels, the thinking goes, should not be able to send quantum information. It is this very thinking that Smith, along with colleague John Smolin, at the IBM T.J. Watson Research Center in Yorktown Heights, New York, could be overturning. In theory, and with the help of some mathematical equations, Smith and Smolin show that it might be possible to combine nonprivate channels to create a channel that would transmit quantum information – and communicate privately at greater distances than currently possible. Their reasoning can be found in Physical Review Letters: "Can Nonprivate Channels Transmit Quantum Information?""If you had a channel that didn't allow you to communicate privately," Smith points out, "you would think you have a weak resource. But when you start looking at these channels, and you start looking at their limits, you begin to see something else." This "something else," Smith continues, includes qualities that allow nonprivate channels to combine in a way that allows them to possibly become useful for quantum communication."There are these features that allow the some of the nonprivate channels to interact with each other in a synergestic way to become useful. Interestingly, this is not something that happens classically. But it could happen with quantum information channels."Smith says that even though individually these channels might look weak, when they are put together, it is possible that they would have the ability to carry more quantum information than the sum of their individual capacities combined. "In our paper, we are presenting ideas of how to design protocols that allow higher rates of quantum communication, over longer distances, than what we can currently do right now."Even though this method of quantum communication looks promising, Smith admits that not all of the components are properly understood. Like so much in quantum mechanics, it appears that something could or does happen, but the why isn't always easy to grasp. "Right now," he says, "we're trying to better understand the individual resources, and some of their bounds. We are trying to develop a way to quantify what the resources actually are. We're starting to develop a feel for what different classes of channels might be made of, but we don't have good characterization yet."Part of understanding characterization, and quantifying the components of quantum communication, Smith continues, is the idea of figuring out the why behind this phenomenon. "We have information that shows that some of these nonprivate channels are useless for quantum communication, but when you combine them, they are quite useful. Why is this?""There is something strange going on here. But if we can get to the bottom of it, we should be able to improve upon our ability with quantum communication dramatically."Copyright 2007 PhysOrg.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or part without the express written permission of PhysOrg.com. Explore further (PhysOrg.com) — When most people think of quantum communication, they think in terms of private communication channels – the ability to send messages without a third-party deciphering them. Indeed, quantum cryptography represents a method of sending information that cannot be eavesdropped upon. Without the proper key for decoding the intercepted message, all an interloper would receive is gibberish. To make quantum cryptography work, Graeme Smith tells PhysOrg.com, "We try to understand the protocols and use specially designed channels to send messages and also to shed light on the general theory of privacy in quantum mechanics." read more
Samsung researchers announce breakthrough in growing gallium nitride LEDs on glass
© 2011 PhysOrg.com Traditionally, LEDs have been grown on sapphire substrate or silicon wafer; both have their limits however, and thus, the idea of using glass to grow the LEDs is very attractive.The new process is rather involved. It involves first laying down a bed of titanium metal on the glass to serve as a base template to help direct the growth of the GaN. Next, a very thin film of GaN (just a starter bit grown at a low temperature) is applied on top of the titanium metal. This will be the useful layer at the end of the process. After that, a sheet of silicon dioxide is applied over the GaN; it has very small holes in it that serve to direct how the crystals will grow as they come up through it. Rather like very tiny molds. The whole works is then subjected to very high temperatures to promote the crystal growth of the GaN. After that, the group says, the GaN can be processed using the same techniques that are used now with crystals grown on a sapphire or silicon.While the process appears to be rather straightforward and uncomplicated, using standard materials and processes, it also appears, at least to some industry experts, to be time consuming, cumbersome, and because of the multiple steps required, too expensive to be used in a production type environment.Samsung is undaunted however, stating that the new process opens the door to new ways of producing LEDs that will someday (perhaps ten years down the road) lead the way to such breakthroughs as regular window panes being used as LED devices, or the creation of oversized LEDs that could revolutionize giant screens such as those used in sports venues. This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only. Explore further SEM images of GaN polycrystals grown on templates with LT-GaN/Ti/glass (a) and LT-GaN/glass (b). Scale bars are 2um. Image: Nature Photonics, doi:10.1038/nphoton.2011.253 Low-cost LEDs to slash household electric bills More information: Nearly single-crystalline GaN light-emitting diodes on amorphous glass substrates, Nature Photonics (2011) doi:10.1038/nphoton.2011.253AbstractSingle-crystalline GaN-based light-emitting diodes (s-LEDs) on crystalline sapphire wafers can provide point-like light sources with high conversion efficiency and long working lifetimes. Recently, s-LEDs on silicon wafers have been developed in efforts to overcome the size limitations of the sapphire substrate. However, to create larger, cheaper and efficient flat light sources, the fabrication of high-performance s-LEDs on amorphous glass substrates would be required, which remains a scientific challenge. Here, we report the fabrication of nearly single-crystalline GaN on amorphous glass substrates, in the form of pyramid arrays. This is achieved by high-temperature, predominant GaN growth on a site-confined nucleation layer with preferential polycrystalline morphology through local hetero-epitaxy. InGaN/GaN multiple-quantum wells formed on the GaN pyramid arrays exhibit a high internal quantum efficiency of 52%. LED arrays fabricated using these GaN pyramid arrays demonstrate reliable and stable area-type electroluminescent emission with a luminance of 600 cd m−2.via RCS Citation: Samsung researchers announce breakthrough in growing gallium nitride LEDs on glass (2011, October 10) retrieved 18 August 2019 from https://phys.org/news/2011-10-samsung-breakthrough-gallium-nitride-glass.html (PhysOrg.com) — Everyone knows that the LED market is huge, it's among other things, the technology behind our big screen TVs. That's why so many companies are investing so much money in trying to find ways to improve on it so that as our TVs get bigger, they won't grow out of the average consumer's price range. Now, Samsung, the Korean technology giant, has announced that one of its research teams has figured out a way to grow crystalline gallium nitride (GaN) LEDs on regular glass. They describe the process in their paper published in Nature Photonics. read more
Robotic boats to travel across Pacific Ocean
© 2011 PhysOrg.com The self-propelled Wave Gliders use wave energy for propulsion. Image credit: Liquid Robotics On the above-water part of the Wave Glider, solar cells recharge a battery that powers data sensors and transmitters. Underwater fins use wave energy for propulsion. Image credit: Liquid Robotics The Wave Gliders are the flagship product of Liquid Robotics, which is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California. The Pacific voyages will not only demonstrate that such a task is feasible for robotic ocean vehicles, but will also be used to collect lots of data on features such as water salinity, temperature, oxygen content, conductivity, depth, crude oil fluorescence, wave features, wind features, and the weather. The Wave Gliders will use only wave energy for propulsion with the help of underwater fins, so no refueling is required. Solar cells on the tops of the vehicles will recharge the battery that powers the data sensors and transmitters.All this data will be transmitted in real-time via satellites and made freely available to anyone who registers with Liquid Robotics. Liquid Robotics and Ocean in Google Earth are providing a platform for registered users to follow the expedition virtually. To encourage scientists to use this data, the company is hosting the "PacX Challenge." By submitting a one-page abstract outlining their scientific intentions with the data, researchers have the chance to win six months' free use of a Wave Glider to collect whatever data they want. Explore further East Coast gliders yield valuable marine life data The Wave Gliders are named after famous oceanographers and navigators: Piccard Maru (after Jacques Piccard, who explored the Mariana Trench) and Fontaine Maru (after Matthew Fontaine Maury, who wrote the first extensive book on oceanography) are bound for Japan. Benjamin (after Benjamin Franklin, who helped chart the Gulf Stream) and Papa Mau (after Pius "Mau" Piailug, a Micronesian navigator who helped test lost Hawaiian navigational techniques) are bound for Australia.Liquid Robotics also sells the Wave Gliders to customers including energy companies, who use them to monitor offshore rigs, and government organizations. The Wave Gliders cost about $200,000 each. Liquid Robotics predicts future applications could include monitoring currents in shipping lanes, guarding wild fisheries, running offshore fish farms, and understanding of the role of the oceans in the earth's carbon cycle."These Wave Gliders are much like small 'spacecraft' that open up new opportunities for robotic exploration," said Ed Lu, chief of innovative applications at Liquid Robotics, in a press release. "I challenge all scientists who are interested in advancing ocean exploration to take advantage of this unique opportunity. What scientific questions can we address with this new and unique data set?" (PhysOrg.com) — Last Thursday, November 17, four unmanned Wave Gliders left the coast of San Francisco and began a 300-day journey across the Pacific Ocean. The vehicles, which are self-propelled and remotely piloted, will travel together to Hawaii and then two will head to Japan and the other two to Australia. The trips will cover about 37,000 miles (60,000 km), setting a Guinness World Record for the longest distance ever traveled by an unmanned ocean vehicle. More information: http://www.liquidr.com/pacxvia: IEEE Spectrum Citation: Robotic boats to travel across Pacific Ocean (2011, November 21) retrieved 18 August 2019 from https://phys.org/news/2011-11-robotic-boats-pacific-ocean.html This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only. read more
Dell tablet leak 101inch display twobattery choice
Dell Adds New Touch to Tablet PCs (Phys.org) — Headline after headline talks about vendors' tablets in the wings as likely number-one contenders for the iPad. Such claims have justifiably been taken with a grain of salt, considering iPad's continued market success. This week, though, leaked specs on the Dell latitude 10.are convincing many to claims that this may be the one to shake things up in the tablet space. The Dell Latitude 10 will have a 10.1-inch display, HD capacitive and multi-touch screen at 1366 x 768 resolution. As per Neowin, this will be a Dell Latitude 10 Windows 8 tablet. Microsoft is expected to launch its Windows 8 operating system late 2012, and some reports bet on October. Explore further Dell's decision makers have gone with Intel for the tablet's processors. The Dell Latitude 10 will have Intel Clover Trail Atom Dual Core processor and Intel integrated graphics,Further spec leaks show a list of 2GB RAM, up to 128GB of SSD storage, and dual cameras. The front facing camera is a 2-megapixel camera; an 8 megapixel camera is around the back. Optional features include a fingerprint reader and smart card reader for enhanced security, and a stylus.Other news about the Dell Latitude 10 focuses on the battery, which will be removable, with two choices. A smaller battery provides six to seven hours of life. A larger battery will provide ten to 12 hours. The Latitude 10 is to have Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, the option for mobile broadband, integrated speakers, a micro USB charging port, and a stereo headphone/microphone combo jack. Dell is typically ready to siphon off corporate customers with new products and in an interview last month, CEO Michael Dell commented on a growing demand for tablet computers that can run the next version of Windows. That was interpreted as a sign that he was thinking along the lines of taking some business users away from the iPad.The Latitude specs, however impressive as they read according to leaks, will not cushion the Dell entry from serious competition, though, from other tablet vendors later this year. The Consumer Electronics Show tablet draw this year was the Lenovo Yoga flip-and-fold, laptop-tablet hybrid, a tablet than can convert to a laptop. The form factor on its own attracts computer users who may like the option of a two-products-in-one device. Media consumption could take place in tablet mode and real tasks in laptop mode. More information: via Neowin © 2012 Phys.Org Citation: Dell tablet leak: 10.1-inch display, two-battery choice (2012, May 26) retrieved 18 August 2019 from https://phys.org/news/2012-05-dell-tablet-leak-inch-two-battery.html This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only. read more
Researchers discover daddy longlegs spiders capture prey using glue
More information: Gluing the 'unwettable': soil-dwelling harvestmen use viscoelastic fluids for capturing springtails, J Exp Biol 217, 3535-3544. DOI: 10.1242/jeb.108852 AbstractGluing can be a highly efficient mechanism of prey capture, as it should require less complex sensory–muscular feedback. Whereas it is well known in insects, this mechanism is much less studied in arachnids, except spiders. Soil-dwelling harvestmen (Opiliones, Nemastomatidae) bear drumstick-like glandular hairs (clavate setae) at their pedipalps, which were previously hypothesized to be sticky and used in prey capture. However, clear evidence for this was lacking to date. Using high-speed videography, we found that the harvestman Mitostoma chrysomelas was able to capture fast-moving springtails (Collembola) just by a slight touch of the pedipalp. Adhesion of single clavate setae increased proportionally with pull-off velocity, from 1 μN at 1 μm s−1 up to 7 μN at 1 mm s−1, which corresponds to the typical weight of springtails. Stretched glue droplets exhibited characteristics of a viscoelastic fluid forming beads-on-a-string morphology over time, similar to spider capture threads and the sticky tentacles of carnivorous plants. These analogies indicate that viscoelasticity is a highly efficient mechanism for prey capture, as it holds stronger the faster the struggling prey moves. Cryo-scanning electron microscopy of snap-frozen harvestmen with glued springtails revealed that the gluey secretions have a high affinity to wet the microstructured cuticle of collembolans, which was previously reported to be barely wettable for both polar and non-polar liquids. Glue droplets can be contaminated with the detached scaly setae of collembolans, which may represent a counter-adaptation against entrapment by the glue, similar to the scaly surfaces of Lepidoptera and Trichoptera (Insecta) facilitating escape from spider webs. Mitostoma chrysomelas. Credit: Wikipedia/CC BY 3.0 Journal information: Journal of Experimental Biology © 2014 Phys.org Citation: Researchers discover daddy longlegs spiders capture prey using glue (2014, October 3) retrieved 18 August 2019 from https://phys.org/news/2014-10-daddy-longlegs-spiders-capture-prey.html Credit: Jonas O. Wolff, Functional Morphology and Biomechanics, University of Kiel Explore further We all know about daddy longlegs (known more scientifically as harvestmen), they're spiders with tiny bodies and really long legs, and even though we know they can't hurt us, many are still a little bit afraid of them. At any rate, for many years, biologists have wondered about the bobs on the ends of some of their pedipalps (forelegs). They appeared to be moist, even glue-like—but it wasn't clear what the liquid was for—to help with climbing? To help with catching food? No one knew, until now.To find out, the researchers captured several specimens and brought them into their lab, along with some of their favorite prey, tiny arthropods called springtails (because they have a biomechanical spring on their underside that helps them leap away from predators). The team used high-speed cameras to film what happened when the spider tried to catch the springtail, then reviewed the results. They found that when it came time to grab the springtail, the spider squirted a tiny bit of "glue" onto it, preventing it from escaping.But that wasn't the end of the study, the team also cut off some of the spider's pedipalps to get a closer look at the fluid—they found the adhesive strength of the glue was sufficient to hold an entire springtail when suspended. Taking an even closer look, the researches froze (using liquid nitrogen) one spider that had glued a springtail and placed them both under a cryo-scanning microscope to see how it was that the glue worked so well. They found that the glue completely wetted the cuticle on the springtail, which overcame liquid repelling microstructures and removable scales allowing for a very good grip—strong enough to hold on even as the springtail tried using its spring to zip away. App helps homeowners identify spiders A team of researchers in Germany has finally figured out what the gooey-covered hairs on a daddy longlegs' pedipalps are for—they hold a type of glue that is used to prevent prey from escaping. The team describes how they made this discovery in their paper published in The Journal of Experimental Biology—by filming the spiders with high-speed cameras, testing the fluid and looking at them under a scanning microscope. This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only. read more
Comet Lovejoy shows asymmetric behavior at perihelion
Explore further Citation: Comet Lovejoy shows asymmetric behavior at perihelion (2016, July 26) retrieved 18 August 2019 from https://phys.org/news/2016-07-comet-lovejoy-asymmetric-behavior-perihelion.html © 2016 Phys.org This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only. (Phys.org)—Indian astronomers have recently conducted spectrographic observations of long-period Comet Lovejoy to study its gas emission. They found that this comet showcases an asymmetric behavior at perihelion and an increase in the activity during the post-perihelion phase. The findings were detailed in a paper published July 22 on the arXiv pre-print server. Photograph of the comet C/2014 Q2 (Lovejoy) taken on Jan. 19, 2015, from Tucson, Arizona, using a Sky-Watcher 100mm APO telescope and SBIG STL-11000M camera. Credit: John Vermette More information: Optical Spectroscopy of Comet C/2014 Q2 (Lovejoy) from MIRO, arXiv:1607.06682 [astro-ph.EP] arxiv.org/abs/1607.06682AbstractSpectra of comet C/2014 Q2 (Lovejoy) were taken with a low resolution spectrograph mounted on the 0.5 m telescope at the Mount Abu Infrared Observatory (MIRO), India during January to May 2015 covering the perihelion and post-perihelion periods. The spectra showed strong molecular emission bands (C2, C3 and CN) in January, close to perihelion. We have obtained the scale lengths for these molecules by fitting the Haser model to the observed column densities. The variation of gas production rates and production rate ratios with heliocentric distance were studied. The extent of the dust continuum using the Af-rho parameter and its variation with the heliocentric distance were also investigated. The comet is seen to become more active in the post-perihelion phase, thereby showing an asymmetric behaviour about the perihelion. Comet Lovejoy, formally designated C/2014 Q2, is an Oort cloud comet, discovered by Terry Lovejoy in August 2014. Its perihelion was on January 30, 2015 at a heliocentric distance of 1.29 AU, offering astronomers an excellent opportunity to observe its activity—in particular, the emission of numerous organic molecules in gas.The scientists, led by Kumar Venkataramani of the Physical Research Laboratory in Ahmedabad, India, utilized the LISA spectrograph to obtain spectra of the comet. LISA is a low-resolution, high luminosity spectrograph, designed for the spectroscopic study of faint and extended objects. The instrument is installed on the 0.5 m telescope at the Mount Abu Infra-Red Observatory (MIRO), Mount Abu, India.The observation campaign lasted from January to May 2015. It covered the period during which the comet's heliocentric distance varied from 1.29 AU, just prior to perihelion, to around 2.05 AU post perihelion. The spectra obtained by the researchers show strong molecular emission bands of diatomic carbon, tricarbon, cyanide, amidogen, hydridocarbon and neutral oxygen."Various molecular emission lines like C2, C3, CN, NH2, CH, O were clearly seen in the comet spectrum throughout this range. The most prominent of them being the C2 molecule, which was quite dominant throughout the time that we have followed the comet. Apart from the C2 emission band, those of CN and C3 were also quite prominent," the scientist wrote in the paper.When a cold icy body like the Comet Lovejoy passes by the sun near perihelion, its ices start sublimating, releasing a mixture of gas and dust, which form the coma. Studying these emissions is crucial for scientists as comets could hold the key to our understanding of the solar system's evolution and the origin of life in the universe. Therefore, the abundance of volatile material in comets is the target of many scientific studies that seek to reveal the secrets of planet formation and demonstrate the conditions that occurred when our solar system was born.According to the study, the gas production rate increased after perihelion and exhibited a decreasing trend only after February 2015. The researchers also noted a simultaneous increase in gas and dust, indicating an increase in the overall activity of the comet after its perihelion passage."This kind of asymmetry has been seen in many comets. (…) Although we do not have data points at exactly the same distance for pre- and post-perihelion passages, we can, perhaps, say that this comet may have a large positive asymmetry," the paper reads.The scientists concluded that this asymmetry suggests that there might be volatile material present beneath the surface of the comet. It is also possible that the surface of the comet's nucleus consists of layers of ice that have different vaporization rates.However, as the team noted, more exhaustive study is required to confirm their conclusions. Scientists investigate change in activity of comet 17P/Holmes read more
Galileos freefalling objects experiment passes space test further proving equivalence principle
A team of researchers from the French Aerospace Lab and at the Côte d'Azur Observatory working on France's MICROSCOPE satellite project has further confirmed the equivalence principle by recreating Galileo's free-falling objects experiment in a satellite. In their paper published in the journal Physical Review Letters, the group describes their experiment and why it was carried out. Credit: CNES/D. Ducros Citation: Galileo's free-falling objects experiment passes space test further proving equivalence principle (2017, December 5) retrieved 18 August 2019 from https://phys.org/news/2017-12-galileo-free-falling-space-equivalence-principle.html Satellite to test universality of freefall © 2017 Phys.org More information: Pierre Touboul et al. MICROSCOPE Mission: First Results of a Space Test of the Equivalence Principle, Physical Review Letters (2017). DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.119.231101ABSTRACTAccording to the weak equivalence principle, all bodies should fall at the same rate in a gravitational field. The MICROSCOPE satellite, launched in April 2016, aims to test its validity at the 10−15 precision level, by measuring the force required to maintain two test masses (of titanium and platinum alloys) exactly in the same orbit. A nonvanishing result would correspond to a violation of the equivalence principle, or to the discovery of a new long-range force. Analysis of the first data gives δ(Ti,Pt)=[−1±9(stat)±9(syst)]×10−15 (1σ statistical uncertainty) for the titanium-platinum Eötvös parameter characterizing the relative difference in their free-fall accelerations. Explore further Journal information: Physical Review Letters Approximately 450 years ago, Galileo, as some have reported, dropped cannonballs of different sizes from the Leaning Tower of Pisa to prove that they would hit the ground at the same time. 350 years later, Einstein published his Theory Of General Relativity, which included the equivalence principle, and as Galileo demonstrated, stated that objects with different masses fall at the same rate due to gravity. In this new effort, the researchers have performed roughly the same experiment as Galileo, except they have done it in space and measured the results with far more precision.Scientists continue to test the equivalence principle because they believe that if they can find a violation, it could reconcile the impasse regarding quantum theory and general relativity.The experimental equipment aboard the MICROSCOPE satellite consisted of one cylindrical shell set inside of another larger cylindrical shell. The cylinders were small, of course, just a few centimeters long, and were made of different materials—the inner one of platinum and rhodium, the outer from much less dense titanium and aluminum. Running the experiment in space removes factors that can disrupt gravitational force, such as water moving underground. The cylinders free fall as they move through space with an electric field present to keep them from veering from a straight downward path. Their fall is measured very precisely. Any deviations in acceleration would be seen as a change in the electrical field. The team reports that none were found. The researchers report their experiment offered 10 times the precision of previous experiments meant to do the same thing. They note that they believe it will be possible in the future to conduct the same experiment with even more precision by better controlling the temperature inside the satellite. This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only. read more
Taking to the roads
The works at the exhibition Ways of the Road was created during three week artist residency held in the village of Partapur in Rajasthan. The residency, Sandarbh, was a curated one; the focus was on the bus that runs through the village and the route it follows. Even more than the bus, the artist found himself preoccupied with documenting the roadPhotography has a long history of interactions with the road, the challenge was to make this project different. Fabien Charuau decided to follow the road and stop every kilometer to document what he saw. At every kilometre mark, he would shoot three images on three different film cameras – one of the roads, another of a person he met there and one of a landmark. Also Read – 'Playing Jojo was emotionally exhausting'The experiments during his previous work led him to use different processes and visual technologies from the field that he wants to document. As for the equipment, artist has used three cheap film cameras and some film that he bought from the village.He used a scanner ,again locally sourced, treating it as a dark room to produce contact sheets. The resulting contact sheet is a very long print, the map of the road he has travelled, each frame being a milestone of the road. Also Read – Leslie doing new comedy special with NetflixThe crux of the project is what the road means to photography and many linear movements in photography.Whatever he has done has to do with linearity; the way the film moves in the camera, me moving ahead on the road, the scanning of the contact sheet, the contact sheet being printed, the experience of looking at the final print on the floor, even the negative could be viewed as a road.Charuau is a Bombay based visual artist working thus far with photography and video.Having spent half his life in india where his journey with photography began, he sees himself as an Indian photographer of French origin.Besides having had his work shown in solo and group shows and at photo festivals, his reflection on Indian photography has also seen him take on a curatorial role for a group show on contemporary Indian photography in Paris two years ago. He also writes on Indian photography for the French magazine Photo and for Tasveer journal. read more
Thespians come together
The recent Earthquake in Nepal is still alive in our minds in which thousands of people died and the country's homes and other infrastructure have been devastated. With a view to extend support to the victims, National School of Drama with the support of performing arts fraternity is organising an event Nepal Sadhbhawna Natya Aayojan that starts from May 16 – 24 at the NSD campus. Also Read – 'Playing Jojo was emotionally exhausting'"It is the duty of performing artistes to come together and stand up for the victims," NSD director Waman Kendre said at a press conference held in the Capital."It was very important for the artistic community to come together and contribute. I am glad that at such a short notice, we have been able to bring many stakeholders on board," Kendre said.He further added, "Within 24 hours, we decided to organise the event and chose ongoing productions around Delhi or productions that are going to be staged soon. We didn't have much time, so thought of selecting crowd-puller productions." Also Read – Leslie doing new comedy special with NetflixThis aayojan will showcase 12 plays of eminent theatre directors. To name these theatre directors are Raj Bisaria, Neelam Mansingh Choudhary, Rajinder Nath, Bansi Kaul, M K Raina, Tripurari Sharma, Prof. Waman Kendre, Chitra Singh, Shobha Deepak Singh, Baharul Islam, Prof. Suresh Bhardwaj and Ramji Bali. The plays to be staged are – Gazab Teri Adaa, Shree Durga, Bagiya Bancha Ram Ki, Qisse Soojh Boojh Ke, Azad Maulana, Azad Maulana, Koi Baat Chale, Kabira Khada Bazaar Mein, Qissa Maujpur Ka, Ghasiram Kotwal. As the intention is to provide aid to quake victims, the ticket prices too are a bit on higher side, considering the fact that NSD is known for offering best productions at pocket-friendly prices. read more


Net Zero Buildings have been awarded a position on the ESPO framework 953_18 Modular Buildings.
In particular, we have been awarded the position Lot 1B – Education Modular Buildings Purchase.
ESPO was established in 1981 and is fully owned by the public sector. ESPO have over 120 frameworks available – these are an easy way for public bodies and education establishments to purchase goods and services in a way that is compliant with UK and EU procurement regulations.
Our appointment to this framework is testament to our commitment on providing clients across the education sector, the net zero building. We have become a leading player in the transition to the net zero building, specifically within the UK's school's estate. No company has built more zero carbon or zero energy buildings and no other company has solved the challenge of delivering them without the associated price premium.
Please visit the Modular Buildings framework page on ESPO's website to read full information about this framework. More information about ESPO can be found at www.espo.org.


Talking about the whole experience about song Salman Khan shared, "I like this song. It's a very difficult song to pull off. I would not do justice to this song at all. After the final recording, the song started sounding soothing to ears. Now, the music lovers and audience have to decide how do they like it."
Music composer Vishal Mishra also shared his thoughts about 'Main Taare', "If you listen to this song, it will move something inside you. The song is just a heart".
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text:
from __future__ import annotations

from edb.edgeql import ast as qlast

from .expressions import Nonterm
from .tokens import *  # NOQA
from .expressions import *  # NOQA

class SessionStmt(Nonterm):
    def reduce_SetStmt(self, *kids):
        self.val = kids[0].val

    def reduce_ResetStmt(self, *kids):
        self.val = kids[0].val

class SetStmt(Nonterm):
    def reduce_SET_ALIAS_Identifier_AS_MODULE_ModuleName(self, *kids):
        self.val = qlast.SessionSetAliasDecl(
            module='.'.join(kids[5].val),
            alias=kids[2].val)

    def reduce_SET_MODULE_ModuleName(self, *kids):
        self.val = qlast.SessionSetAliasDecl(
            module='.'.join(kids[2].val))

class ResetStmt(Nonterm):
    def reduce_RESET_ALIAS_Identifier(self, *kids):
        self.val = qlast.SessionResetAliasDecl(
            alias=kids[2].val)

    def reduce_RESET_MODULE(self, *kids):
        self.val = qlast.SessionResetModule()

    def reduce_RESET_ALIAS_STAR(self, *kids):
        self.val = qlast.SessionResetAllAliases()

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


hot for food is giving you a chance to win a signed copy of this amazing new cookbook from author, vegan athlete, and the creator of Vega, Brendan Brazier. Brendan has helped changed the way millions of people eat including, me, Lauren Toyota. When I found out about Brendan and Vega in 2009 it helped jump-start my transition into veganism.
The Thrive Energy Cookbook is all about eating a balanced plant based whole food diet. It has recipes that are vegan, gluten-free, and specific ones for people transitioning into a more plant based lifestyle. The photos are pretty incredible too!
To enter, we want you to try out one of the recipes on our blog, post the pic to instagram, and tag @hotforfood. And you don't have to be vegan! You can be vegan curious or just like trying new recipes. We'll give you some ideas to start. I know people have been testing out our cauliflower buffalo wings. Or you could try a simple and fresh smoothie in the morning. And for those of you with a sweet tooth, bake up a batch of our favourite chocolate cranberry oatmeal cookies. Have fun and John and I can't wait to see your posts!


text:
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Pissouri sunshine dreams in ruins
17 families evicted in Pissouri Village, where at least 70 houses are collapsing; desperate victims have pleaded with the Cypriot government to help; British High Commission is talking to the Cypriot government about a solution.
By: George Odling
Published: Wednesday 3rd July 2019 • Filed Under
Tags: Cyprus • landslide • Pissouri
Devastated: Some of the stricken Pissouri residents whose homes are collapsing as a result of fissures which are thought to be caused by underground landslide
MAGNIFICENT views of the sparkling Mediterranean Sea, luxury villas at affordable prices, easy access to lush golf courses – and you drive on the left.
No wonder Cyprus has become the destination of choice for thousands of Brits seeking a new life in the sun.
But one community nestled in the island's hills has seen its dreams shattered as their homes are ripped apart and rendered worthless by gaping fissures opening up beneath them.
Already, 17 families have been evicted in Pissouri Village, where at least 70 houses are collapsing.
The fissures in Pissouri are thought to be caused by underground landslides created by water flowing beneath the earth into the valley, due to heavy rain and the fact that Cyprus does not have a robust sewerage system.
Dozens of desperate families have pleaded with the Cypriot government to help with their plight.
They argue that if the government had acted when they first identified the problem years ago then the scale of the disaster would have been much less.
In 2015 the then minister of the interior, Socratis Hasikos, said it was the government's duty to intervene, but following his resignation in May 2017, no action has been taken.
"We have had nothing since; they haven't even sent anyone down here to look," says former chartered surveyor Antony Walker, 73, whose home is one of those affected.
"They have kicked the can down the road while our homes slip further every day.
"At first they said it was the fault of the developers, but each was built at a different time by different developers; and how would that explain why roads are collapsing?"
Village crumbling: Already 17 families have been evicted in Pissouri Village, where at least 70 houses are collapsing
General views of Pissouri village with the destruction of the landslide affecting houses and roads
Peter Field and Kayt Field's house that has been torn apart by a landslide
A group of 29 villagers, who have named themselves the Pissouri Housing Initiative Group (PHIG), believes the Cypriot government should apply to the European Union for money from its solidarity fund to help with the problem.
"No insurance company will insure against damage caused by landslides," Mr Walker explains.
"So many are in this desperate situation wherein they have a mortgage to pay on a house that is collapsing into rubble, and they can't afford to go anywhere else.
"Meanwhile the Cypriot government, which helped create this mess, has turned its back on us."
The Daily Mail reported in May on the plight of the Phillips family in nearby Paphos, who plan to sue the government for allowing their home to be built on an unsafe site.
Unlike the Phillips family, villagers in Pissouri consider taking the government to court as a last resort because the process could take more than a decade due to the country's clogged up courts and sluggish legal system.
Michael Ellis, 63 who's drive and swimming pool has sunk over 12ft away from his house
John Lamb's mothers house that has been evicted due to being cracked in half by a landslide
'No insurance company will insure against damage caused by landslides,' a resident explained
Anne Everett and Don Everett, who's garden and house has started to twist due to the landslide
'The group's lawyer, Elina Zoi, says: "These people don't have ten or 15 years to fix this. Some are in their 80s and their homes will have crumbled to nothing well before then."
There are around 70,000 British expats living in Cyprus and the property sector is booming.
Some 1,057 contracts were deposited at Land Registry offices for the sale of properties and land in April this year, up 62 per cent on the same month last year.
The British High Commission confirmed it is talking to the Cypriot government about a solution to the problems at Pissouri.
A spokesman says: "We are continuously pursuing with authorities in Cyprus for a solution to the problems residents in the area are experiencing."
A spokesman from the Cyprus Interior Ministry admits there are "serious problems of soil instability" in the area and blamed the developers, even advising the villagers to sue them.
CASE STUDIES: "We could hear pieces falling away – it sounded like a gunshot"
It's taken a toll on our health
Peter and Kayt Field's luxury four-bed villa with swimming pool was declared 'unfit for habitation' in March 2016.
And since the couple fled the house, the home they shared for 25 years has crumbled and been looted several times for the belongings they left behind.
The pair, from Northamptonshire, bought the home in 1993 and for almost a quarter of a century there were no issues.
Home now worthless: Peter and Kayt Field's luxury four-bed villa with swimming pool was declared 'unfit for habitation' in March 2016
But former colonel Peter, 81, who spent 48 years in the Army, began noticing cracks in 2015.
It wasn't long before the doors no longer fitted in their frames and the couple were forced to move into a downstairs bedroom while they searched for somewhere safe to live.
"While we were sleeping in the house you could hear pieces of it falling away – it would sound like a gunshot, then part of the house would crack and hit the floor," Kayt says. "It has all taken a serious toll on our health — my husband has had to have two stents and a pacemaker put in.
An aerial view of Pissouri, Cyprus, showing the Fissure lines caused by landslide
"The notice of eviction was pinned on our door while we were out shopping. We had no warning. Limassol council offered to let us use the road sweeper for a day to help us move, but that was about it."
The couple, who have two children and four grandchildren, say their home should be worth €700,000 but is now 'worthless'. "It would have been nice to have been able to leave something to our children," Peter says. "But that looks unlikely now."
The couple hope the Cypriot government will be able to compensate them for the loss of their home, but are very frustrated with the lack of response from the authorities. "I think they are just waiting for us to die so the problem goes away for them," Kayt says.
My family had to go back to the UK
The field outside Mick and Louise Ellis's home opened up overnight in August 2016. Over the next two weeks their swimming pool and driveway dropped by 8ft.
Louise, 50, and the couple's children Georgina, 19, and Isabel, 15, returned to Buckinghamshire in December 2018 after the drive of the house they'd only bought in 2013 had become too dangerous.
Mick Ellis stands by his and wife Louise's home opened up overnight in August 2016. Over the next two weeks their swimming pool and driveway dropped by 8ft.
Mick, 63, a quality manager at the Mediterranean Hospital in Limassol, says: "We sold our house in Aylesbury and everything we had to start our life out here.
"I do not earn enough to rent a property and at my age it will not be long before I retire — what then?
"My pension will not sustain me and my family as well as the rent.
"Going through the courts will take up to 15 years and the costs are enormous. We are being given no help at all."
We heard concrete hitting the floor
Great-grandparents Bill and Sheila Potter bought the land for their home in 1992 after visiting Cyprus on holiday and 'falling in love' with it.
They sold everything they had in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, and built the home themselves.
"The first Christmas present I bought Sheila was a cement mixer," Bill, 69, says.
"It took two years to plan the house the way we wanted it; all the relevant surveys and checks were done and the architect told us everything was to a very high standard.
"We spent the next ten years gradually adding to the house, the pool and everything else."
They lived there happily until 2015, when cracks opened up all over. By 2016 the pool had to be filled in because its boundary walls had collapsed.
Bill Potter, 69 and Shelia Potter's bungalow which has been twisted by a landslide
"The fissure has not just ripped it apart but one part of the house has dropped half a yard," the former probation officer says. "We could hear the cracks. You can hear the bits of concrete crumbling onto the floor. It is heartbreaking."
The couple have been forced to borrow money and return to the UK. "We worked all our lives to have a decent retirement and then your dream literally collapses around your ears," Sheila, also a former probation officer, says.
"We are having to face facts that our home for 25 years is gone and we no longer have a home.
"No one from the government has come to see it for themselves. They can't predict a landslide, but they can help and they have a duty to do so."
Our home shifted by 5ft in five years
Katherine Yeomans had been in love with Cyprus since holidaying there as a child. The mother of two and her husband Jeremy, 54, an accountant, sold everything and got a mortgage to buy their luxury three-bed house with a pool and moved over in December 2014.
They had no idea the home was next to what would become a gaping fissure. Just two months after they moved in cracks began to appear in the garden, and by 2017 the pool had collapsed.
The entire home has now twisted around by 5ft and is surrounded by rubble and fissures which widen every day.
Katherine says. "We've paid thousands to have things constantly repaired but it's a losing battle. We still have €96,000 on the mortgage to pay off. We just don't know what to do. It's hopeless."
© dmg media
The Daily Mail is the second largest selling newspaper in the UK. It has twice the readership of the 'Daily Mirror' and three times the readership of 'The Times'. The Daily Mail also has the second largest on-line readership of any of the UK national newspapers.
The Pissouri landslide story featured as a double-page spread in yesterday's 'MoneyMail' under the headline 'Sunshine Dreams in Ruins'.
Comments on this article are no longer being accepted.
Antony Walker says:
Ms Best is correct but her comment is irrelevant to southeast Pissouri. The now unstable land, which is now approaching one million square metres, was stable when development was planned and constructed.
The area remainder stable for decades until the area was made unstable due to landslide triggered by groundwater which should have been controlled by infrastructure drainage which the Government knew was necessary but did not construct because of an interdepartmental squabble as to which budget would pay 20% of the costs.
I am at a loss to understand why contributors repeatedly refer to or infer negligent design and or construction when it has been explained many times in this column that the problem in southeast Pissouri is landslide triggered by uncontrolled groundwater.
Anna Diane Best says:
Before you buy a building plot on Cyprus or build on an official existing one, get a Geologist to test the solidity of the Terra Firma of the plot including 3 mtrs outside the circumference-border of the plot. I have lived in our new-build now for almost 50 years and there is not a single crack in any walls or floors!
When one considers the number of 'interventions' the British government have made in overseas countries – for all sorts of reasons – and the associated costs to the British taxpayer thereof – the way ordinary people have been left hanging out to dry in the Republic of Cyprus is a source of national shame to our British government the whole world can look on and make their own minds over how well they treat our population. William Hague gave M.O.D land back to the Republic some years ago. Where was his help to distressed Britons caught up in these scams as a condition of surrendering the land?
Joseph Parry says:
One of the comments in today's Daily Mail which also ran this story was:-
There was a survey of the land done many years ago when it was first proposed to build houses there. The market being targeted was Greek Cypriots at that time. The plan was rejected as the ground was deemed unsuitable and possibly unstable. Fast forward a few years when the same land was again applied for building on but this time the target market being expats permission was granted. Nothing about the land was done, suddenly it was okay to build on and perfectly stable. The only thing that changed was the target market. Then fast forward to today and you have the exact reason that the initial proposal was rejected for.
Wonder if this is correct?
Ed: No! The land was zoned as residential in 1982. And it's not only the Brits whose houses are falling down. Many Cypriots live there permanently – others have holiday homes.
The views expressed in readers' comments are not necessarily shared by the Cyprus Property News.
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text:
Сегизсай — название населённых пунктов:

Казахстан
 Сегизсай — село в Уилском районе Актюбинской области.
 Сегизсай — село в Чингирлауском районе Западно-Казахстанской области.

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A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket roared out of Vandenberg Air Force Base in California with a classified payload for the National Reconnaissance Office. The NROL-79 mission lifted off at 9:49 a.m. PST (12:49 p.m. EST / 17:49 GMT) March 1, 2017, from Space Launch Complex 3E.
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About 1 minute, 21 seconds into the flight, as the vehicle surpassed the speed of sound, the Atlas V began to push through the region of maximum stress on the rocket known as max Q.
About two-and-a-half minutes later, some four minutes into the flight, the Atlas common booster core was depleted of fuel and the RD-180 cut out as planned.
At 4 minutes, 9 seconds, the Atlas common booster core separated with the Centaur upper stage. Ten seconds later, its RL10C-1 engine ignited.
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The satellite being launched is a communications spacecraft that will serve the U.S. military. The rocket that will be employed for this flight will be a Delta 4 Medium+ (5,4) with a five-meter fairing and four solid rocket motors.


text:
// This file has been automatically generated, DO NOT EDIT

package org.apache.lucene.util.packed;

/**
 * Efficient sequential read/write of packed integers.
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final class BulkOperationPacked6 extends BulkOperationPacked {

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      values[valuesOffset++] = (int) ((block1 >>> 14) & 63L);
      values[valuesOffset++] = (int) ((block1 >>> 8) & 63L);
      values[valuesOffset++] = (int) ((block1 >>> 2) & 63L);
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  @Override
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      values[valuesOffset++] = byte2 & 63;
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  @Override
  public void decode(long[] blocks, int blocksOffset, long[] values, int valuesOffset, int iterations) {
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      values[valuesOffset++] = (block0 >>> 40) & 63L;
      values[valuesOffset++] = (block0 >>> 34) & 63L;
      values[valuesOffset++] = (block0 >>> 28) & 63L;
      values[valuesOffset++] = (block0 >>> 22) & 63L;
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      values[valuesOffset++] = (block0 >>> 4) & 63L;
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      values[valuesOffset++] = ((block0 & 15L) << 2) | (block1 >>> 62);
      values[valuesOffset++] = (block1 >>> 56) & 63L;
      values[valuesOffset++] = (block1 >>> 50) & 63L;
      values[valuesOffset++] = (block1 >>> 44) & 63L;
      values[valuesOffset++] = (block1 >>> 38) & 63L;
      values[valuesOffset++] = (block1 >>> 32) & 63L;
      values[valuesOffset++] = (block1 >>> 26) & 63L;
      values[valuesOffset++] = (block1 >>> 20) & 63L;
      values[valuesOffset++] = (block1 >>> 14) & 63L;
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      values[valuesOffset++] = (block1 >>> 2) & 63L;
      final long block2 = blocks[blocksOffset++];
      values[valuesOffset++] = ((block1 & 3L) << 4) | (block2 >>> 60);
      values[valuesOffset++] = (block2 >>> 54) & 63L;
      values[valuesOffset++] = (block2 >>> 48) & 63L;
      values[valuesOffset++] = (block2 >>> 42) & 63L;
      values[valuesOffset++] = (block2 >>> 36) & 63L;
      values[valuesOffset++] = (block2 >>> 30) & 63L;
      values[valuesOffset++] = (block2 >>> 24) & 63L;
      values[valuesOffset++] = (block2 >>> 18) & 63L;
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      values[valuesOffset++] = (block2 >>> 6) & 63L;
      values[valuesOffset++] = block2 & 63L;
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  @Override
  public void decode(byte[] blocks, int blocksOffset, long[] values, int valuesOffset, int iterations) {
    for (int i = 0; i < iterations; ++i) {
      final long byte0 = blocks[blocksOffset++] & 0xFF;
      values[valuesOffset++] = byte0 >>> 2;
      final long byte1 = blocks[blocksOffset++] & 0xFF;
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      final long byte2 = blocks[blocksOffset++] & 0xFF;
      values[valuesOffset++] = ((byte1 & 15) << 2) | (byte2 >>> 6);
      values[valuesOffset++] = byte2 & 63;
    }
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}


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This is what pastoralists have done for centuries, following the movements of their animals and the changing seasons. However, because of the drought's effects on the Horn of Africa, these nine families have had to move six times in the last six months. They continue to seek drinkable water for themselves and their animals, hoping they will be able to hold out for the soon-to-come rainy season.
Nine pastoralist families' lives, their wealth (their animals), and even their homes are all being transported towards a new site – where they hope they will be able to hold out for the soon-to-come rainy season.
Across Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, and the autonomous region of Somaliland, 10.7 million people are facing severe hunger. There are increasing concerns that the situation will get much worse, as rainfall in March and early April was very low in places. Poor rainfall is forecast for April through June, the end of the rainy season.
Sheep and goats which have died because of the continuous drought situation in Somaliland.
Pastoralists resettling in the Garadag district after a 60km journey on a truck with their animals. Somaliland, Northern Somalia, March 2017.
Nomadic pastoralists are among the hardest hit by this drought, which has left exceptional numbers of people without most or all of their livestock. They live on harsher lands and receive little support from governments. More frequent droughts are making it harder for people to recover between shocks, making them more vulnerable to the next crisis.
Mahmoud Geedi Ciroobay (picture above) is from Kalsheikh – 60 km away from where the pastoralists have settled near Garadag.
Farhia Mohamad Geedi (pictured above) is 25 years old. She came here with her four-year-old daughter, Zeinab, her mother, and the rest of her family in hopes of finding new pastures for the few animals in their care. They used to own 100 goats and 100 sheep, but none survived.
"We have moved four times in the last four months. We were trying to follow the rain – moving according to where the rains were supposed to come. But they haven't. If the rains don't come, none of us will survive".
Oxfam is launching a humanitarian response to the drought in Somaliland where, together with our long-standing networks and partners, we can have the most impact as quickly as possible.
We will initially reach a minimum of 20,000 people with clean water, sanitation, and cash assistance so that they can buy much-needed food and medicine. We hope to significantly expand our response to reach a further 200,000 people over the next 12 months.
Climate change is not a distant, future threat. Right now, it is helping fuel a massive crisis in the Horn of Africa region. Nearly 11 million people in Somalia, Ethiopia, and Kenya face terrifying food shortages, due to a catastrophic drought that has killed off crops and cattle. Urgent action is needed now.


ISCA '99 is part of the 1999 Federated Computer Research Conference, which includes a number of other conferences during the first week of May. Click here for the overall schedule of FCRC component conferences, and for hotel, flight, and other information.
The official CFP is still available for reference purposes: HTML, PDF, PostScript, ASCII.