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Living comfortably with diversity: international students' transition practices
Lawrence, Jill ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4163-8698 (2014) Living comfortably with diversity: international students' transition practices. Queensland Review, 21 (2). pp. 217-232. ISSN 1321-8166
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Official URL: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/queensland...
Every year, over 30,000 international students study in regional Australia, in urban centres that lack the intercultural resources and cross-cultural literacies of metropolitan cities. The University of Southern Queensland (USQ) supports and brings together over 26,000 students studying both on campus and online, including a diverse international student population of 7,000 students. The university's enrolment of international on-campus students is the second highest in the Regional Universities Network, of which USQ is a member. This article analyses the experiences of international students as they encounter an unfamiliar Australian culture in the context of studying in Toowoomba, the regional city where USQ has its main campus. These students' experiences of engaging, becoming familiar with and mastering new and unfamiliar cultural practices and academic literacies provides insight into the processes of acculturation that students undergo as they make their transition to life in regional Australia, both at university and in Queensland communities.
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Article (Commonwealth Reporting Category C)
COPYRIGHT: © The Author(s) 2014. Published version deposited in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher.
Faculty/School / Institute/Centre:
Historic - Faculty of Business, Education, Law and Arts - School of Arts and Communication (1 Jul 2013 - 28 Feb 2019)
international students; Australian culture; regional Australia; Toowoomba; University of Southern Queensland
Fields of Research (2008):
20 Language, Communication and Culture > 2099 Other Language, Communication and Culture > 209999 Language, Communication and Culture not elsewhere classified
47 LANGUAGE, COMMUNICATION AND CULTURE > 4799 Other language, communication and culture > 479999 Other language, communication and culture not elsewhere classified
Socio-Economic Objectives (2008):
C Society > 95 Cultural Understanding > 9502 Communication > 950201 Communication Across Languages and Culture
https://doi.org/10.1017/qre.2014.27
http://eprints.usq.edu.au/id/eprint/29787
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Last weekend was a 4-day for Army soldiers stationed in Europe so we took advantage of our time off and booked a trip to Disneyland Paris way back in December! We were counting down the days (so was Fox, although every time we mentioned it he'd say, "No Pirates!") and March 13th finally arrived!
Chris went to work in the morning, came home at lunch, loaded up the car, and we were off!
Fox wearing Chris' shades. Jane just being cute, as always.
It was sooooo surreal to be driving along the autobahn and then signs for "Paris" showed up. PARIS! THE Paris! Unreal! We entered France, making our country count since we've lived here 8 (Germany, Hungary, Czech Republic, Austria, Slovakia, Italy, Spain, France). We're trying to go to as many as we can in our short 3 years here!
We stayed at the ☆☆ Cheyenne Hotel - over-the-top country western-themed and you know what? I loved every inch of it.
We were in the Billy the Kid building.
Everything was cowboy themed. The rugs, the wallpaper, the bedsheets. It was so corny it was awesome.
There was a bunk bed and Fox was soooo excited to sleep on the top bunk!
We got in pretty late so we washed up the kids then went to bed. I could barely sleep I was so excited - it felt like Christmas!
Our assigned breakfast time was at 8am but they said we could probably get in earlier. We were up and at 'em at 6am so we hoped to get into breakfast at 7:30 and they let us in! Getting breakfast was like the running of the bulls. It was complete and utter madness! All for bread and cheese, haha!
Jane tried Nutella for the first time. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.
It was a foggy morning making for cool pictures. These teepees were right outside our room.
The resort across the river is the Hotel Santa Fe. We debated between this hotel and the Cheyenne but ultimately Cheyenne won but I can't remember our reasons. Same price, same number of stars. Maybe we flipped a coin. But it was fun to have the "Cowboys vs Indians" right across the way from each other.
We walked 15 minutes to the parks (we never took the bus, we figured walking was much easier, faster, and less of a hassle with a big stroller) and saw lots of pretty sights along the way including Disney's Newport Bay Club/Hotel on a lake.
If there's ever a "next time" we totally want to stay here at the ☆☆☆☆☆ Disneyland Hotel! You have to pass underneath it to even get into the park, it's that close! And so beautiful! It's pink and Victorian and lovely.
Yay! My favorite quote plaque!
We did LOTS of comparing and contrasting to Disneyland California and Disneyworld! We decided Disneyland Paris is much more ornate, detailed, and pretty, but also more run down (chipped paint, broken windows, missing lights, etc). But I loooove all the beautiful and extra frills!
Pretty pink Sleeping Beauty Castle.
More views of the castle from throughout the day. The trees were blossoming and matched the pink castle perfectly.
Okay, down to business. The park is open to hotel guests only (AWESOME!) from 8-10am so we had the park practically to ourselves for two hours. Only a select few rides were open, but that's all we needed. Fox chose to go on Dumbo the Flying Elephant first. We could feel the kids' excitement and anticipation!
Next we hopped on over to Peter Pan's Flight. In CA there is always a two hour wait. Here we got on in just a few minutes, but only because we were there early. There's definitely a Fast Pass for a reason! (Which, by the way, we didn't get Fast Passes because you have to pay extra for them...).
Then Fox wanted to go on Lancelot's Carousel. Jane took naps on Chris all throughout our trip.
Check out how awesome the horses are decorated - to the nines! Fox wanted to sit on a dragon-themed horse of course.
Then we walked through Sleeping Beauty's Castle - or rather, La Belle Au Bois Dormant.
Pretty stained glass depicting parts of the story.
A view of Fantasyland from the castle. The fog was holding on by its teeth!
Fox trying to pull the sword out of the stone.
It was about 10am then so the rest of the rides were open and we checked them out one-by-one. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs!
Next - It's a Small World.
All of the boats sailed under covered canopies - California could take a hint cuz the sunshine that beats down on you upon exiting is killer! The ride was very similar and also included a California/Hollywood section.
French-inspired buildings that are places to eat. And Mr. Toad isn't a ride here, it's a restaurant.
A year-round Christmas shop! And at this windmill we got the most delicious waffles with sugar. Mmmm just thinking about it makes me want another.
Then we headed over to the Land of Fairy Tales - like unto the Storybook Boats.
The boats weren't sailed individually and narrated by a human, instead they went around a rotating dock and went along a track in the water. The line was MUCH faster because of the constant stream of boats.
The miniature displays were different too, it was a fun change of pace.
Then we went on the Casey Jr. Train - it was a roller coaster, fast, and FUN! We got good views of the boats below. And that concludes our morning in Fantasyland!
Next we walked over to Adventureland which is Arabian-themed at the entrance.
No words for her cuteness!! Ahhhhh!!
Fox is terrified of the drop in Pirates. He's been saying "no Pirates" for months now. But we HAD to go on Pirates! It's like the epitome of Disneyland! So into the queue we went. I think because it looks different than CA Fox wasn't quite sure what was going on, but he eventually figured it out and really didn't want to go... We're so mean for making him go on it!
You can tell by his face how much he "loved" it... :( Poor boy! We told him we won't go on it again.
For lunch we went to (this is the literal translation) The Cottage of the Puppet. Chris got a Bavarian-style brat which is funny because we're from Bavaria. I got a burger of some sort and the kids got chicken and fries.
The kids needed a break so we took them to the playground called Pirates' Beach.
View of Big Thunder Mountain and the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse.
We were pretty tired at this point so we took a turn around the park on the Disneyland Railroad.
We were still tired so we walked back to the hotel and took a nap. Then we came back and went on the Phantom Manor.
As a Halloween-loving lady I was in LOVE with the exterior of this haunted house!
What are these trees called and where can I get some? Because they're the PERFECT spooky tree!
Chris and Jane had a little love fest waiting in the short line to get in.
We had a hard time trying to find some place that was actually open for dinner! Weird! But we found an Italian place over in Fantasyland called Pizzeria Bella Notte and got, well, pizza!
The lines to go on any more "fun" rides were hours long, so we ventured back into Fantasyland to see some things we missed that morning. We passed these cute chairs along the way.
We meandered through Alice's Curious Labyrinth.
View from the top of the structure in the hedge maze.
These gates and towers as you exit Fantasyland remind me of the gates and towers we've seen at real castles in these parts of the world.
We walked to Discoveryland to go on Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast. The wait said 40 minutes but only took about 10 - we'll take it! Super fun.
Then Chris let me go on Space Mountain while he watched the kiddos. Oh. My. Goodness. This Space Mountain is soooo different! It goes upside down and corkscrews around and is AWESOME. Total adrenaline rush. So fun.
And then we called it a night and enjoyed the festive lights on the way back to the hotel.
On day three we woke up, got breakfast, and walked to the park. Fox was all ready to go!
Hot air balloon ride that's closed for renovations right now. City Hall on Main Street.
By then it was almost 10 so we walked over to Walt Disney Studios.
You have to walk through Disney Studio 1 to get into the park to "soak up the film studio's magical behind-the-scenes atmosphere".
We went straight to Toy Story Playland because Fox loooooves all things Toy Story.
We went on the Slinky Dog Zigzag spin first and realized that Fox is just not into roller coasters. Wah wah.
Chris and I took turns going on the RC Racer. Man oh man it was FUN.
The kids at the various Toy Story statues.
We love the Backlot Tour in Florida's MGM Studios and thought this would be fun. The lady said the wait was 40 minutes and the ride was 20 minutes.
An hour and a half later... we got on. And Fox again was terrified. He did NOT like the fake fires and rushing water. He thought it was real. Poor boy.
Time for lunch! We ate in the Studio 1 "Behind the Scenes" Restaurant.
We thought it'd be fun to see some shows. So we got in line for Disney Junior Live.
Fox and Jane loved seeing characters from their favorite shows.
Then we watched the Stunt Show Spectacular featuring Lightning McQueen!
A motorcyclist performed some AMAZING stunts to open. How does he do that? And seeing a life-sized Lightning McQueen was pretty cool, even I, a full-grown woman thought so.
Again, Fox was surprisingly SCARED by the loud noises and at one point there was a big explosion with fire and what not and he was shaking he was so scared. It's so sad!
Time for a nap. We walked back to the hotel.
For dinner we went to the Rainforest Cafe!
My tortellini was delicious - probably the best thing I ate all the time we were there. At one point the lights got all dark and there was a fake rainstorm and Fox freaked out. What's with that kid? :( Why is he so traumatized?
We walked into the park and checked out the miniature scenes that tell the story of Aladdin.
I loved all the Moroccan lights around the entrance to Adventureland.
We went up into the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse. It's crazy how REAL the tree looks!
At the top, Chris beckoned me, pointed out, and asked, "Is that the Eiffel Tower?"
Good eye Chris! It HAS to be! Paris is only 30km away, what else could the tall, lit up structure be? We asked around and everyone agreed. We saw the Eiffel Tower!!! So awestruck. I've actually been to Paris before so I've seen it and been to the top, but it was still a sight to behold, even teeny tiny. Chris on the other hand, has never been to Paris so he was also pretty stoked. We're planning to go to Paris over the 4th of July so stay tuned.
It was way past the kid's bedtimes so we headed back to the hotel after a long and fun-filled day.
We found out that parts of Discoveryland including SPACE MOUNTAIN were open from 8-10am for hotel guests! Why didn't we know this the first two days?? So we were at the park waiting for the gates to open at 7:45.
Once we got through one set of gates, there was another to get into the park.
We ran straight for Space Mountain. While Chris went on that I took the kids on Buzz Lightyear. Then we switched. Still just as fun as the first time! Then we went on Orbitron. Another spinny aroundy ride, blech, haha.
The rest of the park opened at 10 and I wanted to go on Big Thunder Mountain so we waited at the gates for it to open.
Totally worth it though, the ride was awesome.
Details from Big Thunder Mountain.
By the time I got off the wait was like an hour so Chris didn't get to go on at this point.
So we took the kids to the Pocahontas Indian Village playground.
And they had the time of their lives running around and going down slides.
There was a little river by the park that a bunch of ducks and Canadian geese were swimming up and down. These geese were sooo close! I almost stuck my hand out but was afraid they'd bite it clean off.
We rounded the corner and saw Pluto and Goofy with virtually no line so we got to meet them up close and personal!
Then we took a turn around the lake on the Thunder Mesa Riverboat Landing cruise.
Fox was so scared it was going to "drop" like on Pirates. I had to hold him the entire 20 minutes to comfort him. Pretty scenes from the ride.
For lunch we went to Fuente Del Oro Restaurante for good ol' Mexican food! The mini churros were the bomb.
Autopia is only open from 12-7 so we headed over there after lunch, waited in line for an hour, then rode. Jane's first big kid ride!! So fun.
Next we saw Stitch Live! which is like Turtle Talk with Crush at Epcot.
It made us laugh out loud, which is always a good thing.
For dinner we ate cheesy hot dogs back at Casey's Corner on Main Street USA in Disneyland. Lots of walking back and forth! The Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril ride is closed until the end of May (on my birthday, the 28th actually!) but we still wanted to SEE it. As we were walking over we noticed Big Thunder Mountain must have been closed and just barely reopened because the line was very short. Chris booked it to get on. While waiting for him I bought the kids Woody and Jessie dolls. I live vicariously through my kids and like to get new toys :) When Daddy's away, Mommy will play spend $$!
So then we tried to go see Indy but it was blocked off pretty far from it so all we saw were fences. Oh wells. We passed the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse in the daylight and saw the fanciest pizza place I've ever laid eyes on.
We felt complete and satisfied with our Disneyland adventure and made our way back to the hotel. I stopped to take last minute pictures of enticing shop windows.
Liberty Arcade and Dapper Dan's Hair Cuts. We found plaques with all of the Disneyland locations around the world. We're checking them off one-by-one!
Good bye Disneyland Paris! You are AWESOME!
Awesome recap! Thanks for chronicling our adventures!
How fun!! LOVING all the pics!! The lines still seemed less than what you shared from your CA trips! I wonder why Fox was so scared of everything?? And those Western rooms/themes crack me up.... living in AZ ... that's like every other store/restaurant/hotel here -- if I stayed there, I would feel like I hadn't left home! LOL!!!!
Wow!! Looks like it was lots of fun!!!! Thanks for sharing. Maybe one of these days you can make it to Croatia. Summer on the Adriatic coast. It's beautiful.
We are going to be visiting Disneyland Paris in June. Looking at your pictures is making more excited and I can't wait to go! Thanks for sharing!
Looks like you had a blast, and don't worry about Fox being a bit scared...our son is 3 and would be the same way.
Love all of the photos! I have been to DW-Florida three times. It is fun seeing a different park. My kids and I have been wanting to go back to DW so badly. Don't worry too much about Fox being leery of everything. They grow out of it.
Fun, I can't wait to take Edward to Disney in Florida. Two more years!!
How FUN! I loved looking and seeing all the comparisons from your pics. I was wondering if it was as crowded as the one in So Cal and when I saw your "booking it" pic I laughed...so funny. And Fox's faces are too funny. Scarlett had that same experience when we took her on Autopia. I think it was the loud engines...she cried the whole time and was trying to get out. Looks like a blast! Did they have a Toon Town or Pooh Corner area?
Paige! That's just incredible! All these awesome childhood memories for you kids!
Oh my goodness! What an adventure!I love every single thing about this post.
Wow! Looks like you had beautiful weather too for your Parisian adventure! Thank you for posting your whirlwind trip.....bet the kids are still sleeping off all the excitement (you wish).
Your trip looks like so much fun - love the comparison to CA Disneyland since that is one of my most favorite places! Fox might just not like loud noises that was always the problem with my kids at that age.
wow--what a FABULOUSLY documented adventure!!!
Looks like such a fun trip, and you got so many great photos Paige!!
We're taking the kids to Disney (we have a wedding in CA) in Sept. Did I tell you that? I'm SOOOOO excited! Can you believe i haven't been to Disneyland in NINE years?!?!? SERIOUSLY! Major withdrawals here!
So fun!! Always love your attention to detail on your adventures!
thanks for such a great post with so many Details! we are going to Disneyland Paris in July (my Girls birthdays) I can't wait!
"Gosh..." (as Mickey would say"! I am loving your Disney Paris tour! The comparison you did with DW and Disneyland is over the top! I have never seen/met bigger Disney family Fans (other than my family). But seeing your post, I concede (well , almost)! Thanks for bringing back the memorizes...while we rode on the Thunder Mountain, we got stuck! So we were allowed to go around a couple more of times (LOL). We loved the stain glass display in the castle and spent a lot time taking photos in the Pirates ride area. Thanks for this amazing visual treat!
Forgot to add....that we did notice that the Disneyland Paris is much more run down/dirtier than DW and Disneyland. They have way less manpower! That's like the only part I was not fond of!


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« Dec. 31-Jan. 6, 2013 | Home | Top 3 PACs gave $1M to Ga. politicians »
Balfour lawyers up as GBI wraps $$$ probe
Atlanta Unfiltered needs your financial support to continue researching and posting articles like this one. If you believe that disseminating this type of information is important, please consider using the Donate button on this page to keep The Georgia Transparency Project going. Sponsorships are also available.
By JIM WALLS
Jan. 10, 2013 — The GBI has completed an investigation of state payments to soon-to-be-deposed Senate Rules chairman Don Balfour, but there's no word yet as to its findings.
Attorney General Sam Olens won't say what the next step might be, if any. Balfour, meanwhile, appears to have retained Andersen, Tate & Carr, a Duluth law firm that is defending former Gwinnett County Commissioner Kevin Kenerly against bribery charges.
The GBI had been looking into Balfour's compensation for legislative service and expenses after he acknowledged "inadvertently" submitting claims for per diem and mileage on days when he was actually out of the state. He agreed to a $5,000 fine last summer to settle a complaint filed with the Senate Ethics Committee.
The case has cost the Snellville Republican much more, though. Senate leadership is about to replace him as chairman of the powerful Rules Committee, and his campaign has paid nearly $80,000 in legal fees since June, including $35,000 to Andersen, Tate & Carr on Dec. 13.
Neither Balfour nor Pat McDonough, head of Andersen, Tate & Carr's criminal defense team, returned telephone messages seeking comment.
Olens asked the GBI to investigate based on a request by Sen. Josh McKoon, the only Ethics Committee member who voted against the settlement.
GBI spokesman John Bankhead said Wednesday that investigators met with Olens and his staff on Dec. 14 to turn over the investigative file. Bankhead would not discuss the findings.
"It's up to the prosecutor now," he said, to determine whether criminal charges are warranted.
Olens' office confirmed that it has the investigative file but declined further comment.
The Ethics Committee found that Balfour improperly claimed $173 a day plus mileage for eight days of out-of-session legislative service in 2011. As Atlanta Unfiltered first reported in February, lobbyists had disclosed spending money on some of those days on Balfour's meals and entertainment at out-of-state conferences. Legislators are not eligible for per diem when they're not in Georgia.
Balfour in 2011 collected per diem for 115 other days, far more than any other Georgia legislator that year. He was one of 10 senators allowed to claim an unlimited number of such "committee days."
Senate rules require that those members submit "a brief statement of the nature of the legislative duties carried out" for each day of per diem. None of Balfour's 2011 per diem requests did so.
One Response to "Balfour lawyers up as GBI wraps $$$ probe"
E. Denise Caldon says:
Depending on Atty. General Sam Olens to investigate any fiscal or ethical violations by any government official is very naive given that Sam Olens has "buried" the same already. Fact: Atorney General Sam Olens is on legal record having filed FOUR oppositions in Fulton County Superior Court to the public viewing fiscal and ethical violations by his defendants – the Board of Regents of the USG. The hypocrisy and Conflicts of Interest in our Georgia government are unquestionable. Caldon vs BOR 2009-CV-165267

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


This week the World Bank Inspection Panel announced that it would not hear a complaint filed by six Haitian civil society organizations who are concerned about plans for mining in at least five of Haiti's central and northern departments.
The World Bank, since 2013, has been involved in helping the Haitian Government rewrite a 1976 mining law that would, in effect, make mining a more attractive investment for the American and Canadian companies that have been exploring Haiti's soil for the past several years.
The Haitian Government has been divided over plans for mining activity. In early 2013, after hearing that 15% of Haitian land was already under contract with foreign mining companies without their proper approval, the Haitian parliament placed a moratorium on all mining.
It was at this time the executive recommended revamping the old law with the help of the World Bank, in order to help prospects for mining to move forward. Indeed, the current administration is looking to mining as one of the essential industries in helping Haiti "build back better."
Sampling over the past five years have revealed that Haiti has gold worth up to $20 billion, which doesn't include other valuable minerals such as copper and silver.
Yet local communities and the six civil society groups that make up the Justice in Mining Collective (Koleftif Jistis Min) are concerned about the new law and the way they see things proceeding.
Thus far, the new law has been drafted in consultation with mining experts, World Bank staff, and the Haitian government. Civil society has been notably absent, or rather, uninvited to the decision-making table. On one occasion, a few members of civil society were invited to a mining forum at one of Port-au-Prince's fanciest hotels, but were not afforded an opportunity to speak.
It is feared that, in Haiti's current political crisis where President Martelly is ruling "by decree," the draft mining law could be passed by executive order, without even parliamentary approval.
In January, the Justice in Mining Collective, with the help of the Accountability Counsel and NYU Global Justice Clinic filed a complaint to the Inspections Panel of the World Bank, over the high risk of environmental and social impacts of mining as well as the lack of information and participation available to communities over mining plans.
One particularly troubling clause in the new draft law allows for a ten-year confidentiality period for all documents pertaining to ongoing mining in Haiti.
Despite these concerns, which could affect tens of thousands of individuals in Haiti's northern departments, the World Bank denied hearing the complaint filed by the Justice in Mining Collective on technical grounds.
According to the Panel, the transparency and public involvement typically required of World Bank-sponsored projects does not apply to projects funded by the "Bank-Executed Trust Fund," such as the rewriting of Haiti's mining law, though the Panel admits that it ought to and recommends that reform take place in the World Bank system.
The Panel also conceded that there are significant risks associated with mining, and acknowledged the legitimacy of the Collective's concerns.
Though the Bank is a key actor in the rewriting of the law and regularly touts the importance of public involvement and local participation, it is acting in this case as yet another exclusionary force that bars Haitian voices in matters that concern their own livelihoods. The Bank must realize that in Haiti's current context, where the government is generally closed off to local opinion, local populations have no audience with decision-makers.
As international backers of the new mining law and investors in the industry, the World Bank must heed Haitians' concerns over mining.


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markmeltonblog
Exploring the world – a Travel & Photo Blog
Driving the Pan American Highway – The Plan to get to the starting point at Deadhorse, Alaska
By Mark Melton on November 16, 2013 • ( Leave a comment )
The Trans-Siberian Railroad – Chasing Romanov Ghosts in Yekaterinburg
The Trans-Siberian Railroad:
We traveled to Irkutsk, Russia from Beijing via the Trans-Mongolian railroad – the blue-line on map below, with a three-day stop in Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia. (See our blog postings on Mongolia and Irkutsk for our stories on this portion of the trip.) The Trans-Mongolian railroad joins the Trans-Siberian railroad at Ulan-Ude, Russia, about 284 miles (457 km) east of Irkutsk.
The Trans-Siberian railroad from Moscow to Vladivostok is the longest continuous rail line in the world, 5,758 miles (9,289 km) in total, takes seven days to travel and crosses seven time zones. Irkutsk is a little more than half-way, 3,219 miles (5,185 km) from Moscow and takes about three and a half days to get from Irkutsk to Moscow.
Leaving Irkutsk we boarded train # 001 westbound, to ride the Trans-Siberian through the steppes and forests of Siberia to Moscow. While planning our trip, we decided to break up our trip from Irkutsk to Moscow trip by stopping in Yekaterinburg for two days. Yekaterinburg is a two day train trip from Irkutsk, the longest we would be on a train without getting off since our train trip across Canada.
We are starting to notice that little niceties make a big difference on long train trips. One of the welcome touches on this train is an electrical outlet in our compartment for charging our computers, iPhones, iPads, etc. In many of the local trains we have taken, the only electrical outlet available was in the hallway.
The second nicety is flush toilets at the end of the car. On many of the local trains we have taken in Russia and China, the toilets empty onto the tracks. When flushed, water runs into the toilet bowl and the bottom opens up and you can see the ground passing under the train. Understandably, they don't want toilets being emptied onto the ground at, or near, the train stations, so the toilets are locked at least 10 minutes before arriving at the station and reopened about 10 minutes after leaving the station. When there are long stops at stations, the toilet can be locked for a long time. The trains with real flush toilets aren't locked at stations and so other than when they are being cleaned, are always open.
In our Irkutsk posting we told the story of the surly train attendants we had on the local train from Ulaanbaatar to Irkutsk. I am happy to report that we have had very nice and helpful train attendants on train #001 from Irkutsk to Yekaterinburg and from Yekaterinburg to Moscow. It made for much nicer train trips, although not as good a story for our blog.
The only disappointing experience on the train from Irkutsk to Yekaterinburg was the meal we had in the dining car. It was expensive – about the equivalent of $66 U.S. for the two of us – for food that was only O.K. After that meal, we ate our meals in our compartment from food we brought with us from our stops Irkutsk and Yekaterinburg and food we bought on the platform.
At most train stations, there are kiosks that sell food and drink products. On one of the more memorable station stops, a number of vendors flocked the station carrying food for sale, including; pirogues, smoked fish and other goodies. See the picture below for women selling smoked fish and two pictures above for a woman with a basket of pirogues.
Below is a picture of me with cutting apart the smoked fish we bought from a lady on the platform.
The scenery from the train includes seemingly endless forests of birch trees. Also there are large plains with farms, factories and a few large cities. Below are some pictures I took from the train as it moved across Siberia.
We traveled the Trans-Siberian railroad in early November. There were some areas where the rivers were beginning to freeze over and snow could be seen on the ground and on buildings.
We saw numerous factories and power plants; many, many villages and a few bigger cities.
A snowy scene at sunset:
One of the many villages we passed:
In a previous blog on our trip to Mongolia, I described meeting Clem and Margaret from Australia and sharing some meals together. Another couple that was on that train was Mark and Jenny, a young couple from England. I spoke briefly with Mark a couple of times on the train to Ulaanbaatar and then we spoke to both of them as they got off the platform in Mongolia. Later as we were preparing to leave Mongolia, we ran into Mark and Jenny again at a grocery store in downtown Ulaanbaatar, buying among other items vodka for their upcoming train ride. They were staying on in Mongolia for another day and then going on to Irkutsk and Lake Baikal for a few days and then on to Moscow on the Trans-Mongolian. We didn't really expect to see them again.
When we got on the Trans-Siberian in Yekaterinburg to go on to Moscow, we ran into Mark on the platform at one of the first station stops. They had stayed longer in Irkutsk/Lake Baikal than we had and they were now taking the Trans-Sib all the way from Irkutsk to Moscow. We made a date to eat lunch together in the dining car, we especially wanted to hear about their Mongolian experience, since it sounded like they had a more authentic "Ger camp" experience than ours.
We learned that Mark and Jenny are both in the accounting profession and had spent five years working in Australia and saving their money so they could take 18 months to travel through Australia and New Zealand and then to get home, they were make a train trip from Vietnam through China and then the same trip as us: Beijing, Ulaanbaatar, Irkutsk, Moscow and then St. Petersburg. We also learned that they had not had the opportunity to drink the Chinngis brand vodka purchased in Ulaanbaatar on the Trans-Siberian with other passengers, so we invited them to come by after their dinner to our compartment for vodka drinking and more conversation. Finally we learned that Mark and Jenny were planning to attend the same ballet performance at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow as were attending, so the next morning as we were preparing to disembark for Moscow, we invited them to meet us for dinner before the show. (More on this in our next blog on Moscow.) Here's a photo of Holly with Mark & Jenny in the dining car of the train.
Yekaterinburg:
Yekaterinburg, located at the base of the Ural Mountains, with copper, iron and other mineral deposits developed as a mining and manufacturing center. Due to Peter the Great's need for war material, he gave instructions for new sources of iron to be developed and an iron works was opened in 1721. The town was founded in 1723 and named after Peter's wife Catherine. Today Yekaterinburg (pronounced: "Yech-tan-borg" by our tour guide) is the fourth or fifth largest city in Russia – depending on the source – with a population of 1.5 million people.
The city administration building across from the Lenin Statue in the main square:
During World War II, Yekaterinburg became one of the major centers of war munitions research and production and until recently housed the Russian "Pentagon". Because of the city's strategic importance, it was off-limits to foreigners until 1990. During Soviet times, the city was renamed "Sverdlovsk", becoming Yekaterinburg again in 1991.
In addition to the usual automobile traffic, there are buses and street cars – below is a particularly colorful street car. One of the pleasant contrasts with China is that, unlike China, in Moscow you can actually cross the street if you are in a cross-walk and a green walk light. Russians seem to follow traffic laws better and give pedestrians the right-of-way, at least when they are crossing at a cross-walk.
Here is the obligatory picture of the obligatory Lenin statue in the main square.
In addition to proximity to minerals, the other reason that Yekaterinburg exists at this location is the River Iset that runs through town. Water power from the river provided the power that ran the original iron works and other factories. The original wooden dam, has now been covered with stone and street, and is the center piece of the downtown river-walk area. Below is a picture of famous local mansion next to the river taken from the dam.
I took a tour of Yekaterinburg Museum with a focus on the history of the city. I was impressed with some really interesting technology the museum used to tell the story of their city, much more high-tech than what you would expect to find in a local museum for a city of this size.
There is a fair amount of new building in certain parts of the city. One can see areas with many beautiful new high-rise buildings:
One can also still see many, many Soviet-era buildings in various stages of decay:
Yekaterinburg is famous for three things:
In May 1960 American U2 pilot Gary Powers was shot down nearby and parachuted into the arms of Soviet soldiers waiting below.
Yekaterinburg is home to Boris Yeltsin, the 1st President of the Russian Federation following the collapse of the Soviet Union. Yeltsin was the local political boss here and there is this monument to Yeltsin near the government buildings in downtown Yekaterinburg.
The murder of the last Russian Tsar and his family. Following the 1917 Russian Revolution, the Tsar and his family were moved to Yekaterinburg in April 1918 and imprisoned in the house of a rich merchant for two months. Eventually the Bolshevik government decided that the Tsar was too great a threat and ordered his killing. Shortly before midnight on July 16th, Tsar Nicholas, his wife Alexandra, their four daughters and their hemophiliac son Alexis, were taken to the basement of the house where they were shot and bayoneted to death.
For a time, the Soviets were proud of this murder and would take visitors down to the basement to see where Romanov family had met their end. Later the mansion became an embarrassment to the Russian authorities, so in 1976 local political boss Boris Yeltsin ordered the house demolished. In 2000, the Tsar and his family were canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church and the Church of the Blood pictured below, dedicated to the new Romanov saints, was built on the site of their murder.
This sculpture of Tsar Nicholas carrying his young son Alexis and his wife and daughters descending the stairs to the basement to their deaths stands in front of the Church of the Blood.
Following their execution, the bodies of the Romanov family was taken to the Four Brothers Mine, about 40 km outside of the city. There the guards spent three days attempting to destroy the bodies, the evidence of their crimes. The bodies were dismembered, doused with gasoline and burned and the remains thrown down a mine shaft. Today on this site there is the Monastery of the Holy Martyrs (Ganina Yama) which includes seven church buildings made of wood logs set in a wooded park-like setting. Below is a sculpture of the canonized children of Tsar Nicholas and Tsarina Alexandra.
This is one of the most elaborate of the seven churches at the site. The other six churches are all very different in shape and size.
On a lighter note, later in the day we hired a car to take us out to the border between the continents of Europe and Asia. The Ural Mountains are traditionally the border between Asia and Europe. We were told there are several border markers. We wanted to go to a particular border marker described in our "bible" for this trip – the Trans-Siberian Handbook. Language is a constant issue for us, since we have really mastered only three words in Russian: "da" (Yes), "nyet" (no), and phonetically – "spa-see-ba" (thank you). To get to the border marker we wanted to visit, I handed the Trans-Siberian Handbook to desk clerk at our Hotel and pointed to the description of the border and the desk clerk then called the car service. The desk clerk seemed to know where we wanted to go, we figured we were not the first tourists to make this request. When the car arrived, I showed the same description (in Russian) to the driver.
The driver took us first to another border marker closer to the city and just off the highway. This is a nice marker and is next to an area in the woods where couples who marrying go to take photographs. We took a number of photos at this marker with one foot in each continent. Thinking all the time of our previous visits to four-corners in the U.S.A. A nice local man who spoke English came along with some of his family members visiting from out of town and we took turns taking group pictures of each other.
Although this marker was very nice, we still wanted to see the border marker we had read about in the guide book. When we got back in the car, he asked "hotel?" "No" I replied and I handed him the book again. He then called our hotel and with our hotel's desk clerk acting as our interpreter, our driver came to understand where we wanted to go. The price quoted had been 1,700 rubles (about $53.00 U.S.), but with the additional driving now went up to 2,200 rubles (about $70.00 U.S.). "OK" we agreed and we were off.
This border marker is at a spot that German scientists, Humboldt and Roze, using barometric readings determined in 1829 to be the border between Europe and Asia. The original marker was destroyed in the 1920s and replaced with this obelisk made of concrete and faced with granite.
Next up: Moscow. Stay tuned.
Categories: Russia, Trip Around the World
Tagged as: Boris Yeltsin, Irkutsk, Mongolia, Moscow, Russia, Siberia, Tran-Siberian, Trans-Mongolian, Trans-Siberian, Trans-Siberian Railroad, Ulaanbaatar, Ulan-Ude, Yekaterinburg
Irkutsk me, have we been exiled to Siberia?
Moscow – Center of the Russian Universe – Part 2


text:
Unreleased Radiohead music held to ransom for $150,000
Over 18 hours of Radiohead's 'OK Computer' sessions have been leaked.
A large amount of supposedly unreleased material from Radiohead's 'OK Computer' sessions has been discovered, with hours worth of demos, early live recordings and alternate takes.
It was revealed that fans on Reddit had been in contact with a Bootlegger who had collected 18 Minidiscs named 'The Entire OK Computer Sessions'.
Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images
It has been speculated that lead singer Thom Yorke recorded and archived the sessions for personal use.
Among the recordings are early studio versions of 'Exit Music', 'I Promise', 'True Love Waits' and 'Lift', and also a 12-minute version of 'Paranoid Android'.
It has been reported that the original seller in possession of the recordings was demanding "$800 per studio track and $50 per live track" or even "upwards of $150,000 for the entire set".
Fans have been expressing their views of the leaked material, one saying "What we're talking about is simply theft, and it is wrong", whilst others are pointing out the potentially damaging effect that this could have on the band.
Red Hot Chili Peppers cover Radiohead at Egyptian Pyramids
5 facts about Radiohead's 'The Bends'
Radiohead's 'In Rainbows' sold for price chosen by fans


After the inspection, professionals from Showalter Roofing are capable of advising you on the remaining life of your roof and to give tips on how to protect your roof. Consult Showalter Roofing Services, Inc. for your inspection, repair, maintenance and replacement needs. Like us on our facebook page.


Drain flies are a species of fly from the nematoceran family, also known as psychodidae. These flies hail from the diptera order. Some may know them as moth flies. They can be found almost anywhere in the United States or the world, as long as there is a standing water supply that has accumulated for at least a week. Drain flies have a distinctive appearance, thanks to their hairy, short bodies that are equipped with wings.
Adult drain flies have leaf shaped wings and long antennae. They range in size from one fifty of an inch to one sixth of an inch and have a negligible weight. Drain flies are considered to be weak fliers, only able to travel a few feet at a time. They prefer to move from place to place by hopping and jumping.
Their predators include spiders and their webs, so their wings are equipped with scales to protect them. Due to their tiny size and ability to hide within pipes and drains, they are not typically susceptible to predators. Their short life span and nocturnal habits serve to keep them safe.
In the daytime, adult drain flies take care to stay in shady areas. They also spend a fair amount of time on the walls adjacent to your plumbing fixtures and perch themselves on the sides of your tub and shower. A nocturnal creature, drain flies are usually seen fluttering over your sinks and drains during the nighttime hours.
Drain flies also live outdoors, finding homes in shallow swimming pool water, inside of air conditioners, sewers and even your sump pump. Clogged gutters are another favored area. Adult drain flies are small enough to enter your home through even the tiniest crack in the window or a door left slightly ajar.
The openings of your drainpipes are another common entrance. If you have toilet bowls that do not receive frequent usage or a drainage pan beneath the refrigerator, these can areas of concern. Due to the larvae's minuscule size, homeowners won't even notice them swimming in the water.
Drain fly larvae feed on organic matter that has begun to decay, algae and sediment that they find. They also locate dying organisms within the sediment in which to feed upon, in addition to microscopic animal and plant life. Any vegetation that has begun to experience decay is a key part of their diet.
Adults consume mostly liquid matter. They do not bite or feed on human hosts. Even more surprisingly, drain flies are not the transmitters of any diseases. When their bodies begin to decay, drain flies may cause allergic reactions in those who are susceptible. Those who suffer from bronchial asthma are especially vulnerable. They prefer sweeter liquids, such as fruit juices, nectar, and any sugary substances. This is why they make their home in your drain, so that they may feed on all of the beverages you absentmindedly pour down the sink.
Adult drain flies can only survive for three or four in the absence of food, but if nectar or other sugar based liquids are available, they can live for up to three weeks without a meal.
Drain flies are able to reproduce in pools of shallow, standing water. When slime, goop and film accumulate on the sides of drains, gutters, swimming pools, toilets, and the like, that's where larvae begin to populate. Females can lay eggs whether they are mated or not. Eggs are laid in large masses, ranging from 30 to 100 at a time.
These eggs hatch into larvae within a mere 48 hours. The larvae and pupae then make their home where they can locate the film inside of your drains and standing water supplies. While they can live on fungi and algae found in these places, drain flies can turn on each other and resort to cannibalism when food supplies run low.
Drain flies thrive in moist, warm conditions. Their preferred hibernation temperature is 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Drain flies are typically only found in the summertime or in places with moderate year round climates. Cold weather kills off more drain flies than any of their predators.
If drain files are able to find a home indoors, they can continue their development throughout the year, even during the winter. However, even when a suitable indoor hibernation spot is found, colder temperatures are still able to stunt their reproductive habits. Drain flies will remain hidden during colder periods, only emerging once warmer temperatures become the norm.
Homeowners, if you believe that you have begun to develop a drain fly infestation in and around your home or on your property, Alliance Pest Services is here for you. We are the local standard when it comes to pest removal and ensuring that your home is free of all bugs.


text:
Q: Download files from Amazon S3 windows command line utility I am tasked to automate the process of downloading files from Amazon S3. I am quite new this, after searching on the web I found this command line utility for windows s3.exe
I run the get command with the below syntax
s3 get xxx-xxx/yyyy_yyy/ D:\ /key:****** /secret:*****

xxx-xxx(bucketname)
yyyy_yyy(keyprefix)
D:(local path)
When I execute this the only message i see is s3.exe version 2.0 - check for updates at http://s3.codeplex.com and then it takes me back to the folder where I run the command. Pardon me if this too basic a question for this forum but if anyone have used this utility some insights will help me achieve this

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
The Art of Sound Forum > Hi-Fi Studio & Trade > Trade Impressions > TortugaAudio > New 2.1.x firmware release for Tortuga LDR passive preamps
View Full Version : New 2.1.x firmware release for Tortuga LDR passive preamps
TortugaRanger
After a ton (perhaps a few tons) of work, we are pleased to finally release the latest version of our LDR preamp controller firware that was developed as part of the V2.1 version of the LDR3x Preamp Controller Board.
This Rev 2.1.x firmware now includes both adjustable impedance as well as a greatly improved auto-cal algorithm. You can read more about it via this article: http://www.tortugaaudio.com/ldr-passive-preamps-with-adjustable-impedance/
For convenience I've quoted the essential top lines below.
We've been shipping versions of this new firmware with our products starting back in January but we didn't want to formally release it and make it available to existing V2/preamp customers until such time as we felt it had a chance to mature.
Morten :D
March 1, 2015 - Tortuga Audio has released a major firmware update for its LDR Passive Preamp product line allowing the user to change the input impedance of their LDR passive preamp. This firmware update also includes an upgraded auto-calibration algorithm resulting in improved sound stage and stereo imaging.
The Adjustable Impedance feature allows the user to set up 5 different impedance settings, each between 1k and 99k, with setting #1 currently set up at 20k by default.
All Tortuga Audio preamp products shipped starting January 1, 2015 include some version of the updated 2.1.x firmware. This firmware update is also available to all existing owners of the V2 and V2.1 versions of the LDR3x passive preamp controller board as well as all passive preamp products equipped with a USB socket. Version 2.1.7 is considered the most complete, stable and reliable version as of this edit. Owners are encourage to upgrade to this version.
The latest firmware file plus the required PC compatible bootloader program (not available yet for MACs) can be downloaded from here. Detailed instructions can be found there as well. The specific remote command sequences needed to adjust impedance can be found here in our online documentation.


text:
package com.gdxz.zhongbao.server.DAO.impl;

import java.lang.reflect.ParameterizedType;
import java.sql.SQLException;
import java.util.List;

import javax.annotation.Resource;

import org.hibernate.HibernateException;
import org.hibernate.Query;
import org.hibernate.Session;
import org.hibernate.SessionFactory;
import org.springframework.orm.hibernate3.HibernateCallback;
import org.springframework.orm.hibernate3.HibernateTemplate;
import org.springframework.stereotype.Component;
import org.springframework.transaction.annotation.Transactional;

import com.gdxz.zhongbao.server.DAO.DAOSupport;
import com.gdxz.zhongbao.server.domain.Answer;

@Transactional
public class DAOSupportImpl<T> implements DAOSupport<T>
{
	@Resource
	private SessionFactory sessionFactory;

	@Resource
	private HibernateTemplate hibernateTemplate;

	private Class<T> clazz;

	public DAOSupportImpl()
	{
		ParameterizedType pt = (ParameterizedType) this.getClass().getGenericSuperclass();
		this.clazz = (Class<T>) pt.getActualTypeArguments()[0];
		// System.out.println(clazz);
	}

	/**
	 * 保存数据
	 */
	public void save(T t)
	{

		hibernateTemplate.save(t);
	}

	/**
	 * 根据Id获得对象
	 */

	public T getById(Number id)
	{
		return (T) hibernateTemplate.get(clazz, id);
	}

	/**
	 * 执行hql语句获得list
	 */
	public List query(String hql, Object[] parameters)
	{
		List list = null;
		try
		{
			if (parameters != null && parameters.length > 0)
			{
				list = hibernateTemplate.find(hql, parameters);
			}
			else
			{
				list = hibernateTemplate.find(hql);
			}
		}
		catch (Exception e)
		{
			e.printStackTrace();
		}

		return list;
	}

	/**
	 * 通过id删除对象
	 */
	public void deleteById(Number id)
	{
		T t = (T) hibernateTemplate.get(clazz, id);
		hibernateTemplate.delete(t);
	}

	/**
	 * 通过id数组得到对象
	 */
	public List getByIds(final String hql, final Object[] ids)
	{
		List list = null;
		try
		{
			list = hibernateTemplate.executeFind(new HibernateCallback()
			{

				public Object doInHibernate(Session session) throws HibernateException,
						SQLException
				{
					Query query = session.createQuery(hql);
					if (ids != null && !("".equals(ids)))
					{
						query.setParameterList("ids", ids);
					}
					return query.list();

				}
			});
		}
		catch (Exception e)
		{
			e.printStackTrace();
		}

		return list;

	}

	/**
	 * 单一结果查询
	 */
	public T queryInUniqueResult(final String hql, final Object[] params)
	{

		Object result = hibernateTemplate.execute(new HibernateCallback()
		{

			public Object doInHibernate(Session session) throws HibernateException, SQLException
			{
				Query query = session.createQuery(hql);
				if (params != null && params.length > 0)
				{
					for (int i = 0; i < params.length; i++)
					{
						query.setParameter(i, params[i]);
					}
				}
				return query.uniqueResult();
			}
		});
		return (T) result;
	}

	/**
	 * 查询记录数
	 */
	public int queryCount(String hql, final Object[] params)
	{
		Number number=(Number) queryInUniqueResult(hql, params);
		if(number!=null)
		{
			return number.intValue();
		}
		else
		{
			return 0;
		}
	}

	/**
	 * 更新对象
	 */
	public void update(T t)
	{

		hibernateTemplate.update(t);
	}

	/**
	 * 分页查询
	 */
	public List<T> getByPage(final int pageNow, final int pageSize, final String hql,
			final Object[] parameters)
	{
		List recordList = hibernateTemplate.executeFind(new HibernateCallback()
		{

			public Object doInHibernate(Session session) throws HibernateException, SQLException
			{

				Query query = session.createQuery(hql);
				if (parameters != null && !("".equals(parameters)))
				{
					for (int i = 0; i < parameters.length; i++)
					{
						query.setParameter(i, parameters[i]);
					}
				}
				query.setFirstResult((pageNow - 1) * (pageSize)).setMaxResults(pageSize);
				List list = query.list();
				return list;
			}
		});

		return recordList;

	}

	// 执行hql语句
	public void executeHql(final String hql, final Object[] parameters)
	{
		if (parameters != null && !("".equals(parameters)))
		{
			hibernateTemplate.execute(new HibernateCallback()
			{

				public Object doInHibernate(Session session) throws HibernateException,
						SQLException
				{
					Query query = session.createQuery(hql);
					for (int i = 0; i < parameters.length; i++)
					{
						query.setParameter(i, parameters[i]);
					}
					query.executeUpdate();
					return null;
				}
			});
		}
	}

}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Калиты — название населённых пунктов:

Белоруссия
 Калиты — деревня в Браславском районе Витебской области.
 Калиты — деревня в Поставском районе Витебской области.

Россия
 Калиты — деревня в Вязниковском районе Владимирской области.
 Калиты — деревня в Демянском районе Новгородской области.
 Калиты — деревня в Вышневолоцком районе Тверской области.
 Калиты — деревня в Даниловском районе Ярославской области.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Indigo is certainly the most luxurious property on Perdido Key..... Seven acres of exquisite landscaping, the largest and most glorious pool on the island with a huge hot tub, picnic area with grills, swings and gazebo, and awesome indoor amenities including a huge theater, workout facility with the finest equipment and a private lounge with fireplace and wet bar... Two lighted Tennis courts in a lush setting round out the outdoor experience. Grills are available at the pool level.
Access your own exterior foyer when your personal elevator doors open. Of course two double doors secure the exterior foyer from your interior foyer. Beyond those double doors,1500 square feet of living space and two balconies make this third floor two bedroom, two and a half bath, vacation home... one that is truly livable.
Nine foot tall sliding glass doors along with other expansive windows bring the beautiful Gulf Coast indoors. Or, enjoy the view of the pool oasis and the Gulf of Mexico from your 10 by 16 foot balcony. A second balcony provides outdoor living off of the guest bedroom. Both balconies have tile decking.
Sleeping accommodations include a king in the master, queen in the guest bedroom, and a queen-size Serta sofa sleeper. Also, a six foot long window seat in the guest bedroom and a chaise lounge in the master provide comfortable sleeping for a small child. Dual sinks and granite in both full baths. A pedestal sink provides additional facilities in the half bath.
Granite counter tops, a breakfast bar, and quality built-in appliances will bring out the gourmet in you. Appliances include a side-by-side refrigerator, built-in wall oven, built-in microwave, dishwasher, cook-top, and full-size washer and dryer.
Additional amenities include a 42-in HDTV, DVD and VCR in the living room, a 39-in LED TV in the Master and a LCD TV in the guest bedroom. All rooms have a stereo and a DVD player. The Entertainment Center is stocked with DVDs and VCR Tapes for your use.
Indigo is an exclusive, weekly only rental resort. Bookings are Saturday to Saturday.
Sorry, Condo Documents dictate that Rental Guests cannot bring pets.
No smoking is allowed in any other areas of the property, including the beach, grassy areas, pools, balconies, indoor areas, parking lots, etc.
We are Paul and Julie Pritchard. We both grew up in New Orleans and both graduated from the Univesity of New Orleans with degrees in Accounting. In 1981, we moved to the Atlanta area and have been living in Roswell, Georgia ever since. We have three children, two boys, Chris and Greg, and one daughter, Blake. Although all three were born in Atlanta, they, like us, have grown up to be die-hard LSU fans.
Two elevators service our unit, the main elevator opens into your own foyer and there is a second service elevator.


Even though I have 2 degrees from Boston University and live 15 minutes from campus, I'm not a big BU alumni. Maybe it's because there wasn't a big fraternity scene or football tailgating parties. For me, it was the city of Boston itself that's the attraction. Since BU is 1 mile long and a block wide, the campus really becomes the city itself. So I've ignored BU attempts at bringing me back.
The one sport BU is good at is hockey and they've been ranked #1 most of this year and are going to the Frozen Four next week. Watching hockey on HD with the boys is almost as good as watching the games live so I've been caught up in the BU spirit. And then BU got me at a weak moment and I said, "Yes" to attending a BU Engineering industry night last week.
I'm back on campus, walking thru the student union and knowing that I can't even pass for a grad student getting their PhD. Obviously not a professor, maybe the parent of one of these kids. Go into the dining room where they're hosting the event and take a big breath.
The room is full of engineering seniors wanting to mingle with alumni and ask what's it's like in the real world. No speeches, just a quick intro and then mingle the crowd so that the kids could ask us questions one-on-one. I told the crowd, "I don't know why BU ENG asked me to attend as I got out of engineering and into sales within 2 years of graduating BU." Of all the other alumni, only 1 other wasn't still in engineering and he was a patent attorney. I figured I'd be left alone for the next 2 hours, scorned for going to the dark side of sales.
Instead, I was mobbed. And I really enjoyed talking with them and was glad I attended. Why? Because I can remember being in their place and knowing I had spent so many hours studying to be an engineer, hours that my English and Business major friends were spending in the bars downtown. I can remember that eager but tight feeling of, "I have to get a Engineering job right now" without realizing that working for the next 40 years is what's ahead of me. After all, I thought 30 year olds were due Social Security benefits when I was graduating BU. Just no concept of 4 years of school vs 40 years of working.
What these kids wanted to hear from me that it's OK not to do the expected and get the obligatory engineering job right away. So I told them it's OK. Be a (gasp) sales person. Join the Peace Corp, get a teaching job, be a bartender or ski instructor, travel the world if you can. Take some time to discover what you love to do. That job will be waiting when you're ready.


Having problems with your Jazz JDC31 Digital Camera ?
Im lokoking for the user manual on this camer I just bought and dopnt see ity listed on here under digital cameras or anything. It's a Jazz DV146 Digital Video Camera. Is there a manual on here I can read up on how to use this camera? If so where can I locate it? If not where can I find it and why isn't it listed?
I would like to receive a manual for my new camera. Will you provide one since I don't have a printer to print out anything that you might have available on your Website?
I own a CANON EOS REBEL T1i EOS 500D. I used it in perfect order last saturday, went to use it yesterday afternoon and i have nothing viewing on the LCD. The camera still takes photos fine. Just nothing comes up on the screen, not the menu or settings nothing. It just a black screen. Spent many hours going through the manual last night and i cant find anything relating. Im thinking i may have to send it in to get fixed just thought i would check on here first. Thankyou!
Lost Manual I can't find a manual for my Digital Concepts 7.1 Camera. I would like to find one online to print out.
Instruction booklet I have lost my instruction booklet for my Jazz DV165 and I was hoping to be able to download a copy from the jazzcamera.com website but the only thing on the website was a domain for sale ad. Is it possible to find a free booklet to download as I really can't afford to buy a new one now?


Big Blue has 8,290 patented AI inventions to its name, with Redmond owning 5,930 of them too.
Since the emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) during the 1950s, nearly 340,000 AI-related inventions have been filed for patents, a report from the UN World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) has revealed.
According to the WIPO Technology Trends report [PDF], IBM currently has the largest portfolio of AI patent applications, with 8,290 patented inventions. This is followed by Microsoft, who has 5,930 inventions.
Toshiba, Samsung, and NEC -- who possess the third, fourth, and fifth largest portfolios -- have 5,223, 5,102, and 4,406 AI patent applications respectively.
Despite IBM and Microsoft having the biggest portfolios, the Chinese state-owned SGCC has enjoyed the greatest growth from 2013 to 2016 in amount of patents filed, with a remarkable 70 percent annual average growth rate. Most companies have also shown increases in filing activity since 2012, the report said.
In this respect, AI is currently undergoing a renaissance of sorts, with over half of all patenting activity in AI having taken place since 2013, which amounts to around 170,000 different patented ideas.
The ratio of scientific papers to inventions has also decreased from 8:1 in 2010, to 3:1 in 2016, indicating that AI technologies are being used more prevalently in the commercial sphere.
"Patenting activity in the artificial intelligence realm is rising at a rapid pace, meaning we can expect a very significant number of new AI-based products, applications, and techniques that will alter our daily lives" WIPO Director General Francis Gurry said.
However, there are a few companies that have decreased such activity. This is a reflection of companies using different strategies, WIPO said, with filings by Alphabet declining due to it having acquired 18 AI companies since 2009.
Other companies that have been active in acquiring other AI entities include Apple and Microsoft, with 11 and nine AI-related acquisitions apiece. 434 companies in the AI sector have been acquired since 1998, and 53 percent of acquisitions have taken place since 2016.
Of the organisations applying for patents, companies represent 26 out of the top 30, with the remaining four being universities or public research organisations. From the top 20 companies that filed the most AI-related patents, 12 are based in Japan, three are in the US, and two are in China.
Machine learning is the most used AI technique in patents, being included in 134,777 patent documents, which accounts for more than one third of all identified inventions. Filings of machine learning-related patents have grown rapidly, with an annual average growth rate of 28 percent between 2013 to 2016. The amount of machine learning-related patents filed has also more than doubled, rising to 20,195 patent applications filed in 2016 from 9,567 in 2013.
The key machine learning techniques being developed, the report showed, are deep learning and neural networks: Deep learning patent filings increased at an average annual growth rate of 175 percent from 2013 to 2016, with 2,399 patent filings in 2016; and neural networks grew 46 percent over the same period, with 6,506 patent filings in 2016.
Among AI functional applications, computer vision is the most filed type of patent. Computer vision applications include those related to augmented reality, biometrics, image and video segmentation, character recognition, object tracking, and scene understanding. Computer vision is mentioned in 49 percent of all AI-related patents, amounting to 167,038 patent documents. Japanese and Korean companies active in consumer electronics, imaging, telephony, and software, such as Toshiba, Samsung, Canon, Fujitsu, and NEC dominate the largest functional application, computer vision, according to the report.
While AI-related technologies can be applied across various industries, transportation was the prominent industry in for AI-related patents filed, growing by 33 percent annually from 2013 to 2016, and reaching 8,764 patents filed in 2016.
AI-related telecommunications also experienced strong growth, with the amount of patents filed rising by an average of 23 percent between 2013 and 2016. 6,684 filings were made in 2016 for AI-related telecommunications.
The dramatic increase of patents filed in China reflects its increasingly important role in the tech sphere.
Despite China ranking first in the number of patents filed, only four percent of patents first filed in China are subsequently filed in other jurisdictions, compared to the 25 to 63 percent rate in all other offices. The high percentage of applications filed only in China could be due to Chinese applicants being more interested in the domestic rather than overseas market, WIPO said.
In the ongoing trade war between China and the United States, the topic of technology ownership has been at the eye of the storm, with the United States earlier this week unsealing a pair of indictments against Huawei.
The first indictment alleges that Huawei conspired to steal intellectual property from T-Mobile and subsequently obstructed justice. The alleged activity occurred during 2012-13, and relates to Huawei's attempt to build a robot similar to the one T-Mobile was using at the time to test mobile phones.
Huawei is also facing a second indictment for conspiracy to defraud the United States; violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA); violate the IEEPA; commit money laundering; and obstruct justice.
Looking ahead, WIPO in its report also emphasises the need to address challenges surrounding AI technology, especially in protecting data privacy and security.
Currently, there are no standards for the anonymisation and sharing of insights from big data, Chief Data Scientist of UN Global Pulse, Miguel Luengo-Oroz said.
"New frameworks are needed that go beyond privacy and also ensure accountability and the responsible use and re-use of data for the public good."
Multinational corporations such as Google, Intel, Microsoft, and IBM are also releasing their own set of principles for developing responsible AI, which poses risks and future unknowns due to a lack of transparency towards citizens, according to the report.
"Citizens, private industry, national governments, and international institutions must work together to collectively establish standards for training datasets and auditing procedures that require the perspectives of diverse disciplines and coalitions," said UN University Center for Policy Research Fellow, Eleonore Pauwels.
Researchers at China's Sun Yat-Sen University, improved upon their own attempt to get a computer to discern human poses in images by adding a bit of self-supervised training.
Major breakthroughs will lead enterprises to increasingly advance, scale, and trust artificial intelligence, according to IBM.


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