text:
Discontinue
Discontinue is a 3D, Action, Arcade, Atmospheric, Early Access, Puzzle, VR, Sci-fi, Shooter, and Single-player video game developed and published by PostBeta. This gameplay includes many challenging levels including World Intro, Enemy Intro, Room Intro, Aim Intro, Dodge Intro, and Break Intro. In this contest, the player has to destroy the foe by using the high-speed disc in the battle tower and the only thing to remember in this play is to avoid the striking of obstacles.
This episodic gameplay includes more than 85 challenging stages and each stage is packed with the unique quest and features. The player can unlock more challenging locations by completing the challenging stage in real-time. The core features packed in this contest are Two-Handed VR, Room Scale VR, Different Generated Arenas, Relaxing Atmosphere, and LIV Integration.
ActionArcadeShootingSports
Games Like Discontinue
#1 Breakout VR
Breakout VR is a 3D, Action, Arcade, Casual, Early Access, VR, and Single-player video game developed and published by Nerdvision Games. In this space play the player character experience the explosive game in the unique atmospheric condition of the space. This episodic gameplay includes many challenging stages and each stage is packed with the unique quest and features. The main goal of the player in this contest is to destroy a maximum number of blocks from the space by using a spaceship.
The player can easily control the spaceship by using only left and right triggers for destroying a maximum number of blocks for completing the challenging stage with high scores. The core features packed in this contest are Play from Inside the Ship in VR Mode, Mess with the Entire World, Best VR Brick Breaker, 10 Challenging Stages, and Various Powerups.
#2 StarDroneVR
StarDroneVR is a 3D, Action, Arcade, Casual, Early Access, Puzzle, VR, Sci-fi, and Single-player video game developed and published by Beatshapers Ltd. In this arcade puzzle play the player has to find the treasures by exploring the planets. This game is a mixture of arcade, pinball, breakout, and collect the objects for giving more entertainment to the player. This episodic gameplay includes many challenging stages and each stage is packed with the unique quest and features.
In this space play the player experience the explosive game in the unique atmospheric condition of the space. The player has to destroy the enemies with rapid speed and collect the gems, and power-ups enhancements. The prominent features of this gameplay are an Energetic Action Puzzle, a Diverse Cosmic Environment, Challenging Levels, Collect Gems and Power-ups, Intuitive gameplay Mechanics, and Billions of Enemies, and Beginners Friendly.
#3 Astro Zip VR
Astro Zip VR is a 3D, Action, Arcade, Casual, Early Access, Puzzle, VR, Sci-fi, and Single-player video game developed and published by Nicholas Page Dyer. In this high-speed arcade action gameplay, the player has to collect gems and power-ups. This episodic gameplay includes many challenging stages and each stage is packed with the unique quest and features. In this space play, the player can only complete the challenging stage by collecting a maximum number of scores in real-time.
This gameplay also enables the player to customize the difficult settings for completing more challenges. The player has to destroy the evil robots in space through a high-speed spaceship. The core features packed in this contest are Simple Controls, Endless Modes, Limit can be Set, Configurable Difficulty Switches, Collect Golden Gems, and Power-ups.
#4 Virtua Volleyball
Virtua Volleyball is a 3D, Action, Arcade, Casual, Early Access, Puzzle, VR, Sci-fi, and Single-player video game developed and published by Palladium Super Interactive. In this realistic view game, the player has to test and improve their volleyball skills. This game includes dynamic day and night cycles with 4 various environments to attract the player. It enables the player to select various locations for playing the game such as Sunny Beach Resorts, or the Olympic stadium.
This episodic gameplay includes many challenging stages and each stage is packed with the unique quest and features. The prominent features of this gameplay are Quick Tutorials, 3 Various Environments and Ambiences, Dynamic Day and Night Cycles, Realistic and Precise Scales, and Explore the Various Interactive environments.
#5 Orbatron
Orbatron is a 3D, Action, Arcade, Atmospheric, Early Access, Puzzle, VR, Sci-fi, Shooter, and Single-player video game developed and published by Tobias Miller. In this action-packed challenging gameplay, the player has to collect the orbs chain combos, and destroy the obstacles. This episodic gameplay includes many challenging stages and each stage offers unique features and rewards. This game includes 5 various gaming modes including Cluster, Flight, Monolith, Special, and Endless.
This episodic gameplay includes more than 85 challenging stages and each stage is packed with the unique quest and features. By playing this exciting game the player can test the skills of playing against the AI opponents and develop the strategies for mastering the challenging stages in real-time. The core features packed in this contest are Find Hidden Objects, Unlock Special Levels, Leaderboard, Great Soundtracks, Fast Loading Time, 99 Challenging Stages, Eclectic Environment, and Five Gaming Modes.
#6 Hammerground
Hammerground is a 3D, Action, Arcade, Combat, Casual, RTS, Hack and Slash, Strategy, and Single-player video game developed and published by Roman Shuvalov. In this arcade action gameplay, the player has grabbed the hammer for destroying the opponents while preventing the circles from being damaged. In this episodic gameplay, the player has to manage the warrior's team with advanced weaponry collection to defeat the opponents.
This contest is packed with many challenging stages and each stage is embedded with unique features and rewards. The player can unlock more stages and locations by completing the previous challenges in real-time. The prominent features packed in this gameplay are Find Hidden Objects, Unlock Special Levels, Leaderboard, Great Soundtracks, Fast Loading Time, Tabletop Game, and Great Soundtracks.
#7 Crazy Factory
Crazy Factory is a 3D, Action, Arcade, Atmospheric, Early Access, Puzzle, VR, Sci-fi, and Single-player video game developed and published by Gembasher. This game includes a variety of mini-games in an automated robotic factory and the player has to control the working of robots through artificial intelligence. This episodic gameplay includes more than 85 challenging stages and each stage is packed with the unique quest and features.
The player can unlock more robots and devices by completing the challenging stage in real-time. In this contest the player has to train the supervisor according to the thinking of the human mind, the robotic supervisor does not know how the human objects work. The core features packed in this contest are Unlock Dozen of Robots, 300 Funny Sentences for Entertainment, Uncover the Hidden Secrets, and Reach the Score Thresholds.
#8 #DRIVE
#DRIVE is a Sports, Racing, Simulation, and Single-player video game developed by Pixel Perfect Dude for Android. Throughout the gameplay, the player serves as a car driver and needs to explore different places in the game. The gameplay is straightforward, where the player has to select a car and drive through the roads.
The player views the environment from a third-person or first-person perspective accordingly. The player must not hit the objects on the road; otherwise, the speed of the car decreases, resulting in the car damage. The game allows the player to modify the car as per the desire to get into the endless racing.
The game is playable for a long time as no time, and traffic restrictions will limit the player. The player can control the movement of the car through tilt or steering control. The significant features of the game are Endless Driving, Different Controls, Two Cameras, and Limitless Adventure.
#9 Cook-Out
Cook-Out is a 3D, Action, Adventure, Casual, Co-op, Team-Based, Fantasy, Resource Management, Single and Multiplayer video game developed and published by Resolution Games. In this realistic view gameplay, the player has to ready the apron for experiencing the realistic environment in this award-wining multiplayer cooking play. In this gameplay, the four-player work together in the kitchen for cooking delicious food or to play with the stuff available in the kitchen.
This episodic gameplay includes more than 85 challenging stages and each stage is packed with the unique quest and features. In the solo play, the player can test the cooking skills while in the multiplayer mode this game becomes more interesting while playing with friends using VR. The core features packed in this contest are Customizable Chef's Look, Nasty Customers, Hide Parts of Orders, Cooperative play, and Tackle Tough Orders.
#10 Teknedia
Teknedia is a 3D, Action, Adventure, Arcade, VR, Racing, Parkour, Sci-fi, and Single-player video game developed and published by Stache Studios. In this fast-paced racing gameplay, the player has to adopt special skills and tactics for dodging the mines, lasers, and other obstacles for completing the race in a limited time. This episodic gameplay includes more than 85 challenging stages and each stage is packed with the unique quest and features.
The player can unlock more mysterious stages by completing the race in real-time. In this contest, the player has to complete various assigned tasks including neon-infused levels, jump through obstacles, and uncover the mysterious world of aliens. The core features packed in this gameplay are 4 Vibrant Locations, Leaderboards, VR Support, and a Lengthy Puzzle.
#11 KING PONG
KING PONG is a 3D, Action, Arcade, Fighting, VR, Sci-fi, Single, and Multiplayer video game developed and published by Iconik. In this gameplay, the player has to become the king of table tennis. The player has to adopt special skills and tactics for striking the tennis ball for getting maximum scores in a real-time play. The player can enjoy this contest solo with an A.I. opponent or with friends to make it more interesting.
This game also allows the player to customize the avatar including crazy helmets, snowshoes, emotes, and many other personal protective equipment according to the play. The player can also play this locally or online with stranger players around the world. The core features packed in this gameplay are Simple and Fun Gameplay, Frantic Ultimate, Single Arcade Mode, Highly Competitive, and Character Customization.
#12 BloodBlast VR
BloodBlast VR is a 3D, Action, Arcade, Fighting, FPS, VR, Sci-fi, Shooting, Single and Multiplayer video game developed and published by Kalinka. In this gameplay, the player has to fight against the harmful viruses of the body while preserving the anti-bodies, red and white blood cells. The player has to shoot the viruses by using various types of weapons for getting maximum scores to enter into the new challenging quest.
This episodic gameplay includes many challenging stages and each stage is packed with the unique quest and features. The player can only explore more locations and quests by completing the initial stages in real-time. The prominent features packed in this gameplay are Improves VR Aiming, Cure the Disease, Multiple Weapons, Global Leaderboard, Feel the Heartbeat, Statistics, and Trophies.
#13 Timberman VR
Timberman VR is a 3D, Action, Arcade, Co-op, FPS, VR, Single and Multiplayer video game developed by Game Formatic S.A and published by PlayWay S.A. In this gameplay, the player has to cut down the trees while avoiding the branches with the help of a sharp ax. This game is not much easy to play as it looks because the player has to play this contest with more accuracy and speed. In solo mode, the player can test the skills of cutting or become the master of this game.
The player can get extra bonuses and rewards on cutting down the trees in a minimum number of hits. This gameplay includes four various seasons including snowy winter forest, spring in full bloom, nostalgia autumn, and summer to attract the player to the game. The core features packed in this contest are Dynamic Environment, Cut Down the Trees, Character Customization, Cooperative play, and Fast-Paced.
#14 Guardian Mage VR
Guardian Mage VR is a 3D, Action, Arcade, Base Building, Tower Defense, RTS, VR, and Single-player video game developed and published by Derevyanko Aleksey. In this gameplay, the player character has to fight against the hordes of bloodthirsty orcs. The player has to adopt special skills of fighting and dodging the enemies for preventing the kingdom. In this contest, the player can use the special magical powers for freezing the enemies and smashing their attacking equipment.
The player can use dwarven bombs of destroying the hordes of enemies and also use fire or precise balls for beating enemies. This episodic gameplay includes many challenging stages and each stage is packed with the unique quest and features. The player can unlock new magical runes by completing the initial stages in real-time. The prominent features packed in this contest are Rune Magic, Organization of Defense, Dynamic Environment, Regular Upgrades, and Character Customization.
#15 Metal Gunner
Metal Gunner is a 3D, Action, Adventure, Arcade, FPS, Sci-fi, Single and Multiplayer video game developed and published by KIMYS STUDIO. This game includes three various modes to play, the first one is Single-player mode, Defense mode, and Practice mode. In single-player mode, the player has to recapture the planets and this mode includes five challenging missions to complete in real-time.
The Defense mode opens in the previous mode, all the robot enemies are attacking from all sides and you've to save your base and battle hard until all enemies vanished. The last comes the Practice mode where you have to practice your skills and master the weapons. The core features packed in this gameplay are VR Development Technology, Easy Robot Control, Three Various Playing Modes, 5 Challenging Levels, and a Full controller Support Game.
#16 Axe Throw VR
Axe throw VR is a 3D, Action, Adventure, Arcade, FPS, Sci-fi, Survival, and Single-player video game developed by Tea Monster Games, Psychic Parrot, and published by Tea Monster Games. This video game is easy to pick up and hard to master. This video game includes many updated features for interactive playing such as unlockable axes, plenty of targets, and zombie survival mode. In this gameplay, the player can master the skills of throwing axes in the playground.
The player can get maximum points by completing the challenging stages in real-time. There is also the practice mode in the video game with the help of which you can master your throwing skills. The core features packed in this gameplay are Cool Motion Controllers, Survival Mode, First-person Video Game, and Axe throwing Physics.
#17 Warp Out
Warp Out is a 3D, Action, Arcade, Combat, VR, Shooting, Sci-fi, and Single-player video game developed and published by ID61. In this intensive drive, shoot play the player has to steal the spaceship to escape from the army. The player has destroyed the hordes of enemies' spaceships across the galaxy while escaping from the army attack. This episodic gameplay includes many challenging stages and each stage is packed with the unique quest and features.
In this space play the player experience the tense game in the unique atmospheric condition of the space. The player has to destroy the enemies with rapid speed and collect the gems, and power-up enhancements. The prominent features of this gameplay are Energetic Action, Diverse Cosmic Environment, Challenging Levels, Collect Gems and Power-ups, Intuitive gameplay Mechanics, Billions of Enemies, and Beginners Friendly.
#18 Empyrean Scout
Empyrean Scout is a 3D, Action, Arcade, Combat, VR, Shooting, Sci-fi, and Single-player video game developed and published by NymSe. In this space shooting gameplay, the player has to experience the explosive fighting against the opponents across the galaxy. In this contest, the player can enjoy the variety of weapons embedded in the spaceship while exploring the space. This episodic gameplay includes many challenging stages and each stage is packed with the unique quest and features.
In this contest, the player has to fight against the hordes of enemies while avoiding the locomotion system. The player can enjoy this VR game by sitting, standing, or in a full-scale room for enjoying this intuitive space combat action game. The core features packed in this contest are Challenging Levels, Easy Gameplay, Various Modes to Play, Strategically Gameplay, and Quick Tutorials.
#19 Urban Basketball VR
Urban Basketball VR is a 3D, Action, Arcade, Casual, Early Access, VR, Sci-fi, Sports, and Single-player video game developed and published by Digital Mosaik. In this digital basketball gameplay, the player character has to play against the Artificial Intelligent opponents for testing the skills and mastering these skills in real-time. This episodic gameplay includes many challenging stages and each stage is packed with the unique quest and features.
The player can explore many locations for making fun with the basketball including striking the cars, hitting the statue, and breaking the glass basketball. In this contest, the player has to make the best scores and conquer the first place in the world on the leaderboard. The prominent features packed in this contest are Teleportation for Easy Move, Dynamic Environment, Interactive Elements, Stay Top of the Leaderboard and Amazing Set-ups.


Freedom means accepting things as they are, says Tom Allen.
More than five years ago, I hosted this soft-spoken, weird and very devoted English guy in Khartoum, Sudan. He came by bike in the scorching heat, and also left on two wheels. Tom has pretty much been bicycling ever since then: he has travelled to more than 40 countries over four continents, wrote two books and made a number of films about his adventures. I find his life journey very inspiring so I asked him a few questions.
Sound Light Yoga: In your book Janapar, which spans about 3,5 years of your bicycle journey, you share deep reflections on your inner journey. What are the cornerstones of the change that has been shaping you?
Tom Allen: There are many things that a journey like this does to you. The first is an awareness of the abilities of your body to deal with physical challenges, and in parallel the abilities of your mind to deal with psychological challenges. Then there is the constant exposure to new ideas and perspectives on life that can't help but make you question things you previously thought were set in stone. There's the lessons that come with travelling alone and being responsible for your decisions – you live the consequences of every decision you make in a very tangible way. And finally, when travelling that long, you start to learn to feel at home anywhere, no matter how superficially different it may seem to where you come from. You start perceiving the similarities in all of life on Earth much more keenly than the differences.
SLY: What does freedom mean to you?
TA: In the past, when I wanted to escape the narrow existence I felt channeled into, I thought freedom was synonymous with self-sufficiency – that I should be able to exist completely independently of anyone else's input, and also without responsibility to anyone else. This was a naive and self-centred view; once your perspective begins to broaden it doesn't take long to realise that interconnectedness and interdependence is the natural state of all things. So now, freedom to me is more like acceptance – if you are able to accept things the way they are, moment by moment, rather than wishing they were different, it frees you up to follow a path of your own choosing and do so with respect for how you fit into the greater pattern of life.
Devote one hundred percent concentration to the simple act of preparing breakfast. By doing so, everything else ceases to exist.
SLY: I love your above description, essentially, of meditation in action. Do you have a spiritual practice?
TA: It's interesting how stripping life down to its bare bones on a journey like mine can concentrate the mind like this. You very quickly realise how much of your life experience has been internal yet unnoticed because of the routines we tend to fall into. On a journey, you are always moving forward; there is no routine because each day is different, and that means that the mental chatter has nowhere to hide. So mindful practices like preparing breakfast were the natural solution – years before I'd ever heard the word 'mindfulness' used, or understood what it meant. I don't travel fulltime any more, so I've been following a practice of daily mindful meditation for the last year or so – it's proven very effective at bringing back that sense of simplicity and groundedness. And I continue to go on human-powered journeys of weeks or months in length, by bicycle but also by foot, kayak, horseback, which I love for the same reasons I came to love bicycle travel – the simplicity, the physicality, the humbling nature of the experiences that are there for you if you are open to them.
SLY: Where are you now and what is next?
TA: As I type, I'm in my parents' house, visiting them for Christmas. Next week I'll be heading for Australia to spend a month by the beach writing my next book and failing to learn to surf. Then in February I'll be going to Armenia for most of 2016, where I'm planning to work on a trekking and mapping project in the Caucasus mountains. Early days but I'm curious to see where that idea will lead.


text:
package boom

import (
	"bytes"
	"encoding/binary"
	"hash"
	"io"
	"math"
)

// ScalableBloomFilter implements a Scalable Bloom Filter as described by
// Almeida, Baquero, Preguica, and Hutchison in Scalable Bloom Filters:
//
// http://gsd.di.uminho.pt/members/cbm/ps/dbloom.pdf
//
// A Scalable Bloom Filter dynamically adapts to the number of elements in the
// data set while enforcing a tight upper bound on the false-positive rate.
// This works by adding Bloom filters with geometrically decreasing
// false-positive rates as filters become full. The tightening ratio, r,
// controls the filter growth. The compounded probability over the whole series
// converges to a target value, even accounting for an infinite series.
//
// Scalable Bloom Filters are useful for cases where the size of the data set
// isn't known a priori and memory constraints aren't of particular concern.
// For situations where memory is bounded, consider using Inverse or Stable
// Bloom Filters.
type ScalableBloomFilter struct {
	filters []*PartitionedBloomFilter // filters with geometrically decreasing error rates
	r       float64                   // tightening ratio
	fp      float64                   // target false-positive rate
	p       float64                   // partition fill ratio
	hint    uint                      // filter size hint
}

// NewScalableBloomFilter creates a new Scalable Bloom Filter with the
// specified target false-positive rate and tightening ratio. Use
// NewDefaultScalableBloomFilter if you don't want to calculate these
// parameters.
func NewScalableBloomFilter(hint uint, fpRate, r float64) *ScalableBloomFilter {
	s := &ScalableBloomFilter{
		filters: make([]*PartitionedBloomFilter, 0, 1),
		r:       r,
		fp:      fpRate,
		p:       fillRatio,
		hint:    hint,
	}

	s.addFilter()
	return s
}

// NewDefaultScalableBloomFilter creates a new Scalable Bloom Filter with the
// specified target false-positive rate and an optimal tightening ratio.
func NewDefaultScalableBloomFilter(fpRate float64) *ScalableBloomFilter {
	return NewScalableBloomFilter(10000, fpRate, 0.8)
}

// Capacity returns the current Scalable Bloom Filter capacity, which is the
// sum of the capacities for the contained series of Bloom filters.
func (s *ScalableBloomFilter) Capacity() uint {
	capacity := uint(0)
	for _, bf := range s.filters {
		capacity += bf.Capacity()
	}
	return capacity
}

// K returns the number of hash functions used in each Bloom filter.
func (s *ScalableBloomFilter) K() uint {
	// K is the same across every filter.
	return s.filters[0].K()
}

// FillRatio returns the average ratio of set bits across every filter.
func (s *ScalableBloomFilter) FillRatio() float64 {
	sum := 0.0
	for _, filter := range s.filters {
		sum += filter.FillRatio()
	}
	return sum / float64(len(s.filters))
}

// Test will test for membership of the data and returns true if it is a
// member, false if not. This is a probabilistic test, meaning there is a
// non-zero probability of false positives but a zero probability of false
// negatives.
func (s *ScalableBloomFilter) Test(data []byte) bool {
	// Querying is made by testing for the presence in each filter.
	for _, bf := range s.filters {
		if bf.Test(data) {
			return true
		}
	}

	return false
}

// Add will add the data to the Bloom filter. It returns the filter to allow
// for chaining.
func (s *ScalableBloomFilter) Add(data []byte) Filter {
	idx := len(s.filters) - 1

	// If the last filter has reached its fill ratio, add a new one.
	if s.filters[idx].EstimatedFillRatio() >= s.p {
		s.addFilter()
		idx++
	}

	s.filters[idx].Add(data)
	return s
}

// TestAndAdd is equivalent to calling Test followed by Add. It returns true if
// the data is a member, false if not.
func (s *ScalableBloomFilter) TestAndAdd(data []byte) bool {
	member := s.Test(data)
	s.Add(data)
	return member
}

// Reset restores the Bloom filter to its original state. It returns the filter
// to allow for chaining.
func (s *ScalableBloomFilter) Reset() *ScalableBloomFilter {
	s.filters = make([]*PartitionedBloomFilter, 0, 1)
	s.addFilter()
	return s
}

// addFilter adds a new Bloom filter with a restricted false-positive rate to
// the Scalable Bloom Filter
func (s *ScalableBloomFilter) addFilter() {
	fpRate := s.fp * math.Pow(s.r, float64(len(s.filters)))
	p := NewPartitionedBloomFilter(s.hint, fpRate)
	if len(s.filters) > 0 {
		p.SetHash(s.filters[0].hash)
	}
	s.filters = append(s.filters, p)
}

// SetHash sets the hashing function used in the filter.
// For the effect on false positive rates see: https://github.com/tylertreat/BoomFilters/pull/1
func (s *ScalableBloomFilter) SetHash(h hash.Hash64) {
	for _, bf := range s.filters {
		bf.SetHash(h)
	}
}

// WriteTo writes a binary representation of the ScalableBloomFilter to an i/o stream.
// It returns the number of bytes written.
func (s *ScalableBloomFilter) WriteTo(stream io.Writer) (int64, error) {
	err := binary.Write(stream, binary.BigEndian, s.r)
	if err != nil {
		return 0, err
	}
	err = binary.Write(stream, binary.BigEndian, s.fp)
	if err != nil {
		return 0, err
	}
	err = binary.Write(stream, binary.BigEndian, s.p)
	if err != nil {
		return 0, err
	}
	err = binary.Write(stream, binary.BigEndian, uint64(s.hint))
	if err != nil {
		return 0, err
	}
	err = binary.Write(stream, binary.BigEndian, uint64(len(s.filters)))
	if err != nil {
		return 0, err
	}
	var numBytes int64
	for _, filter := range s.filters {
		num, err := filter.WriteTo(stream)
		if err != nil {
			return 0, err
		}
		numBytes += num
	}
	return numBytes + int64(5*binary.Size(uint64(0))), err
}

// ReadFrom reads a binary representation of ScalableBloomFilter (such as might
// have been written by WriteTo()) from an i/o stream. It returns the number
// of bytes read.
func (s *ScalableBloomFilter) ReadFrom(stream io.Reader) (int64, error) {
	var r, fp, p float64
	var hint, len uint64
	err := binary.Read(stream, binary.BigEndian, &r)
	if err != nil {
		return 0, err
	}
	err = binary.Read(stream, binary.BigEndian, &fp)
	if err != nil {
		return 0, err
	}
	err = binary.Read(stream, binary.BigEndian, &p)
	if err != nil {
		return 0, err
	}
	err = binary.Read(stream, binary.BigEndian, &hint)
	if err != nil {
		return 0, err
	}
	err = binary.Read(stream, binary.BigEndian, &len)
	if err != nil {
		return 0, err
	}
	var numBytes int64
	filters := make([]*PartitionedBloomFilter, len)
	for i := range filters {
		filter := NewPartitionedBloomFilter(0, fp)
		num, err := filter.ReadFrom(stream)
		if err != nil {
			return 0, err
		}
		numBytes += num
		filters[i] = filter
	}
	s.r = r
	s.fp = fp
	s.p = p
	s.hint = uint(hint)
	s.filters = filters
	return numBytes + int64(5*binary.Size(uint64(0))), nil
}

// GobEncode implements gob.GobEncoder interface.
func (s *ScalableBloomFilter) GobEncode() ([]byte, error) {
	var buf bytes.Buffer
	_, err := s.WriteTo(&buf)
	if err != nil {
		return nil, err
	}

	return buf.Bytes(), nil
}

// GobDecode implements gob.GobDecoder interface.
func (s *ScalableBloomFilter) GobDecode(data []byte) error {
	buf := bytes.NewBuffer(data)
	_, err := s.ReadFrom(buf)

	return err
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Kakostauropus glaucoviridis är en fjärilsart som beskrevs av Rothschild 1917. Kakostauropus glaucoviridis ingår i släktet Kakostauropus och familjen tandspinnare. Inga underarter finns listade i Catalogue of Life.

Källor

Tandspinnare
glaucoviridis

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Dear Brother: When the Walls Fell
June 4, 2021 Scott Anime Reviews 4 comments
Well, it's time to discuss this Dezaki directed anime adaptation of Riyoko Ikeda's Girl's Love manga from years ago. You know, pretty much the same crew and creator combination as the second half of Rose of Versailles a decade and some change before it. This was a watch that I enjoyed weeks on end, in not a bad way considering that this show is 39 episodes, on Jon Spencer's discord server every other Friday for the past who knows how long with Jon himself, K, Moya, and a couple others who aren't bloggers. We did pass along some jokes and observations here and there about the cast and show itself, but I think all of us had a good time. For me, it hit really hard at the end. This is part one of my own write up of Dear Brother. This will be the review portion, which I will spoil by saying that I loved it over all. The more personal writing coming from the series itself will be tomorrow.
Dear Brother is a series that takes place at an elite all-girl's high school named Seiren Academy. Entering her first year of high school with her energetic friend Tomoko, Nanako Misonoo's life changes in ways she never expects and it's all beyond her control. At this school, there are three brilliant and attractive figures which the general student body is enamored with called the Magnificent Three. Those being Prince Kaoru who is the very tall, masculine, and endlessly charismatic star basketball player, the mysterious Saint-Just or Rei Asaka who is very aloof, attractive, and loves to play the piano, and lastly there is the ever intelligent, attractive, and controlling Fukiko Ichinomiya that is head of the sorority at school. It's the sorority that causes endless amounts of drama. With Mariko forcing her friendship with Nanako, all the pieces set in place.
Rei and Tomoko
To me, the best part of Dear Brother is how the plot explains itself. I already described almost every single important plot point or element in the story in the last paragraph. You know, other than two things and it just works because the character writing is generally solid. The story just follows the school year with all sorts of events happening and the characters interacting with each event. I feel like this could be easily called or at least argued to be called a slice of life anime because of this fact. The drama from the weight of the sorority carries a lot of tension because of how much pressure they put on Seiren Academy with the groups own sense of entitlement and elitism. It causes trouble in the classroom with Nanako since she was a chosen person along with her new friend Mariko, it causes pressure on Nanako's relationship with Tomoko as Tomoko feels left out at first, and it strains the relationship with the Magnificent Three until it eventually reaks.
So, what parts did I leave out? Well, Dear Brother is called Dear Brother because it revolves around the letters Nanako sends to her supposed older brother. Ok, the show isn't subtle about this but Nanako calls this person her older brother and it eventually turns out to be true. Other characters discuss this fact earlier on so that's not a spoiler. The other thing is how this show is centered on different sorts of triangles of people. The first is obviously the Magnicent Three with Fukiko having a very oppressed relationship with Rei who is Fukiko's half-sister while Kaoru is the outsider and the most mature/fair/good person of the group trying to keep Rei happy and alive. Kaoru has a lot of experience on why she sees everything in such an adult manner. The second one is Nanako as the innocent (and somewhat idiotic) girl that is everyone in the show's morality pet like Rei is, Mariko who is very much like Fukiko only lesser in her jealous, and Tomoko at the even headed outsider with very good and adult advice because Tomoko is best girl. The two groups also collide through the sorority and how they meet up.
Nanako vs Fukiko
That undying tension between the sorority members, people who want to be sorority members, the three in each group clashing with each other in complicated ways, and the threes attacking and interacting with each other causes an endless amount of complicated drama. It's a very slow-moving series that is set and built up with the OMG powerful drama hits you in the face and it works to create a very powerful formula that draws the watcher in every episode to see what kind of tension can happen next. The tension is very real as well. Ok, some of it is ridiculous because it involves the throwing of school kids in earlier episodes. But there are actual life-threatening pieces of drama that come from pettiness and hate and that in itself is realistic.
In the end, the drama lessens itself in a way that works natural for the story presented in one of the most soul crushing (at least for me) ways. It's a story that seemingly resolves itself through a lot more thoughtfulness after discovering how horrible some characters act towards each other. That mainly comes from the absolving of the sorority itself which symbolized all the tension in the first place. Dear Brother is not a subtle show at all, but it feels natural regardless. It's very easy to understand why characters are the way they are in ways that make sense. A lot of these characters are heavily flawed with back stories that can be cliché but clichés happen for a reason sometimes. Besides, if something is executed well enough then it doesn't matter if it's been done before or not. The world in the show can be a lot smaller then we all realize sometimes and Dear Brother embodies that to a T but in a good way. This is also a very queer show with gay drama and love that never lands completely either sadly. Well, that's the early 90's I suppose.
One of the shows strengths, and sometimes weakness, is how remarkably efficient Dear Brother is in terms of art and animation. This is Dezaki we are talking about and he is a master at limited animation. The art and shot direction literally changes the scope of the show. I really like the show's character designs especially since half of them feel like they came out of Rose of Versailles and those are good character designs. You know, even if they look 10 years old then they actually are, which I guess is like a lot of live action school dramas. There is a good joining here that creates a good tone of the show. The art is very gothic and stunning. At a lot of moments, it is possible to forget that Dear Brother takes place in the late 80's and early 90's without seeing a train, people driving around in cars or walking on side walks, or actual working telephones that characters talk to each other. There is plenty of Dezaki 3-peats and stock footage along the way as well. When movement happens, it means something. Something traumatic, something happy, or whatever is in between. That's how refined and touched up the series is.
Dear Brother is a such an excellent and classic show. Definitely a solid for me which led me to buying it on blu-ray. Watching it was truly a charming ordeal because it is so cool watching yet another classic piece of anime history and seeing that it's good. If anything, Dear Brother's adaptation must have changed or influenced a lot of the anime landscape of 90's anime because of its influence during that time period including Utena, Gundam Wing, and who knows what else. Heck, the name Rei Asaka is telling me that Hideaki Anno must have used her name on purpose in Eva to create two characters. Besides some issues with some of its points of view and understanding somewhere which can be a problem or for some people, it's length and the pacing of its episode sometimes, but the experience is good, sad, happy, and whatever it needs to be. In genera land very human. I couldn't help but recommend this series. It's on Retrocrush right now and has a blu-ray available on rightstuf right now. Thanks for reading and can't wait to talk about Dear Brother in more detail in the post you will read tomorrow!
Anime ReviewDear BrotherRightstuf
Previous Post: Love Live! Nijigasaki High School Idol Club Season 1: What if Solo Idols?
Next Post: How Watching Dear Brother Can Hurt You
The new layout is very good Scott. It's so easy to read! Also, your review was good too 😉
Thanks! It took a lot longer then I thought it would try find this one and glad you enjoyed it 🙂
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Pandora is personalized internet radio that is designed to help you discover new music that you'll love mixed in with music that you already know. With the MVH-S310BT, you can enjoy superior sound quality and full control of the Pandora experience in your car directly from the touchscreen display of the receiver. You are able to give tracks "thumbs up" or "thumbs down," bookmark a song so you can purchase it later, easily switch between your personalized radio stations, and view full track data and album art.
Compatible with Apple iOS, as well as Android devices that support the Bluetooth Serial Port Profile (SPP). Simply download the free Pandora Radio app to your iPhone or Android device, connect to the MVH-S310BT and take your music to the next level.
in the vehicle much more convenient. The MVH-S310BT features Bluetooth Hands Free Profile 1.6 including Wideband Speech capability, which improves the sound quality of phone calls by offering double the frequency bandwidth (when compared to calls without Wideband Speech)**.
The MVH-S310BT features buttons such as Navi, BASS Boost and a Rotary knob that are optimized with the Pioneer Smart Sync App.
Users of Android devices running operating system 4.0 or later can connect and listen to music stored on their device to the MVH-S310BT without the need for an app. The process is made possible using Media Transfer Protocol (MTP). MTP allows the receiver to recognize the Android smartphone as a music storage device. Users can now access music via USB stored on an Android device and operate basic operations like FF, REW, Play, Pause, Random Play, and Repeat. Metadata information such as track, artist, and album name can be displayed.


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Jeffrey Reid Williams
On Thursday, September 5, 2019, Jeffrey "Reid" Williams, cherished and loved son, grandson, brother, husband and father, passed away at the age of 32. Reid was born on March 16, 1987 in Tulsa, OK to Jeff and Sue Ann Williams. He... View Obituary & Service Information
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These Instagram models are way, way younger than you think they are
Mar 17, 2018 @ 10:00 am By Sarah Torkornoo
Some of your favorite Insta personalities may be eight or even ten years younger than you and you wouldn't even know it. I'm not sure whether reading this list of deceptively young people is supposed to make you feel older or younger, but prepare to have your mind blown regardless.
READ ALSO: How this Instagram-famous couple makes their open relationship work
Suede Brooks, 17
Suede Brooks isn't just an Insta model, she's a model model. And between her thriving YouTube channel and her huge Instagram presence, she's definitely one to watch out for. She's picking up a lot of speed and is already signed with NEXT management. The gag? She's only 17. That is, younger than Madison Beer, Maggie Lindemann, James Charles, etc. Wild.
i just know i'm gonna get over this long hair fast ♀ what should my next hairstyle be? dark? short? platinum?
A post shared by SUEDE (@suedebrooks) on Mar 13, 2018 at 11:45am PDT
Cindy Kimberly, 19
what's ur fav beach in the world
A post shared by Cindy Kimberly (@wolfiecindy) on May 13, 2017 at 9:32am PDT
Cindy Kimberly, or "Wolfie Cindy" as her Instagram followers have come to know her, is a signed model whose face took the internet by storm when Justin Bieber posted a photo of her on his feed demanding to know who she was: and the rest is history. Now, she's in a long-term relationship with also-model Neels Visser. I doubt you'd guess Cindy is only 19, the same age as Shawn Mendes and younger than Becky G. Is that crazy to anyone else?
Faith Schroder, 16
Thank you so much @frankiesbikinis and @francescaaiello for having me at your amazing show
A post shared by Faith Schroder (@faithschroder) on Jul 23, 2017 at 11:57am PDT
Faith Schroder is the younger sister of Cambrie Shroder. The two starred on the show "Growing Up Supermodel" together about, well… yeah. Aside from her modeling work, she's built up a huge platform on her Instagram page of 214k followers. Faith's age, you ask? 16.
Sophia Mitchell, 16
"He's coming! Act natural"  comment your most embarrassing situation in front of your crush ❤
A post shared by Sophia Mitchell (@sophia_mitch) on Feb 21, 2018 at 11:10am PST
And on that same note… I remember seeing photos of Sophia Mitchell around on my explore page now and again and noting just how great her makeup was, etc. Eventually my little sister was like, "Yeah, it's crazy that she's younger than I am." I replied with "that's impossible" because it was, except it wasn't. Sophia Mitch is also 16.
Sonia Ben Ammar, 19
We're after the same rainbow's end
A post shared by SONIA (@itsnotsonia) on Mar 13, 2018 at 1:36pm PDT
Sonia Ben Ammar, or Itsnotsonia on Instagram, is a French model sometimes noted for her relationship with Brooklyn Beckham (pre-Chloe Moretz, of course). Her striking features always led me to assume that she was 24 or 25, but apparently she's only 19, which is news to me.
Charlotte Lawrence, 17
& more sea breeze
A post shared by Charlotte Lawrence (@charlotteslawrence) on Dec 2, 2017 at 10:51am PST
Charlotte Lawrence isn't just popping on IG, she's also an up and coming musician with singles out like "Just the Same" and "Sleep Talking". I don't think I'm alone in saying that I always sort of thought she was like twenty or so (twenty always seems like a safe bet) but really she's 17. That's like almost ten years younger than Justin Bieber. Moving on…
Leo Mandella, 15
Sat On A – Cold Wall * ☃
A post shared by Leo Mandella (@gullyguyleo) on Jan 7, 2018 at 4:30am PST
Leo Mandella is a street style aficionado that's already racked up some serious cred, both in street style in high fashion alike. He's recognized personally by the likes of Virgil Abloh and Luka Sabbat, and calls Tyler the Creator a close personal friend of his. Same to all of that, except I'm not 15. Yes, you read that right.
Semsi Salvino, 13
History getting hard?
A post shared by Semsi Salvino (@semsithepathfinder) on Mar 11, 2018 at 9:47am PDT
Semsi Salvino is another street style figure to watch. He's always dripping in the latest releases, drops, and collaborations. Though it's clear that Salvino is young, we would never have guessed he'd be this young. He's literally almost not old enough to see The Avengers in theaters without a legal guardian, and yet has somehow obtained the Nike Off-White sneaker collaboration pre-release. Gotcha.
Sophia Birlem, 13
why so mad soph ?
A post shared by soph (@sophiabbirlem) on Dec 29, 2017 at 9:27pm PST
Speaking of 13-year-olds! Sophia Birlem is an IG sensation that rose to fame after her (slightly) older brother got big on YouTube. She now has a platform of her own, boasting over 160k followers.
READ ALSO: When Danielle Mareka isn't modeling, she's organizing for Planned Parenthood
Gimme More POP
Love Bailey Released a Trans Power Anthem In Honor of Pride Month
In honor of Pride month, one of our fave queer artists, Love Bailey,released "Shenis," a song that she wrote to serve as the first trans-pride anthem, and an anthem for empowered women around the world. With lyrics like "never settle for second best" & "don't let anyone judge you for the sum of your parts,"
Christina Aguilera Is Getting Back To Her Roots
The genie is out of the bottle, baby. We couldn't think of anyone better to steal the spotlight on the cover of our Icon issue than our favorite Dirrty girl. Not only is Christina Aguilera the ultimate Galore Girl, she's the pop star that opened so many of our readers' eyes to girl power, sexual
Kim Petras Is Ready For Her Next Chapter
May 13, 2019 @ 1:30 pm Ashley Uzer
Kim Petras is making pop music great again. From her Paris Hilton-approved breakout hit, "I Don't Want It At All," to her Halloween-themed mixtape—all complete with camp-y music videos—it's no wonder Kim has throngs of people who seriously stan her (and tons more who love blasting her tracks while cruising down the freeway or getting
A Face Lotion That Smells Like Donuts + 5 Other Things I'm Obsessing Over This Week
Hello! Welcome to my new lil' consumerist column where I'll be highlighting all the things I've been obsessed with this week — be it a thotty crop top, a life-changing hair mask, a workout class that's actually fun, or a book that you should totally pre-order. I'm looking forward to sharing all my fun finds


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Angel Charity for Children announces 2019 beneficiaries
February 27, 2019 10:15 pm Matt Benz Local News
TUCSON- The Angel Charity for Children made its selection of beneficiaries for 2019 Wednesday afternoon.
The two large agencies chosen were Children's Clinic and TRAK, known as Therapeutic Ranch for Animals and Kids.
"I'm so excited, today is the best day ever," said Gemma Thomas, the Chief Administrative Officer for Children's Clinics. "We are thrilled to partner with Angel Charity for Children to build the Angel Charity Center for Care at Children's Clinics."
Thomas said that this center will take care of more than 7,000 of Tucson's most ill children.
As for TRAK, Angel Charity is funding a program that provides animal-assisted life skills.
"It takes children in our community who may have autism or different issues, and it helps provide therapy for them using horses and other animals at the ranch," said Melissa Almquist with the Angel Charity for Children.
"We are very grateful,," said Scott Tilley with TRAK. "We very look forward to this collaboration with them."
Angel Charity will raise $160,000 for a handful of small agencies previously announced and more than $800,000 for the agencies selected Wednesday.
If you want to help and donate to these organizations, click here.
Matt Benz


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About Emergent
Why Investors Should Focus on Risk Management
The cannabis industry is and has been for decades an incredibly high-risk business, but that hasn't been enough to keep investors away as regional medical and recreational programs are instituted around the country. While any investor in the space should know that returns cannot be guaranteed and laws regulating the business they are about to fund are subject to the whims of legislators, there are valuable routes to mitigate the risks of the legal market.
Areas of risk management that are often overlooked by investors and business owners are cyber protection, patent litigation and business disruption coverage, all of which could take a burgeoning cannabis company out and leave investors holding the bag.
"Risk management is all about the appraisal of the risks and opportunities associated with the business, or a subset of the business, and looking to see what sort of risk mitigation processes and hedges you can put in place to protect that asset," says Al Fine, director of risk management at Emergent Risk.
Fine works with cannabis industry clients to customize solutions that meet the business's risk management needs. Risk management is especially important in the cannabis space because businesses that fail to protect the core business value are particularly vulnerable in this highly competitive landscape.
"In some cases you will find there are risks inherent to the business and there really isn't much you do, but at least all the stakeholders, including investors, know that risk up front and have made the conscious decision to move forward. The question then becomes one of what is your risk tolerance, as an investor?" Fine asks.
While he says there are no one-size-fits all solutions for all businesses operating in the cannabis space, working with a risk manager will help the business determine, at its size, what an acceptable amount of risk is and what sort of risk management measures are essential.
One of the most valuable assets a business has, especially in the cannabis space, is its intellectual property. Identifying and securing protections is a good first step in mitigating the risk of the business's core value and branding being lost or stolen to copycats, patent trolls, competitors or even disgruntled former employees.
Fine says businesses should protect these physical assets well in addition to legal protections; maintain seed stock in multiple places in case of fire and make sure trade secrets absolutely remain a secret.
"Don't go out on the Internet and Facebook talking about stuff without putting adequate protections in place," Fine says.
Get Ahead of Cyber Liability
"If a CEO or the venture capital group has a mindset right out of the gate of investing in security tools as a business practice, all levels of the organization will be more secure and reduce their cyber liability. The challenge is when a business thinks of their IT as an …operational overhead to be minimized, that's where we see compromises that lead to individual issues," says Robert Gillette.
Gillette is an IT specialist with Berkeley, California-based Endsight, an outsourced IT provider that currently works with hundreds of businesses in the Bay Area, including some in the cannabis industry. Endsight works with clients of Emergent Risk to properly protect digital business assets.
According to Martin Fox-Foster, Director of Claims at Emergent Risk, the cannabis industry is "woefully underinsured" when it comes to cyber liability.
"Not enough companies are purchasing cyber insurance. Simple as that. They either don't think about it, treat it as a luxury or have never been educated by their broker on it. Cyber coverage will respond to a breach of data, a ransomware attack, a breach of payment card industry data and phishing scams," Fox-Foster says.
Fox-Foster points out that large cannabis companies have already experienced breaches in cyber security, including delivery service Eaze and seed-to-sale tracking and point-of-sale software company MJ Freeway, which has been breached twice.
Fox-Foster suggests implementing a defensive IT strategy to protect the company from breaches, but more importantly, purchasing an insurance policy that can cover legal costs and business interruption costs that could incur due to a breach.
"Not enough companies are taking cyber security seriously. For those that do, they aren't considering insurance despite the fact there is broad coverage with minimal cost. Cannabis businesses could fall victim to numerous breaches and need brokers that understand placing good coverage and providing risk management beyond this," he said.
There are two core insurance policies, enforcement and defense, that mitigate the risk of a business being bankrupted by litigation costs to enforce a patent owned by the company or protecting the company from costly litigation if they infringe on a patent, even unknowingly.
Enforcement policies reimburse litigation expenses to help the policyholder enforce intellectual property rights in the form of trademarks, patents, copyrights and trade secrets. Enforcement policies level the playing field by deterring frivolous infringement and helping the policyholder get through the litigation on the merits of the case not on who has the deeper pockets. It reduces the pressure to settle a case and the risk of entering into undesirable licensing agreements with an infringing party from the position of financial weakness.
"Litigation is expensive and many don't have the funds to hire litigating attorneys to help them protect their IP rights. $2.8 million [the average cost of litigation in a patent suit] is really eye opening, and very difficult for a small and midsize company to sustain," says Gil Shaheen, vice president of sales and marketing at Kentucky-based Intellectual Property Insurance Services Corporation (IPISC), which works closely with Emergent Risk to provide patent-litigation coverage
He says in addition to enforcement policies, investors should look to companies that also have defensive policies, if appropriate. A defensive policy will cover any entity that makes, uses or sells, offers for sale or affords product services and commerce if they are taken to court for infringement.
Mitigating Risk is Just Good Business
"Risk Management is really an important aspect of the tactical and strategic planning as you move forward. [Cannabis businesses] need a professional team to sit down with and help them understand what their obligations are when it comes to compliance and what the investors are requiring as far as financial stability and security," Fine concludes.
Kirk Miller
Kirk is a proven compliance, risk analysis and business strategy leader with more than 20 years of cannabis consulting and insurance industry experience.
You've worked hard. Don't lose your business because of bad insurance.
Tell us a little bit about your business, and one of our brokers will be in touch right away.
Your Type of Business Your Type of BusinessAgricultureManufacturingDistributionRetail
Number of Employees Number of Employees1 - 56 - 1011 - 5050+
Thanks for contacting Emergent—we'll be in touch shortly. Only the nerdiest among us would likely say that insurance is fun, but we'll make this process as smooth as we can, so you can get back out there and change the world. Onward!
hello@emergentrisk.com
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Signed shifts are generalizations of the shift map in which, interpreted as a map from the unit interval to itself sending x to the fractional part of Nx, some slopes are allowed to be negative. Permutations realized by the relative order of the elements in the orbits of these maps have been studied recently by Amigo, Archer and Elizalde. In this paper, we give a complete characterization of the permutations (also called patterns) realized by signed shifts. In the case of the negative shift, which is the signed shift having only negative slopes, we use the characterization to give an exact enumeration of these patterns. Finally, we improve the best-known bounds for the number of patterns realized by the tent map, and calculate the topological entropy of signed shifts using these combinatorial methods.
Link: Characterizations and Enumerations of Patterns of Signed Shifts.
Permutation entropy has become a standard tool for time series analysis that exploits the temporal properties of these data sets. Many current applications use an approach based on Shannon entropy, which implicitly assumes an underlying uniform distribution of patterns. In this paper, we analyze random walk null models for time series and determine the corresponding permutation distributions. These new techniques allow us to explicitly describe the behavior of real-world data in terms of more complex generative processes. Additionally, building on recent results of Martinez, we define a validation measure that allows us to determine when a random walk is an appropriate model for a time series. We demonstrate the usefulness of our methods using empirical data drawn from a variety of fields.
Link: Random Walk Null Models for Time Series Data.
Given a function from a linearly ordered set to itself, we say that a permutation is an allowed pattern of if the relative order of the first n iterates of f beginning at some is given by . We give a characterization of the allowed patterns of signed shifts in terms of monotone runs of a certain transformation of , which completes and simplifies the original characterization given by Amigó. Signed shifts, which are generalizations of the shift map where some slopes are allowed to be negative, are particularly well-suited to a combinatorial analysis. In the special case where all the slopes are negative, we give an exact formula for the number of allowed patterns. Finally, we obtain a combinatorial derivation of the topological entropy of signed shifts.
Given a -shift is the transformation from the unit interval to itself that maps to the fractional part of . Permutations realized by the relative order of the elements in the orbits of these maps have been studied for positive integer values of and for real values >. In both cases, a combinatorial description of the smallest positive value of needed to realize a permutation is provided. In this paper we extend these results to the case of the negative , both in the integer and in the real case. Negative -shifts are related to digital expansions with negative real bases, studied by Ito and Sadahiro, and Liao and Steiner.
Link: Patterns of Negative Shifts and Beta-Shifts.


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Galveston:409-515-6176 Central Texas:254-699-9999
A Winning Team For Your Legal Needs
Police lineup reform in Texas
On behalf of Criss & Rousseau Law Firm LLP posted in criminal defense on Thursday, August 2, 2018.
The methods used by police departments in Texas during eyewitness lineups were changed when the state's Code of Criminal Procedure was amended in 2015. Texas is one of 25 states to change the way lineups are conducted in the wake of research revealing that eyewitness misidentifications were often primary pieces of evidence when criminal suspects are wrongfully convicted. In one such study, the Innocence Project discovered that eyewitness misidentifications were a key factor in 71 percent of 350 wrongful convictions overturned by post-conviction DNA evidence.
Under the revised Code of Criminal Procedure, police departments in Texas must conduct what are known as double-blind eyewitness lineups. This means that neither the witness nor the independent administrator assisting them knows who the suspect is or whether or not there even is a suspect. The independent administrator must also not be an officer assigned to the ongoing investigation.
Texas law also requires police to make video recordings of photo arrays or eyewitness lineups whenever possible. Video recordings allow judges, prosecutors and criminal defense attorneys to better understand how confident or reluctant witnesses were when they identified suspects. This rule was introduced because hesitant witnesses may seem assured and confident after being prepared by a skilled prosecutor, and research has revealed that juries find this kind of evidence extremely persuasive.
Video recordings of eyewitness identifications may be of great interest to experienced defense attorneys, and this could be especially true when defendants and witnesses are different races or prosecutors have little in the way of physical or forensic evidence to back them up. Numerous studies have drawn attention to the unreliability of cross-racial identification, and attorneys may seek to have criminal charges reduced or dismissed when prosecutors rely heavily on this type of evidence.
Source: The Texas Legislature, Code of Criminal Procedure- Chapter 38. Evidence in Criminal Actions
Related Posts: Study reveals police tunnel vision in high-profile cases, Even confident eyewitness testimony may be unreliable, Texas has a strict exculpatory evidence law, Over 100 arrested at latest Jeep "Go Topless" event
Veterans Disability (6)
No dependable research shows that SCAN works
About 200,000 Americans die each year because of medical errors
Distracted drivers pose a risk on the road
People may not be as objective as they think
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The numbers are in for our first annual K-12 IT salary survey. While budgeting frustrations hamper much of IT's work, there's also a sense that the work they're undertaking is important.
$63,776. That's the average annual pay for an IT professional of any rank, type of school or district or years of experience in this salary survey. Whether that sounds low to you or high, keep reading. As we've learned from hundreds of K-12 IT people who have shared details of their jobs, there's more to your work than a single number.
Because this is the first year that THE Journal has developed a salary survey, we lack a baseline against which to compare this year's numbers. (That will come next year.) So we hope you'll weigh in to let us know how close to the mark we came for your own salary and the other job measurements covered in this report.
The average weighted IT salary in K-12 didn't vary much between public and private schools. At $63,824, public schools won by a nose against private schools at $63,634. The median (that point that falls exactly between the highest and lowest salaries) was $60,000 for both types of schools.
Wide variations showed up in average salaries based not just on job title but also type of school — public versus private. For example, the highest compensated title in our survey was CIO. The average weighted salary for a CIO at a private school came in at $125,000. It was $98,889 in public school systems, a 21 percent difference. Likewise, a project manager in a public district earned a weighted average salary of $81,136; the same role in a private school earned $56,900 — 30 percent less.
The highest salary reported in our survey was $190,000, earned by an IT director at a public district in Indiana. The lowest salary came in at $15,000, recounted by a computer lab manager in New York and a help desk person in Kentucky, both at elementary schools.
To put those incomes into perspective, the average salary for a network administrator within any industry — not just education — was $79,770, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics reporting for May 2014. If that sounds high to you, keep in mind that the average annual wage for elementary and middle school teachers (arguably the most vital people in any school) in that same reporting period was $57,080. A secondary school teacher earned $59,180 on average. Both of those are less than the reported average in our survey.
Most respondents (53 percent) have worked in IT for more than 11 years in both public and private schools. A third of people have been on the job between 11 and 20 years. One in 10 has been in IT for two years or less.
Because some individuals have worked at their current schools longer than they've worked in IT, we interpret that to mean that they've taken on IT responsibilities along the way. For example, while 78 percent of individuals have been at their current private schools for between three and 20 years, only 70 percent have been in IT for that same period. In public schools, 73 percent have worked for the same employer for between three and 20 years; but 69 percent have been in IT for the same duration.
While most people (58 percent) working in private school IT said they expected to get a raise in the next 12 months, it's just the opposite at public schools, where only 45 percent anticipate a bump in pay.
"My salary has been frozen for seven years," noted an IT manager in a public primary and secondary school system in Michigan.
A similar sentiment was expressed by an IT manager in a combined public school system in the south: "No raises in Georgia for the last five-plus years, and furlough days due to budget cuts mean I actually make less than I did four years ago."
Also, respondents were overwhelmingly pessimistic about their prospects for advancement in 2016. Only 5 percent of IT people in public schools and 9 percent in private schools predicted a promotion over the next year.
As a technical support specialist for a public high school in Washington asserted, "The issue with IT jobs in schools is there is no opportunity [for] advancement and no increase in pay without advancement. Thus, I make the same now as I did 20 years ago." On top of that, this IT professional added, staff is supervised "by individuals who have no idea of job scope, detail, tasks or really anything else. [It] makes it very difficult when they do not have any clear vision for hiring, hours, overtime, etc. They just want it all to work, period."
In spite of the woes, it should be noted that by and large this isn't a group looking for greener pastures. In public schools 81 percent of people expect to stay put for the next 12 months; in private schools the count is even higher — 86 percent.
"Things are very tight and understaffed; so while demand is high, that is not translating into more jobs, more pay or [a] better work environment," asserted a project manager in a public high school in Iowa. "On the flip side, I have a job, make decent money and there is not much threat of a lay-off; so that is good."
It may be that most people are staying put because they're fairly satisfied with the outlook for the future of IT in K-12. At public school systems, 56 percent of respondents said they expected either "healthy" or "unbridled" growth. Those in private schools are even more hopeful. There, 67 percent indicated they expect growth. A scant 7 percent of people from both kinds of schools foresaw a slow decline or "doom" in their futures.
Overall, those who earned less than the average IT salary were inclined to be a tad more optimistic about the future than those who earned more than the average salary; 62 percent of the former group forecast growth; for the latter group, the count was 56 percent. However, those earning $100,000 or higher were the most optimistic; 66 percent expected healthy or rampant growth.
Most people also were fairly happy with the top bosses; 54 percent of respondents were satisfied or very satisfied with the administrators or executives running their school or district operations.
"Enjoy coming to work every day!" declared a project manager in a public combined school system in Massachusetts.
But into every life a little rain must fall. For IT folks in K-12, the drizzle showed up in two areas: salary and department budgets. Thirty-one percent of respondents reported feeling unsatisfied or very unsatisfied with their salaries; 35 percent expressed the same feelings about the IT budget.
Budgetary restrictions are a continual source of vexation for an IT director in a public district in Iowa: "Technology budgets continue to be cut, but demands for integration continue to be pushed. I am forced to maintain more and more technology with less and less help. So the low priority items never get done."
"I love what I do, although I wish I could do more," noted another IT director in a combined public school system in Michigan. "The way we are funded, it doesn't leave much for being able to meet the state and federal requirements in addition to doing all that we need to do to just stay current."
Many respondents to the salary survey expressed frustration at having to tackle too much with too few resources. Summarized one media specialist at a public high school in California, "Bandwidth inadequate, [Internet service provider] not investing in solving access issues, admin and teachers not using tech tools to capacity, low skills, no money to train staff or invest in more bandwidth [or] better computers for students."
But underlying those sentiments was also a measure of recognition that the struggle was worthwhile and must continue for the sake of the kids IT serves. As a trainer in a North Carolina public high school summarized, "Biggest issue is determining where to spend limited funds to keep our students competitive."
"It's not for the money!" added a technology associate for a public elementary school in Florida. "We will never make the salary that is offered in the private sector. For those of us who are here long-term, it is a calling to work in public education."
THE Journal polled its readership in August and September of 2015. We put out an open invitation to IT professionals in education and incented them to participate with a $500 Amazon gift card as a prize for one randomly selected winner and promised confidentiality for respondents. The survey was advertised on thejournal.com and in newsletters and e-mail promotions to our subscriber list, and recipients were asked to encourage colleagues to participate as well.
We received 1,132 completed surveys. Responses were manually culled that were clearly false or inappropriate for the survey. (For example, several higher ed IT staffers responded to the poll; their answers were excluded, as were responses from faculty members and non-IT staff and administrators except those who held dual positions in technology. Those who responded with patently unrealistic salaries — which ranged from salaries as low as three digits to those beyond the highest-paid IT salaries on record for the United States — were also eliminated.
The final tally for qualified respondents was 736, of which 604 were from public institutions (124 elementary, 159 secondary, the remainder combined or district-level); 132 were from private institutions (19 elementary, 38 secondary, the remainder combined or district-level).
Vetted responses from qualified public and non-profit institutions were weighted by institution type to be representative of the nation as a whole based on data from the United States Department of Education.
Geographically, our respondents tracked very closely with ED's regional data for K-12 institutions (using census regions). New England: 5.46 percent; Mid Atlantic: 8.94 percent; East North Central: 22.35 percent; West North Central: 9.6 percent; South Atlantic: 21.36 percent; East South Central: 5.79 percent; West South Central: 12.09 percent; Mountain: 5.8 percent; and Pacific: 8.61 percent.
Student body size among our participants tended to be on the larger side than would be representative of the nation as a whole. The breakdown in student body size among vetted respondents was: 0-499: 21.9 percent; 500-999: 23.9 percent; 1,000-1,499: 12.2 percent; 1,500-1,999: 6 percent; 2,000-2,999: 6.5 percent; and 3,000 or more: 29.5 percent. There was a near-linear progression in overall unweighted average salaries based on institution size, with the smallest seeing the lowest overall salaries (with a low average of $52,149 for institutions in the 0-499 category) and the largest seeing the highest salaries ($76,121 for institutions with 3,000 or more students). The one category that bucked this trend was the 2,000-2,999 category, at an average of $64,706, a bit lower than the 1,500-1,999 category, which averaged $67,269.


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From Lil Wayne to Cardi B, Every Hip Hop Artist To Endorse Donald Trump Or Joe Biden
By Emma Nolan On 10/30/20 at 12:58 PM EDT
Culture 2020 Election Endorsements Joe Biden Donald Trump
With less than a week to go until the election, new endorsements for both candidates are continuing to come from high profile voices.
However, the hip hop world has been thrown into a state of political disarray as a number of prominent artists have controversially voiced their support for Donald Trump.
The latest rapper to cause a stir was Lil Wayne who posted a photo with the president Thursday in a move that was met with intense backlash and an endless wave of memes.
Offset and Cardi B at the Grammy Awards this past January. The pair filed for divorce in Georgia on Tuesday, after three years of marriage. Getty Images for the Recording Academy/Kevin Mazur
50 Cent, Ice Cube and Lil Pump have also backed the Republican candidate in what has been a tumultuous week of campaigning on both slides.
Democratic nominee Joe Biden large has most of Hollywood on his side—including a fair share of rappers.
Here are all the hip hop artists who have endorsed either Trump or Biden.
Biden endorsements
Cardi B has been a vocal Biden supporter since the former vice president announced his bid for the White House this year.
The "WAP" hitmaker took part in a virtual Elle interview with Biden in August where she stressed that getting "Trump out" is an election priority.
"I have a whole list of things that I want our next president to do for us. But first, I just want Trump out," the 28-year-old said.
Offset performed at a campaign event for Biden in Atlanta, GA this week.
The Migos rapper posted a photo with Biden to Instagram, captioned: "Go vote @joebiden .....@common & I performed his rally in Atlanta."
Common performed at the same event this week.
"We got Offset here," Common said on stage (via Billboard). "He been speaking up about voting for as long as I've known the man. I've got to say, it's just been touching my heart to hear his story, and hear what he's done."
Latin superstar Bad Bunny supported Biden's presidential campaign in ads targeting Latino communities in the battleground states of Florida, Arizona and Pennsylvania.
The ad featured the Puerto Rican rapper's hit "Pero Ya No."
Lil Wayne Endorsement of Donald Trump Prompts Flurry of Memes
Why Ice Cube Turned Down A Call with Kamala Harris
Every Celebrity Who Has Already Voted in 2020 Election
From Scott Baio to Dennis Quaid, These Celebrities Are Voting For Trump
This month, Sean 'Diddy' Combs endorse Biden during a conversation with Charlamagne Tha God on Revolt TV.
The music mogul also launched a political party called Our Black Party, with the goal of unifying African-Americans.
Snoop Dogg endorsed Biden during an appearance on Real 93.3's Big Boy's Neighbourhood.
"I ain't never voted a day in my life, but this year I think I'm going to get out and vote because I can't stand to see this punk in office one more year," he said of Donald Trump.
Jermaine Dupri, Ludacris, Jeezy, Monica
The Biden campaign recruited Ludacris, Monica, Jermaine Dupri and Jeezy to record Get Out The Vote ads to encourage Black voters in battleground states.
"It is really really important to make sure people don't sit at home," Dupri told The Hollywood Reporter. "There are a lot of people I know that are still on the fence about voting, period."
"If you've been out marching in these streets, exercise your rights. You now need to exercise your right to vote," Ludacris said in one of the ads.
A$AP Ferg performed at an 'I Will Vote' concert event last week in support of Biden.
A number of stars including Cher, Bon Jovi, the Black Eyed Peas, Dave Matthews, Ben Platt were also present.
Trump Endorsements
The Florida rapper, whose real name is Gazzy Garcia, took to Instagram on Sunday to give Trump his official endorsement, first posting a photoshopped picture of himself with the president. "THE DAY I MET TRUMP #trump202022020," he captioned the image.
The "Lollipop" hitmaker shared a photo of himself alongside Trump Thursday with the caption: "Just had a great meeting with @realdonaldtrump @potus besides what he's done so far with criminal reform, the platinum plan is going to give the community real ownership. He listened to what we had to say today and assured he will and can get it done."
Just had a great meeting with @realdonaldtrump @potus besides what he's done so far with criminal reform, the platinum plan is going to give the community real ownership. He listened to what we had to say today and assured he will and can get it done. 🤙🏾 pic.twitter.com/Q9c5k1yMWf
— Lil Wayne WEEZY F (@LilTunechi) October 29, 2020
50 Cent actually rescinded his endorsement of Trump, but the rapper made headlines last week when he tweeted to say he was voting for the Republican candidate.
👀a what, 😳another spin 💫Fu*k Donald Trump, I never liked him. 🤨for all I know he had me set up and had my friend Angel Fernandez killed but that's history. LOL @chelseahandler @jimmyfallon pic.twitter.com/Tya6EqDBFt
— 50cent (@50cent) October 25, 2020
On October 19, he tweeted a screenshot of a Fox News segment which depicted just how heavily people in California, New York City, New York State and New Jersey would be taxed under Biden's plan and wrote: "WHAT THE F***! (VOTE ForTRUMP) IM OUT, F*** NEW YORK The KNICKS never win anyway. I don't care Trump doesn't like black people 62 percent are you out of ya fucking mind."
In September, Tekashi 6ix9ine has said he would vote for Donald Trump in his first interview since being released from prison.
Speaking to the New York Times, he said: "I don't think Trump trolls," he said. "I think Trump is genuinely Trump. I get compared to Trump every day. But I love Mexican people. I don't think we're the same."
Earlier this month, Asian Doll posted tweet claiming that she rather vote for President Trump than "that other dude."
Asian Doll talks about her political opinions and Donald Trump pic.twitter.com/UMIf2aNKQn
— Female Rap Room (@FemaleRapRoom) October 12, 2020
Waka Flocka Flame shocked fans when he said he thought Trump was a better president than Barack Obama.
He posted on Instagram: "There are two types of people in this world: Those who resist change in favor of nostalgia and those who move with the times and create a better future."
An honorable mention has to go to Kanye West, who has been highly vocal about his support of Trump in the past and famously visited the president in the oval office.
However, West did not officially endorse anyone for the 2020 election because he is running on the ticket himself in a number of states following a controversial campaign.


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DOC area for Still wines. sparkling wines and sparkling wines in the two Italian regions Veneto (in the provinces of Belluno, Padova, Treviso, Venice and Vicenza) and Friuli-Venezia Giulia (in the provinces of Gorizia, Pordenone, Trieste and Udine). Prosecco was named UNESCO in 2019 in the "Cultural Landscape" category World Heritage appointed. The large area covers a total of 20,000 hectares of vineyards. Antonio is considered the founder of Prosecco sparkling wine Carpenè (1838-1902) in the 19th century. The former IGT area was highly qualified in 2009. At the same time, the former DOC area Conegliano-Valdobbiadene became the DOCG area Conegliano-Valdobbiadene Prosecco upgraded. The previously used Prosecco grape variety name is now protected by EU law only as designation of origin and no longer as a cultivar name. The Prosecco grape variety (Prosecco Tondo) is now called Glera, the Prosecco Lungo grape is now called Glera Lunga,
Prosecco = sparkling wine (sparkling wine) - this has always been wrongly accepted by many consumers. But still wine is also made from it. The part of the name "secco" has nothing to do with the Italian term for "dry". The far-reaching change decided by the Ministry of Agriculture in 2009 was aimed at making the battered image of the numerous marketed as Prosecco Frizzante and Spumante restore. The years of flooding in Germany Bottled discounter prosecco at dumping prices has now ended. It also eliminated the confusion that products outside the Prosecco area from other parts of Italy were also marketed as Prosecco.
The wines are made from at least 85% Glera (formerly Prosecco), as well as a maximum of 15% in any use of Bianchetta Trevigiana. Chardonnay. Glera Lunga (formerly Prosecco Lunga), Perera, Pinot Bianco ( Pinot Blanc ), Pinot Grigio ( Pinot gris ) Verdiso and white pressed Pinot Nero ( Pinot Noir ) pressed. There are the wine types Prosecco (Tranquillo = still wine), Prosecco Frizzante and Prosecco Spumante. The Spumante is produced in the flavors brut, extra dry, dry and demi-sec. If the spumante is generated using Metodo classico, the label the text "rifermentazione in bottiglia" ( bottle fermentation ) appear.
In the case of grape origin, processing and bottling in the province of Treviso, "Provincia di Treviso" or "Treviso" can be indicated. Bottling is only permitted in white or green glass bottles, which was previously prohibited in supermarkets in cans (within the EU this would also be possible for quality wines). Mostly after the Méthode charmat (Tank fermentation) sparkling wines produced are with around 30 million bottles annually after Asti Spumante Italy's second most sparkling wine produced in Piedmont.
Image: Consorzio Prosecco
Informations about "Prosecco DOCG" in Wein‑Plus Wine Guide


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The Modi phenomenon: Fading or being rekindled?
Pravin Sheth
• Arrest me if you have the guts, Modi tells PM
• Feeling the pulse of poll-bound Gujarat
• 'Modi is playing with people's emotions'
• 'Opposition to Modi has created a sympathy wave'
• 'For Modi, Muslims don't exist'
• Lesson from Gujarat: Development alone won't get votes
• Modi's gambit and the battles within
• Why Modi will score a big win again
• 'Modi has raised Gujarati parochialism'
• Coverage: Gujarat Votes, 2007
Get news updates: What's this?
No chief minister has been as dominant or as controversial in the national media and public psyche as Gujarat's Narendra Modi [Images].
None has created as much expectations or faced as many challenges as Modi.
Paradox is his trademark. He is a collage of multiple images -- inept pragmatist, Hindu fanatic, chief monster, can-do leader, dictator, development man, prime minister material, a menace to democracy, polarising and communal, CEO of Gujarat Inc.
Even for such a complex phenomenon that dominates Gujarat and engages the political discourse in India, one thing is clear -- Modi has evolved and is moving on an ascending escalator in his political life.
Modi has steadily risen from a modest family background with his disciplined nature and focused aim. His mother, Hiraba emphasises his firmness, self-reliant and independent nature.
Hiraba knew her son when she said of him: "If he faces obstacles, he would not give up or change his mind." And the son stated to this author," My mother does not wear a chappal that cost more than five rupees. The furniture in my house in my vatan (Vadnagar) is made mainly of plastic."
It is another matter that now he takes great care to turn out immaculately. His office in Gandhinagar, filled with hi-tech and expensive gadgets may sound an antonym to his protestations of simplicity.
Ideologically groomed in the Sangh ideology since he was a teenager, Modi was fond of talking about Swami Vivekanand and the 'integral humanism' of Deen Dayal Upadhyaya. His unusual organisational skills helped him rise fast in the Sangh Parivar, and the graduate to top positions in Bharatiya Janata Party. He was one of the architects of the party's victories in the 1995 and 1998 assembly polls. He was helped by his deep understanding of Gujarat's political sociology. But his abrasive style of dealing with his seniors in the party got him into trouble.
He was eased out of Gujarat by then chief minister Keshubhai Patel with BJP high command appointing him as the party general secretary. But he deftly used his political exile in New Delhi to demonstrate his competence by consolidating BJP position in the north Indian states.
Modi replaced Patel in the wake of the decline of BJP fortunes in local elections in Gujarat.
When he won the 2002 elections and finally became chief minister, his swearing in ceremony was distinguished by the presence of the prime minister A B Vajpayee and even chief ministers of non-BJP states. The event was telecast on a website which NRIs saw worldwide. It was more than symbolic, it indicated Modi's penchant for showmanship, and imaginative harnessing of technology for image building.
His rule since then has been constantly eventful and controversial. His authoritarian style that irked his party colleagues causing a nagging rebel factor that has embarrassed him in the current elections. His perceived arrogance and hubris-charged personality has alienated some sections of the Sangh Parivar.
Meanwhile, Modi has carved out his niche in hearts of Gujaratis, including its resourceful Diaspora, by his dynamism, resourcefulness as displayed in some breathtaking development projects and imaginative schemes. His personally clean image and initiatives to inculcate a new work culture in the state administration have helped. His imaginative adoption of the 'yellow' model of economic growth (taken from Eastern Tiger countries and revised to suit the imperatives of local conditions and India's democratic system), the imaginative introduction of SEZs and port-based development along with Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor are bound to make Gujarat a geo-economic power and create millions of jobs.
Meanwhile, it will be interesting to monitor his nimble-footed navigation between Hindutva and development as mediated by Gujarati pride and identity. Can we discern in him a subtle process of transformation from Hindutva-based leader to a development-oriented can-doer?
But all this requires a long gestation period for delivery of the benefits to citizens. Are people ready to wait for such a promised delivery? Does Modi have a critical mass, who feel they have received benefits of his development like water, electricity etc? Or will voters be influenced by the talk of his avid critics.
How far Modi has succeeded in neutralising the electoral politics of caste remains to be seen. (The Leuva Patels plus Kolis and a mix of farmers are against Modi's policies). It also remains to be seen if his strategic shifts around issues of development and Hindutva strike a resonant chord among the mainstream electorate.
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Cat's eye moonstone is a transparent to opaque variety of orthoclase feldspar known as moonstone, a potassium aluminum silicate that exibits the rare trait of chatoyancy. Chatoyancy is an optical phenomenon distinguished by a unique reflection of light that closely resembles the slit-eye of a cat. It is exceptionally rare and occurs only in a handful of different gems, which include cat's eye chrysoberyl, apatite, aquamarine and tourmaline. In addition to chatoyancy, cat's eye moonstone exhibits the optical trait of adularescence, which is what moonstone is best known for. Adularescence is best described as a milky sheen or glowing light which appears to come from below the surface of the stone.
Moonstone is the best-known gemstone quality potassium feldspar. Its name is owed to the almost magical, bluish-white shimmer that resembles that of the moon at night. The shimmer is the result of alternating layers of orthoclase and albite which causes interference of light as it enters the stone. The light is reflected back and scattered equally, resulting in a fantastic schiller. The resulting sheen most commonly occurs in white, blue or blue-orange color and it appears with the cat's eye reflection. The combination of adularescence and chatoyancy in a single stone is exceptionally rare. Top quality specimens can exhibit 'three-dimensional' depth of color due to moonstone's remarkable level of adularescence.
Cat's eye moonstone can be identified from other moonstone varieties by its chatoyancy. Since it is a potassium aluminum silicate, it can be easily identified through composition as well. Other gems with a similar appearance do not typically have the phenomenal presence of adularescence, which makes identification fairly easy. Testing for hardness is the easiest method to identify cat's eye moonstone from other similar materials. Most other materials are either harder (cat's eye quartz) or softer (cat's eye apatite).
Cat's eye moonstone is an extreme rarity, that occurs in the same mines as other varieties of moonstone. The most important deposits are sourced from Sri Lanka and India. Sri Lanka is most famous for its highly desirable bluish colored moonstone and India is the leading source for 'blue-sheen moonstone'. Other notable deposits include Australia, Brazil, Myanmar (Burma), Madagascar, Mexico, Norway, Switzerland, Tanzania and the United States.
Moonstone is typically colorless, but it can actually occur in a wide range of colors. It most often occurs with a silvery sheen and base body colors of gray, cream, mocha, brown, yellow, orange, green, pink, blue and white. The most desirable moonstones are those with a blue sheen and a white to colorless body color. Deep-blue moonstone is the most valuable.
Cat's eye moonstone typically occurs with translucent clarity when held to the light. Transparent specimens are most valuable. Cat's eye moonstone has an attractive vitreous to pearly luster. Some rare moonstone gems may exhibit asterism, and are known as star moonstone. Star moonstone is exceptionally rare and highly desirable.
Cat's eye moonstone is always cut en cabochon. Cabochons maximize the desirable effects of chatoyancy. The orientation of cut is also very important in order to maximize the effects of schiller and adularescence, so most stones are cut with high domes. Cat's eye moonstone is most often cut in ovals, since these shapes tend to preserve the most carat weight. Specimens with clear and distinct 'eyes' are considered most valuable.
Cat's eye moonstone is not treated or enhanced in any way. However, there have been reports of some brighter blue colored moonstones being coated for color-enhancement.
Cat's eye moonstone belongs to the large family of feldspar minerals. The feldspar minerals are the most abundant minerals on earth. In fact, approximately 60% of the Earth's crust is composed of feldspar, which means there are a variety of related gems and minerals. Feldspars are typically classified into two main gemstone groups: Potassium feldspars and plagioclase feldspars.
All varieties of moonstone are potassium feldspars. Other potassium feldspars include amazonite and orthoclase. There are also several gemstones that are often confused with moonstone based on appearance, including 'rainbow moonstone'. Rainbow moonstone is actually not a moonstone, rather, it is a variety of labradorite (plagioclase feldspar).
Moonstone, star moonstone, rainbow moonstone and sunstone are the most popular and well-known trade names used for similar or related gemstones.
Cat's eye moonstone shares the same legend, powers and energy as other varieties of moonstone. Few gemstones have accumulated as much lore as moonstone. Moonstone has been known and revered for thousands of years by many cultures. According to Hindu legend, moonstone was formed from moonbeams, and at one time it was believed that if you held one in your mouth during a full moon, you would see your future. In India, moonstone is regarded as a sacred stone and it is widely believed to bring good fortune. In Arab countries women often sew moonstone into their garments, because it's considered to promote fertility.
In ancient Rome, moonstone was associated with the moon and it was speculated that the gem was formed from drops of moonlight. The gemstones were believed to possess the properties traditionally associated with the moon, which include legend of romance, femininity, intuition, dreams, emotion and love. Moonstone is highly prized among lovers as it is thought to arouse tenderness and passion. Those who possess moonstone are thought to be able to foretell their future life together as a couple. Moonstone is the official birthstone for June. Moonstone is associated with the zodiac sign of Pisces. Physically, moonstone is thought to alleviate the symptoms and pain associated with headaches and common muscular backaches.
Cat's eye moonstone is not as hard as most other types of jewelry gemstones. Despite lack of durability, it remains one of the most popular gemstones for jewelry. In fact, moonstone has been worn as jewelry for centuries, dating back to ancient Greek and Roman civilizations.
Moonstone jewelry should be limited to protective-style jewelry designs, such as earrings, pendants, pins and brooches. Cat's eye moonstone can be worn as a ring, but care should be taken to prevent scratches and blows. The wearing of cat's eye moonstone rings should be limited only to occasional wear. Cat's eye moonstone is extremely sensitive to pressure, so care should be taken when setting stones. Cat's eyes are quite popular for both men and women. For men's designs, cat's eye moonstone is especially attractive as cufflinks and tie-tacks.
Cat's eye moonstone is not very hard compared to other more popular types of jewelry gems. Therefore, quite a bit of care should be taken to retain the beauty of your cat's eye moonstone gems and jewelry. Do not use any harsh chemicals or cleaners, such as bleach or sulfuric acid to clean your gems. Avoid the use of ultrasonic cleaners or steamers as well. To clean your gems, you can use a mild soap or detergent and simply wipe down your stones using a soft cloth. Be sure to rinse your gemstones and jewelry well with warm water to remove any soapy film and residue as this can dull the attractive luster of moonstone.
Moonstone is sensitive to pressure, so avoid extreme temperature and climatic fluctuations when possible. Do not set your gems in any type of tension-style mountings. Always remove jewelry before exercising, playing sports or performing household chores. When storing your cat's eye moonstone gems, store them separately from other types of gems and jewelry. If possible, wrap stones individually in a soft cloth, or place them inside a fabric-lined jewelry box.