The present dissertation introduces a new approach in the context of the generalization of statistical surfaces. The proposed method consists in a spatial filtering of irregularly shaped polygons. The objective of this approach is to overcome some known disadvantages of traditional generalization schemes and related visualization methods. Thus, this work will address both geographical and cartographic issues.
The polygon filtering method is adapted to statistical surfaces, which are very fundamental geographical phenomena widely handled by spatial research. Especially in the context of geographical information systems such surfaces are a common result of spatial modeling procedures. The increasing amount of detailed spatial information and the various analysis tools in these systems will strengthen the need for a flexible and automated treatment of statistical surfaces. One of the main objectives in this area is a reliable visualization after an adequate generalization.
The dominant type of statistical surfaces is based on irregular polygons. Whereas raster structures are usually smooth, these polygon-based models are of stepped nature. Each basic areal unit holds a common z-value - which is normally of high measurement level - for its whole territory. Related modeling operations include the interpolation of missing values and the estimation of different areal reference systems. For these purposes a variety of procedures has been developed, some of which have close relations to the proposed filtering method. Choropleth maps are the common cartographic visualization method for polygon-based discrete surfaces. Avoiding an unnecessary loss of information, we decided to use the unclassed variant of choropleth maps. Dasymetric maps would be a promising alternative, conceptual problems and the lack of automated models make them seldomly used.
Various problems incur both with statistical surfaces and choropleth maps. Beyond different sources of error introduced in the different stages of acquiring and preprocessing the information, the so-called modifiable areal unit problem, i.e. the dependence of the specific shape of the surface on size, shape, and location of the base map units, has considerable impacts on the accuracy of a specific surface model. Thus, raw surfaces are often affected by a considerable amount of erroneous information. Statistically, they must be considered as samples of an unknown population which should be approached by modeling operations. Additional statistical problems arise through the small-number-problem: The fine spatial and thematic resolution of the information leads to areal units which have such a small data weight that the realized z-value is normally very unreliable. In addition, the divergence between area and data weight of individual areal units leads to misinterpretations. This effect can be reduced - at the cost of perception problems - by the use of area cartograms. Nevertheless, the need for generalization is still evident.
Therefore, the generalization of the raw surface will be prerequisite to a meaningful visualization. This generalization must be a thematic, conceptual generalization, mere graphical treatment would lead to senseless results. Traditional approaches in this field are aggregations of the base map units to larger regions. Such regionalization procedures tend to reduce the negative effects of the fundamental problems mentioned without completely eliminating these shortcomings. In similar situations filtering methods are an often used strategy to smooth out such random noise. We can show that such a process can take into account the specific qualities of specific surfaces. Furthermore, traditional regionalizations can be viewed - and implemented - as a special case of polygon filtering using a filter with a particular neighborhood definition.
The empirical study uses the 3000 odd Swiss communes as geometrical base and different descriptor data sets. Because of their well-known statistical characteristics and widespread use we work with proportion data as z-values. With decreasing knowledge about the underlying population we use a) a mathematically computed surface (a cone), b) a surface with partially unreliable regions (percentage of commuters), c) a sample drawn from a reliable surface (votation results), and d) an unreliable surface with an assumed high spatial autocorrelation (the area of influence of a university, measured by the proportion of students choosing a specific university).
In order to evaluate the proposed method we have implemented an experimental system in which traditional methods, specific variants of our basic filter model and additional refinements can be tested - both visually by maps and quantitatively through various statistics. The basic filter is averaging the values of an areal unit and its neighbor polygons and is iteratively applied. First of all, the relative weight of the filtered area and its neighbors of first order (and eventually of higher order) have to be selected (topological weighting). Beyond the data weight the length of the common boundary between the filtered areal unit and its individual neighbors is being used (geometrical weighting). In this basic model different major components can be varied: a) The number of iterations is directly related to the degree of generalization. The progress of generalization continuously diminishes, but by an infinite number of applications the surface would degenerate into a plane; b) The kind of interaction between the examined area and its neighboring polygons: Either filtering based on the influence exerted by neighboring polygons is used or a Markov process modeling emigration from the examined areal unit into the neighborhood can be constructed. Both the sound conceptual base and the results of the latter makes it an interesting alternative; c) Use of different data weighting schemes; d) Definition of neighborhood: Besides the topological definition of neighborhood (neighbors of first and higher order) different variants may be used, e.g. a constant number of nearby areas, the nearest areal units containing a given number of individuals, or an exclusive use of adjacent polygons having a traffic link. For each of these options different variants are examined and compared to the results of the basic filter model; e) The topological weighting factors, which have an influence on the speed of generalization progression; f) The geometrical weighting scheme (e.g. distance or the length of the common boundary); g) Integration of accuracy information: If additional information on the reliability of the value of each individual areal unit is available it should be used to restrict the amount of change. The accuracy of the proportions can be estimated from statistical theory and the generalization constraints can be defined.
In a general conclusion we can state that in most cases the polygon filtering method - even in its simple form - leads to adequately generalized maps. Only few prerequisites are needed: the original values as well as the geometry and topology of the base map units. The method is robust and several parameters have only minor influence on the results. Based on the acquired knowledge about the behavior of a few relevant parameters - combined with visual evaluation - a system user will normally be able to achieve satisfactory cartographic results. Some shortcomings of traditional choropleth generalization are overcome and the resulting products are closely related to dasymetric maps. They might even be used as an analytical tool in spatial science. Future perception analysis could give additional reference to the usefulness of the proposed cartographic concept.
In der vorliegenden Arbeit wird mit der Polygonfilterung eine neuer Ansatz für die automatische Generalisierung von statistischen Oberflächen vorgeschlagen und evaluiert. Ziel dabei ist die Entwicklung eines zuverlässigen Verfahrens, das solche Oberflächen von feiner räumlicher und thematischer Auflösung adäquat für eine kleimnassstäbige kartographische Umsetzung aufbereitet.
Die in dieser Arbeit behandelten statistischen Oberflächen nehmen in der geographischen Forschung eine wichtige Stellung ein. Mit der zunehmenden Verbreitung von geographischen Informationssystemen, in denen räumliche Information gesammelt und bearbeitet wird, fallen derartige Oberflächen vermehrt als Resultate von Analysen an. Neben anderen Typen stellen dabei die polygonbezogenen Oberflächen die wichtigste Form dar. Diese werden in der Regel als Choroplethenkarten visualisiert: deren konzeptionelle Einfachheit und gute Lesbarkeit lassen andere Möglichkeiten (z.B. dreidimensionale Diagramme) deutlich in den Hintergrund treten.
Statistische Oberflächen mit Polygonbezug bzw. ihre kartographische Umsetzung sind mit verschiedenen Problemen behaftet. Aus einer geographischen Sicht betrachtet muss zunächst das modifiable areal unit problem angesprochen werden. Dieser Effekt führt dazu, dass die konkrete Ausprägung der Oberfläche in bezug auf die interne Gebietsaufteilung nicht invariant ist: Grösse, Lage, Form der Gebietseinheiten und die räumliche Variation dieser Merkmale beeinflussen das Resultat in einem nicht unwesentlichen Grad. Die Zuverlässigkeit der Einzelinformationen kann regional stark variieren, wobei vor allem bei räumlich fein aufgelösten Oberflächen das "Problem der kleinen Zahlen" hinzukommt: Der Variablenwert in einer einzelnen Gebietseinheit ist statistisch nicht gesichert und hat deshalb häufig eine sehr zufällige und auch extreme Ausprägung. Für eine kartographische Umsetzung derartiger Ausgangsinformationen ist deshalb eine Generalisierung unerlässlich. Als weitere Problematik kommt hinzu, dass die Daten- und Flächengewichte der einzelnen Gebiete nicht kongruent sind. Eine geometrische Transformation der Kartenbasis im Sinne einer mengentreuen Projektion (Kartogramm) kann für dieses Problem partiell Abhilfe schaffen, eine Generalisierung im Datenraum bleibt allerdings trotzdem unerlässlich.
Im Falle der statistischen Oberflächen würde eine rein graphische Generalisierung zu völlig falschen Resultaten führen; notwendig ist hier eine thematische Generalisierung, die das unterschiedliche Datengewicht der einzelnen Gebietseinheiten als wesentliche Komponente mitberücksichtigt. Das traditionelle Generalisierungsverfahren in diesem Bereich ist die Aggregation der Einzelgebiete zu grösseren Regionen. Eine solche Regionalisierung reduziert zwar durch ihren glättenden Effekt die Probleme mit den Gebieten von sehr kleinem Datengewicht und damit einer unzuverlässigen Variablenausprägung, die wesentlichen Effekte des modifiable areal unit problem werden dadurch aber nur abgeschwächt, nicht aber überwunden.
Ausgangspunkt für jede Generalisierung von statistischen Oberflächen ist zunächst die Grundannahme des Vorhandenseins von räumlicher Autokorrelation, welche es erst erlaubt, benachbarte Gebietseinheiten in der hier vorgeschlagenen Art miteinander in Beziehung zu setzen. Ein dazu geeignetes - und in ähnlichem Kontext erfolgreiches Verfahren ist die räumliche Filterung. Diese wurde bisher im zweidimensionalen Fall beinahe ausschliesslich in Rasterstrukturen eingesetzt, das Konzept wird hier für unregelmässige Polygone verallgemeinert. Mit einer solchen Polygonfilterung wird ein Vorschlag für eine allgemeinere Generalisierungsmethodik für statistische Oberflächen gemacht, die nicht nur die Regionalisierung als Spezialfall umfasst, sondern welche auch den spezifischen Eigenschaften einer Ausgangsoberfläche adäquater werden sollte.
Das aufgebaute System erlaubt es, den Generalisierungsprozess durch wenige Parameter zu steuern und weitgehend automatisiert ablaufen zu lassen. Im Unterschied zur in der Literatur bereits ausführlich untersuchten - Bearbeitung von Linien, bei denen normalerweise der geometrisch richtige Verlauf bekannt ist, ist hier die wahre Oberfläche (statistisch betrachtet die Grundgesamtheit) nicht bekannt: die konkret zu bearbeitende Oberfläche verhält sich deshalb als eine mögliche Realisierung (d.h. als Stichprobe) eines Zufallsprozesses. In diesem Kontext führt so die Generalisierung nicht zwangsläufig vom "Ideal" weg, vielmehr kann gezeigt werden, dass die resultierenden Oberflächen normalerweise den "wahren" bedeutend ähnlicher sind als die Ausgangsoberflächen. Konkrete geometrische Basis bilden die schweizerischen Gemeinden. Als z-Werte werden Proportionen verwendet, die bei statistischen Oberflächen eine dominante Stellung einnehmen und über deren Zuverlässigkeit statistisch eindeutige Aussagen gemacht werden können. Dabei werden verschiedene Datensätze untersucht, die sich im Grad des Wissens über die zugehörige Grundgesamtheit unterscheiden.
Der vorgeschlagene allgemeine Filter beruht auf einer iterativ angewendeten Mittelung der Variablenwerte einer Gebietseinheit und ihrer Nachbarn. Dabei werden verschiedene Komponenten modelliert: a) die Zahl der Iterationen als wichtigstes Steuerungselement für die Stärke der Generalisierung; b) die Art der Verknüpfung der Werte (ein Einfluss der Nachbarn auf das Zentrumsgebiet oder ein Markoff-Modell mit Migration aus dem zu bearbeitenden Gebiet in die Nachbarpolygone); c) die Gewichtung der beteiligten Gebietseinheiten aufgrund ihres Datengewichts; d) die Definition der Nachbarschaft (topologische Nachbarn erster und höherer Ordnung, eine feste Zahl der nächstgelegenen Gebietseinheiten, die nächsten Gebiete bis zu einem festgelegten Datengewicht, administrative Regionalisierungen); e) die geometrische Gewichtung der Nachbarn (z.B. Länge der gemeinsamen Grenze, Entfernung der Ortszentren); f) das "topologische" Gewichtungsverhältnis zwischen der zu filternden Gebietseinheit und ihren Nachbarn; g) Verfeinerung durch den Miteinbezug von Information über die Zuvedässigkeit der Ausgangswerte. Diese Varianten bzw. die entsprechenden Parameter werden ceteris paribus in ihrer Wirkung analysiert. Die Kontrolle der Resultate erfolgt einerseits quantitativ durch verschiedene statistische Masse, andererseits hilft die visuelle Evaluation mittels unklassierten Choroplethenkarten bei der Festlegung der Parameter, welche die spezifischen Eigenschaften der Generalisierung bzw. deren Stärke steuern. Um die Resultate in einen Kontext bringen zu können, werden die traditionellen Verfahren in gleicher Weise evaluiert.
Es zeigt sich, dass mit der Polygonfilterung eine Generalisierungsmethode entwickelt worden ist, mit der mit minimem Vorwissen (die Ausgangsdaten und ev. zugehörige Fehlerinformationen, Geometrie und Topologie der Gebietsaufteilung) auf einfache Art sehr brauchbare Ergebnisse erzielt werden können. Das Verfahren erweist sich zudem als sehr robust; verschiedene untersuchte Verfeinerungen beeinflussen die Resultate in geringerem Ausmass als angenommen, positive Auswirkungen können wohl vermutet aber nicht statistisch belegt werden. Mit Hilfe der Polygonfilterung wird eine neuartige Art von Karten erzielt, bei denen - durch ihre Nähe zu dasymetrischen Karten - wesentliche Unzulänglichkeiten traditionell generalisierter Choroplethenkarten überwunden sind. Sie dürften für die räumliche Forschung ein brauchbares Hilfsmittel sein; eine abschliessende Beurteilung wird allerdings erst möglich sein, wenn dieses Kartenmodell in verschiedenen Situationen eingesetzt worden ist und zusätzliche Untersuchungen zur Kartennutzung vorliegen.


Just got my Ultimaker 2 delivered via Fedex today and have started setting it up. When I looked on the SD card for the test robot, I only found the MiniCalTest.gcode. Any chance I can download the robot somewhere?
Also had no grease included in the box and the glass was not under the build platform, but was standing up inside the printer. Just glad it didn't get broken!
For the linear guide (X/Y), use all 40 to 60 hours of operation, sewing machine oil or gun oil, not WD40!
Exclusively the Z-axis Teflon containing grease is used. It is perhaps every three to five months once required a lot smaller than a pea.
The grease for the Z-axis and some tool is part of the delivery of your UM2. You can ask for a subsequent delivery via support ticket.
Welcome to the forum! As Markus suggests, sewing machine oil is good for lubricating the x and y axes, and the cross-rods through the head. The green grease that UM (should) include in the box is just for the z-screw - but in practice, it is very rarely needed.
I'm not sure why it is doing that since the only thing I did was reattach the gear and lock screw... I tried the factory reset and went through setup again, but the head still does not return to the home position after a print.
Any suggestions? Oh by the way Markus, the Robot was included with the Cura download. I just hadn't run the software yet to see it there.
The Z screw grease is in a very small, clear plastic tube. The grease is green so the tube is green. It should be in the same bag as a screwdriver, a roll of blue tape, and I forget what else. You probably won't need it for a year or so. The grease is *only* for the Z screw. Don't use it anywhere else.
Check if it works fine.
I forgot to mention it, Cura has thereby a robot. But I thought your SD card has only the "MiniCalTest.gcode". And that's why I gave you my entire SD card contents.
Thanks gr5, I went over the parts list (page 12) when I unpacked my Ulitimaker 2 and there was no grease, screwdriver or tape. According to the list, the grease was the only missing part so I'm guessing they no longer include the items you mentioned. I know I don't need the grease yet, I was just commenting on it missing from the package is all.
I am worried about the lack of thread lock on the set screws though... if they didn't use it on the material feeder gear, what are the chances that all of the other gears will eventually come loose as well? I am not looking forward to taking apart the machine to fix an oversight on their assembly process.
Markus, again thank you for the advice, but I have already been using the "Home head" feature and all it does is send the print head to the left of the printer, not to the back corner like it used to.
You should check all the pulley's are tight.
There is a lot of sensitivity necessary, these little headless screws tighten without destroying something on the threads.
So do not try to get something by force to hold!
Turn your machine off, and slide the print head to the left end position. You should have a click of the microswitch (end stop) to hear.
Slide the print head to the rearmost position. You should back a click of the second micro switch hear.
For the micro switch there are corresponding screws, so that the end stops can be set correctly. Also, the metal plates can be bent carefully.
It is important that trigger the end stops in time, so that the left side wall eg can not be scratched from the fan plate. And of course, the machine must be able to determine the exact home position.
I have had many problems when the machine arrived 3 weeks ago, but all have been resolved, that is until a couple of days ago when I starting having more problems with the feeder and the nozzle.... All of my problem have been fixed, the positive news it the machine is very easy to to fix and take appart if you are comfortable doing so... One thing I did notice as well is how many screws weren't tightened enough, borderline loose.
The good news is that all the prints so far have been really good and the UM2 has been pretty reliable.
The other good news is that I live in Pasadena, so if you have more problems you want help with, you can pm me and we can arrange to meet.
Very kind of you somewhereinla! I have built a Rostock max printer from a kit so I know what is involved, I am just upset that a kit that came pre-assembled at a higher cost could have overlooked these things. At some point I think I just might go through the entire printer and locktite all the important set screws. I am currently printing a little 3" figure on the low quality setting in PLA and am really pleased with the output. I will post images when I can.
The knurled sleeve in the extruder has a smaller set screw and a much thinner threaded section, so that can be a bit harder to tighten properly without stripping the threads. But the rest are pretty strong.


I tend to be behind the curve ball on many things. Netflix is one of them. We tried a Netflix subscription maybe fiveish years ago, and there just wasn't enough content at the time that interested us.
Then I turned to the experts: my Facebook friends, to find out what the hubbub is all about with Netflix, because sooooo many had "checked in" with what shows they're watching. I specifically asked if content had improved, because fiveish years ago the movies just weren't that spectacular.
I figure there must be something that makes it worthy of $8/month, because "birds of a feather …", right? My friends are just as tight frugal as I am.
The results were overwhelmingly favorable. Friend after friend commented with their favorite programming, such as Kathleen with "BBC shows!!!!" (see their recommendations at the bottom).
So, after all of those exclamation points, I decided to give it a whirl, because Netflix offers a free 30-day trial (even though I had tried it fiveish years ago, signing up for the free trial still worked for me).
Here's where my life got a lot easier, and this is a new XFINITY feature as of last fall: As a Comcast XFINITY subscriber, I could sign up for my Netflix trial through XFINITY on my TV.
Did you know that? If you already are a Comcast XFINITY subscriber, and you also subscribe to Netflix, you can access Netflix through your X1 remote. It's totally seamless!
I'll walk you through how to get started for your free trial of Netflix on XFINITY, if you're not already signed up for Netflix.
Apologies for the poor photo quality, I literally took pictures step by step going through the sign-up process on my TV.
Basic $7.99/month, video quality "basic" and only watch on 1 screen at a time.
Standard $9.99/month, HD enabled, 2 screens at a time.
Premium $11.99/month, Ultra HD enabled, 4 screens at a time.
Learn more about this XFINITY benefit here.
Raeann said "a bunch of Marvel shows" and named Daredevil, Luke Cage, Jessica Jones and Sense8.
She also said DC shows like Flash, Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow are also now on Netflix.
She added that there are also Netflix original shows just for kids, such as Skylanders and King Julien.
Super Why, My Little Pony and Friendship is Magic, also for kids.
The Crown, Bloodlines, Orange is the New Black and House of Cards.
My cousin-in-law Valerie threw in "Scandal – with no commercials!".
Kelly mentioned Netflix documentaries, which I know my husband will love to check out.
Suzanne said "all the Rocky movies". I laughed out loud at that one!
And dare I get chastised for leaving out Heather's fave, Gilmore Girls.
Learn more about how you can get Netflix as an XFINITY subscriber, and if you have a favorite show please let me know in the comments! Because nothing says "get me out of the winter doldrums" like binge watching as a family! Just … maybe not House of Cards. Save that for the grown-ups.


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/**
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  email: {type: String, validate: validate({validator: 'isEmail'})},
  address: String,
  phone: String,
  dni: Number,
  observations: String,
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
St. Nicholas Orthodox Church and Rectory is a historic church at 64-66 Forrester Street in Salem, Massachusetts. The parish now is under Diocese of New England of the Orthodox Church in America.

The church was built in 1908 for a congregation of immigrants from Galicia in Eastern Europe (now part of Western Ukraine and Poland) that had been established in 1901. The wood-frame building was designed by local architect William Devereaux Dennis. Its main facade is finished with flushboard siding, while the other elevations are sheathed in clapboards.  The center of main facade is dominated by a tower that is initially square, but is topped by an octagonal belfry section and an onion dome with a cross-shaped spire.  The facade is flanked by small square towers topped by onion domes.  Behind the church stands a Colonial Revival rectory building that was built several years after the church.

The church was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1994.

See also
 National Register of Historic Places listings in Salem, Massachusetts
 National Register of Historic Places listings in Essex County, Massachusetts

References

External links

Church website

Churches in Salem, Massachusetts
Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts
Eastern Orthodox churches in Massachusetts
National Register of Historic Places in Salem, Massachusetts
Polish-American culture in Massachusetts
Ukrainian-American history
Tourist attractions in Salem, Massachusetts
Church buildings with domes
Christian organizations established in 1901
Churches completed in 1908
Orthodox Church in America churches

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


I've always told younger relatives not to take courses just because it was the "in" thing but to take it because it's something you can imagine doing for the rest of their lives. Sure, there was a time that information technology degrees were the hot courses, as there was a great demand for it. Then the nursing courses. But when everyone else scrambled to get these degrees, there came a point when there were too many graduates of the said degrees and not everybody could go abroad or get a high paying job. Now if you love the course that you have taken, it probably would still be okay because you would NOT be stuck with a degree that you don't like and can't earn from.
This is not to say that you shouldn't take those courses, just that you don't take courses just because there are a lot of demand for it right now, because you're not sure what happens in the future.
I'm so proud of my kids for not being "bilmoko" (a shortened Tagalog phrase which means "ibili mo ako" or "buy me...") You could actually bring them to the toy store and get out of the store without them whining or having tantrums about us not getting a particular toy which caught their fancy. My son is probably the only boy in school who does not have a PS3...and I like it that way. I'd like to raise them in such a way as to not have too many wants. Other people may say that my kids are "deprived" compared to other kids but I really do not think so. One does not need to have every little whim satisfied to be happy. In fact, I think the happiest people are those who do not have too many wants, since they do not feel bad if they do not get those things that are really not important at all.
I hope my kids continue to be happy without all the fancy contraptions or things that will surely come their way. I want them to be practical -- not wasting their money on trivial things that lose their luster after a while.
When I was still in training as an ophthalmology resident, I was so excited to buy my equipment. At that time, eye centers were not commonplace and most ophthalmology practices had the doctors buying their own equipment. They were major purchases, I tell you. And I was advised then that it's best to buy while I was still in training because prices go up every year.
Years later, I do regret my decision to plunk down a huge portion of the money I've saved up through the years via gifts from relatives. Well, it was true, the equipment I've bought at the time have increased in value. There are now cheaper alternatives, like India or China made slit lamps instead of the name brands like Haag Streit or Topcon. I didn't have to use my own operating microscope.
But now, all the clinics I'm practicing in have equipment for ophthalmologists, unlike before when you had to provide for even the basic medical equipment like exam tables. Now, it's rare for clinics to not have these equipment. I really did not see that coming.
Sometimes I feel like I should sell my equipment (they're rarely used), clear the clutter and just get my money, but what's stopping me is that I would lose a lot of money that way. Most new doctors are not willing to spend for the name brands too, so I won't be able to sell them at the price that I want. Sigh.
A seemingly practical decision which turned out to be not so practical.
My daughter just had her second birthday and it was a very simple celebration. On her actual birthday we just had the traditional Chinese birthday misua for breakfast (and lunch and dinner). Come evening, we just bought a cake and had the usual candle blowing ceremony in my mother's room.
The actual celebration would have been the next day, a Sunday, which also happened to be my birthday and Father's day. We wanted a joint celebration and a small celebration involving immediate family only -- my side and my husband's side. I was able to score a deal off Dealgrocer and got a great deal for Yellow Cab pizza, my son's favorite. I was planning to add some more food on the day itself.
Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate. It rained and rained. My in-laws couldn't come. Coupled with the fact that some members of the family couldn't come (my brother and my husband's brother were out of the country; another brother-in-law was also out of town with his family for Father's Day), we decided to forego the celebration. We just bought some food at Maki Place (since I was craving for oyster cake) and bought another small cake for me. We just had another candle blowing ceremony in the evening. Maybe next week? Or maybe next year? I guess it was just not meant to be.
My children's first birthdays were both celebrated in McDonald's because of budget constraints. Of course, we had to forego a lot of things that we would have wanted, like a magic show, "dirty" ice cream carts and chocolate dipped strawberries because McDonald's didn't allow these. I guess that's the trade off of not spending a lot for a party.
While we do not really spend a lot for a party, we realize that it does not really take a lot of money to make a child happy on his/her birthday. My daughter was mesmerized by the candle on both birthday cakes. My son sung the birthday song with gusto. I guess what's really important is that we've celebrated another milestone in our children's lives -- and as long as they're happy and thriving, we're happy, no matter what the weather is!
I love selling on multiply. It's free to start and very easy to maintain. You can simply "set up shop" and wait for orders.
I started when selling on multiply was not "legal". But Multiply recognized that the growing number of online sellers who make use of their platform to sell stuff is getting VERY significant and have thrown their full support into it.
Now there's even a multiply marketplace. If you need something, just type in, say "cheap flyer printing" on the search tab and the stores selling that kind of service will be listed for you. This is a boon for sellers who want their products to be easily found by buyers.
If you are employed in a company which offers an option for life and/or health insurance, better grab the opportunity. That's because the policies offered to companies are usually cheaper since it's by the group rather than by a single individual. As with most things, insurance policies are cheaper if it's wholesale. Most insurance companies have that option for group insurance. If your company does not offer it, maybe you can ask your HR to look up Wholesaleinsurance.net or other insurance providers in order to look for good deals for employees like you.


In the late 2000s, a period of general economic decline occurred in world's markets. Even though the Great Recession, as it was called, varied from country to country it is concluded that it was the worst economic recession since WW2. (Davis, 2009).
Greece's case was somewhat peculiar. While the crisis in Europe progressed from banking system crises to sovereign debt crisis, in Greece it happened the other way. In 2010 the Greek government revealed that the deficit of Greece in 2009 had made the public debt no longer viable. The country tried to regain the trustworthiness of the global markets by reducing its expenditures. This didn't work and the government of George Papandreou, in April 23, 2010, requested the help of the IMF. (Προσφυγή της Ελλάδας στο μηχανισμό στήριξης ανακοίνωσε ο πρωθυπουργός, 2010). Greece was the first country in the euro area to request financial support from the IMF.
But, "to drive through the Greek bailout, the fund bent its own rules. It lifted an IMF ban on the fund lending money to countries – like Greece - that were unable to pay their debts." (Wroughton, Schneider, & Kyriakidou, 2015).


Orange County, once solid conservative turf, has flipped completely blue.
A full 11 days after the polls closed in California, the Associated Press has called the 39th House district for Democrat Gil Cisneros, who snatched a narrow victory from his Republican rival, Young Kim. The night before, news broke that Katie Porter, an Elizabeth Warren acolyte, had unseated two-term Republican Rep. Mimi Walters, who ran as an unabashed supporter of President Trump and his most controversial policies.
That the state's last two outstanding seats fell to Democrats means not a single Republican will be representing any portion of historically conservative Orange County, California. Call them whatever you want—a blue wave, squall, tsunami, blizzard, hurricane, comeuppance, etc, etc—the results represent a major shift: Until November 2016, the OC hadn't voted in favor of a Democrat for president since 1936. Now there's no red in sight.
In January 2017, less than two weeks after President Donald Trump took office, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee released a list of 61 Republican-held House districts it planned to target in the 2018 midterm elections. Of those, seven were California districts with Republican representatives where Hillary Clinton had beat Trump in the 2016 election. This list—later expanded to 10 districts—was seen as critical to Democratic hopes of flipping the House. "It's a pretty aggressive battleground map," Drew Godinich, a DCCC spokesman, told me earlier this year. "It's a recognition of the importance of these California races to taking back the majority." If there was going to be a blue wave, it would have to roll through California.
On election night, that proved not to be the case. The Democrats had clearly taken control of the House before the polls even closed in California. Only now do we see the scope of the Democrats' efforts, turning six of the original seven targets blue, and making other major gains throughout the state—sometimes even when they lost.
Even in the districts they lost, Democrats made gains in other ways. As my colleague Dave Gilson noted earlier this week, "Democrats in the four races where Republicans retained their seats improved their party's vote share by an average of 8.9 points." In his race against Republican Rep. Duncan Hunter (who is under indictment for campaign spending violations), Ammar Campa-Najjar brought in 10 points more than the Democrat who ran in 2016. In the 22nd district, Andrew Janz did 12 points better than his predecessor in his attempt to unseat Republican Rep. Devin Nunes.


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Simi Shares Details Of Her Third Studio Album, 'To Be Honest'
Save the Date: June 3
Written by Emmanuel Esomnofu - 05.May.2022
Finally, we have a release date for Simi 's third studio album. Over the long Eid weekend, as the country geared for a return to official duties following the religious holidays, the singer announced June 3rd as the official date of her third album. She also shared its title: 'To Be Honest'.
There's a number of reasons to be excited about new music from Simi, but the most exciting is the most glaring one. Few musicians of today wield her power of emotional storytelling and technical songwriting, a hybrid that she's mashed to critical acclaim across two full-length solo projects.
Her 2017 debut 'Simisola' heralded her generational talent, spawning a number of hit songs whose resonance still ring heavy today. Followed by the tribute album to her father 'Omo Charlie Champagne', she proved capable at incorporating more colourful Pop flourishes into her sound. In 2020, Simi continued her 'Restless' EP series, portending her most experimental tape till date.
A post shared by Simi (@symplysimi)
Simi has been active on the scene since then, most recently becoming a judge on Nigerian Idol. Her vocals and star presence has also contributed to the glowing profiles of songs like Chike's "Running To You" and Liya's remix of "Adua". Last month, she released the sizzling "Sare", impressing her bright melodies over the eclectic production.
Announcing the album via social media, in a handwritten note, she wrote about making the album and how conceiving her daughter made her postpone her initial plans. "I've been trying to tell you a story", she wrote. "For close to three years, I've been desperate to tell you something. Something to help me show you the thoughts I'm thinking…the feelings I'm feeling. I started to start, but then I got pregnant and I said 'not yet'…"
There hasn't been more information or a tracklist for 'To Be Honest' but trust we'll keep you in the loop. With the reputation of this particular singer, an album helmed by such a transcendental personal experience isn't something you want to miss out on.
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ICYMI: The Awe-Inspiring Evolution of Adekunle Gold

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« November 2008 | Main | March 2009 »
It's jobs, stupid! – How China and the West are responding to the global financial crisis
The Fed has reduced its benchmark rate to 1% since October. On 4 December, the Bank of England cut its interest rate to 2%, the lowest since 1951 while the European Central Bank lowered its rate by 0.75%, the largest in its 10-year history. The Swedish central bank also made its record cut by 1.75% to almost half its key rate to 2%. Notwithstanding one wave of historical interest rate cuts after another, the world is still none the wiser on how low the rates need to go before the global economy can find its feet again. Even zero rates have not been ruled out.
Lowering mortgage and other bank rates, VAT tax relief and twisting the arms of banks to lend more will no doubt have some impact on restoring consumer confidence. But as the prospect of recession is deepening into deflation and depression, no job or remuneration remains safe from retrenchment. As people are waking up to the perils of over-indebtedness while the R-word is turning to the D-word, the easing of credit is at least as likely to encourage paying off personal debt as to lure consumers to splash it out on High Street. Some pundits have mused that creating more debt in these circumstances is like issuing matches to put out a fire.
While governments on both sides of the Atlantic have already injected massive amounts of liquidity into the world's banking system, it may still be too early to tell how soon the world would be able to unwind the colossal mountains of leveraged debt accumulated worldwide. Listed and over-the-counter derivatives are estimated to total US$1.144 quadrillion, of which credit default swaps (CDS) alone amount to US$55 trillion, larger than the world's GDP of US$50 trillion. While much de-leveraging still waits to be done, lending is bound to remain very risk averse.
Meanwhile, headlines have flagged up the rapidly worsening job markets worldwide. The US has already shed some 1.5 million jobs since the global financial crisis began. In November alone, US payroll was reported to shrink by 533,000 jobs (Financial Times, 5 December, 2008). The US unemployment rate of 6.7% is expected to rise to 8% in 2009. The fear of losing millions of American jobs is focusing the mind in working out unprecedented bailout plans for the Big Three auto giants. (The Impact on the US Economy of a Major Contraction of the Detroit Three Automakers, Center for Automotive Research, November 4, 2008) In the UK, the number of jobless people already jumped by 140,000 in the quarter to September to 1.82 million - the worst in 11 years. On 14 November, BT announced cutting 10,000 jobs by March 2009. As of 5 December, British companies had seen a further loss of 35,034 jobs in the preceding two months. Few weeks pass by without some headline job cuts across the country.
In China, her exchange and banking control, the non-convertibility of the RMB, the traditional aversion of excessive personal debt, and her gigantic foreign currency reserve have so far insulated her financial system from the world's leveraged quagmire. Notwithstanding such insulation, the threat to jobs presents an even bigger challenge for China.
China continues to need some 20 million jobs a year mainly to absorb her excess labour from the countryside. More than 75% of such employment is provided by labour-intensive SMEs. In addition to excess labour, six million graduates will enter the work force each year. The global economic downturn with withering export markets is compounding China's employment pressures already coming from industrial upgrading and rising productivity. In a recently published paper (in Chinese), Professor Zhou Tianyong, a leading academic of the China Communist Party Central Committee Party School, focuses on these daunting challenges ahead (Need for a major re-adjustment in China's macro-economic objectives and policies, China Economic Times, 5 December, 2008). He estimates that as much as one third of export-dependent SMEs are facing the prospect of closure in 2008. The less export-dependent service sector supplies only 32.4% of China's jobs, compared with the average of 50 -60% in developing countries and 70 -85% in advanced countries. While consumption has been rising, it still accounts for less than 50% of China's GDP compared with over 70% in advanced economies. In any case, it depends heavily on the security of jobs and household incomes. Professor Zhou is worried that excess unemployed labour could lead to more social unrests, which may threaten stability. Even President Hu Jintao has warned that the hard times ahead are poised to test the Communist Party leadership.
Hence, China is amongst the first to come out with a massive stimulus package of US$586 billion (4 trillion yuan). Further details have emerged on the spending allocations: 44% on rural infrastructure and welfare housing, 25% on other infrastructure projects like railways and airports, 13% for healthcare, education and social welfare, 12% for energy and environmental protection, and 6% on technology upgrades. Nearly 70%, therefore, is devoted to job-creating infrastructural projects, while improving healthcare, education and social welfare is designed to release some of the pent-up consumer demand hidden in household savings for a rainy day. What is more, with this clear signal from Beijing, the provinces are dusting off many other delayed or deferred local job-creating infrastructural projects, which may boost China's total package to the tune of a further 10 trillion yuan.
Andy Rothman, a China strategist for CLSA in Shanghai, is cautiously optimistic that coupled with China's robust bank balance sheets, greater state-directed stimulus lending, and a host of tax and administrative stimulus measures, these infrastructural investments should reasonably ensure China's GDP growth not to fall below 8% next year (China Economic Review, December 2008). Needless to say, China's long-term growth would require, amongst other things, a much deeper re-balancing between exports and consumption, between economic growth and social provision, and between industrialization and environmental sustainability. Nevertheless, with renewed ability to prevent too sharp a shortfall in jobs, a more stable Chinese economy in the coming year would augur well for the rest of the world.
As rising unemployment is political dynamite in any country, job creation through government-funded infrastructural projects can also be expected to become a crucial component of other economic stimulus packages in the West. President Elect Obama lost no time in vouching to create 2.5 million jobs by 2011 through the largest investment in US infrastructure since the 1950s. More of such job-creating stimulus initiatives are likely to be forthcoming from the UK and other European countries.
As few jobs now seem secure, it is not surprising that re-capitalizing the banks and making credit easier alone may not fully achieve the desired effect of resuscitating the economy. Consumers are worried about how long their jobs will last and are likely to guard their purse strings more cautiously. Likewise the banks have become more choosy as to whom to lend for fear that a debtor's job may not be there a few months later. Both parties are also still smarting from burnt fingers or worse in the fallout of the global financial crisis. Truth be told, many of the electorate would rather have their jobs guaranteed than any lowering of interest rates. In the absence of stability in the job market, banks would be nervous to lend and potential consumers hesitant to spend. To get the economy going again, therefore, it's jobs, stupid, - not just liquidity.
www.andrewleunginternationalconsultants.com
Posted at 08:25 PM in Current Affairs | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
National Intelligence Council's 2025 Project: how the US should understand and engage China in navigating the uncharted waters
'The Sun is setting on the American Century.' 'The centre of gravity is moving from the West to the East' So the headlines proclaimed once the National Intelligence Council (NIC) released its report Global Trends 2025: A Transformed World on 21 November. Some have observed that the report does not tell us a great deal of what we don't know already. Or that it's much more about what has been happening, rather than what will happen. Most of all, it offers few suggestions as to how the US and China, both playing a crucial role in defining the existing and potential undercurrents outlined in the report, should best navigate these uncharted waters.
Such comments are not totally wrong, but superficial. A navigation map may embody a great deal of known knowns, or even some known unknowns. But that does not make the map less valuable as a tool for planning one's course. The survey of present and future undercurrents may even indicate how more likely Black Swans (or unknown unknowns) will occur, or where we are a little more likely to see them. What is more, by understanding these undercurrents, both the US and China could charter certain courses which may mutually interact in such a way that at least some of the less pretty variety of Black Swans are not spawned.
Let's first look into the 121-page report to identify the undercurrents in the horizon. They are roughly as follows:
(a) Weakened militarily and morally in the Middle East and now embroiled financially by the collapse of Wall Street market fundamentalism, hitherto-unchallenged US dominance is clearly on the decline in a world becoming multi-polar. While the EU remains a 'hobbled giant' with its many internal squabbles and an inability to act as a single sovereign state, the so-called BRIC countries, the Gulf oil-exporting nations, as well as some other dynamic developing countries, are on the ascent;
(b) The unprecedented industrialization and urbanization of several vast countries at the same time have pitted energy, minerals, water, food and other natural resources in the centre of global, regional, and local competition and rivalry. The concentration of oil and gas in a few relatively less stable countries like Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq and Russia are empowering them with new-found confidence and aspirations. In the case of Iran and Russia, it has given rise to increasing national, regional if not global assertiveness. Such dynamics are rendering outcomes less predicable;
(c) The ability of natural resources to keep pace with rising demand, the likelihood of regional or international conflicts to disrupt supply and its transportation through geopolitical choke points such as the Strait of Hormuz and the Strait of Malacca, and, to an increasing number of countries, the clear and present danger of climate change, underline the growing international concern for energy, food, water and climate security;
(d) Struggles for development with bulging young populations in weak or failed states have created an 'Arc of Instability' from Sub-Sahara Africa, to the Middle East, the Balkans, the Caucasus, Central and South Asia and certain areas in SE Asia. Climate or economic migration are expected to add to the severity of any chaos;
(e) Increasing diffusion of technology and actors of influence have created a variety of asymmetric risks both military and non-military, including small nuclear weapons, portable precision missiles, chemical, biological and pathogenic weapons, cyber and media warfare, and indiscriminate terrorism. Traditional warfare concepts are no longer effective;
(f) Religious fundamentalism, coupled with growing multi-cultural communities such as Muslims in Western Europe and Arabs in Israel, is compounding rising concerns about ethnic, religious, and ideological identities;
(g) A diversity of non-state actors, including NGO networks, international forums, religious bodies and influential individuals, is exerting increasing influence on issues or topics across national or organizational boundaries;
(h) The rise of emerging economies with their common developmental concerns, their burgeoning intra-regional trade, and their growing investments in other developing countries have resulted in a host of new regional alliances such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and ASEAN+3. The former with Russian participation may balance the influence of NATO and the latter may lead to the birth of an Asian Community and the Asian Dollar.
(i) In a world changing beyond recognition, the original Bretton Woods international institutions such as the United Nations, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are straining to maintain their credibility and relevance. They have remained largely constituted as they were first established at the time of the Second World War. How to embrace and leverage the newly rising emerging powers including China in maintaining international order is becoming a pressing challenge, particularly in the midst of the global financial crisis;
(j) Contrasting with the majority of developing democracies in Sub-Sahara Africa and the adoption of the name of democratic republics in countries like the Congo and North Korea, dramatic economic success in China for three decades begs the question whether state capitalism or the so-called 'Beijing Consensus' can be viewed as a successful model at least for countries with different historical, cultural, social and economic background. It also casts doubt on whether there should be a one-size-fits-all development formula, and how effective such formula has proved to be if imposed from the outside regardless of the lack or readiness of local institutions.
Although the NIC report rightly says that these undercurrents pose great uncertainties for which there is 'no pre-ordained outcome', it highlights certain significant global developments. They include the aging population profiles of the West, especially Europe and Japan, and soon China; a vast and rapidly growing middle class in the emerging economies; the less dominant role of the US Dollar; the emergence of multiple global financial nodes; the persistence of world poverty; and the growing roles of women, religion and civil society. It also emphasizes the increasing importance of commercialization and globalization of creativity, innovation and technology in raising productivity, an area in which the US still has an overarching competitive lead. This includes disruptive technologies such as ubiquitous computing, bio- gerontechnology, physical and cognitive strength augmentation, robotics, power storage, clean coal and clean water expertise.
The report concludes that by 2025 the demand for US global leadership will remain strong but while the US will still be the world's leading power, her capacities will shrink. However, it fails to address the vital question on how to lead in this dramatically changed, multi-polar, multi-dimensional, and inter-dependent environment with mutually reinforcing actors and uncertainties. The world is awaiting the Obama new presidency with abated breath, to see how he can translate the audacity of hope into the urgency of now, and the confidence of tomorrow.
China is set to play a key role as stake-holder and actor in almost all of the uncertainties outlined above. But to engage China effectively, it is essential to understand China's national psyche and what she is positioning herself to be in the coming decades. In this connection, China's remarkably eventual year of 2008 is highly instructive.
The year started with paralyzing snow-storms across the country, only to be followed by a catastrophic earthquake leaving nearly 90,000 dead and millions homeless. Then there were the humiliating torch relay protests around the world's key cities, topped up with bloody riots in Tibet. The spectacularly successful Beijing Olympics soon restored a deep sense of national honour and pride, buttressed by China's first successful spacewalk during her Shenzhou 7 earth orbital mission. The national zeitgeist was captured by the launch of a new Law on the Circular Economy, mandating water and resource conservation and recycling across the board. This was followed by a new land reform liberalizing the transfer of rural land use rights to promote economy of scale and a more vibrant market economy in the countryside. The freedom of foreign press during the Olympics was later extended indefinitely. When the world financial crisis deepened, China was amongst the first to come out with a massive economic stimulus package of US$586 billion (4 trillion yuan) while the provinces are now busy reviving other deferred or delayed projects to the tune of another 10 trillion yuan. China's coming out party is complete when she raised expectations worldwide by reaffirming her important role in maintaining China's growth momentum as a stabilizer for the global economy. This chronicle of rising from a baptism of fire reads almost like a microcosm of China's modern development history.
There remain worries about China's intentions and lack of transparency in modernizing her military. But China has been publishing her National Defense Reports and of course, no country can be totally transparent in this area. Unlike India, China does not even have a single aircraft carrier. China's military plans are geared to the defense of her sovereignty and territorial integrity, including Taiwan. It is understandable that with a relatively recent history of foreign occupation and a landmass comparable to the United States, China would want to strengthen her military, including nuclear, long-range missile and anti-satellite deterrence capability. All told, China's defense expenditure is much lower than Japan, France and the UK, let alone the US, which accounts for the sum total of the rest of the world combined. Likewise, her defense expenditure as a percentage of GDP is much lower than France, UK and Russia, let alone the US. But most of all, with a host of mounting challenges in maintaining growth and stability for a population the size of a fifth of mankind, including still large numbers remaining in poverty and a fast-ageing demographic profile, China needs all the internal and external harmony she can get to continue to build a solid economic foundation for a better-off society. While China is defintely building up her defenses, she simply cannot afford to be aggressive.
Indeed, notwithstanding her increasing clout, China appears reluctant to be a world leader in international relations. Premier Wen Jiabao's recent speech at the UN categorically stated that 'China does not seek …to become a leader and will never do so in future.' Nevertheless, his signals are clear. 'In the long history of mankind, the destinies of countries have never been so closely linked as they are today. Given the global nature of issues threatening the survival and development of mankind such as climate change, environmental degradation, resources constraints, frequent outbreaks of diseases and natural disasters and the spread of terrorism, and in the face of intertwining challenges of finance, energy and food, no country can expect to stay away from the difficulties or handle the problems all by itself. ….China, as a responsible major developing country, is ready to work with other members of the international community to strengthen cooperation, share opportunities, meet challenges, and contribute to the harmonious and sustainable development of the world' (Speech on 24 September at the General Debate of the 63rd Session of the UN General Assembly)
Quietly, China is undergoing a Green Revolution. The adoption of hydro, nuclear, coal-seam gas, biomass, wind, solar, terrestrial heat, wave and other renewable energies is being actively encouraged across the provinces, embracing a variety of sectors and innovations. The IEA estimates that China will be investing $200 billion for renewable energy until 2020, when China hopes to achieve 15% of total needs from renewables. China is now on track to rely on hydropower for 28% of her electricity generation by 2015.
On the political front, a published report (in Chinese) in October 2007 by leading academics of the influential Communist Party School outlines suggestions for strengthening the composition and supervisory role of the National People's Congress (China's parliament), enhancing the independence of the judiciary, providing more checks and balances within the Party, and promoting greater public accountability of the administration. The content may not do full justice to the boldness of its title 'Storming the Citadel, a Post-17th Party Congress Research Report on the Reform of China's Political System' But it is nevertheless ground-breaking in setting the scene in this sensitive area for further development in China's political governance.
So there are far more reasons and opportunities for the United States and China to be partners in cooperation rather than rivals in conflict. Indeed, managing a win-win partnership between the two key global players would determine how well both countries and the rest of the world could navigate the uncharted waters highlighted by the NIC's 2025 Project. President-Elect Obama has already seized the moment by elevating the regular US-China Strategic Dialogue to a higher level, to be headed by Vice President-Elect Joe Biden. It is fair to say that Mr Biden will have his work cut out.
Posted at 06:08 AM in Current Affairs | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
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A urinalysis (or "UA") is an array of tests performed on urine and one of the most common methods of medical diagnosis. A part of a urinalysis can be performed by using urine dipsticks, in which the test results can be read as color changes.
a description of color and appearance.
specific gravity - normally 1.003 to 1.030. This test detects ion concentration of the urine. Small amounts of protein or ketoacidosis tend to elevate results of the specific gravity. Specific gravity is an expression of the weight of a substance relative to the weight of an equal volume of water. Water has a specific gravity of one. The specific gravity of your urine is measured by using a urinometer. Knowing the specific gravity of your urine is very important because the number indicates whether you are hydrated or dehydrated. If the specific gravity of your urine is under 1.007, you are hydrated. If your urine is above 1.010, you are dehydrated.
pH - normally 5 to 7.
ketone bodies - normally negative (absent). When there is carbohydrate deprivation, such as starvation or high protein diets, the body relies increasingly on the metabolism of fats for energy. This pattern is also seen in people with the disease diabetes mellitus, when a lack of the hormone insulin prevents the body cells from utilizing the large amounts of glucose available in the blood. This happens because insulin is necessary for the transport of glucose from the blood into the body cells. The metabolism of fat proceeds in a series of steps. First, triglycerides are hydrolyzed to fatty acids and glycerol. Second the fatty acids are hydrolyzed into smaller intermediate compounds (acetoacetic acid, betahydroxybutyric acid, and acetone). Thirdly, the intermediate products are utilized in aerobic cellular respiration. When the production of the intermediate products of fatty acid metabolism (collectively known as ketone bodies) exceeds the ability of the body to metabolize these compounds they accumulate in the blood and some end up in the urine (ketonuria).
of the glomerulus is abnormally increased. This may be caused by renal infections or it may be caused by other diseases that have secondarily affected the kidneys such as diabetes mellitus, jaundice, or hyperthyroidism.
Bilirubin - The fixed phagocytic cells of the spleen and bone marrow destroy old red blood cells and convert the heme groups of hemoglobin to the pigment bilirubin. The bilirubin is secreted into the blood and carried to the liver where it is bonded to (conjugated with) glucuronic acid, a derivative of glucose. Some of the conjugated bilirubin is secreted into the blood and the rest is excreted in the bile as bile pigment that passes into the small intestine. The blood normally contains a small amount of free and conjugated bilirubin. An abnormally high level of blood bilirubin may result from: an increased rate of red blood cell destruction, liver damage, as in hepatitis and cirrhosis, and obstruction of the common bile duct as with gallstones. An increase in blood bilirubin results in jaundice, a condition characterized by a brownish yellow pigmentation of the skin and of the sclera of the eye.
Icotest - The test used to detect the destruction of old Red Blood Cells (RBC) in the urine.
Benedict's Test - Although glucose is easily filtered in the glomerulus, it is not present in the urine because all of the glucose that is filtered is normally reabsorbed from the renal tubules back into the blood.
Hemoglobin Test - Hemolysis in the blood vessels, a rupture in the capillaries of the glomerulus, or hemorrhage in the urinary system may cause hemoglobin to appear in your urine.
hCG - normally absent, this hormone appears in the urine of pregnant women. Home pregnancy tests commonly detect this substance.
The numbers and types of cells and/or material such as urinary casts can yield a great detail of information and may suggest a specific diagnosis.
↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Simerville JA, Maxted WC, Pahira JJ (March 2005). Urinalysis: a comprehensive review. American family physician 71 (6): 1153–62.
↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.17 2.18 Normal Reference Range Table from The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. Used in Interactive Case Study Companion to Pathologic basis of disease.
↑ 4.0 4.1 University of Colorado Laboratory Reference Ranges. URL accessed on 2008-10-21.
↑ 5.0 5.1 medical.history.interview: Lab Values. URL accessed on 2008-10-21.


Unavowed is unquestionably one of the most impressive point and click adventures made in many, many years. It's of a scale I wasn't at all expecting, with layer upon layer of complexity and variety in a way the genre has genuinely never seen before. It's also a darned fine yarn of demonic battling across the streets of New York, that tells its story in a way that owes as much to BioWare RPGs as it does traditional adventure gaming.
The Unavowed are a team of human and non-human people who, for hundreds of years, have fought behind the scenes to control demonic and other-realmly activity. In recent times such naughtiness has calmed, and the Unavowed has all but disappeared from public consciousness, their own numbers dwindling. Until recently. It seems that all sorts of trouble is brewing in New York City, and, well, it might be all your fault.
Things begin with an immediate abundance of choice. During a yelled interrogatory exorcism on a rooftop, you are given choices as part of your struggle to be saved from whatever is going on. Here you can choose to play as male or female, and while this decision has no impact on what your character does or is treated, your chosen background certainly does. You can be an actor, police officer or bartender, and which you choose not only gives you a unique introduction, but affects how you can approach various incidents throughout the game, and indeed locations available at key moments. It goes even further, impacting your relationships with other main characters, changing how people react to your past actions, and on and on.
The career you choose shows you one of three possible beginnings, each a unique detailed story, but each showing how your character, a year ago, came to be possessed by a demonic force. This complete, you jump back to the present day and the exorcism is completed – you're freed of the demon. But unfortunately not of the consequences. Over the last year, you and your host have done… terrible things. Really shockingly terrible, in some cases. And now, joining forces with the Unavowed who just saved you, it's time to start trying to put things back to as close as right as you can. And on the way, you make very many more choices that continue to have a significant impact on how the tale plays out.
The key to all this variety is companionship. Unavowed's sole writer, Dave Gilbert (known for the Blackwell series), announced that he was intending to liberally borrow ideas from BioWare's RPGs, which at the time I thought sounded like a nice idea, but, you know, not actually possible. BioWare has a team of 400 billion people making their games. One guy, as talented as he might be, wasn't going to be able to pull off the same, even in a much more limited fashion. Well, he showed me.
At the start of each of Unavowed's chapters, numbers of them playable in your chosen order, you select two companions from a pool of four. And the two you choose really quite significantly changes how you approach the elaborate and lengthy subplots. If you take Logan for instance, a "bestower" with the ability to see and communicate with ghosts, you'll be able to – well, see and communicate with ghosts. If instead you choose Vicki, a cop, then you'll simply never know there were ghosts in the story, never learn information from them, and definitely not free them from whatever it is that ties them to this realm. Because instead you'll have access to a whole load of other puzzles and approaches that you'd never have known about if you'd picked Logan. The same goes for lacking Mandana's athleticism and very sharp sword, or Eli's fire mage abilities. But this goes even further!
Oftentimes characters will have personal connections to the particular story, and while on occasion it will force a particular plot beat to be seen by making narrative excuses to switch in a companion, oftentimes it won't, meaning the emotional impact of a chapter can be significantly affected by who's with you.
And then, good gravy, what you choose to do in each subplot goes on to affect things further! Alongside the companions, Unavowed also learns a lot from BioWare's ethical quandaries, facing you with incredibly difficulty decisions to make to resolve complicated situations. And very pleasingly, these aren't choices that are throw a dilemma at you out of nowhere, but rather are influenced by the conversations you've had, the companions you have with you at the time, and indeed your own personal proclivities. Sometimes there's no choice that feels even close to right, and making them feels genuinely important. An import that bears fruit as things progress.
So, I should say, I wouldn't have voiced all this enthusiasm after what one could call the mid-point. (It's actually about a third of the way in, because the second act is hugely longer than the first.) It's immediately brilliant with its writing, its superb story, its outrageously beautiful artwork, voice acting from a huge cast, and the neat idea of having "look at" be just a mouseover, with the description at the bottom of the screen. But when it comes to the adventuring, it's… simplistic is a generous term. A little too often it's more about changing location and having the conversations, rather than solving any actual puzzles, and those that are there are very easy. I was thoroughly enjoying playing, but I couldn't shake the feeling that it was lacking the ingenuity the genre really requires.
I didn't like every character. But then, that's how life works, I suppose. I found Logan insufferably simpering and one-note, even though I would often want to bring him along to play out the ghost angles. And I think Vicki is a little under-realised when compared to the rest of the cast. But honestly, that it's possible to pick at the game like this raises it above the average adventure in the first place.
There are, undeniably, a couple of dud puzzles in there. (Once you've played it you can come back and agree with me about how terrible "LEGS" was as a clue.) But in the main your companions will prompt you if you ask them to, and I never found myself resorting to "click everything on everything", or anything close. Where there are other issues with the game, there really only because of the scope of its ambition.
If Unavowed had been released in the early '90s, it would be remembered today as one of the all-time classics of the adventure genre, lauded for its innovations with the form, referenced as an inspiration for games still being made today. Unavowed, however, was released today, looking like and feeling like a hark back to the glorious past of the genre, and that makes for a very different reception. A contradiction I find very fascinating.
Gilbert's chosen medium of Adventure Game Studio, and its 1990s-strewn aesthetics, means that while his games have consistently been of an enormously high standard, they're also semiotically weighed down with a sense of nostalgia and artifice. They look like games that were made 30 years ago, and whether that's because of a preference for the art style, a belief that budget restraints demand it, a fondness for cherished memories, whatever, it makes it incredibly difficult for them to be received and indeed perceived as brand new creations.
No matter how many brilliant innovations Gilbert has included here, no matter how much he's taken the point and click adventure into spaces that absolutely no one else has ever tried or managed before, it still feels like a throwback to the past, rather than a step forward into the future. Which is why, I contend, this won't be recognised as the all-time genre classic that it definitely is!
Such musings aside, Unavowed is a remarkable thing. It's not exactly common that one finishes a narrative-driven adventure game and thinks, "I want to play that again straight away!" But I'm absolutely dying to set off again with a different career, pick different companions for missions, make different moral choices (wrong ones, clearly), and experience the vast swathes of voiced dialogue, the perspectives on the smaller and larger stories, I won't have heard my first time through. Ghosts I never met, buildings I never saw climbed, consequences I never knew. I think this is testament to the extraordinary work of a one-man writing team – it's quite the incredible feat.
Which is not to omit mentioning Ben Chandler's art and animation, which is his finest yet – quite the accolade for anyone who's followed his pixel artistry over the years. Then there's the portrait art by Ivan Ulyanov, and the atmosphere-completing music by Thomas Regin. With some extra programming from Janet Gilbert, somehow that's the entire production team namechecked.
This is an epic. A huge, ridiculously detailed adventure, that successfully borrows one of the most complex and complicating features of BioWare RPGs without screwing it up! In fact, it makes the character detail in every other adventure look sorely lacking, and raises the bar so much I expect most others will just pretend Wadjet Eye didn't do it. Absolutely get your hands on this, and if you're hesitating because the whole "retro" approach puts you off, make the exception in this case. It's worth it.
Tagged with Bestest Bests, feature, review, RPS Recommended, Wadjet Eye Games, wot i think, Unavowed.