text:
Lucia Leman
LUCIA LEMAN (b. 1972) is an awarded multi-cultural poet, novelist and creative media practitioner published under two names (i.e. as Lucija Stamać and as Lucia Leman) and in three languages (respectively, Croatian, German and English). She has 27 years of experience in freelance creative writing, backed up by a BA in drama and performing arts, an MA in comparative literature and a recent PhD based on an in-depth study of Eastern-Mediterranean intertexts to be found in Byron's drama Manfred, which was her first non-fiction work published in English. Likewise, her poetry and fiction are marked by Mediterranean colours and themes, not to mention her travels across Europe and her respective experiences of working as an actor and an art curator.
During her month-long residence in Can Serrat she has completed the second draft of her English fiction Cyber Gnome (c. 57 000 words), describing a six-month-long period in the life of a highly educated Croatian "migrant" fighting the odds of Brexit Britain. Inspired by true fact, the novel aims to satirize recent anti-democratic trends and their dim-witted followers whilst addressing the issues belying the feelings of otherness and dispossession, whether at home or abroad.


text:
#include <stdio.h>
#include <iostream>

#include "opencv2/core/core.hpp"
#include "opencv2/features2d/features2d.hpp"
#include "opencv2/highgui/highgui.hpp"
#include "opencv2/nonfree/nonfree.hpp"
#include "opencv2/calib3d/calib3d.hpp"
#include "opencv2/imgproc/imgproc.hpp"

cv::Mat do_panorama2(cv::Mat image1, cv::Mat image2, cv::Mat mask)
{
	// Load the images
	/*cv::Mat image1= cv::imread("image/naist_center.jpg",1);
	cv::Mat image2= cv::imread("image/naist_left.jpg",1);*/

	cv::Mat gray_image1;
	cv::Mat gray_image2;

	// Convert to Grayscale
	cvtColor(image1, gray_image1, CV_RGB2GRAY);
	cvtColor(image2, gray_image2, CV_RGB2GRAY);

	/*imshow("first image",image2);
	imshow("second image",image1);*/

	/*if( !gray_image1.data || !gray_image2.data )
	{ std::cout<< " --(!) Error reading images " << std::endl; return -1; }*/

	//-- Step 1: Detect the keypoints using SURF Detector
	int minHessian = 400;

	cv::SurfFeatureDetector detector(minHessian);

	std::vector<cv::KeyPoint> keypoints_object, keypoints_scene;

	detector.detect(gray_image2, keypoints_object);
	detector.detect(gray_image1, keypoints_scene);

	//-- Step 2: Calculate descriptors (feature vectors)
	cv::SurfDescriptorExtractor extractor;

	cv::Mat descriptors_object, descriptors_scene;

	extractor.compute(gray_image2, keypoints_object, descriptors_object);
	extractor.compute(gray_image1, keypoints_scene, descriptors_scene);

	//-- Step 3: Matching descriptor vectors using FLANN matcher
	cv::FlannBasedMatcher matcher;
	std::vector<cv::DMatch> matches;

	//should I change the order here??
	matcher.match(descriptors_object, descriptors_scene, matches);
	//matcher.match(descriptors_scene, descriptors_object, matches);

	double max_dist = 0; double min_dist = 100;

	//-- Quick calculation of max and min distances between keypoints
	for(int i = 0; i < descriptors_object.rows; i++)
	{
		double dist = matches[i].distance;

		if(dist < min_dist)
		{
			min_dist = dist;
		}

		if(dist > max_dist)
		{
			max_dist = dist;
		}
	}

	printf("-- Max dist : %f \n", max_dist );
	printf("-- Min dist : %f \n", min_dist );

	//-- Use only "good" matches (i.e. whose distance is less than 3*min_dist )
	std::vector<cv::DMatch> good_matches;

	for(int i = 0; i < descriptors_object.rows; i++)
	{
		if(matches[i].distance < 2*min_dist)
		{
			good_matches.push_back(matches[i]);
		}
	}

	//-- Draw only "good" matches
	/*cv::Mat img_matches;
	drawMatches(image1, keypoints_object, image2, keypoints_scene,
	good_matches, img_matches, cv::Scalar::all(-1), cv::Scalar::all(-1),
	cv::vector<char>(), cv::DrawMatchesFlags::NOT_DRAW_SINGLE_POINTS );*/

	//imshow( "Good Matches", img_matches );

	std::vector<cv::Point2f> obj;
	std::vector<cv::Point2f> scene;

	for( int i = 0; i < good_matches.size(); i++ )
	{
		//-- Get the keypoints from the good matches
		obj.push_back(keypoints_object[good_matches[i].queryIdx].pt);
		scene.push_back(keypoints_scene[good_matches[i].trainIdx].pt);
	}

	// Find the Homography Matrix
	cv::Mat H = findHomography(obj, scene, CV_RANSAC);
	// Use the Homography Matrix to warp the images
	cv::Mat result;

	warpPerspective(image2, result, H, cv::Size(image1.cols+(image2.cols), image1.rows+(image2.rows)));

	//imshow( "Warp Perspective", result );

	if(mask.rows == 0)
	{
		cv::Mat ROI(result, cv::Rect(0,0,image1.cols,image1.rows));
		image1.copyTo(ROI);
	}
	else
	{
		int width = mask.cols; // image width
		int height = mask.rows; // image height

		for (int y = 0; y < height; y++)
		{
			for (int x = 0; x < width; x++)
			{
				unsigned char mask_value = mask.data[y*width + x];

				if(mask_value == 255)
				{
					result.at<cv::Vec3b>(y, x)[0] = image1.at<cv::Vec3b>(y, x)[0];
					result.at<cv::Vec3b>(y, x)[1] = image1.at<cv::Vec3b>(y, x)[1];
					result.at<cv::Vec3b>(y, x)[2] = image1.at<cv::Vec3b>(y, x)[2];
				}
			}
		}
	}

	return result;

	//cv::waitKey(0);
	//return 0;
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Sten Rosenlund/Shutterstock
A Beginner's Guide to Hitchcock
By Jason Bailey
It's a very big fall for fans of Alfred Hitchcock. First and foremost, Universal has released Alfred Hitchcock: The Masterpiece Collection , a fabulous 15-disc limited edition Blu-ray set featuring several of Hitch's masterpieces (including Vertigo, Rear Window, Psycho, and North by Northwest) in gorgeous HD transfers, with copious bonus features. And while his work is available for fresh consumption, there are a pair of new biography treatments as well — on the small screen, we have HBO's The Girl (with Toby Jones as a rather skeevy Hitch and Sienna Miller as 'Tippi' Hedrin), while next week brings the theatrical release of a marvelous new big-screen biopic, Hitchcock (focusing on the production of Psycho, with Anthony Hopkins as Hitchcock, Helen Mirren as wife Alma, and Scarlett Johannson as Janet Leigh).
That's a lot of Mr. Hitchcock to take in at once, but we're here to help. If your knowledge of Hitch is confined to a shower scene and a flock of diving seagulls, you're in luck; we've put together a Beginner's Guide to Hitchcock, earmarking his major motifs, significant films, and relevant facts. Check it out after the jump.
The Master of Suspense
Because Hitchcock is best remembered these days (among casual moviegoers, at least) for Psycho and The Birds, there's something of a misconception that he was a "horror" director. The importance and influence of those films — particularly the former, which inspired Halloween and thus the entire "slasher" horror style — cannot be overstated, but they were really the only items in his filmography that could be accurately classified as horror pictures. Hitch preferred suspense, which is a very different thing — and we can't explain the split nearly as well as the man himself, who does so in the clip above.
Hitch's trademark became his intricate, suspenseful set pieces, which were so important to the filmmaker that he would often work with his screenwriters to build stories around them; he'd have ideas for, say, a pursuit on Mount Rushmore and an attempted murder via crop dusting airplane, and then he and the writer would develop a narrative that could feature them (in that case, the writer was Ernest Lehman, and the film was North by Northwest). Because good old-fashioned suspense never goes out of style, the best of those sequence s— Grace Kelly's visit to the murderous neighbor's apartment in Rear Window, 'Tippi' Hedrin's robbing of the safe in Marnie, the Albert Hall climax of The Man Who Knew Too Much, the bit with the fan belt and the handcuffs in Saboteur (all in the new Universal box set) — still hold up. He became the master of manipulating cinematic elements to create suspense, and thus enthrall the audience. "I enjoy playing the audience like a piano," he famously said; Hitchcock's single best scene finds him doing just that, standing in the lobby during Psycho's shower scene, conducting their gasps and shrieks like an orchestral conductor.
The MacGuffin
Few of Hitchcock's central ideas have entrenched themselves in the cinematic vocabulary like "the MacGuffin," which was, simply put, the thing the plot was about so that the plot could be about something. The filmmaker wasn't actually all that interested in the MacGuffin itself — it was something to be defined, so that the narrative could situate itself around it, and then it could be, basically, ignored. In Notorious, the MacGuffin is uranium; in The 39 Steps, it's the formula for a military device; in North by Northwest, it's a microfilm containing, vaguely enough, "government secrets"; in Psycho, it's the stolen money. In his justly celebrated book-length interview with Francois Truffaut, Hitchcock explained the origin of the peculiar term:
"It might be a Scottish name, taken from a story about two men in a train. One man says, 'What's that package up there in the baggage rack?' And the other answers, 'Oh that's a MacGuffin.' The first one asks 'What's a MacGuffin?' 'Well' the other man says, 'It's an apparatus for trapping lions in the Scottish Highlands.' The first man says, 'But there are no lions in the Scottish Highlands,' and the other one answers 'Well, then that's no MacGuffin!' So you see, a MacGuffin is nothing at all!"
The Hitchcock Blonde
The primary concern of both of the new Hitchcock biopics is Hitchcock's perhaps unhealthy preoccupation with his leading ladies, most of whom fit a very specific type: blonde hair, fair skin, and (at first, anyway) cold or indifferent to the opposite sex. "A woman like you could never get involved with any man, sane or insane," Ingrid Bergman is told in Spellbound, though as the Hitchcock Blonde archetype developed, she became more complicated and interesting. Characters like Grace Kelly's Frances Stevens in To Catch A Thief, Janet Leigh's Marion Crane in Psycho, and 'Tippi' Hedren's Melanie Daniels in The Birds are headstrong, independent women who drive fast, take what they want, and make no apologies; also, they are often (particularly in the cases of Hedren in The Birds and Doris Day in The Man Who Knew Too Much) clearly much smarter than the men they're with. The tawdry underbelly of Hitch's interest in his actresses is given plenty of attention in Hitchcock and The Girl (particularly the latter, which pivots quickly from a thoughtful examination of sexual harassment to a sleazy gross-out), which is prompting something of an outcry among Hitch's fans; some raise legitimate questions about the veracity of claims by Hedren and biographer Donald Spoto, while others seem mostly interested in victim-blaming and idolatry. It's all he said/she said at this point, but whatever the truth may be, the filmmaker's fascination with his blondes — picking out their clothes, selecting their hairstyles, etc. — informed and shaped his most personal (and these days, most acclaimed) film, Vertigo.
Another favorite Hitchcock narrative is that of the innocent man, wrongly accused of a crime, who takes flight to prove his innocence and (often) to fall into the arms of a woman who at first fears him, and then believes in him. The 39 Steps and Saboteur are early examples, their protagonists (respectively) accused of murder and framed for arson; North by Northwest, in which Cary Grant is mistaken for a CIA agent, remains the gold standard. It became such a favorite of the filmmaker that he was able to experiment with the motif. His wildly underrated 1956 film The Wrong Man, in which musician Henry Fonda is mistaken for a criminal, was based on a true story, and shot in a less baroque style, mostly on location (a style that predated by decades police procedurals like Law & Order). His 1955 film To Catch a Thief concerned a cat burglar (Cary Grant) accused of a string of robberies — but his past makes his innocence far more dubious, and Hitch keeps us from trusting him entirely. And 1972's Frenzy toyed with audience sympathy even further by making the "innocent" man a complicated and rather unlikable character, only a recipient of our rooting interest when compared to the truly vile strangler committing the crimes our anti-hero is accused of.
The Voyeur
Hitchcock was a filmmaker so fully engaged with the act of filmmaking that the relationship between him and his audience frequently made its way into the films themselves. Voyeurism is often present in both his text and subtext — most notably in Rear Window (this author's favorite of his works), in which wheelchair-bound photographer L.B. Jeffries becomes fascinated and then obsessed by the goings-on outside his apartment window, viewing, interpreting, and commenting upon the actions of his neighbors like a moviegoer in front of several screens. And then, of course, there is Psycho, whose famous shower sequence is preceded by a scene of Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) watching Marion Crane undress through a peephole — a view that we in the audience are invited to share.
The Innovator
And about that shower sequence… It's become one of the most famous and celebrated in all of cinema, though like most innovations, its countless imitators have blunted its initial impact to those who see it fresh today. But aside from the brutality of its violence (unusual for 1960), its combination of inventive camera angles and rapid-fire cuts — 90 in three minutes, utilizing 77 different setups — was astonishing in its virtuosity. But Hitchcock had always been visually innovative; witness his ingenious point-of-view shots in Spellbound, the reverse-zooms of Vertigo, a murder reflected in the lens of the victim's fallen glasses in Strangers on a Train. He gets less credit for his experiments with sound, but they are just as impressive; though the unforgettable screeching violins amped up the terror considerably in Psycho, Hitchcock challenged himself by eschewing a musical score entirely for its follow-up The Birds, instead relying on painstakingly orchestrated bird sounds and other effects. In Marnie's safe robbery sequence, Hitchcock takes a page from Riffifi and plays the scene in total silence, with our heroine attempting to sneak out of the office under the nose of a cleaning woman without making a sound. And he plays the aforementioned Albert Hall climax of the 1955 Man Who Knew Too Much without dialogue, only using the music of the orchestra as an assassination is falling into place. In fact, he was playing clever tricks with sound clear back in his first talkie, Blackmail, in which a character, paranoid that her knifing of a rapist will be discovered, keeps hearing the word "knife," loudly and sharply, in a casual conversation.
The Adapter
Hitchcock's reputation as a stylist is so firmly ensconced that it is easy to overlook his development of that style and, occasionally, his willingness to stifle it. He began working in the silent era in England, first showing a flair for suspense in the silent film The Lodger. He developed his style in terrific English thrillers like The Lady Vanishes, The 39 Steps, and the original Man Who Knew Too Much, but when he came to California in 1939, he took his time figuring out how to meld his English sensibility with the Hollywood machine. His first American film, Rebecca, feels much more like the other work of producer David O. Selznick than Hitch, and his early-'40s output ranged from courtroom dramas (The Paradine Case) to spy pictures (Saboteur) to even a romantic comedy ( Mr. and Mrs. Smith ). But over the course of that decade and the one that followed, his distinctive blend of Hollywood glamour, sophisticated suspense, and psychological subtext gelled, resulting in his most iconic works.
But Hitchcock wasn't one to rest on his laurels, and as Hitchcock eloquently dramatizes, his itch to try something new was what led to Psycho — the idea that if "someone really good" took a crack at the critically reviled but immensely profitable low-budget horror genre, something special (and lucrative) could result. And if an inability to continue adapting marked his creative downfall later in the '60s (with poorly received, "old fashioned" efforts like Topaz and Torn Curtain), it wasn't for lack of trying — he famously attempted to make a first-person thriller called Kaleidoscope during that time, whose proposed hand-held camerawork and adult themes would have made it a film way ahead of its time.
The Director as Celebrity
In Hitchcock's pre-auteur age, he was one of the few filmmakers who was not only a recognizable name to the general public, but was actually a marketable commodity — he would be just as prominently featured on his posters (not just in name, but often in visage) as the movie stars who appeared in them. How did this happen? Several reasons: clever marketing and the director's willingness to "give good quote" in interviews was certainly one element, as well as studio publicity tales of his working methods and penchant for secrecy. And then there were the cameos. He reportedly made his first onscreen appearance, in 1927's The Lodger, out of necessity; there weren't enough extras for the scene. But figuring out where and when to make his cameo became a running joke for the filmmaker (and a challenge — in Lifeboat, for example, he couldn't very well show up on a street or bus, so he instead appeared in a weight loss ad inside a newspaper on the titular vessel), and audiences came to enjoy looking out for Hitch. Their awareness of his physical presence only increased when the filmmaker began hosting Alfred Hitchcock Presents in 1955, his droll introductions ("Good eeeevening") and wrap-ups solidifying his image as a mischievous dry wit. (Hitchcock cleverly uses this device in its own narrative.) And that recognition came in handy when Paramount attempted to torpedo the controversial Psycho with a lackluster marketing effort; Hitchcock hosted his own, wickedly funny trailer, and prominently featured himself in the marketing materials, insisting that audiences not enter the film late, and that they keep its considerable secrets to themselves.
The Alfred Hitchcock Masterpiece Collection Blu-ray set is now available. The Girl is currently running on HBO. Hitchcock is out next Friday in limited release.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


We all come stumbling back.
So you can read/download that chat record HERE.
Nice interview. Hit a lot of good questions.
they just better allow god mode and other cheats. Lately games have not included these features. Sometimes I just want to run around and slaughter.
I haven't found a game without a trainer yet.
Yeah I've gone that route before but its stupid when they don't have cheats just to make their game last longer with unlockable cheats that are obtained by doing stupid tasks like beating a game on ultra freaking hard mode. Ain't nobody got time for that.


text:
US-Korea
The US-Korea free trade agreement (or KORUS FTA, as called in Korea) has been one of the most controversial since NAFTA, if one could measure in terms of social mobilisation. Millions of people have fought against this deal, taking to the streets and flying across the Pacific to try to defeat it.
Washington and Seoul talked about a possible free trade agreement for several years before anything got started. As it turns out, the US had four preliminary demands for the Korean government to fulfil before any FTA talks could start. The four prerequisites were:
– suspending regulations on pharmaceutical product prices so US drug firms could get a better deal in the Korean market (secured in October 2005)
– easing government regulations on gas emissions in imported US cars so that more American cars could be sold in Korea (secured in November 2005)
– resuming importation of US beef, which were stopped in 2003 because of mad cow disease in the US (agreed in January 2006) and
– reducing South Korea's compulsory film quota for cinemas from 146 days per year to 73 days so that more American films could be shown (agreed in January 2006).
Once the Roh administration caved in to the last item, the two governments announced, on 2 February 2006, that FTA talks would start in May 2006 and end by June 2007.
The implications of the US-Korea FTA stretch far beyond Korean movie houses as the agreement would open the entire Korean economy to US corporate penetration. Korean farmers and workers organised a strenuous resistance to the deal, with support from actors, students, health professionals, consumers groups, environmental organisation, veterinarians, lawyers and other sectors. Alliances were also built with opponents to the deal in the US, including AFL-CIO, the country's largest labour union.
The first round of negotiations took place in the US on 5-9 June 2006. Ten months and eight formal rounds (not to mention numerous side talks on side agreements) later, the deal was concluded on 2 April 2007 in Seoul, just hours after a Korean taxi driver commited self-immolation in protest to the signing.
This was not the end, however. Two weeks later, newly elected Korean President Lee Myung-Bak travelled to Washington to sign the FTA. While there, on 18 April, the two governments inked yet another side deal that the US insisted was necessary for the FTA to go through. This deal laid out explicit rules on how Korea was to open its market in the broadest way to US beef imports, despite concerns about mad cow disease. The adoption of this secret pact triggered off what became known as the "beef crisis" in Korea. Students, mothers and consumers raised a fury of candlelight protests and other actions that by June 2008 had ministers resigning and the president own tenure under threat.
After several more years of sustained opposition to the agreement, the US-Korea FTA was finally ratification by both countries' parliaments and took effect in November 2011 However opposition to, and concerns about the FTA have not faded since it passed, with many worried about the implications of the investor-state dispute mechanism in the deal.
Photo: Joe Mabel / CC BY-SA 3.0
Seoul inches closer to KORUS FTA endorsement
26-Oct-2011 Korea Times
Seoul has inched closer to endorsing the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement (KORUS FTA), with the ruling camp pushing to make it a done deal by the end of the month despite resistance from the opposition parties.
Final KORUS FTA battle looms at National Assembly
19-Oct-2011 Hankyoreh
Korea's Democratic Party has set as its platform an approach of blocking the ratification of the US-Korea FTA through any means necessary if its preconditions are not met.
Assembly in deadlock over KORUS FTA
Korea's National Assembly is locked in an impasse with the ruling and the opposition parties showing no signs of backing down from their position on the long-stalled Korea-US free trade agreement (KORUS FTA).
South Korean opposition resists US trade pact
13-Oct-2011 AJE
South Korea's opposition party has said it will resist any bid to force a sweeping free-trade agreement with the US through parliament, following ratification of the deal by US congress.
U.S.-Korea FTA to impact Taiwan: economic officials
Economic officials said Thursday that a free trade agreement (FTA) approved a day earlier between the United States and South Korea will have an impact on local companies to the tune of around US$11.84 billion per year. The Bureau of Foreign Trade (BOFT) said the U.S.-Korea pact will influence 34.1 percent of all Taiwan-made products exported to the U.S.
Lee invited to address US Congress
9-Oct-2011
President Lee Myung-bak's upcoming state visit to the United States is expected to receive a warmer reception than ever before ahead of the impending endorsement of a free trade agreement (KORUS FTA) between the two countries.
Korea-US FTA to cause large reduction of farm production
4-Oct-2011 Yonhap
The implementation of the signed free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States will likely cause billions of dollars in damages to South Korea's farming industry, a government report showed Tuesday.
US cheese companies prepare to infiltrate Korea
28-Sep-2011 Chosun Ilbo
As Korea and the U.S. await the approval of their respective legislatures on a Free Trade Agreement, around 30 members of the US Dairy Export Council came to Korea to study and tap this promising market this week.
US Senate removes biggest hurdle to FTA ratification
The U.S. Senate has approved the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA), a worker training program that has been the largest stumbling block to the ratification of the bilateral free trade agreement with Korea.
Rival parties clash again over KORUS FTA
The ruling Grand National Party (GNP) and the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) clashed again Monday over when to ratify the pending Korea-U.S. free trade agreement (KORUS FTA) on the first day of the 20-day annual inspection of state affairs.
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The billion-pound jewellery industry is still "tainted" by hidden cases of human rights abuses and modern slavery, with a new report urging large UK brands to increase reporting responsibilities to ensure supply chains are fully-mapped and audited.
The All that glitters is not gold report from Adrea International found that just 37% of modern slavery statements issued by eight of the top UK jewellery brands were compliant with reporting requirements.
The report examined the practices of Tiffany & Co, Goldsmiths, Links, F. Hinds, Beaverbrooks, Boodles, Cartier and the Signet Group and companies under its control. It noted that most companies are relying on the work of overarching, voluntary councils when it comes to human rights, with only a few companies pushing actions beyond the practices of industry bodies.
"The jewellery industry relies on its luxury branding and messages to encourage consumers to buy their products, but their supply chains have historically been tainted with significant human rights abuses. Some retailers are recognising this and are beginning to try and tackle the issues" Ardea International's founder Colleen Theron said.
The International Labour Organisation estimates that 152 million children are subjected to child labour across the globe, with 12% of that figure working in mines – an aspect directly linked to the jewellery sector.
The sector has suffered from previous ethical discrepancies, following the emergence of "blood diamonds" and the role they had in fuelling conflicts in Sierra Leone and Zimbabwe. As well as environmental damage, mining is also known to impact human rights. In Tanzania, Africa's fourth largest gold producer, mercury and cyanide poisoning occurred amongst many of the miners.
The UK has stringent requirements in place to combat modern slavery and human rights. The UK Modern Slavery Act requires all companies with a turnover of £36m or more to produce and publish annual statements on slavery and human trafficking.
The report notes that half of the examined jewellers had failed to publish a Modern Slavery Statement on their website homepage, and only three companies fully meet disclosure requirements, Tiffany, F. Hinds and the Signet Group.
However, the Signet Group owns many subsidiary companies such as Pagoda, Zales and H. Samuel. Most of these brands link to the Signet Group's statement, but fail to develop unique declarations, according to the report.
The report argues that for businesses to properly identify and reduce the risk of modern slavery across complex supply chains, more should be done to ensure they are mapped and audited.
Responding to the report, a Signet Group spokesperson told edie: "Signet Jewelers has detailed information on its adherence to international guidance, standards and legislation relating to Human Rights and Modern Slavery, including the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act of 2010 and the UK Modern Slavery Act.
The Signet Group, which has a £6bn turnover, requires all suppliers to comply with the Signet Responsible Sourcing Protocols (SRSP), and most major suppliers are members of the RJC. The Council was formed in 2005, and six of the examined jewellers are certified members. The RJC is currently reviewing its Code of Practices relating to human rights.
Not only did the report state Signet Group suppliers that aren't RJC members were not obliged to go through third-party auditing, but it also noted that the Signet Group statement "lacks in depth information on how it is addressing modern slavery risk in their supply chains".
The report calls on the companies to address modern slavery "in detail" in their statements and should also do more to highlight the positive work that companies are doing in this area.
Since Ardea International released the report to the jewellers for comment, Beaverbrooks and Links have updated their websites with the statements. Theron noted that "this would appear to indicate that compliance with the Act is seen as important from a reputational perspective".
A spokesperson for Beaverbrooks added: "Beaverbrooks, which has been a member of the Responsible Jewellery Council since 2009, is fully compliant with the requirements of the Modern Slavery Act and its statement is published on beaverbrooks.co.uk. It has followed Home Office guidance 'Transparency in Supply Chains, a practical guide,' which states that Modern Slavery Act statements may be published at the same time as annual statutory accounts (Beaverbrooks' accounts were published at Companies House 13 November 2017).
The report also goes to lengths to highlight the positive work being done to tackle human rights issues in the supply chains of the brands. It demonstrates that Tiffany has fully-mapped its supply chain, so that 100% of diamonds are traceable to mine or supply. Almost three-quarters of gold sourced is also from a known mine.
Through a Tiffany & Co Foundation to support an estimated 25 million artisanal miners, more than $1 million has been awarded to the Diamond Development Initiative organisation.


Never has the act of creation been more vital than in this digital age when images, aesthetics, and ideas are shared with remarkable breadth and speed. It is the artists who tell untold stories, illuminate truths and describe visually what is impossible to describe with words. In recent years, the Internet has made it possible for anyone, anywhere, to be seen and heard by millions and for emerging artists to be discovered in ways never before available. SeeMe is a network of over a million artists, photographers, and creators, representing every nation on Earth. We believe in the voice of the artist and are dedicated to the exhibition of our members' work to a global audience. The work selected here was proudly displayed at the 15th annual SCOPE Art Show on Miami Beach with over 40,000 visitors in attendance.
From our small team here at SeeMe who produces these events and productions, we thank you for being a part of our community.
Now in it's fifth year, Art Takes Miami is an art publication and digital exhibit which reaches 1.2 million viewers worldwide and 32,000 exhibition visitors at SCOPE Art Miami. The artwork collected within these books represents a thrilling set of visions and styles from artists working around the globe. Each group of artists speaks to a specific theme in stunningly original ways. The selected creators featured here have been hand selected from thousands of artists and photographers and were featured at SCOPE Art Fair.
The net proceeds from the sales of this book will benefit Pencils of Promise, a 501c-3 not for profit building schools in the developing world. Our goal is to contribute enough money to build an entire school in rural Ghana. Each book sold contributes enough to send one child to school for one year.


text:
Etisalat accelerates adoption of AI, blockchain in Mideast
MAGNiTT News 2 years ago - Mon, Jan 14, 2019, 11:46 AM
Author: MAGNiTT
By ZAWYA
SOURCE: ZAWYA - Etisalat accelerates adoption of AI, blockchain in Mideast
Four scaleups will develop artificial intelligence and blockchain solutions
Future Now, the innovation program of Etisalat, has signed agreements with four scaleups to develop artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain solutions following the successful Dubai Future Accelerators program.
The signing ceremony also marked the opening of the Future Now scaleup collaborative space for Etisalat Digital's partners, namely Yitu Technology (China), Com IoT Technologies (UAE), 300cubits (Hong Kong), and Tradefin (US). They were chosen based on their capability to build and launch their core technology and be able to demonstrate traction and substantial use cases.
These selected companies will continue their journey through the "Future Now" scaleup program, where they will receive access to Etisalat Digital resources and experts, office space, and support needed to deliver joint projects to Etisalat's client base.
As part of the fifth cohort of Dubai Future Accelerators, Etisalat Digital launched in July this year three challenges to companies across the world. Out of all the companies that applied, seven companies were selected to address these challenges. The companies had the opportunity to network with a number of key stakeholders and have access to resources and expertise.
Etisalat Digital selected two companies, Yitu Technology (China), and Com IoT Technologies (UAE), for the first challenge that sought to leverage artificial intelligence for video surveillance systems and create solutions that would reduce crime rates and road congestion.
The second challenge addresses the use of blockchain to reduce the transactional costs and complexity in business processes for banks, governments and private organizations, with the goal of reducing the costs and complexity by 40 percent over five years. 300cubits (Hong Kong) was selected for this challenge.
Tradefin was selected for the last challenge that was focused on the adoption of blockchain to enable exchange across various loyalty currencies and to transform a loyalty currency into a crypto currency that can be used to perform online and physical transactions.
MAGNiTT News
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Do You want to use your player/rewards card every time? I want to use it always to accurately show how much I really bet when I play; but sometimes when I do not use my card I feel like I WIN more! I don't know if any of you have any feedback to share...if so please do I would love to hear your thoughts! Thank You in advance for Your Replies. Look forward to your hearing your thoughts on to USE or not to USE!
I always use mine. I believe it's all about luck and choosing the right machine at the right time. I don't think it has anything to do with my players card.
Thanks & I have actually been Utilizing MY Cards much more now! I can say Your Right! Thank You for taking the time to Respond & GOOD LUCK!
Yes! Use your player's card every time ,so that it can track your play and ultimately give you better comps!


Aug. 31 - Amateur video claims that Syria's cities of Aleppo, Homs and Zabadani came under renewed attack on Thursday and Friday. And the dangerous conditions are jeopardizing aid delivery. Tara Cleary reports.
REUTERS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE CONTENT OF THIS VIDEO, WHICH HAS BEEN OBTAINED FROM A SOCIAL MEDIA WEBSITE PLEASE NOTE: THIS EDIT CONTAINS CONVERTED 4:3 MATERIAL The city of Aleppo suffers heavy bombardment. Amateur video posted on a social media website and said to be shot on Thursday and Friday, claims Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime shelled several neighborhoods. Global paralysis on the Syrian conflict was highlighted at the United Nations on Thursday, when a Security Council meeting on the country's aid crisis ended without progress. Continued violence is making it increasingly difficult for aid to reach those in embattled cities. The International Committee of the Red Cross says living conditions for Syrian civilians have worsened dramatically and finding food and basic needs is increasingly difficult. The agency's 50 aid workers are confined to Damascus for their own safety and no supply convoys have been dispatched in two weeks.


Once I was awake, I headed up to the bridge for my daily 11:00 a.m. ice observation duties and had my breath taken away by the stunning beauty of the sky and light outside. After yesterday when we couldn't see more than 100 meters in front of us, suddenly the visibility was astounding in all directions, with an orange glow lighting half of the horizon as the sun stayed just out of sight.
As soon as my chores were done, I rushed back to the lab, grabbed my camera, and urged Mike and Casey to come on deck and look. Only then did they remind me to check the temperature outside: -14°C (7°F) and falling. Time to put on warm jacket, hat, and gloves, first!
All afternoon, I was busy (or at least, my computer was) transferring 323Gb of video from the NUI team's computer. Indeed, the video feed from NUI Dive 16 takes up more space than the entire hard drive in my five year-old laptop (my back-up is even older), but with judicious use of an external hard drive, I was able to sift through and pick out some freeze-frame highlights of the things we found to share at the science meeting in the afternoon.
Then, finally, it was both dinner time and time to start the OFOS dive to search for the vents. Autun, Laura, and Simon had worked out that our latest barrier to success may have been that we were missing a lucky number 7—in the number of people who have been gathering on deck to continue the tradition of the CTD team's port-on-starboard ceremony to toast the health of OFOS, the ice, and the oceans. So I was invited out to join them.
With that done it was time to head in while OFOS was lowered to the seafloor. Many hours later, we had driven round and round, etching a path over the seafloor that look as random as a toddler's doodling—or maybe a Jackson Pollock. Either way, we spent an excruciating amount of time feeling like we must be very close to being in just the right place, but with video feeds that could only see a few meters to either side, the active vent site that we know must be there remained just out of sight.
Eventually, the ship's drift and the shuffling ice got the better of us and OFOS was pulled away from our target area. We could only watch as the live video feeds changed from scenes of old, rotting sulfide chimneys and mineral deposits to old, cold rocks draped in biologically generated sediments settling from he upper ocean. And then it was time to come home.
Next up, it was time for Maren, Janna, and me to try our luck with the CTD. At a meeting right after NUI returned to the ship on Saturday, the three of us, together with Jill and Kevin from the U.S. and Gunter and Massi from Germany, had planned out exactly what a perfect CTD station to collect missing data and water samples would look like. After a 30-minute nap, I was back in the winch room to see if that plan would work.
At 4:00 a.m., we launched the CTD and by 4:30 things were going horribly, horribly wrong. In just a half hour, the wind picked up AND changed direction so that, instead of following a path that would take us right over where we wanted to go, we were heading in a completely different direction at twice the speed we anticipated. Worst of all, the ice was closing in all around the ship and threatening to cut the cable holding all our sensing and sampling gear beneath the ship.
Michael on the bridge was not enjoying himself, but did what he could to open up a pool of water on the starboard side of the ship and keep the science equipment safe. When he called down to say we could continue lowering away, we instead decided that it was time to pull everything up on deck, move the ship, and start again from a better location.
The second pass worked like a charm. We started out one kilometer (0.6 mile) south-southeast of the site and drifted at one-half knot (about 900 meters per hour) for just less than an hour so that we would have time to lower the CTD to the depth of the plume about 15 minutes before we arrived over our target. Just as we had hoped, we descended into a plume laden with particles at exactly the depth expected. After 15 minutes or so, the signal transformed into a plume that did not contain any particles, but that showed large redox anomalies, which meant we had moved from old plume material into a region containing younger, fresher material.
Without delay, we lowered the CTD down to just 10 meters (33 feet) above the seafloor and then began pulling it back up again, ready to collect the best samples we could. Boy, did we luck out. Just 200 meters (660 feet) above the seafloor our sensors showed that we were in a plume of young, particle-free, and chemically fresh material that was much closer to the seabed than anywhere else we had seen hydrothermal plumes all cruise and that was also hotter than anything else we had seen by a wide margin.
Because we are in the Arctic, that still meant the water was cold (below freezing), but it was very clearly warmer than any other water we have sampled at the same depth throughout the past three weeks in this area, that it was obvious—to us, at least—that we had intercepted the buoyant stem of the plume rising directly above the vent site.
Why is that important? Well, the normal hydrothermal plume that was detected here as far back as 2001 can be traced for more than 10 kilometers (6 miles) through the water column, whereas the plume that we have been pursuing for the past three weeks, while more closely localized, can still be found one kilometer in all directions. By contrast, the rising stem above a hydrothermal plume is a much narrower target—less than 100 meters in any direction. That was why Maren, Janna, and I ended our night happy on Monday, heading off to bed just as a horde of other geochemists rose for an early breakfast before setting to work analyzing the samples we had just collected.
We'll be looking forward to learning the results of their measurements when we wake up after lunch. Then we expect to have time for two more attempts to film the seafloor, starting late on Monday night. Whatever happens, the captain insists that we have to leave by midday Tuesday. We have just eighteen hours left to get the job done.
But wait, you say, how long can it take to search an area the size of a football field? Well, here's the catch: Imagine you wanted to find something the size of a small car in the middle of that field. Then imagine it is night, all the stadium lights are turned off, you are in a hot air balloon two miles up, and not only is the stadium dark, but the entire city around it is suffering a power outage so that you have no landmarks to guide you. Now, take a piece of line, attach a GoPro camera to it, and lower it out of the basket of the balloon. You have 8 hours to find the car and photograph it. But first you have to make sure you are over the right city—and that you are in the right part of the city, so that you can be sure that you are lowering your camera over the right stadium. But be careful of the financial district—if you smash into the skyscrapers they will really mess your camera up, big time. Oh, and did I mention that 30 mph winds are blowing your balloon in a direction you don't want to go?
So good luck with your mission! And if, after eight hours, you have not succeeded, do not fear: you can take a four-hour break start all over again.


text:
package com.codahale.jdbc;

/**
 * A simple interface indicating an object has been instrumented by
 * {@link Instrumenter}.
 *
 * @author coda
 *
 */
public interface Instrumented {
	public abstract Class<?> getOriginalClass();
}


Symmetry Shuffle by Carstens Studios Inc.
"This is an ideal elementary geometry enrichment activity that is fun enough to keep either kids or adults playing."
"It's my new favorite puzzle game to play when I have a few minutes."
"Everyone with an iPad should get this game...beautifully designed and super delicious!"
Symmetry Shuffle is a "Math Doodles" recreational math puzzle for the iPad that will sharpen your spatial reasoning and get your neurons sparking. It takes only minutes to learn and months to master, but beware, once you start playing you may never see things the same!
The world of math is not limited to numbers only.
Spatial reasoning and geometry are important elements of mathematics. Mathematicians use symmetry and geometric modeling to analyze mathematical situations and solve problems.
This mathematical puzzle allows users to explore line and rotational symmetry, while developing their spatial sense to create strategies to help them solve problems.
THE PUZZLE: Target designs are arranged on the screen in random orientations. Use turns (rotations), flips (reflections), and slides (translations) to move and match a figure over the target images. A level is completed when all of the target designs have been matched There are two modes of play, solve and race.
SOLVE MODE: Solve puzzles with the fewest moves, without the pressure of racing a count down timer. Choose from 12 different puzzle designs, 5 game board layouts, and 2 difficulty levels.
RACE MODE: Race the clock and get as many points as you can before time runs out. Complete the puzzles, to earn bonus time, and to advance to harder levels.
· Identify and describe line and rotational symmetry in two-dimensional shapes and designs.
· Examine the congruence, similarity, and line or rotational symmetry of objects using transformations.


text:
using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc;

namespace NSwag.Generation.AspNetCore.Tests.Web.Controllers.Inheritance
{
    [ApiController]
    public abstract class BaseController<TResponse> : Controller
    {
        [HttpGet("response")]
        public TResponse GetResponse()
        {
            return default(TResponse);
        }
    }
}


Remember when I posted a braggy little piece about my lovely new living room rug?
This is what I would like for you to think that my house looks like.
I've been sick all weekend.
I don't get sick often, although it's interesting to note I got sick at this same time last year.
In any case, this time it was step throat that almost killed me.
But I did not die. I rose from my bed of sweat and snot and sickness, and I went forth… to cook for and clean up after people.


text:
Fairytale Trips: UK Breaks Inspired by Children's Books…
Short of whisking them across the Atlantic on an expensive trip to Disneyland, it can be hard to get your kids excited about going away. Especially if they'd rather sit in their room glued to their Kindle, playing their XBOX or binge watching their favourite films on Netflix.
But what if you could get them on board by taking them to the real life Narnia? Or the very locations that inspired Lord of the Rings?
Well, the good news is: you can. You just have to know where to look. So, from exploring Beatrix Potter's Lake District to Harry Potter in London – here's where to take your kids based on their favourite children's story…
Winnie-the-Pooh – Ashdown Forest
You'll be onto a winner at Winnie-the-Pooh's Ashdown Forest
Now Pooh's a fairly easy one, given how everyone loves Winnie-the-Pooh – and how easy it is to go to the very place where he and the gang's adventures unfolded. And that place is Ashdown Forest in East Sussex.
Although A .A. Milne tweaked many of the place names ever so slightly (The Hundred Acre Wood is in fact 'The Five Hundred Acre Wood' at Ashdown Forest; whilst the inspiration for Galleon's Leap is a hill named 'Gill's Lap'); his son confirmed in his autobiography that the forest was the inspiration for Pooh's world and described the two forest's as being "identical".
Much of the actual forestry eroded hundreds of years ago (though some still remains) – and the plains and heathlands left in its place are a simply gorgeous setting on a summers day. Or any day for that matter. Oh, and be sure to take the kids for a game of 'Poohsticks' on the very footbridge it was first played…
Search East Sussex Hotels
The Wind in the Willows – Cornwall
Depending on who you ask, the inspiration for Toad Hall, home to the elaborate Mr. Toad in Kenneth Grahame's famous novel, can be cited as any number of places. Down in Cornwall, though, they generally believe it to have been Ethy Manor, with the idyllic village of Lerryn supposedly the setting for the novel.
And if you wish to explore the real life Wild Wood (where Mole goes looking for the illusive Badger), head to Ethy Woods or the Great Wood – the fictional forest is said to be a combination of the two.
Continue the Wind in the Willows fun by staying at Fowey Hall; a 19th century mansion where Grahame used to stay back during its days as a private residence. Now a luxury family hotel, Fowey Hall boasts refreshing sea views, a spa and an indoor pool to boot. And did we mention it's family friendly?
Search Cornwall Hotels
The Hobbit / Lord of the Rings – Birmingham
Sarehole Mill A.K.A… The Shire?
JRR Tolkien – author of fantasy favourites The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings – spent his youth growing up in the suburbs of Birmingham. And with just a tad of imagination, you can see how the area had more(dor) than a little influence on his novels.
The Shire is said to mimic the picturesque area around Sarehole Mill, where Tolkien spent many a day playing with his brother. The mill itself features in The Hobbit as Hobbiton's Great Mill, whilst the nearby woodlands of Mosely Bog could well be the Old Forest from The Fellowship of the Ring.
Around 4 miles north-west of Sarehole is Edgbaston, where two towers dominate the skyline – Perrotts Folly and the Edgbaston Waterworks Tower. These would've been seen from Tolkien's childhood house in Ladywood, and were recreated in The Lord of the Rings as the "Two Towers of Gondor". Although they're far less sinister in real life, of course.
Sarehole Mill is now a museum, whilst you can also book yourself onto an actual Tolkien/Hobbit Bus Tour to learn more about Tolkien's early life in Birmingham.
Find precious hotel deals in Birmingham
The Tale of Peter Rabbit (and friends) – Lake District
Yew Tree Farm, Coniston – one of a few Lake District properties once owned by Beatrix Potter
If Peter Rabbit, Jemima Puddle-Duck and co. have played as much a part in your children's childhood as they probably did your own, a trip to the Lake District should definitely be on the cards.
Before moving there, Ms. Potter would often holiday in The Lakes and her time spent sketching the beautiful landscapes and playing with the animals would go on to inspire her famous collection of children's books.
The World of Beatrix Potter in Bowness-on-Windermere is the hero attraction, yet links to both her life and her short stories are found all across the Lake District…
The shores of Derwentwater are where Squirrel Nutkin got up to his cheeky antics. Cat Bells is the fell where Mrs Tiggy-Winkle lived behind a tiny wooden door. Then there's Beatrix Potter's first Lake District home, Hill Top House; a 17th Century farm in Ambleside – now a National Trust property.
Another National Trust property – The Beatrix Potter Gallery in Hawkshead – showcases a collection of her original artwork in a 17th century house and former office of her husband.
Basically, if your own little nutkins are nuts about B. Potter, there's plenty for them to go potty over in the Lake District.
Search Lake District Hotels
The BFG – Isle of Skye
Roald Dahl's children's classic The BFG was recently brought to life for the big screen by Disney. And what better way to experience Giants' Country for real than with a family trip to the blockbuster's main filming location – the Isle of Skye.
Set eyes on the isle's dramatic coastline, the rocky spikes of the Old Man of Storr and the enchanting Fairy Pools at Glen Brittle, and you'll instantly get why this part of Scotland was chosen to depict the book's mythical landscapes.
There's magic to be found all across the Isle of Skye, even if the snozzcumbers are a little harder to come by!
Search Isle of Skye Hotels
Harry Potter – London
It's a hoot down at Platform 9¾ in Kings Cross (Credit: City.and.Color via Flickr.com)
And if your family's full of Potter heads (isn't everyone's?), then you'll want to head for the capital – where you'll be met with the first bit of Wizardry before you even leave the station. If you're travelling to Kings Cross that is, home to the fabled Platform 9¾. Nowadays, the queue to take a picture with the half-submerged trolley is rather lengthy – though you will get a scarf, glasses and wand for your troubles (if only temporarily).
But what to do with the rest of your trip? Well, a short train journey to Hertfordshire will take you to the Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – where you can stroll down Diagon Alley, sip authentic butterbeer and recline in the Gryffindor common room.
Back in London, the Reptile House at London Zoo was the filming spot for scenes in the Philosopher's Stone; whilst The Market Porter pub near London Bridge was used for external shots of The Leaky Cauldron.
You could also plan your trip around a viewing of the new 'Harry Potter and the Cursed Child' play at Palace Theatre – but if you don't already have a ticket, getting hold of one will be about as easy as getting into Hogwarts…
Search London Hotels
The Chronicles of Narnia – Belfast
And finally, lovers of C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia books should head to the author's childhood home of Belfast, where just last November, the enchanting 'C.S. Lewis Square' was opened in his honour. The square – where no less than 300 trees have been planted – features seven statues designed by artist Maurice Harron, each depicting characters from 'The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe', including Aslan, the White Witch and Mr Tumnus.
A short journey out of the city, you can visit the gothic bridges and dramatic caves of Tollymore Forest Park – which (Narnia aside) is a truly beautiful part of the world. From there, you'll be able to drink in unrivalled views of the Mourne Mountains – said to be the inspiration for Narnia. Game of Thrones fans will also know the area as the main filming location for Westeros. So if you (or your youngsters) are fans of both, a trip to Belfast is not to be missed.
Search Belfast Hotels
Category: Events & Festivals, Inspiration
Tags: Birmingham, Cornwall, England, isle of skye, Lake District, London, sussex, UK
By Mark Elwood


text:
Q: Updating UI from AsyncTask after exiting and re-entering app I am currently working on an app that runs an AsyncTask in the background and updates the UI with a progressbar. The progress bar works fine when the app is running, however, when the user exits the app and re-enters, the AsyncTask is still running in the background, but the progress bar won't update. It's as if the AsyncTask has detached itself from the activity. Does anyone have any ideas what might be causing this such as general rules involved with AsyncTasks. I can provide code if needed, but it is rather lengthy, so just let me know what parts you would need to see. I should also note that the AsyncTask does complete, I can tell this because it uploads a database to the server when it finishes.
Here is the code:
public class BackgroundAsyncTask extends AsyncTask {
        int myProgress;
    @Override
    protected void onPostExecute(Void result) {
        ((TextView) findViewById(R.id.tv1)).setText("");
        Cursor cur = sql3.query("videohashes", null, null, null, null,
                null, null);
        cur.moveToFirst();
        while (!cur.isAfterLast()) {

            Cursor curFrame = sql3.query("table_" + cur.getString(2), null,
                    null, null, null, null, null);
            curFrame.moveToFirst();

            ((TextView) findViewById(R.id.tv1)).append("\nPath: "
                    + cur.getString(1) + "\nHash: " + cur.getString(2)
                    + "\nDate:" + cur.getString(3) + "\nSize: "
                    + cur.getString(4) + " bytes\nResolution"
                    + cur.getString(5) + "\nFormat: " + cur.getString(6)
                    + "\nCodec: " + cur.getString(7) + "\nFPS: "
                    + cur.getString(8) + "\n\nFirst Frame Info:\nType: "
                    + curFrame.getString(1) + "\ncp_num: "
                    + curFrame.getString(2) + "\ndp_num: "
                    + curFrame.getString(3) + "\npts: "
                    + curFrame.getString(4) + "\nqstride: "
                    + curFrame.getString(5) + "\nsize: "
                    + curFrame.getString(6) + "\nqp_stddev: "
                    + curFrame.getString(7) + "\ncount: "
                    + curFrame.getString(8) + "\nqp_avg: "
                    + curFrame.getString(9) + "\n\n");

            cur.moveToNext();
        }
        cur.close();
        ((Button) findViewById(R.id.btnSend)).setEnabled(true);
        ((Button) findViewById(R.id.btnStart)).setEnabled(true);
        sql3.close();
        sharedPreferences.edit().putString("lastVideoInfo", ((TextView) findViewById(R.id.tv1)).getText().toString()).commit();
        sharedPreferences.edit().putBoolean("asyncTaskRunning", false).commit();
        dateNow = new Date();
        super.onPostExecute(result);
    }

    @Override
    protected void onPreExecute() {
        super.onPreExecute();
        totProgress = 0;
        currVid = 0;
        curProgress = 0;
    }

    @Override
    protected void onProgressUpdate(Integer... values) {
        progress.setProgress(values[0]);
    }

    @Override
    protected Void doInBackground(Void... arg0) {

        // Calculate total size of all files
        for (String path : myFiles) {
            totProgress += getFileSize(path);
        }

        progress.setMax(totProgress);
        String strDB3File = getFilesDir().getPath() + "/VideoHashes.db3";
        sql3 = SQLiteDatabase.openDatabase(strDB3File, null,
                SQLiteDatabase.CREATE_IF_NECESSARY);

        try {
            String mysql = "CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS videohashes (id INTEGER  NOT NULL PRIMARY KEY AUTOINCREMENT, path TEXT NOT NULL, hash TEXT NOT NULL, date TEXT NOT NULL, size INTEGER, resolution TEXT NOT NULL, codec TEXT NOT NULL, format TEXT NOT NULL, fps TEXT NOT NULL)";
            sql3.execSQL(mysql);
        } catch (SQLiteException e) {
            // TODO: handle exception
        }

        for (String path : myFiles) {
            try {

                String hash = getMD5Checksum(path);

                Cursor curFrame = sql3.query("videohashes",
                        new String[] { "hash" }, "hash=?",
                        new String[] { hash }, null, null, null);

                if (!curFrame.moveToFirst()) {
                    ContentValues myInsertData = new ContentValues();
                    myInsertData.put("path", path);
                    myInsertData.put("hash", hash);
                    Date date = new Date();
                    myInsertData.put("date", dateFormat.format(date));
                    myInsertData.put("size", getFileSize(path));

                    naInit(path);
                    Log.i("VPMA", "After naInit");
                    int[] prVideoRes = naGetVideoResolution();
                    myInsertData.put("resolution", prVideoRes[0] + "x"
                            + prVideoRes[1]);
                    String prVideoCodecName = naGetVideoCodecName();
                    myInsertData.put("codec", prVideoCodecName);
                    String prVideoFormatName = naGetVideoFormatName();
                    myInsertData.put("format", prVideoFormatName);
                    double prFps = naGetVideoFPS();
                    Log.i("VPMA", "fps: " + prFps);
                    myInsertData.put("fps", prFps);
                    Object[] prObjArray = naGetArray();
                    Log.i("VPMA", (String) prObjArray[0]);
                    String[] prStrArray = Arrays.copyOf(prObjArray,
                            prObjArray.length, String[].class);
                    Log.i("VPMA", "before frames");
                    try {
                        String mysql = "CREATE TABLE table_"
                                + hash
                                + " (id INTEGER  NOT  NULL PRIMARY KEY AUTOINCREMENT, type TEXT NOT NULL, cp_num TEXT NOT NULL, dp_num TEXT NOT NULL, pts TEXT NOT NULL, qstride TEXT NOT NULL, size TEXT NOT NULL, qp_stddev TEXT NOT NULL, count TEXT NOT NULL, qp_avg TEXT NOT NULL)";
                        sql3.execSQL(mysql);
                    } catch (SQLiteException e) {
                        // TODO: handle exception
                    }
                    for (String str : prStrArray) {
                        ContentValues myFrameInsertData = new ContentValues();
                        String[] strArr = str.split(",");
                        if (strArr.length == 9) {
                            String stddev = "", strCount = "", strQp_avg = "";
                            double sd, qp_avg, count = 0, sum = 0, sqrSum = 0;
                            try {
                                count = Integer.parseInt(strArr[6].trim());
                                sum = Integer.parseInt(strArr[7].trim());
                                sqrSum = Integer.parseInt(strArr[8].trim());

                                //sd = (sum * sum / count);
                                sd = (sqrSum - (sum*sum/count))/(count-1);//(sqrSum - sd) / (count - 1);
                                stddev = String.valueOf(sd);
                                qp_avg = sum / count;
                                strCount = String.valueOf(count);
                                strQp_avg = String.valueOf(qp_avg);
                            } catch (Exception e) {
                                Log.i("Error: ", "error converting values");
                            }
                            //Log.i("Java Code: ", "Sum: " + sum + " SqrSum: " + sqrSum + " Count: " + count);
                            //Log.i("Java Code: ", "StdDev: " + stddev + " qp_avg: " + strQp_avg);
                            myFrameInsertData.put("type", strArr[0]);
                            myFrameInsertData.put("cp_num", strArr[1]);
                            myFrameInsertData.put("dp_num", strArr[2]);
                            myFrameInsertData.put("pts", strArr[3]);
                            myFrameInsertData.put("qstride", strArr[4]);
                            myFrameInsertData.put("size", strArr[5]);
                            myFrameInsertData.put("qp_stddev", stddev);
                            myFrameInsertData.put("count", strCount);
                            myFrameInsertData.put("qp_avg", strQp_avg);

                            sql3.insert("table_" + hash, null,
                                    myFrameInsertData);
                        }
                    }
                    sql3.insert("videohashes", null, myInsertData);
                    naClose();
                }
                curFrame.close();
                currVid++;
                curProgress += getFileSize(path);
                publishProgress(curProgress);
                Log.i("Progress", "CurrVid:" + currVid + "  Max:"
                        + progress.getMax());
            } catch (Exception e) {
                Log.i("File", "File not Found");
            }
        }
        return null;
    }
}
    }
    if (sharedPreferences.getBoolean("asyncTaskRunning", false) == false)
    {
        ((Button) findViewById(R.id.btnStart)).setEnabled(false);
        progress = (ProgressBar) findViewById(R.id.progressBar1);
        text = (TextView) findViewById(R.id.tv1);
        if (sharedPreferences.contains("lastVideoInfo"))
        {
            text.setText("Last Video Information Parsed " + "(" + dateFormat.format(dateNow) + "):\n\n" +  sharedPreferences.getString("lastVideoInfo", ""));
            ((Button) findViewById(R.id.btnSend)).setEnabled(true);
        }
        else
        {
            text.setText("");
            ((Button) findViewById(R.id.btnSend)).setEnabled(false);
        }
        progress.setProgress(0);

        myFiles = new ArrayList<String>();
        new StartAsyncTask().execute();
    }
}

A: When the Activity is destroyed, it loses its reference to the AsyncTask, as when the AsyncTask is created it is passed in a reference to the instance of the Activity that creates it. When the instance dies, the reference to the Activity becomes useless.
A better approach would be put the AsyncTask into a Service, set up the Service and set the AsyncTask running in the Service and bind your Activity to the Service.
Then when a new instance of the Activity is created (ie when the user re-enters the app), it can bind to the same Service instance that's already running and pass in a reference to its self to receive progress info.
Another advantage of this approach is that your Service can put a notification icon in the notification bar, which greatly reduces it chances of being killed by the system, the user could view progress at a glance, and even be notified of when the process is complete.
Allowing an AsyncTask to be cut loose from its owner (is the Activity) and trusting that it will complete what its doing is a pretty bad idea, and will probably have some unexpected results, lead to potential memory leaks etc.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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Beyond and Prior to Arhat, the Bodhisattva, and the Mahasiddha in the Buddhist tradition
SACRED HISTORY for September 23rd
1981 Adi Da Samraj Writes the Essay "The Three Ways of Buddhism", which is later published in Nirvanasara.
His Divine Presence, Parama-Sapta-Na Adi Da, Writes:
"In the Buddhist tradition there are three primary Ways—the Hinayana, Mahayana, and Vajrayana (or the Ways of the Arhat, the Bodhisattva, and the Mahasiddha).
The Hinayana Way of the Arhats is the Way of the transcending of sympathetic (and, ultimately, sorrowful) attachment to conditional 'self', its relations, and its 'worlds of experience'. It is the 'masculine' Way of uncompromising abandonment or the transcending of the motives of sympathy or desire.
The Mahayana Way of the Bodhisattva is the Way of the transcending of angry rejection of the conditional 'self', its relations, and its 'worlds of experience'. It is the 'feminine' Way of ego-surrender and compassionate service.
The Vajrayana Way of the Mahasiddhas is the Way of the transcending of both sympathetic attachment and angry rejection, or all the positives and negatives relative to the conditional 'self', its relations, and its 'worlds of experience'. It is the magical Way of the powers inherent in the male-female unity (or the unity and equanimity of polarized opposites).
Beyond and Prior to these is Divine Enlightenment Itself, or Self-Realization of the Divine Reality, Which Is, under one Name or another, the Ultimate Goal of all the Wisdom-traditions." ~Da Love-Ananda Mahal
2006 Adi Da Samraj Writes the first Essay, "Divine Adidam Is Inside Out", for the Revelation-Text that becomes The Aletheon. ~Adi Da Samrajashram


With only a few weeks away before the London Marathon, I must admit that I am getting rather excited. It has been very worthwhile putting in all the miles with the aim of really enjoying the day.
One more long run to do this weekend and then I will be tailing off as advised by my team of trainers and co-runners. Yesterday a friend asked me about these 20+ milers and how you keep going. I never imagined that I would ever be running for 3-4 hours, and certainly never thought I would be popping out for a 'quick 10 miles'. I have found that the time passes quickly once I get going but really focusing on what is going on around me, looking up, coaching myself to remain relaxed and feel inspired by the encouragement I receive.
Anyhow, the really important bit is raising money and awareness of two key projects tackling the number one global health burden: pain. The charity CRPS UK and the social enterprise UP | understand pain both envision a world of people understanding their own potential to live well and to overcome their pain.
The costs of chronic pain to individuals and society are vast. Loss of earnings, loss of productivity, the expense of treatments that often don't work and above all the immense suffering. This need not be the case if society really understood pain. By understanding pain, individuals would know where to put their efforts to get better from the outset of a pain problem, whatever the cause, and healthcare would deliver effective care.
The thinking on pain still largely resides in out-dated models. This means that individuals become reliant upon passive treatments, are subjected to endless unnecessary investigations and are exposed to the wrong messages about pain that keep expectations low and purport fears and worries that only increase suffering.
Our journey to understand pain began when two remarkable men created pain medicine. Pat Wall and Ron Melzack changed the landscape forever and have inspired a generation of scientists and clinicians to ask questions about pain and discover the answers: what is pain? What is pain for? What can we do about pain?
Our knowledge about pain has increased enormously but there is a long way to go before our current understanding is practiced day to day in society. This gap is a significant societal issue, and one that UP will bridge with the forthcoming education programmes and an online resource that is this very website. The UP site will be re-launched this year, packed with information that people can use to understand pain.
Humans are incredible. We are designed to change, adapt and learn, so tapping into our natural resources is one of the most potent and enabling things we can do. Consider all the achievements of mankind, which largely boil down to a clear picture of success, an ability to focus upon a plan of action, taking action and learning along the way when facing challenges. Together with a dose of determination, courage and belief, we can achieve by always being the best that we can be: 'I will be the best me today' is not a bad mantra to have!
The challenge of pain is no different. The programmes that UP will run for people in pain and for clinicians are all based on how we can be successful, how we can chose the positive route, how we can achieve our best. This is by focusing on what we do well, how we do it and how we can do more of this whilst acknowledging and seeking to improve in other areas.
So this in my mind drives my desire to do my best in training and on the day on 23rd April. Having said that, I will be pleased to see some familiar faces in the crowd on the way round! Or even faces I don't know who want to support our causes. Pain affects so many people across the globe for so many reasons. Together we can change this by changing the way society thinks about pain and our expectations. Let's expect to do well and live well.
Please support us here by donating whatever you can and join us for a quiz night before the run on Thursday 20th April in Surbiton — see here.


There was a rough stone age and a smooth stone age and a bronze age, and many years afterward a cut–glass age. In the cut–glass age, when young ladies had persuaded young men with long, curly mustaches to marry them, they sat down several months afterward and wrote thank–you notes for all sorts of cut–glass presents — punch–bowls, finger–bowls, dinner–glasses, wine–glasses, ice–cream dishes, bonbon dishes, decanters, and vases — for, though cut glass was nothing new in the nineties, it was then especially busy reflecting the dazzling light of fashion from the Back Bay to the fastnesses of the Middle West.
After the wedding the punch–bowls were arranged in the sideboard with the big bowl in the centre; the glasses were set up in the china–closet; the candlesticks were put at both ends of things — and then the struggle for existence began. The bonbon dish lost its little handle and became a pin–tray upstairs; a promenading cat knocked the little bowl off the sideboard, and the hired girl chipped the middle–sized one with the sugar–dish; then the wine–glasses succumbed to leg fractures, and even the dinner–glasses disappeared one by one like the ten little niggers, the last one ending up, scarred and maimed as a tooth–brush holder among other shabby genteels on the bathroom shelf. But by the time all this had happened the cut–glass age was over, anyway.
"My dear," said the curious Mrs. Roger Fairboalt, "I LOVE your house. I think it's QUITE artistic."
"I'm SO glad," said the beautiful Mrs. Harold Piper, lights appearing in her young, dark eyes; "and you MUST come often. I'm almost ALWAYS alone in the afternoon."
"I love the dining–room MOST," she said, "all that MARVELLOUS china, and that HUGE cut–glass bowl."
Mrs. Piper laughed, so prettily that Mrs. Fairboalt's lingering reservations about the Freddy Gedney story quite vanished.
"Oh, that big bowl!" Mrs. Piper's mouth forming the words was a vivid rose petal. "There's a story about that bowl — -"
"You remember young Carleton Canby? Well, he was very attentive at one time, and the night I told him I was going to marry Harold, seven years ago in ninety–two, he drew himself way up and said: 'Evylyn, I'm going to give a present that's as hard as you are and as beautiful and as empty and as easy to see through.' He frightened me a little — his eyes were so black. I thought he was going to deed me a haunted house or something that would explode when you opened it. That bowl came, and of course it's beautiful. Its diameter or circumference or something is two and a half feet — or perhaps it's three and a half. Anyway, the sideboard is really too small for it; it sticks way out."
"My DEAR, wasn't that ODD! And he left town about then didn't he?" Mrs. Fairboalt was scribbling italicized notes on her memory — "hard, beautiful, empty, and easy to see through."
"Yes, he went West — or South — or somewhere," answered Mrs. Piper, radiating that divine vagueness that helps to lift beauty out of time.


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Home US/World News USS John McCain navigates through South China Sea
USS John McCain navigates through South China Sea
The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer John S. McCain (DDG 56) fires its MK-45 5-inch gun during a live-fire exercise in 2014. Photo by Ricardo R Guzman/U.S. Navy
Dec. 25 (UPI) — USS John McCain conducted what the Navy is describing as a "freedom of navigation operation" near the Con Dao Islands in the South China Sea Thursday.
"The ship conducted normal operations within Vietnam's claimed territorial seas to challenge excessive maritime claims and preserve access and navigational freedoms consistent with international law," said a press statement from the Navy.
Thursday's freedom of navigation operation is the second in the region this week.
On Tuesday the McCain navigated near the South China Sea's Spratly islands.
The Chinese government later claimed on state television that the Chinese People's Liberation Army expelled the McCain, but the Navy has contested that claim.
The Navy said its operations "are designed in accordance with international law and demonstrate that the United States will fly, sail and operate wherever international law allows," regardless of "excessive maritime claims and regardless of current events."
Specifically, the Navy said Thursday's operation was protected under the 1982 Law of the Sea Convention, the international framework for maritime law.
USS John McCain
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Future USS Inouye completes builder's trials after 4 days at sea
USS Ronald Reagan carrier strike group returns to South China Sea
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healthy living – Welcome to the World of Wellness!
Each year, American's spend billions of dollars on weight loss products; dietary programs and new trends "guaranteeing" pounds will come off quickly using their plan. The desperation to shed unwanted body fat is clear, yet many individuals continue to struggle with their weight. Why does this remain such a growing problem in America today? It's partially due to misconceptions regarding the scientific nature of weight / fat loss coupled with an obvious urgency for people to understand the complexity of obesity, fat storage and fat metabolism at the cellular level.
Extensive studies have shown that excessive body fat / obesity is a widespread, multifaceted disease correlated with a other health problems that negatively affect an individual's quality of life. With the overwhelming increases in obesity today, the National Institute of Health, the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists and other organizations invest a tremendous amount of time and money studying this epidemic crisis – specifically the neurological, hormonal, genetic, social andmetabolicorigins of obesity.
Basic biology tells us that dietary fatsand lipids(all fats, oils and sterols) are broken down into structural chains of fatty acids stored in our fat cellsas adipose tissue. A certain amount of stored body fatfulfills three, essential roles: Fat acts as our primary fuel reservein the form of triglycerides; chains of fatty acidsare building blocks for key membrane constitutes; and fatty acid derivativesserve as hormonaland intercellular messengers. Our bodies need essential fat for optimum functioning, however, excess reserves of adipose tissue can have severe consequences. For example, fat cells can expand three to six times their normal size, with a seemingly infinite capacity to make more of themselves. When fat cells reach their maximum storage capacity, they can "burst" much like an over-inflated balloon. The secreted substances (inflammatory chemicals) act like a poison in the body. Once the cell bursts, new fat cells develop in an effort to store excess fuel reserves and chemical wastes. As the degree of obesity increases, the duplication of fat cells continues to escalate.
As mentioned, body fat is stored in the form of triglycerides. Triglycerides(chains of fatty acids) continually circulate throughout the body, but they primarily specializein storage as adipose tissue. If an individual is consuming more food than their bodies can metabolize, the surplus of calories is deposited in a multitude of fat cells. Considering that one-pound of body fat stores approximately 3,500 calories, an extra 50 pounds has an excess fuel reserve of 175,000 calories! To lose 50 pounds of body fat, one needs to "burn" and dispose of the excess reserve through sequential chemical and metabolic processes at the cellular level. Enzymes and key nutrients pay a significant role.
Triglycerides are broken down by the enzyme lipase. It's a metabolic system of fatty acid oxidationregulated by hormones, catalytic reactions and a proper balance of key nutrients (proteins, carbohydrates and dietary fats). Proteins (containing amino acids), carbohydrates (containing carbon chains) and dietary fats (FA's) have unique nutritional properties to help maintain synergy within the body. Scientifically, carbohydrates do not need any assistance from fatty acids to help them metabolize, however, fatty acids need carbon chains for hydrolysis (the breakdown of stored body fat).
Carbohydrates usually get a bad rep for causing weight gain, and many people avoid them on a "diet" without realizing that vegetables and legumes are classed as carbohydrates – leafy greens, broccoli, asparagus, fresh green beans, snap peas, etc. Legumes also contain a good source of fiber – they provide quality nutrients, aid in digestion and the elimination of food byproducts. The saying "Fat Burns in the Flame of Carbohydrates" bears truth. Without some carbohydrates in the diet, there is an incomplete breakdown of adipose tissue and a decrease in the rate of fatty acid oxidationat the cell level.
Fatty acid oxidation also has to occur in the "powerhouse" or mitochondria of a cell. Long chain fatty acids cannot penetrate into the cell membrane without the presence of carnitine, a compound formed from the essential amino acids lysine and methionine. Both of these amino acids are found in animal proteins and complementary vegetarian sources. Although L-carnitine and other supplements are widely marketed to enhance weight-loss, no conclusive medical evidence supports these claims. Nutrient intake should come from high quality food sources prior to investing money in supplements that may or may not work.
If asked, do you think fast food burgers and egg-muffins contain a decent supply of essential amino acids and quality nutrients to support fat burning at the cell level? Would your body respond better with whole food sources in the diet, or perform better with processed foods? How do you think your body metabolically reacts to a greasy hot-dog over fresh vegetables, baked chicken, fish or legumes? The obvious answer is to spark your metabolism with nutritious foods in their most natural state.
In the book "Fat Land", Greg Critser takes us back to several developments in the food industry that have also contributed to the obesity crisis. Back in the 1970's, corn surpluses led to the production of high fructose corn syrup found in several food products today – including soda and snack drinks. Cheap imports of palm oil and kernel oil combined with advances in technology led to increases in the number of convenience foods, snack items and artificial flavorings. Because our bodies metabolize high fructose corn syrup, palm oil and palm kernel oil differently than "natural food sources", these additives and preservatives have been shown to prompt fat storage, increase adipose tissue, elevate levels of triglycerides, cholesterol, glucose and insulin, and increase the risk factors for associated diseases.
Obese people are not getting critical chemical signals to their brain to since fullness: Under normal conditions, the hormone, grehlin, signals the brain to tell the body it has had enough to eat, to more or eat less,. Some studies suggest that obesity is associated with either a transport or interpretation problem with grehlin function. Other studies suggest that excessive body fat, in itself, triggers an impairment of this gut hormone signaling. The more adipose tissue an individual has, the greater the impairment becomes. For example: Studies have shown that obese mice develop a brain-barrier defect that causes them to eat more and store more body fat with age, but skinny mice stay about the same weight and eat until satisfied (William Blanks; MD).
Hormonal Defects and Insulin Resistance Cause Obesity: Hormonal defects and insulin resistance do not specifically cause obesity, however, obesity has been shown to play a dominant role in insulin resistance. Once a person moves into the state of obesity, hormonal balances for fuel metabolism are impaired. As a result, glucose and insulin levels are compromised. Left untreated, the risk of Type II Diabetes is inevitable.
Fat Deposits are Determined at Birth: We are all born with a certain number of fat cells. However, as discussed earlier, when an adipocyte has reached full storage capacity, hormonal signals drive the process of fat cell multiplication. If unnecessary calories continue to enter the body, adipocytes will continue to multiply over and beyond what an individual had at birth.
Obesity is all Genetic: According to the Harvard School of Public Health, genetics only plays a small role in whether someone will become obese. If a parent or both parents are obese, a child may be born with a greater number of fat cells, but it doesn't mean they will become obese. Weight gain is influenced by a combination of environmental and lifestyle factors more than genetic make-up alone.
Neurological and Social Environment Trigger Obesity: With billions of neurons firing in complex circuits, scientists cannot measurably peer into your mind and emotions to suggest obesity is caused by a neurological malfunction. They can, however, measure physical behaviors and the social environment surrounding that behavior. There are external factors that often prompt poor lifestyle choices and dietary habits. These include: eating out more often; a trend of eating more fast foods; super-sizing meals; spending more time watching TV or playing video games; opting to drive because it's easier than walking; organizing social events around food; taking the elevator over the stairs, or opting out of exercise because "it takes too much time".


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info@tahoe-artists.com
San Francisco Bay Area, California
Tahoe Artists is an artist management company based out of the San Francisco Bay Area, CA.
RICK BONDE
President / Manager
Rick started the Tahoe Agency in 1991, representing such artists as Blink 182, Sublime, The Skatalites, Less Than Jake, and many, many others. After a few years surfing in Baja between gigs, Rick founded Tahoe Artists in 2013.
Josh windmiller
Manager - The Sam Chase & the Untraditional
Josh Windmiller began his career in artist management when he first teamed up with folk-rock juggernaught The Sam Chase & The Untraditional. He understands how bands and artists work, having led folk punk band The Crux since 2007. Josh also works as the director of both the Railroad Square Music Festival and the North Bay chapter of The Lost Church.


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+65-6397-2004 (Office Hrs) | +65-6535-8833 (24 Hrs)
appt@novenaheartcentre.com.sg
About NHC
Dr. Hsu Li Fern
Dr. Jimmy Lim
Dr. Raymond Lee
Dr. Kenneth Ng
Coronary Calcium Scan
Carotid Intima Media Thickness (IMT)
Computer Tomographic coronary angiography and calcium score
Exercise echocardiography
Percutaneous coronary intervention for significant coronary artery disease
Hybrid Revascularization procedures
Heartmate II Left Ventricular Assist Device
About Your Heart
Dr Hsu Li Fern is a consultant cardiologist at Novena Heart Centre. He is widely recognized as an expert in the field of heart rhythm problems.
Dr Hsu graduated from the National University of Singapore and obtained his post-graduate degree, the Membership of the Royal College of Physicians (United Kingdom) in 1997.
He underwent advanced specialist training in Cardiology at the National Heart Centre, Singapore, from 1998 to 2001, followed by further training in the management of cardiac arrhythmias at the Hopital Cardiologique du Haut-Leveque, Bordeaux, France, from 2002 to 2004.
During this period, he obtained the Certificate of Specialist Training in Cardiology from the University of Bordeaux.
He was elected to the Fellowship of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, and the Fellowship of the Academy of Medicine of Singapore, and is also a Fellow of the European Society of Cardiology.
Dr Hsu has been invited to give talks at both regional and international scientific meetings, particularly on the topics of atrial arrhythmias.
He has also been invited to teach and demonstrate catheter ablation and device implantation techniques at various regional hospitals.
He has more than 70 papers published to date in prominent international scientific journals, including the New England Journal of Medicine and Circulation, and had won prizes for his research, including the Myer Sims prize of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh in 2005. His specific interests include the evaluation and treatment of atrial fibrillation and flutter, and sudden cardiac death.
Dr. Lim Chong Hee
touching lives with care
Copyright©2018 Novena Heart Centre Singapore. All Rights Reserved.


Abstract: It is well-known that wide-area networks face today several performance and reliability problems. In this work, we propose to solve these problems by connecting two or more local-area networks together via a Redundant Array of Internet Links (or RAIL) and by proactively replicating each packet over these links. In that sense, RAIL is for networks what RAID (Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks) was for disks. In this paper, we describe the RAIL approach, present our prototype (called the RAILedge), and evaluate its performance. First, we demonstrate that using multiple Internet links significantly improves the end-to-end performance in terms of network-level as well as application-level metrics for Voice-over-IP and TCP. Second, we show that a delay padding mechanism is needed to complement RAIL when there is significant delay disparity between the paths. Third, we show that two paths provide most of the benefit, if carefully managed. Finally, we discuss a RAIL-network architecture, where RAILedges make use of path redundancy, route control and application-specific mechanisms, to improve WAN performance.


I am waiting for Windows XP SP2 to complete installing, and, as I am wont to doing in these episodes of spare time, I examine international news sources. This article in the English Al Jazeera edition caught my eye.
I encourage all of my geography students to go outside the US by examining international news sources. Some of my geography students have no choice, as it is part of their semester assignment. Most do not like to do this, and they protest. Usually, by mid-term, attitudes have changed, as the exposure awakens their minds to issues away from their homes. We cannot trust our media sources to provide us with unbiased news to keep Americans aware and apprised of conditions across the globe. Occasionally, Newsweek (Fareed Zakaria), the Washington Post, the New York Times, or the Wall Street Journal, will help out. The reality is that for us as US citizens to understand life outside our country we have to pro-active in that education.
Like this article. Huckabee wins! Yeah! Obama wins! Yeah! Meanwhile, families are driven to desperation to abide in a war-torn country. Families selling their children in hopes that their lives will be better, i.e. safer, healthier, etc., than their life might have been in Iraq. Some families are missing children, kidnapped and driven across borders, and sold, for who knows what purpose. If this information makes it to the US media, I would be surprised.
Oh, yeah, well, who can trust Al Jeezera, any way? After all, aren't they UBL mouthpiece?
Despite Al Jeezera's connection as UBL media outlet, they do carry legitimate stories and have the unique ability to penetrate into Islamic concerns. I do not think they would contrive this story. Otherwise, they would have no credibility in any region.
Lest you think these episodes do not happen, please visit your library and check out the April 2002 edition of Scientific American. I will be writing about this later – 21st century slavery.
January 5, 2008 in Uncategorized.


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On This Day … 16 June
363 – Emperor Julian marches back up the Tigris and burns his fleet of supply ships.
During the withdrawal, Roman forces suffer several attacks from the Persians.
1407 – Ming–Hồ War: Retired King Hồ Quý Ly and his son King Hồ Hán Thương of Hồ dynasty are captured by the Ming armies.
1487 – Battle of Stoke Field: King Henry VII of England defeats the leaders of a Yorkist rebellion in the final engagement of the Wars of the Roses.
1745 – War of the Austrian Succession: New England colonial troops under the command of William Pepperrell capture the Fortress of Louisbourg in Louisbourg, New France.
1746 – War of the Austrian Succession: Austria and Sardinia defeat a Franco-Spanish army at the Battle of Piacenza.
1755 – French and Indian War: The French surrender Fort Beauséjour to the British, leading to the expulsion of the Acadians.
1779 – Spain declares war on the Kingdom of Great Britain, and the Great Siege of Gibraltar begins.
1795 – French Revolutionary Wars: In what became known as Cornwallis's Retreat, a British Royal Navy squadron led by Vice Admiral William Cornwallis strongly resists a much larger French Navy force and withdraws largely intact, setting up the French Navy defeat at the Battle of Groix six days later.
1811 – Survivors of an attack the previous day by Tla-o-qui-aht on board the Pacific Fur Company's ship Tonquin, intentionally detonate a powder magazine on the ship, destroying it and killing about 100 attackers.
1815 – Napoleonic Wars: Battle of Ligny and Battle of Quatre Bras, two days before the Battle of Waterloo.
1858 – Abraham Lincoln delivers his House Divided speech in Springfield, Illinois.
1897 – A treaty annexing the Republic of Hawaii to the United States is signed; the Republic would not be dissolved until a year later.
1903 – The Ford Motor Company is incorporated.
1903 – Roald Amundsen leaves Oslo, Norway, to commence the first east-west navigation of the Northwest Passage.
1940 – World War II: Marshal Henri Philippe Pétain becomes Chief of State of Vichy France (Chef de l'État Français).
1948 – Members of the Malayan Communist Party kill three British plantation managers in Sungai Siput; in response, British Malaya declares a state of emergency.
1955 – In a futile effort to topple Argentine President Juan Perón, rogue aircraft pilots of the Argentine Navy drop several bombs upon an unarmed crowd demonstrating in favour of Perón in Buenos Aires, killing 364 and injuring at least 800.
At the same time on the ground, some soldiers attempt to stage a coup but are suppressed by loyal forces.
1958 – Imre Nagy, Pál Maléter and other leaders of the 1956 Hungarian Uprising are executed.
2000 – The Secretary-General of the UN reports that Israel has complied with United Nations Security Council Resolution 425, 22 years after its issuance, and completely withdrew from Lebanon.
The Resolution does not encompass the Shebaa farms, which is claimed by Israel, Syria and Lebanon.
2012 – The United States Air Force's robotic Boeing X-37B spaceplane returns to Earth after a classified 469-day orbital mission.
People (Births)
1606 – Arthur Chichester, 1st Earl of Donegall, Irish soldier and politician (d. 1675).
1836 – Wesley Merritt, American general and politician, Military Governor of the Philippines (d. 1910).
1838 – Cushman Kellogg Davis, American lieutenant and politician, 7th Governor of Minnesota (d. 1900).
1857 – Arthur Arz von Straußenburg, Austrian-Hungarian general (d. 1935).
1910 – Juan Velasco Alvarado, Peruvian general and politician, 1st President of Peru (d. 1977).
1912 – Enoch Powell, English soldier and politician, Secretary of State for Health (d. 1998).
1917 – Phaedon Gizikis, Greek general and politician, President of Greece (d. 1999).
1926 – Efraín Ríos Montt, Guatemalan general and politician, 26th President of Guatemala (d. 2018).
1938 – Thomas Boyd-Carpenter, English general.
1949 – Ralph Mann, American hurdler and author.
1955 – Grete Faremo, Norwegian politician, Norwegian Minister of Defence.
1958 – Ulrike Tauber, German swimmer.
1958 – Warren Rodwell, Australian soldier, educator and musician.
1992 – Vladimir Morozov, Russian swimmer.
1995 – Joseph Schooling, Singaporean swimmer.
People (Deaths)
924 – Li Cunshen, general of Later Tang (b. 862).
1397 – Philip of Artois, Count of Eu, French soldier (b. 1358).
1626 – Christian, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg-Wolfenbüttel, German Protestant military leader (b. 1599).
1722 – John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, English general and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Oxfordshire (b. 1650).
1930 – Elmer Ambrose Sperry, American inventor, co-invented the gyrocompass (b. 1860).
1945 – Aris Velouchiotis, Greek general (b. 1905).
1958 – Pál Maléter, Hungarian general and politician, Minister of Defence of Hungary (b. 1917).
1969 – Harold Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis, English field marshal and politician, 17th Governor General of Canada (b. 1891).
1979 – Ignatius Kutu Acheampong, Ghanaian general and politician, 6th Head of state of Ghana (b. 1931).
1993 – Lindsay Hassett, Australian cricketer and soldier (b. 1913).
1997 – Dal Stivens, Australian soldier and author (b. 1911).
2004 – Thanom Kittikachorn, Thai field marshal and politician, 10th Prime Minister of Thailand (b. 1911).
2008 – Mario Rigoni Stern, Italian soldier and author (b. 1921).
2012 – Sławomir Petelicki, Polish general (b. 1946).
Military History	Military Events, Military People
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