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KOFA Treasures: Kim Ki-young's Woman of Fire (화녀, Hanyeo) 1971
Ongoing series on classic Korean film recently made available for free and with English subtitles on Youtube courtesy of the Korean Film Archive.
Aside from a few choice selections, remakes have become something of a bane for contemporary cinephiles. They are borne out of commercial interests and, for the most part and almost by default, they are unoriginal. They are also omnipresent on today's marquees, but this wasn't always the case. Despite the good examples that do exist, the announcement of a remake almost never inspires much confidence, but what about when a director remakes his own work?
Surprisingly this has happened quite often, mainly when a foreign filmmaker remakes his own successful work for Hollywood. Among the oldest examples are Hitchcock's British and US versions of The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934 and 1956) or Yasujiro Ozu's I Was Born But… (1932) and Good Morning (1959), both Japanese. Among the most intriguing ones are Michael Haneke's almost identical versions of Funny Games (Austria, 1997 and US, 2007): the US version was a fascinating meta-narrative experiment that explored our species' fascination with violence, I'm just not sure it's what the studio had in mind, despite it being a shot-for-shot copy of the original.
Kim Ki-young's The Housemaid (1960) is frequently cited as one of the greatest (if not the greatest) Korean films ever made. He saw fit to remake it in 1971 with Woman of Fire and again, a further 11 years down the line with Woman of Fire '82, which I have not yet seen. Clearly this narrative was of paramount importance to Kim but what did he add to his original work by revisiting it?
Woman of Fire begins with what looks to be a murder scene, the bodies of a man, Dong-sik, and a woman, Myeong-ja, have been found in a house. At the police station the wife of the man and the friend of the woman have been brought in for questioning. The story then proceeds via extended flashback and it is here that it begins to align with the first version. Two girls come to the city from the countryside and while one wants to be a singer the other, Myeong-ja wants to get married and comes to work as a housemaid for Jeong-suk, in exchange for a promise to find her a husband. Jeong-suk is married to Dong-sik, a composer who gives singing classes at their home. One of his students makes advances on him and one night, while Jeong-suk is away with their children, Myeong-ja forcibly kicks the young woman out but is then raped and impregnated by Dong-sik.
The differences between the two films include: the already mentioned structure; the splicing in of numerous images that are not part of the story; some slightly more manic and depraved events; and the fact that The Housemaid was in black and white while Woman of Fire is in colour.
Regarding that last point, the film may be in colour but it heavily favours red and blue hues in its striking and vivid cinematography. The seediness of the dark reds suits the setting and is in stark contrast with the more peaceful blue, a colour that seems to become less prominent as the narrative descends further into insanity. One particularly striking shot is a fantastic composition where Dong-sik stands by the window framed in blue while the other side of the shot, which features the window of Myeong-ja's room, is a deep red. The dark crimson signals his dark passion for her, while also foreshadowing the narrative's macabre twists. The calm blue, on the other hand, signifies the cooling of his attraction to his wife. Myeong-ja then walks in with a red tray and serves the couple a ginseng-infused aphrodisiac, further reinforcing her position as the catalyst for the dark dissolution of the family unit.
Just like the original, Woman of Fire is not a visually explicit picture, and while this is almost certainly a product of the reality of what could be depicted on screen at the time, both films revel in the power of suggestion, which is often far more powerful that the real thing. Oldboy (2003), one of the most popular Korean films of the last 20 years, is a very good reminder of this. Kim is very clever in how he depicts certain actions. For instance the sex scenes typically heat up where we can see the characters until they move, or in the instance of the rape are dragged off, to a mattress that is positioned just behind a blurred window. We can still follow the action and in our position as voyeurs the notion of forbidden pleasure is amplified. These scenes, though safe from the censor (relatively speaking) are perhaps more effective than they would be within clear view.
At the heart of Woman of Fire, as well as The Housemaid, is the notion of sin. The main protagonists are each corrupted and steadily stray from their moral centers as the narrative unfurls. Throughout the film sin is almost depicted as an infectious disease. Myeong-ja and her friend catch the bug early on while they are still in the countryside. They pass by and admire a pair of young steelsmiths who hammer away at red hot metal with their shirts off and a moment later the men run after them and attempt to rape them. Myeong-ja brings this malaise into the middleclass home and upsets its social order, contaminating its residents with her sin. Other characters, such as the precocious singer and a man looking to avail of a prostitute, also pass through the home, corrupting it further in the process. During a few of the film's most important scenes, characters express a desperate thirst and clamour for water, as if in a final attempt to purify themselves, but it is already too late.
Both of Kim's films present the girls from the countryside as depraved characters who clash with the propriety of the urban middle class. At the start of Woman of Fire, a detective expresses his disdain for country girls who come to city and live off their bodies. However, by the narrative's end it is clear that be they repressed or not, each character, no matter their background, is governed by their dark desires.
Kim's extraordinary film is well served by its striking cinematography, full of expressive colours, dutch (heavy) angles and vivid staging. He builds tension and even terror through the various, carefully orchestrated elements of his mise-en-scene but also with his charged use of montage, where he splices in vivid images, which evoke passion, lust, death and despair, during some of the film's crucial moments. It may not have quite the immediacy of the original but make no mistake about it, Woman of Fire is a classic of Korean cinema, courtesy of one of its finest craftsmen.
KOFA Treasures
Kim Soo-yong's The Seaside Village (갯마을, Gaenmaeul) 1965
Lee Doo-yong's The Oldest Son (장남, Jangnam) 1984
Reviews and features on Korean film appear regularly on Modern Korean Cinema. For film news, external reviews, and box office analysis, take a look at the Korean Box Office Update, Korean Cinema News and the Weekly Review Round-up, which appear weekly on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings (Korean Standard Time).
Labels: 1971, classic korean cinema, film review, hanyeo, kim ki-young, kofa, korea, the housemaid, 화녀
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PiFan Preview
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Alexander Dennis turned to Slimstock to help bring the planning of their spare parts back in-house.
The on shelf availability rose to 98.7%, the inventory reduced by 15% and there is less shrinkage.
I.M. Group was faced the daunting task of maintaining the company's excellent service record while keeping stock investment under control.
Within the first few months of installation, MyMicro has increased availability from 85% to 90% while simultaneously reducing stock value.
the company has increased the turnover by 400% without increasing the inventory value.


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Art Basel Miami Beach WeekArt TalksEventsMOCA Contemporary DialoguesPast EventsPrograms
PANEL DISCUSSION WITH AFRICOBRA ARTISTS
Saturday, December 8 | 11am
Moderated by Donnamarie Baptiste
Donnamarie Baptiste is an experienced arts administrator, producer and director whose work with artists and brands crosses disciplines and genres to bring large-scale exhibitions, special artist projects and events to life. Born in Trinidad & Tobago, Donnamarie began her career while studying Humanities in the Virgin Islands, where she fell in love with Impressionism and began her career in arts. She has worked as an independent curator, held roles in programming, marketing, operations and production with organizations that include Art Basel, The Armory Show, Creative Time, Performa and Gen Art. She has produced numerous high-profile live music performances and cultural events, and worked with brands like Absolut, Lexus, Veuve Clicquot and Remy Cointreau among others. In 2017, Donnamarie launched Fresh Alchemy, a multifaceted arts consulting and production company. She is currently producing an artist project, and has 2 exhibitions and a feature length documentary in the works.
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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2020 West Virginia Work-Related Fatal Accident Rates Compared to United States Workplace Death Rates
Feb 8, 2022 | Business
As more attention is focused on preventing work-related fatalities, Robinette Legal Group, PLLC has created an infographic demonstrating how West Virginia fatal accident rates exceed the United States worker death rates.
MORGANTOWN, WV, February 08, 2022 /24-7PressRelease/ — There's no doubt that we all hope to never again see a year like 2020. Due to Covid-19 restrictions, millions of people either lost their jobs or were temporarily prevented from working.
One benefit of the government mandated shutdowns during the pandemic was that worker deaths decreased by 10.7% in 2020 as compared to 2019.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics in its annual report, there were 4,764 fatal workplace injuries in 2020. This represents the lowest annual number of workplace injury deaths since 2013. These numbers do not take into account workers who died from Covid-19 exposure. Even so, one worker died every 111 minutes from a work-related injury in 2020.
One workplace death is one too many, and statistics are meaningless to those families who suddenly and tragically lost loved ones due to workplace accidents.
Sadly, West Virginia is still seeing worker death rates that are higher than the national averages, especially from accidents involving large trucks.
For the U.S.A. as a whole, the US workers killed overall rate was 3.4 per 100,000 full-time workers and in West Virginia, the rate was 6.6 workers killed per every 100,000 full time workers.
Similarly, for the U.S.A. as a whole, the number of fatalities from transport-related incidents, including semi-truck accidents, in the U.S.A. was 26% of total workplace fatalities. For West Virginia, however, it was 36% of the total work-related deaths.
Research carried out by Robinette Legal Group PLLC has shown the 2020 statistics for fatal work accident statistics for the US and West Virginia. It shows that in 2020 there was a total of 47 fatal injuries recorded in the state of WV alone. Of these, 89% were men, and 70% of those killed were between the ages of 25 -54.
With an eye toward improving workplace safety in West Virginia, the Robinette Legal Group, PLLC has assembled an infographic demonstrating 2020 West Virginia fatal work accident statistics as compared to the United States as a whole. The infographic can be accessed here: https://robinettelaw.com/fatal-work-accident-statistics-2020-united-states-and-west-virginia/
For more information about the impact of workplace deaths and to learn about a family's rights after suddenly and tragically losing a loved one after a workplace accident, the Robinette Legal Group, PLLC can be contacted by calling (304) 594-1800 or by visiting the website.
Founding and managing attorney of the Robinette Legal Group, PLLC Jeff Robinette has over thirty years of award-winning legal experience handling personal injury claims for his clients. Mr. Robinette is a lifetime member of the Multi-million Dollar Advocates, BBB A+ Rating, and earned Martindale-Hubbell's coveted AV rating from his peers.
Mr. Robinette is Super Lawyer designated, a National Board-Certified Trial Attorney, a member of Elite Lawyers of America, and his firm was selected by Litigator Awards as a top 1% law firm for personal injury, wrongful death, and medical malpractice claims in West Virginia.
Robinette Legal Group, PLLC
211 Everhart Dr. Ste 200
https://robinettelaw.com
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Famished and need a quick boost of energy? Head over to Nathans Deli Catering ASAP and let us fill your tummies with delicious salads, grilled meats, and more! As the go-to deli in Detroit, MI, we promise to satisfy your hunger for great-tasting food. We also double as a catering business that offers party trays for all occasions. Give our dishes a try today, and be one of our regulars here! Our patrons keep coming back for more of our freshly prepared meals; we're sure you will, too.
For more than two decades, Nathans Deli Catering has been sharing our culinary masterpieces with the many food lovers in Detroit, MI. We find satisfaction in knowing we make our customers happy with our food, and we aim to move forward as your reliable provider of sumptuous dishes. At our deli, you can expect high-quality food and exceptional customer service every time you visit us.
Inquire About Our Catering Services Today!
What are you waiting for? Our deli is open from Mondays through Fridays to serve you. Located just across the Renaissance Center at the corner of St. Antoine and Jefferson, we are not hard to miss! If you have any questions, please feel free to get in touch with us.


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from raptiformica.actions.spawn import retrieve_start_instance_config
from tests.testcase import TestCase

class TestRetrieveStartInstanceConfig(TestCase):
    def setUp(self):
        self.types_log = self.set_up_patch('raptiformica.settings.types.log')
        self.spawn_log = self.set_up_patch('raptiformica.actions.spawn.log')
        self.get_config_mapping = self.set_up_patch('raptiformica.actions.spawn.get_config_mapping')
        self.mapping = {
            "raptiformica/compute/docker/headless/available": "docker -v",
            "raptiformica/compute/docker/headless/clean_up_instance_command": "bash -c 'cd ubuntu64 && [ -f container_id ] && cat container_id | xargs sudo docker rm -f || /bin/true'",
            "raptiformica/compute/docker/headless/detect_stale_instance": "bash -c 'cd ubuntu64 && [ -f container_id ] && sudo docker ps --no-trunc | grep -f container_id'",
            "raptiformica/compute/docker/headless/get_hostname": "bash -c \"sudo docker inspect -f '{{ .NetworkSettings.IPAddress }}' $(cat ubuntu64/container_id)\" | tail -n 1",
            "raptiformica/compute/docker/headless/get_port": "echo 22",
            "raptiformica/compute/docker/headless/source": "https://github.com/vdloo/dockerfiles",
            "raptiformica/compute/docker/headless/start_instance": "cd ubuntu64 && chmod 0600 insecure_key && ssh-add insecure_key && sudo docker build -t raptiformica-baseimage . && sudo docker run --privileged -d raptiformica-baseimage > container_id && sleep 5",
            "raptiformica/compute/vagrant/headless/available": "vagrant -v",
            "raptiformica/compute/vagrant/headless/clean_up_instance_command": "cd headless && vagrant destroy -f",
            "raptiformica/compute/vagrant/headless/detect_stale_instance": "cd headless && vagrant status | grep running",
            "raptiformica/compute/vagrant/headless/get_hostname": "cd headless && vagrant ssh-config | grep HostName | awk '{print $NF}'",
            "raptiformica/compute/vagrant/headless/get_port": "cd headless && vagrant ssh-config | grep Port | awk '{print $NF}'",
            "raptiformica/compute/vagrant/headless/source": "https://github.com/vdloo/vagrantfiles",
            "raptiformica/compute/vagrant/headless/start_instance": "cd headless && vagrant up",
            "raptiformica/server/headless/bootstrap": "./papply.sh manifests/headless.pp",
            "raptiformica/server/headless/name": "puppetfiles",
            "raptiformica/server/headless/source": "https://github.com/vdloo/puppetfiles"
        }
        self.get_config_mapping.return_value = self.mapping

    def test_retrieve_start_instance_config_logs_retrieving_instance_config_message(self):
        retrieve_start_instance_config(server_type='headless', compute_type='vagrant')

        self.assertTrue(self.spawn_log.debug.called)

    def test_retrieve_start_instance_config_returns_start_instance_config_for_server_type(self):
        source, start_instance_command, get_hostname_command, get_port_command = retrieve_start_instance_config(
            server_type='headless', compute_type='vagrant'
        )

        self.assertEqual(source, 'https://github.com/vdloo/vagrantfiles')
        self.assertEqual(start_instance_command, 'cd headless && vagrant up')
        self.assertEqual(get_hostname_command, "cd headless && vagrant ssh-config | grep HostName | awk '{print $NF}'")
        self.assertEqual(get_port_command, "cd headless && vagrant ssh-config | grep Port | awk '{print $NF}'")

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


You know those times when you buy something on a whim and it turns out to be the best decision you ever made? This is one of those times. I purchased this dress one day while "studying" for my econ final on a stress-induced impulse shopping spree. While those usually end in regret and shame, this one miraculously did not. Since the day this dress arrived in my mailbox a week ago, I've worn it at least 6 times and had a successful photo shoot in it. I think it's safe to say this dress is a winner.


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Larkspur Rose Garden property sold to new developer, The New Home Co.
By Jessica Bernstein-Wax – Marin Independent Journal, September 27, 2011
A long-standing plan to build 85 residences at a former nursery site in downtown Larkspur will move forward after a developer purchased the 16.8-acre property last week.
The New Home Co. — which has offices in Aliso Viejo and Roseville — has closed escrow on the Niven Nursery property off Doherty Drive and plans to finalize project maps and break ground in the next few months.
"We're anticipating opening for sale in early 2013," said Brian Olin, a senior vice president at the company. "The demolition is being processed with the city of Larkspur now."
The sale comes after property owner the Irving Group severed its more than 13-year relationship with Walnut Creek developer Larkspur Housing Partners earlier this year.
In August 2010, Irving Group attorneys filed a lawsuit alleging that Larkspur Housing had voided its contract by not closing escrow on the property in time for a July 1 deadline. "For sale" signs went up at the property, also known as the Rose Garden site, at around the same time.
In March 2011, attorneys for both parties filed a request to dismiss the original lawsuit, as well as a cross-complaint the developer filed against the owner. The Marin County Assessor-Recorder's Office said it received a quitclaim deed canceling Larkspur Housing's interest in the property in February.
The New Home Co. declined to disclose the purchase price but said the sale included the rights to plans Larkspur already approved under the previous developer. Those plans are for 29 single-family homes, six below-market-rate cottages and 50 condominiums for seniors, as well as a large public space and creek restoration.
"As a part of the transaction, we do have the rights to the plans," Olin said. "We're moving forward with the plans as they've been approved."
In court documents, Larkspur Housing said it spent more than $5 million obtaining those approvals and doing other preparation work for the project. Larkspur City Manager Dan Schwarz said any change to the plans would likely trigger a new approval process.
A 1997 agreement between the Irving Group and Larkspur Housing put the purchase price at no less than $8.5 million before adjustments for below-market-rate and senior units, court records show. The property hadn't gone through an assessment since 1996, and its value was listed at about $2.1 million earlier this year.
"We're certainly very thrilled the sale's gone through and excited to work with the buyer on fulfilling the vision," Schwarz said.
Mayor Larry Chu said he and other residents have grown tired of the property's dilapidated, graffiti-covered state, particularly given its location in the center of town.
"The thing's been basically in some form of transition now for what, 12, 14 years?" Chu said. "I certainly see (the sale) as welcome news and want it to move forward."
Olin said his company intends to start cleaning up the property in coming weeks. A sign-up list for anyone interested in buying a home is available at www.thenewhomecompany.com.
By idmloco| 2011-09-28T08:46:26+00:00 September 28th, 2011|Uncategorized|0 Comments


U.S. hiring is on a continued upswing, and hospitality is near the head of the pack. Data collected by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics showed the nation's unemployment rate edged down to 6.2 percent in July with the addition of 209,000 jobs. Employment in leisure and hospitality added 375,000 new job positions over the past year, primarily in food services and drinking places—indicating it's a great time to apply for new employment at hotels and restaurants around the country. If you're ready to take the next step in your hospitality career, consider these tips to ensure you can satisfy every employer's job seeker wish list.
Your main reason for working may be the paycheck, but employers want to hire hospitality professionals who are passionate about the way in which they earn those dollars. Whether you're applying for a restaurant greeter job or a parking attended position, spend a few hours reading up on industry news, familiarizing yourself with the latest hotel or restaurant trends, identifying the major players in your local market, and learning everything you can about your potential employer. Commit a dozen or more of the details Google unearths to memory and prepare to dazzle the hiring manager at your next job interview.
The devil—or in this case, the job offer—is in the details. Submit a copy and paste cover letter or resume with spelling and grammatical errors and you're only wasting your time. On the other hand, polished application materials indicate you have taken the hospitality job opportunity seriously and are worth a deeper look. Whether you want to further your career as a chef or hotel manager, you must customize your cover letter and resume, proofread it carefully and—for best results—get a second or even third opinion on the effectiveness of your presentation.
Behavioral interview questions are increasingly common. While you can't prepare a response to every "Tell me about a time…" or "What would you do if…" query, you can focus in on those that a hotel or restaurant employer is most likely to ask by considering the job from his or her perspective. What skills are most important in a hostess position? The answer may be good communication and great attention to detail. What situations would indicate a candidate has those skills? You can then prepare stories that address the situations and skills you've identified.
Whether you prefer to not talk about why you left your last position or want to keep your former salary a secret because you fear it will hamper negotiations, any response that is less than truthful—even if not outright dishonest—can come back to hurt you. For example, most hotel and restaurant employers will check in with your past supervisors. They'll find out why you left, if you gave appropriate notice, and what you earned. If the information you provided does not match that given by your reference, the employer will question your motives for subterfuge. That almost always negatively impacts the hiring decision.


Kristen Wiig has joined the cast playing Steve Carell's wife.
Apatow Productions and Gary Sanchez Productions are in pre-production on the feature film sequel "Anchorman: The Legend Continues" for Paramount Pictures. The casting director is holding auditions in Los Angeles for principal acting roles, and additional casting for smaller speaking roles will be cast in Atlanta, GA. Filming will take place there from March 4, 2013 through May 17, 2013. The local extras casting team is also hiring stand-ins for the films stars, as well as taking email submissions for general and featured background extras.


The Department of Computer Science offers courses in computer science, Java programming, MATLAB programming, object-oriented programming, data structures and algorithms, software engineering, artificial intelligence, operating systems, database systems, cryptography, biometrics, networks, and graphics.
The course information displayed on this page relies on an external system and may be incomplete. Please visit Computer Science on the Directory of Classes for complete course information.
COMS GU4731 Computer Vision. 3 points.
Prerequisites: the fundamentals of calculus, linear algebra, and C programming. Students without any of these prerequisites are advised to contact the instructor prior to taking the course.
Introductory course in computer vision. Topics include image formation and optics, image sensing, binary images, image processing and filtering, edge extraction and boundary detection, region growing and segmentation, pattern classification methods, brightness and reflectance, shape from shading and photometric stereo, texture, binocular stereo, optical flow and motion, 2-D and 3-D object representation, object recognition, vision systems and applications.


OS X or Windows? Run them both on the same machine without any trouble.
A hybrid engine that runs on gas and electricity. A football star who plays both defense and offense. A politician who understands social justice and capitalistic expansion. These anomalies are rare, but in the world of tech, they are almost unknown entities. For anyone who owns a Mac, it might seem a bit odd to think you can run both the Mac OSX and Windows, and switch effortless between them. Yet, not only is it possible to live in these two universes, it actually makes perfect sense.
One reason is that there are a handful of applications, and even a few Web sites, that only work on a PC. The most obvious examples are enterprise-level tools at work, including some apps from Oracle and Microsoft that do not run on the Mac platform and probably never will. A few Web sites require an older version of Internet Explorer, which is not even offered for the Mac anymore. And, many of the latest games such as Mass Effect 2 are not available for the Mac.
Fortunately, Apple offers an application called Boot Camp which allows you to run Microsoft Windows as though it was meant for your Mac all along. A few other virtual machine tools exist as well, including Parallels 5 and VMware Fusion, adding a few features and adding some performance perks. For more industrious users, you can also use a program called Crossover which actually runs the Windows app as though it works on a Mac, even though this approach is a bit hit or miss.
For those who want to run both Mac and Windows, heres an overview of the advantages to each approach, and a few pitfalls to avoid along the way.
The free Boot Camp app for Mac, included with every Mac, has one major difference compared to Parallels and Fusion: it requires that you reboot your computer. Thats only a minor annoyance, but Boot Camp does require you to live either in Windows or Mac and switch back and forth.
Boot Camp also supports Windows 7, but you do need the latest Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard version and the Boot Camp 3.1 Update, which you can download using the system update utility or get directly from the Snow Leopard install disc.
The important point to make here is that you will need your own licensed copy of Windows 7 (or a previous version) and, using the Boot Camp Setup Assistant (located in Applications/Utilities), you will need to install the operating system as though you just bought a brand new PC. After the install, you will also need to install the Mac drivers for Windows. (That might seem odd, but this is the step that makes Windows work with the Mac hardware.) Just insert your OS X DVD when prompted. You will also need to run the Apple Software Update utility from within Windows to update the drivers.
Then, to use Boot Camp, you just hold down the Option key when your Mac boots. You will see an option to boot into Windows or the Mac. Select the one you want and youre off.
Now, about performance. Its obvious that a Mac is designed for the best performance with OS X. Running Windows, you will notice the speed is mostly adequate, but not that comparable with a brand new laptop from, say, HP or Dell that is designed (and thoroughly tested) for Windows.
One last option if you really need to run Windows apps on your Mac is CrossOver Mac, a program that uses the Wine toolkit. CrossOver makes it look like a Windows app runs natively on your Mac, mostly by loading just the required application framework. So, for example, if you want to use Microsoft Office 2007, you can load CrossOver and then install the app and run it in a window, without actually loading Windows at all.
When CrossOver works, it works wonders. The app supports popular mainstream apps like Microsoft Office and Outlook, but not any of the major Adobe products. A separate app called CrossOver Games lets you play a small number of older games, like the first Call of Duty games, but not recent titles.
CrossOver is a good idea, though, if you just need to run basic apps and dont want to bother installing Windows itself. And, the costs just $40 so it is half the price of a virtual machine app.


Things are busy in cartoonkateland at the moment. I have a new book in the pipeline, and I'm trying to plough through 150 pages of roughs.When I saw a request on Facebook "does anyone know how to get in touch with Kate Evans" I answered it with an extremely wary "Why?" But, it was the Phone Credit for Refugees Facebook group, who are in the process of setting up as a registered charity, requesting some logo design. Once I found that out, I couldn't say no.
Because they saved the life of one small boy and 15 men last month. Ahmed had been given a phone by Liz Clegg and Inca Sorrell at the Unofficial Women and Children's Centre in the Calais Jungle. The credit on it had been topped up by a charitable donor from the Phone Credit for Refugees group. And that is why, when they started to suffocate in the back of the lorry they were travelling in, Ahmed was able to send these text messages, which saved their lives.
"No oksijan" means "no oxygen". Nobody should be taking these risks to make a UK asylum application. This is from a seven-year-old child, travelling with his older brother.
The reason why this seems very personal to me, is that I have met Ahmed, and if you've been reading my blog, so have you.
Please, please, if you can spare the odd 5, 10 or 20 pounds, join the Phone Credit for Refugees Facebook group, and give it to someone in need.


Bernie Sanders is worse than merely wrong about the rich not paying their fair share of taxes.
But, the wealthy make such a convenient "whipping boy" for the parasitic left.
Codependents Anonymous teaches that when you repeatedly do thing for people that they are perfectly capable of doing for themselves, that you are not helping them.
It is a form of aggression and it is evil.
Interesting piece, but it seems conflicted.
First you say it's "the 99%" not paying enough when there's a calculation of taxes versus transfers.
But then you come back and admit that it's difficult (I'd say closer to impossible) to make such a calculation.
Personally, I'm in favor of eliminating taxation (and the state) altogether.
As, for example, when the drivers of passenger cars pay ten times as much in gas tax as the wear and tear they create would require them to pay to maintain the Interstate Highway System, while Wal-Mart's trucking fleet pays 1/10th as much as the wear and tear they incur.
But I could be wrong, and my gut feeling is that you're right — not something that can be calculated with any confidence.


Grassy Mountain Blackberries will be open for picking beginning Saturday, June 16th. 2018 Hours The hours for picking in 2018 will be Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 8AM to 2PM. You may arrange a picking time outside of these hours by texting or calling (770) 262-6316. Most picking times can be accommodated, as … More Opening Day! 2018 U-Pick Blackberry Season!
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text:
Q: Rspec, can't call a method in my class for a ruby gem, error: ruby NoMethodError: undefined method `pull' for Status::Page:Module How to call methods in my main class in rspec tests for a gem?
I have seen other questions like this one but none had an answer that worked with me, so I am asking this question.
I tried writing rspec tests for a gem that I am making (I am not using Rails), but I can't call the methods that are in my main file:
require "status/page/version"
require 'thor'
require "nokogiri"
require 'open-uri'
require 'date'

module Status
  module Page
    class CLI < Thor
      desc "pull", "query website status"
      def pull
      .....

That is how I am calling in the page_specs.rb file:
RSpec.describe Status::Page do
  it "has a version number" do
    expect(Status::Page::VERSION).not_to be nil
  end

  it "does something useful" do
    expect(true).to eq(true)
  end

  it "it should output to a file on pull" do
    msg = Status::Page.pull
    expect(msg).not_to be nil
  end

end

Can someone please advise how I should call the methods in Rspec in my case?
Thanks

A: Try Status::Page::CLI.new.pull
pull is an instance method on the class Status::Page::CLI, and since it's an instance method you need to instantiate the class with .new.
Since the class inherits from Thor, the call to .new does go through Thor::Base.initialize. But from the docs, it looks like default values are set for all the arguments, so just calling .new without args should suffice.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


The West Allis-West Milwaukee Community Coalition is a diverse group of concerned citizens, organizations and community stakeholders working together to support healthy lifestyles.
To improve the quality of life for the citizens of the city of West Allis and the village of West Milwaukee.
To provide support to the West Allis-West Milwaukee community to raise healthy, drug-free children.
Every day in the U.S., 13,000 children and teens take their first drink.
The median age where children start to drink is 13.7 years.
American youth who drink before the age of 15 are four times more likely to become alcoholics than young people who do not drink before the age of 21.
Coalition Meetings are held the 3rd Wednesday of February, May, September and November. Contact the Coalition for more information.


Research Library > Dell Software > Are you spending more than you realize on Active Directory Management?
Active Directory is critical to your IT infrastructure, enabling users to log on, access network resources, and much more. But managing Active Directory may be costing you more than you realize if you're relying on native tools and PowerShell scripts. This white paper identifies the six key types of tasks that are essential to Active Directory management, estimates the costs a company incurs each year in each category, and explores how investing in the right tools can make managing AD not only easier, but actually more cost-effective.


text:
Horrible Hate Crime in Massachusetts
Man was "hunting homosexuals" with a hatchet, gun
From the Boston Globe ("Attack at gay bar leaves 3 injured"):
Authorities say Jacob D. Robida was hunting homosexuals when he walked into Puzzles Lounge around midnight.
After asking a bartender ''Is this a gay bar?," the 18-year-old New Bedford man, dressed entirely in black, allegedly began chopping at a patron with a hatchet, triggering a melee that ended with Robida wildly firing a handgun, according to court documents. Three men were hospitalized yesterday with serious but not life-threatening injuries, police said.
Robida fled the scene and faces about a dozen charges in connection with the attack, including assault, attempted murder, and civil rights violations, police and prosecutors said. State Police and local police were searching last night for him, warning that he was armed, dangerous, and mentally unstable. Law enforcement agencies nationwide were alerted to look out for Robida.
In Robida's room at his mother's house, police yesterday found homemade posters slurring gays, African-Americans, and Jews; neo-Nazi literature and skinhead paraphernalia; a makeshift coffin; and an empty knife sheath, according to police, prosecutors, and court documents.
posted by Mikhaela Reid at 11:36 AM
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Emma Monden is just like any other teenager. She loves fashion, hanging out with friends and financial independence. At only 18 years old, Emma is able to maintain her YouTube career while attending college as a full-time student. Her charming videos have captured a massive audience made up of over 800,000 subscribers. Here she shares the secret to achieving success on YouTube and how she turned her passion into a full-time job.


text:
Optimization by Self-Organized Criticality
Generalized entropies, density of states, and non-extensivity
Sámuel G. Balogh, Gergely Palla, … Dániel Czégel
Connecting complex networks to nonadditive entropies
R. M. de Oliveira, Samuraí Brito, … Constantino Tsallis
The Polynomial Volume Law of Complex Networks in the Context of Local and Global Optimization
Franz-Benjamin Mocnik
How driving rates determine the statistics of driven non-equilibrium systems with stationary distributions
Bernat Corominas-Murtra, Rudolf Hanel, … Stefan Thurner
Enabling Controlling Complex Networks with Local Topological Information
Guoqi Li, Lei Deng, … H. Eugene Stanley
Minimal fatal shocks in multistable complex networks
Lukas Halekotte & Ulrike Feudel
Fragility Limits Performance in Complex Networks
Fabio Pasqualetti, Shiyu Zhao, … Sandro Zampieri
Aggregation-fragmentation and individual dynamics of active clusters
F. Ginot, I. Theurkauff, … C. Cottin-Bizonne
Thermodynamics of structure-forming systems
Jan Korbel, Simon David Lindner, … Stefan Thurner
Heiko Hoffmann ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-3817-56261 &
David W. Payton1
Power law
Self-organized criticality (SOC) is a phenomenon observed in certain complex systems of multiple interacting components, e.g., neural networks, forest fires, and power grids, that produce power-law distributed avalanche sizes. Here, we report the surprising result that the avalanches from an SOC process can be used to solve non-convex optimization problems. To generate avalanches, we use the Abelian sandpile model on a graph that mirrors the graph of the optimization problem. For optimization, we map the avalanche areas onto search patterns for optimization, while the SOC process receives no feedback from the optimization itself. The resulting method can be applied without parameter tuning to a wide range of optimization problems, as demonstrated on three problems: finding the ground-state of an Ising spin glass, graph coloring, and image segmentation. We find that SOC search is more efficient compared to other random search methods, including simulated annealing, and unlike annealing, it is parameter free, thereby eliminating the time-consuming requirement to tune an annealing temperature schedule.
Evidence suggests that the healthy mammalian brain operates in a critical state1,2,3,4. Critical systems are dynamical systems with many interacting particles or components that display scale-invariant fluctuations. Scale invariance has long fascinated the human mind. The laws of physics are not invariant to scale: a 10-times wider and longer wooden cylindrical beam cannot support a 1000-times larger weight. Yet, in nature, we find many examples of approximate scale-invariance, e.g., the fractal shape of flowers and trees with repeating structures at different scales.
In physics, we usually achieve criticality by fine-tuning a control parameter, e.g., the temperature, to a specific value at which we observe the scale-invariant fluctuations (see, e.g., the liquid-vapor critical point). Yet, in many natural systems, criticality occurs even without such fine-tuning, and, apparently, the brain is one example of such a system. This self-tuning to criticality has been called self-organized criticality (SOC)5.
Criticality has been further referred to as a special state between order and chaos2: systems are ordered at low temperatures and random at high temperatures, but appear the most complex at the critical temperature. So, it is appealing to think that the brain operates at criticality. Interestingly, experiments show that when the brain malfunctions, e.g., during epileptic seizures, the brain loses the characteristics of criticality4.
In the brain, criticality is often characterized by neural avalanches. Neural avalanches are bursts of neural activity, e.g., as recorded with multi-electrode arrays measuring local field potentials (LFPs)1. Here, synchronous LFP spikes across multiple electrode locations constitute an avalanche. Experiments show that the sizes of neural avalanches follow power-law distributions1, which are generally a consequence of scale invariance and thus evidence for criticality, and neural models have been developed that automatically tune networks towards the critical state6.
It is still debated, however, if the brain is actually in a critical state and what the benefits of such a property are3,7,8. As benefits, optimal dynamic range, memory, and computational power have been suggested2,3,9. For example, Bertschinger and Natschläger10 show that recurrent neural networks perform best at the critical state; there, however, the task was simple (3-bit parity), and a tuning parameter was required to achieve the critical state.
In neural network models, the ability to reach an SOC state is typically studied in isolation, without having the network at the same time carry out a "useful" computational task (see, e.g., Stepp et al.11). On the other hand, the useful deep-learning networks are not critical. The difficulty to design a network that is critical and useful at the same time motivated this present work: we isolate the SOC dynamics in one network and then use these dynamics to drive a separate system. So, we create a novel optimization algorithm that uses the SOC process to create test patterns for optimization.
To solve an optimization problem, we initially identify a graph of linked/coupled optimization variables (which, e.g., are linked through an equation). Then, we create a new graph for the SOC process that mirrors the optimization graph such that there is a one-to-one correspondence between the optimization variables and the nodes in the SOC graph. The SOC process will continuously create avalanches on its graph, and the correspondence allows us to map these avalanches onto test patterns of the optimization variables.
Surprisingly, this method, which we call SOC search, can efficiently find approximate solutions to non-convex optimization problems that have many local minima. We demonstrate the performance of SOC search on a variety of optimization problems and compare against simulated annealing12 and random search. In contrast to simulated annealing, SOC search needs no parameter tuning so long the graph structure on which the SOC process is computed matches the optimization problem.
The reminder of this article is organized as follows. Section 2 introduces a popular model of SOC, the Abelian sandpile model5, which is also the basis for our optimization process. Section 3 describes the SOC optimization algorithm. Section 4 describes our experiments, introducing each optimization problem: Ising spin glass, graph coloring, and image segmentation; the latter optimizes the energy of a Markov random field. Finally, Section 5 discusses the benefits and limits of SOC search and summarizes the work.
Self-Organized Criticality
Self-organized criticality has often been illustrated with a sand pile5,13. Grains of sand are added one at a time, and eventually, the slope of the pile converges to a specific angle. At this angle, small and large avalanches occur, and the system is balanced just right such that the avalanche sizes follow a power law (this example is illustrative; not all real sand piles are actually self-organized critical13). The system self-organizes because the slope self-adapts: grains are added to a shallow slope until avalanches occur, and a slope too steep will collapse in a large avalanche.
Bak et al. developed a model that mimics the sandpile dynamics, and this model is actually self-organized critical5. This model, called Bak-Tang-Wiesenfeld model or Abelian sandpile model14, has been originally defined on square and cubic lattices, but it can be generalized to arbitrary graphs14. Here, we consider this generalized version.
Assume a graph of nodes i that each contain x i amount of grains. The Abelian sandpile model consists of a slow and a fast process. The slow process adds one grain to a random node i, x i → x i + 1 (slow external driving force). The fast process computes the propagation of an avalanche, as described in the following. If a node is above threshold x i > d i , where d i is the degree of node i, then it sheds one grain to each of its d i neighbors,
$${x}_{i}(t+\mathrm{1)}={x}_{i}(t)-{d}_{i}$$
$$\forall j\in {{\mathscr{N}}}_{i}\,:{x}_{j}(t+\mathrm{1)}={x}_{j}(t)+1,$$
where \({{\mathscr{N}}}_{i}\) is the set of nodes that share an edge with node i (here, we consider only undirected graphs). This shedding may result in a neighbor to be above threshold, making this neighbor to also shed its grains according to the above equations. This repeated shedding can result in a cascade of events, an avalanche of grain topplings. Once an avalanche is complete, i.e., all nodes are at or below threshold, the slow process proceeds by adding another grain.
After an initial phase of self-organization, avalanches occur with sizes that follow a power law distribution (this distribution has an exponential cutoff because the number of nodes is limited). For a square lattice, Fig. 1 shows a typical sequence of avalanches. They occur at different locations, have different sizes, and appear to have fractal-like boundaries.
Sample sequence of avalanches from an SOC model on a 40 × 40 square lattice.
When we continuously add grains, they also have to disappear eventually. In the original model, the square lattice has edges and the grains just fall over the edges and disappear. In the generalized version, we need to add either a sink node or dissipation. All grains that arrive at a sink node disappear. With dissipation, grains disappear with a small probability when moving between nodes. Strictly, this dissipation breaks the SOC characteristics, but if it is sufficiently small it is not noticeable, because the exponential cutoff is dominated by the limited system size. When we increase the system size, we also need to reduce the dissipation accordingly to eliminate its impact. In our experiments, we used either a square lattice with edges or random graphs with dissipation (with a probability of 0.05).
SOC for Optimization
We use the above SOC process for non-convex optimization. To do so, we need an optimization problem with a graph structure; this article contains three examples. For example, in graph coloring, the optimization variables are the color values at each node of a graph. In an Ising spin glass, the optimization variables are the orientations of the spins that are energetically coupled to their neighbors. Moreover, we assume that the optimization variables are discrete, ∈{a1, ..., a k } with k different values.
Initially, we copy the graph structure, the set of vertices and edges, of the optimization problem and compute on this graph the Abelian sandpile model. Thus, there is a one-to-one correspondence between the nodes of the sandpile model and the optimization variables. In the sandpile model, the nodes are initialized with random grain numbers drawn uniformly from {1, ..., d i } for each node i. Grains are added and avalanches are computed until the SOC state is reached. Then, the actual optimization process begins (Algorithm 1).
Algorithm 1
SOC Search.
The avalanches act as delta patterns that change the corresponding optimization variables, computing test patterns z′. For k = 2, this change simply flips the variables (e.g., spins) in a test pattern. The resulting test patterns are used in a greedy optimization scheme. This process is iterated for a fixed number of iteration steps or until a stop criterion is reached, e.g, the change in energy E is below a threshold. Interestingly, the variables x i in Equations (1) and (2) are independent of the optimization variables z; there is no feedback onto the SOC process.
Other work before has combined the concepts of self-organized criticality and optimization, see extremal optimization15. Different from ours, however, that work uses an optimization algorithm inspired by SOC, but uses neither an SOC process to generate delta or test patterns nor SOC on a graph.
We chose three optimization problems to demonstrate the functionality and versatility of SOC search. Apart from copying the graph structure, no adjustment was required for each problem. The following three sections show results and describe our experiments for 1) optimizing the ground state of an Ising spin glass, 2) graph coloring, and 3) image segmentation.
Ising Spin Glass
We tested SOC search for finding the ground state of an Ising spin glass, which is a common benchmark test for optimization methods - see, e.g., Santoro et al.16. An Ising spin glass is an arrangement of spins, particles with a magnetic moment, in a lattice. The spins, s i , point either up or down and are coupled to their neighbors such that they prefer to have either aligned or opposing magnetic movements, depending on a coupling matrix, J ij . In the ground state, i.e., without any thermal fluctuations, the spins orient themselves to minimize the energy
$$E=\sum _{i,j\in {{\mathscr{N}}}_{i}}{J}_{ij}{s}_{i}{s}_{j}\mathrm{.}$$
The spins can have two states \(\frac{1}{2}\) or \(-\frac{1}{2}\). Here, we chose a 80 × 80 lattice, and the J ij were chosen randomly uniformly from the interval (−2; 2). On such a lattice, polynomial algorithms exist to find the ground state (on generic graphs the problem is NP hard); still for approximate solvers like ours, the difficulty is in principle the same, and therefore, the lattice is suitable for benchmarking16. We chose the square lattice since methods exist to compute the exact energy minimum, which we obtained from the Spin Glass Server17 and subtracted from Equation (3); so, zero energy is the optimum (Fig. 2).
Results for optimizing the energy of an Ising spin glass on a 80 × 80 lattice (a,c) and probability of improving the energy in a greedy search (b), showing mean ± std (n = 10). Search-pattern samples are shown in (d). In (b), the results for Random Clusters and Square Shapes have been omitted for clarity because Random Clusters produced similar probabilities as SOC Search and Square Shapes similar probabilities as Random Dots.
We compared SOC search against three methods: random search flipping one spin, random search flipping as many spins as the size of an SOC avalanche, and simulated annealing12. The first two serve as baselines and the third to illustrate the competitiveness of SOC search. One-spin random search is doing a greedy optimization flipping one random spin at a time.
To demonstrate that the shape of the SOC avalanche matters and not just the size distribution, we split the random search with avalanche sizes into three variants: random dots, square shapes, and random clusters. For each, the operation is similar to Algorithm 1, but instead of using the avalanche nodes \({\mathscr{A}}\), \(|{\mathscr{A}}|\) nodes are chosen randomly according to one of the following three procedures: 1) Random dots: A set of \(|{\mathscr{A}}|\) dots/nodes is uniformly randomly chosen from the spin lattice. 2) Square shapes: A square with an area matching \(|{\mathscr{A}}|\) as close as possible is placed at a random location (uniformly distributed). 3) Random clusters: A random cluster is grown starting from a uniformly randomly placed seed location. The cluster grows one spin at a time until it reaches the corresponding SOC-avalanche size. In each growth step, one spin is placed at a random location uniformly distributed among all sites that neighbor spins in the current cluster. These random clusters were most similar to the SOC patterns compared to the other random pattern variants (Fig. 2d).
Simulated annealing12 is often the method of choice when dealing with problems that have many local minima. The annealing process helps escape local minima by allowing moves to states with higher energy. These moves happen with probability p = exp(−ΔE/T), where T is a temperature-like variable. At high temperature, moves to a higher energy are likely, but when the temperature approaches zero, the algorithm becomes greedy. Theoretically, simulated annealing is guaranteed to find a global optimal, but only in infinite time. In practice, simulated annealing depends on the proper choice of the initial temperature and temperature schedule, also called annealing schedule.
Here, we used the same annealing schedule as in Santoro et al.16, a linearly decreasing temperature with a starting value of T = 3. Like for one-spin random search, we tested the energy change of flipping one spin at a time and flipped the spin according to above probability. Different from random search, we did not choose the spins randomly, but chose the nodes in the lattice in sequence and repeated the sequence over and over again. This strategy produced better results than the random choice.
For a fair comparison of the computational cost, we count the number of spin flips for each method because the cost of evaluating a change in energy is linear in the number of nodes flipped. For SOC search, we flip all spins in an avalanche; so, we require more flips per iteration than simulated annealing. This evaluation actually puts our method at a disadvantage because, optimally, we would need to evaluate the energy at only the boundary of an avalanche (if two neighboring spins flip, the contribution of their edge to the energy remains unchanged, see Equation 3). Still, we used this evaluation for simplicity. In the computational cost, we omitted the cost of computing the Abelian sandpile model itself because this process could be either computed in parallel or beforehand: since the sandpile operates independently without feedback, we could compute the avalanches in advance and replay from memory.
As a result of the optimization, SOC search reached the lowest energy values with the fewest number of spin flips (Fig. 2a). Simulated annealing required about 8× more flips for reaching the same energy levels. The random searches with one spin, random dots, and random squares got stuck in local minima. The random clusters performed almost as well as SOC search, but reached significantly worse energy values for sufficiently many iteration steps.
We averaged all results over 10 optimization runs, each starting with a different random spin configuration, with the same starting configuration used across all methods. As in Santoro et al.16, each data point on the energy curves is from a separate set of 10 simulation runs because simulated annealing requires a unique annealing schedule for each data point. Once annealing reaches zero temperature, it gets stuck in local minima like one-spin random search; so, the annealing schedule has to be adapted for each run.
To gain a greater insight into the workings of SOC search, we computed the probability of energy improvements in the greedy search (Fig. 2b). After many iterations, i.e., 104 flips per spin, the probability to improve the energy with SOC avalanches becomes much larger than with just avalanche-sized random-dot patterns. Instead of dropping off abruptly, the probability decayed more slowly according to a power law, having a slope of −1.5.
Graph Coloring
Graph coloring has many applications such as scheduling18, register allocation19, and timetabling. The objective in graph coloring is to color nodes in a graph such that no neighboring nodes are of the same color. On generic graphs, coloring is NP hard. The optimization problem is to find the smallest number of colors possible without edge violations.
To apply simulated annealing and SOC search, we need a suitable cost function. Here, we choose one that has been shown to work with simulated annealing:20
$$E=-\sum _{i=1}^{k}|{c}_{i}{|}^{2}+\sum _{i=1}^{k}\mathrm{2|}{c}_{i}||{e}_{i}|,$$
where |c i | is the number of nodes in color class i, |e i | the number of bad edges attached to nodes of color i, and k an upper bound on the number of colors. Using this cost function, legal colorings are local minima20, and the number of colors is implicitly minimized and is obtained as the number of nonzero |c i | values.
We compared SOC search against one-node random search, random search with random dots, and simulated annealing. For one-node random search and simulated annealing, the search selected one random node at a time. We used an exponentially decaying annealing schedule (similar to Johnson et al.20), starting at T = 10. Preliminary tests found that this schedule worked better for graph coloring.
We tested two random graphs: a small world21 and a random geometric graph, both with 1,000 nodes (Fig. 3 Left). In the small world graph, each node had 4 neighbors, and the probability of random re-connections was p = 0.05. The random geometric graph had an average degree of 6.7. For coloring, we chose k = 6 for the first graph and k = 10 for the second. Similar to above, we evaluated the computational cost in terms of the number of color changes per node, and as above, for simulated annealing, we re-ran the optimization for each displayed number of color changes.
Results of graph coloring on a small-world graph (Top) and a random geometric graph (Bottom), showing a legal coloring produced by SOC search (Left) and cost functions (Right), mean ± std (n = 5).
On both graphs, SOC search produced the smallest cost values (Fig. 3). The results were averaged over 5 optimization runs. For the small-world graph, only SOC and simulated annealing found a legal coloring with 4 colors (other methods needed 5 colors), and for the random geometric graph, only SOC and simulated annealing found a coloring with 9 colors (other methods needed 10 colors).
Surprisingly, despite the random color choice for each node in an avalanche (see Algorithm 1), the path-connectedness of an avalanche still mattered. However, the SOC benefit is smaller the more colors we need to choose from. Simulated annealing does outperform SOC for a graph that requires many different colors (100) and is closer to a fully connected graph, e.g., an Erdos-Renyi graph with 1,000 nodes and probability p = 0.5 for connecting two nodes (data not shown).
Image Segmentation
Image segmentation separates images into distinct regions and is commonly used to separate foreground objects from background. Here, for demonstration, we focus on feature-based image segmentation, which considers local features like color and texture. A different approach is semantic segmentation, which considers object ID - see, e.g., Long et al.22. Feature-based segmentation is useful for automatic separation of objects from background, e.g., for image editing. We chose image segmentation as our final test because it allows us to visually evaluate the optimization results.
A powerful method for feature-based image segmentation are Markov random fields23,24. Using a Markov random field, the set of pixel labels, \({\mathscr{S}}\), is a random field, i.e., each pixel label is modeled as a random variable. The goal is to find a segmentation \({\mathscr{S}}\) that maximizes the posterior \(P({\mathscr{S}}|{\mathscr{I}})\) for a given image \({\mathscr{I}}\). The posterior is computed according to Bayes rule, \(P({\mathscr{S}}|{\mathscr{I}})\propto P({\mathscr{I}}|{\mathscr{S}})P({\mathscr{S}})\).
The two required factors are the probability for the image model, \(P({\mathscr{I}}|{\mathscr{S}})\), and the prior probability of the image labels, \(P({\mathscr{S}})\). Here, for the image model, we use a Gaussian distribution as in Kato and Pong24,
$$P({\mathscr{I}}|{\mathscr{S}})=\prod _{i}\frac{1}{\sqrt{{(2\pi )}^{n}|{{\rm{\Sigma }}}_{{s}_{i}}|}}\exp (-\frac{1}{2}({f}_{i}-{\mu }_{{s}_{i}}){{\rm{\Sigma }}}_{{s}_{i}}^{-1}{({f}_{i}-{\mu }_{{s}_{i}})}^{T}),$$
where f i is the feature vector for pixel i, \({\mu }_{{s}_{i}}\) the feature center for label s i , and \({{\rm{\Sigma }}}_{{s}_{i}}\) the covariance matrix for label s i . For the prior, it is common to use a Gibbs distribution24,25,
$$P({\mathscr{S}})=\frac{1}{Z}\prod _{i,j}\exp (-{K}_{ij}),$$
here, with K ij = γexp(−β||f i − f j ||2) if i and j are neighbors and belong to different label classes, otherwise K ij is zero. So, if neighboring features are different, K ij is approximately zero and does not penalize the probability \(P({\mathscr{S}})\), but if the neighbors have similar features even though they belong to different classes, we get a penalty: the prior probability is reduced. Our K function is a slightly modified and simplified version of the function used in Kohli and Torr25, because our K produced better results in our experiments.
Instead of maximizing the posterior directly, it is common to minimize the exponent and define it as an energy23,24; so, \(P({\mathscr{S}}|{\mathscr{I}})\propto \exp (-E)\) with \(E=-ln(P({\mathscr{I}}|{\mathscr{S}}))-ln(P({\mathscr{S}}))\). Numerically, computing with the exponents is more robust. In the following, we use this energy for optimization, setting the constants γ = 5.0 and β = 1.0.
To obtain the image features, we combined color and local texture values24. First, images were converted to LUV color space, and the resulting three colors are the first three dimensions of the feature vector. Then, the LUV images were converted to grayscale and filtered with Gabor and Gauss filters. We repeated the filtering for 4 orientations (0°, 45°, 90°, 135°) of Gabor filters and stored the resulting values after Gaussian smoothing into the feature vector, so each pixel has a 7-dimensional feature vector (3 colors + 4 textures).
For optimization, we segmented images into two label classes and compared the same four methods as above for graph coloring. SOC search produced the most consistent and meaningful segmentations (Fig. 4). For the energy curves, results were averaged over 7 optimization runs. Here, instead of choosing the number of flips on the x-axis, we used the number of iterations (increments of t in Algorithm 1) because \(P({\mathscr{S}}|{\mathscr{I}})\) is computationally expensive and has to be re-evalated after each label change. Figure 4a shows the worst-case segmentations over 7 runs for each test image. Here, SOC produced almost the same result in all 7 simulation runs, while the other methods produced occasional bad results. For the best-case segmentations (not shown), the results of SOC search and simulated annealing were the same; the other methods did slightly worse.
Result of unsupervised image segmentation: worst-case segmentations out of 7 optimization runs (a) and energy curves for the tulip segmentation (b), mean ± stderr (n = 7).
For the first time, we used the avalanche patterns of an SOC process to alter test patterns for optimization. Surprisingly, this simple method performs remarkably well on non-convex optimization problems. On the same problems, other greedy methods get stuck in local minima, but SOC search overcomes these minima without using any annealing, without even using any parameter tuning.
A disadvantage of simulated annealing is its dependence on the annealing schedule and parameters. Its performance critically depends on the starting temperature and the number of annealing steps. Moreover, before an optimization problem is solved, it is unknown how many annealing steps are required. This limitation is a big disadvantage because once the temperature reaches near zero, the optimization ends in a local minimum. So, simulated annealing has to be restarted with a new pre-defined number of annealing steps. In contrast, the SOC process is invariant in time (over sufficiently long time scales), and a given solution can be further improved with additional SOC iterations.
Our experiments further demonstrate that the shape of an avalanche matters: the size distribution itself was insufficient for a good optimization performance. With random dot and square patterns, the optimization got stuck in local minima. In our experiments with different shaped patterns, the only difference was the shape; the temporal sequence of sizes was exactly the same between methods since the optimizations were carried out in parallel using the same SOC process to generate the size distribution. The closer the shape of the random patterns resembled the SOC avalanches the better their performance. Our random clusters resembled avalanches and almost reached the performance of SOC, but there are still differences between these types of patterns: the random clusters are generally more concentric while SOC avalanches are more varied and occasionally elongated (see, e.g., Fig. 2d).
The image-segmentation experiment further provides an illustration of how SOC overcomes local minima (Fig. 5). Since the avalanches come in a wide variety of sizes and shapes (Figs 1 and 2d), it is possible that a pattern occurs that complements a current segmentation sufficiently well to overcome a local minimum. Apparently, the distribution and variability of shapes is well (maybe optimally?) balanced to allow for efficient optimization. This topic is subject to further theoretic investigation. Future work will investigate if SOC patterns are indeed optimal and which characteristics of the avalanche shape are responsible for an optimal performance.
The SOC process results in delta patterns of a wide variety of sizes and shapes, increasing the probability that a delta pattern brings a segmentation out of a local minimum.
SOC search cannot solve all NP-hard optimization problems. The optimization variables have to be linked in a graph; i.e., neighboring variables have to have some correlation (positive or negative) with each other. Moreover, there are limits on the graph structure. A fully connected graph is unsuitable because there is no locality and the path-connectedness of an avalanche would be irrelevant, eliminating the benefit over random search with random dots. For example, as we have seen for graph coloring, if we get closer to a fully connected graph, SOC search suffers. In addition, the graph structure has to be able to support SOC, e.g., the Abelian sandpile model fails to converge to SOC on line or ring graphs.
To conclude, SOC search appears remarkably adept at recovering from local minima - without any annealing scheme. Maybe this ability helps the brain from getting stuck in a thought process. Interestingly, during tonic-clonic seizures, the brain can get stuck in a repetitive loop and, as mentioned above, during seizures, criticality is apparently lost.
Beggs, J. M. & Plenz, D. Neuronal avalanches in neocortical circuits. Journal of Neuroscience 23, 11167–11177 (2003).
Chialvo, D. R. Emergent complex neural dynamics. Nature Physics 6, 744–750 (2010).
Hesse, J. & Gross, T. Self-organized criticality as a fundamental property of neural systems. Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience 8, 166 (2014).
Meisel, C., Storch, A., Hallmeyer-Elgner, S., Bullmore, E. & Gross, T. Failure of adaptive self-organized criticality during epileptic seizure attacks. PLOS Computational Biology 8, 1–8 (2012).
Bak, P., Tang, C. & Wiesenfeld, K. Self-organized criticality: An explanation of the 1/f noise. Physical Review Letters 59, 381–384 (1987).
Brochini, L. et al. Phase transitions and self-organized criticality in networks of stochastic spiking neurons. Scientific Reports 6, 35831 (2016).
Beggs, J. M. & Timma, N. Being critical of criticality in the brain. Frontiers in Physiology 3, 163 (2012).
Dehghani, N. et al. Avalanche analysis from multielectrode ensemble recordings in cat, monkey, and human cerebral cortex during wakefulness and sleep. Frontiers in Physiology 3, 302 (2012).
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Bertschinger, N. & Natschläger, T. Real-time computation at the edge of chaos in recurrent neural networks. Neural Computation 16, 1413–1436 (2004).
Stepp, N., Plenz, D. &Srinivasa, N. Synaptic plasticity enables adaptive self-tuning critical networks. PLOS Computational Biology 11 (2015).
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Watts, D. J. & Strogatz, S. H. Collective dynamics of "small-world" networks. Nature 393, 440–442 (1998).
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This work was funded by HRL Laboratories, LLC. The authors thank Dr. Eric P. Tressler for providing code of the Abelian sandpile model that was used in the graph-coloring experiments.
HRL Laboratories, LLC, 3011 Malibu Canyon Rd, Malibu, CA, 90265, USA
Heiko Hoffmann & David W. Payton
Heiko Hoffmann
David W. Payton
H.H. conceived the idea, performed the experiments, analyzed the data, prepared all figures, and wrote the paper. D.W.P. contributed ideas and edited the paper. All authors reviewed the manuscript.
Correspondence to Heiko Hoffmann.
Hoffmann, H., Payton, D.W. Optimization by Self-Organized Criticality. Sci Rep 8, 2358 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-20275-7
Statistical analysis of acoustic emission avalanches generated during the compressive fracture process, and Mode I fracture process in cementitious composites
Indrashish Saha
R. Vidya Sagar
International Journal of Fracture (2022)
Radiolysis generates a complex organosynthetic chemical network
Zachary R. Adam
Albert C. Fahrenbach
Dmitry Yu. Zubarev
Collective and synchronous dynamics of photonic spiking neurons
Takahiro Inagaki
Kensuke Inaba
Hiroki Takesue


The Honda Crosstour, one of the homeliest vehicles on the road and a sad substitute for the Accord Tourer that other markets get, is dead. Pour one out for the Crosstour tonight, if you feel so inclined.
The news of the death of the Crosstour (née Accord Crosstour) comes from its hometown newspaper the Columbus Dispatch. They report that the 2016 model year is the last for the Crosstour as Honda frees up capacity at their East Liberty, Ohio plant to make other models.
The Crosstour may have been a decent enough wagon, but it was never a strong seller for Honda. According to our friends at GoodCarBadCar, at most Honda sold 2,900 a month during its 2010 debut; in recent months that's dwindled to well under 1,000.
As CarBuying's Tom once pointed out, the Crosstour ended up being a good deal for some, as dealers were practically giving them away for a while. Still, not even savings could lessen the visual blow that came with gazing upon its awkward proportions, massive grille and huge front overhang.
Rest in peace, Crosstour. At least you came in brown.
Correction: This story originally stated that the Crosstour plant is in Marysville, Ohio; it is in East Liberty. It has been updated.


Immerse yourself in a world of southern elegance, comfort, and leisure at The Mills House Wyndham Grand Hotel. Rested off the beaten path, our historic downtown Charleston hotel offers guests serenity in a vibrant city. Our history of hospitality dates back to 1853 and includes world-class accommodations, dining, event spaces, and amenities. Allow us to formally invite you to experience all that we are and all that we have to give.
Ornate architecture and timeless fixtures like the original ironwork featured on the balcony of the Planter's Suite set the tone for a memorable stay.
We offer a peaceful place of comfort and leisure near Museum Mile & historic downtown sites.
Book directly on our site to receive our guaranteed best rates! Plus, Wyndham Rewards members earn points toward future vacations.
The flexibility of our on-property spaces and the adjacent Hibernian Hall allows us to host extravagant banquets, elaborate balls, and high society weddings.
Welcome to The Barbadoes Room Restaurant—a refreshing addition to the Charleston food scene serving cocktails in the courtyard for a unique experience.
From intimate weddings and parties to larger receptions and corporate events, we have the right event space for your needs.
Defined by cobblestone streets, pastel houses, and horse-drawn carriages, Charleston is famed for being one of America's more aesthetically pleasing cities.


text:
16 Ways To Improve Inclusivity While Promoting Employee Well-Being
UNICEF: COVID-19 Worsens 'Double Burden' Of Child Malnutrition In Indonesia
How To Decide Whether To Give Up On A Business Idea Or Persevere
14 Fun And Effective Ways To Personalize Marketing Campaigns
How To Understand And Tackle Unconscious Bias As A Leader
The Three Dimensions Of Authentic Leadership: Stepping Forward In The "Right" Shoes
To Reach The Masses, 'Metaverse' Startups Must Move Beyond Buzzwords
How To Create Career Perspective: Seven Writing Prompts
What Is Customer Centricity?
How A Marketing Partnership Can Energize Your Brand
Jeff Bradford
Forbes Agency Council
President of the Bradford Dalton Group, Jeff is a former journalist with 30+ years of experience as a public relations professional.
Our public relations and advertising agency recently brought on a new client that pulled off one of the most creative and effective marketing partnerships I've ever seen — and they did it only a few weeks after the company was founded five years ago.
Roadie is an "on the way" delivery company that gives ordinary folks a chance to make a little money by delivering items to people who are on the way of where the driver was going anyway. When the company opened, its main need was to recruit drivers. Thanks to its partnership with the Waffle House restaurant chain, Roadie had all the drivers it needed very quickly.
The partnership was simple: Waffle House restaurants became "Roadie Roadhouses," where drivers and senders connected to hand off or pick up items to be delivered. The restaurants advertised the partnership with in-store signage and offered a free waffle and drink to drivers making deliveries at their store.
Waffle House benefitted by driving traffic to its restaurants, as well as associating a very traditional brand with the hipness of a tech startup. Roadie got to advertise its company to potential drivers across 25 states for virtually no cost — and both benefitted from the publicity generated by the unusual partnership, which exploded when Jimmy Kimmel talked about it during his monologue one night.
Empathy Is The Most Important Leadership Skill According To Research
Why U.S. Talent Shortages Are At A 10-Year High
You Probably Need More Friends—Here's How To Make Them
What are the keys to a successful brand partnership? I suggest there are three:
Brands Should Be Similar But Different
The two brands partnering together need to have similar values and appeal to a similar audience, but they have to be different enough for the partnership to be interesting and attract attention.
For example, BMW and Louis Vuitton are selling a similar experience — luxury travel — to the same market — wealthy individuals with a sense of style. This partnership was not an event, but a product: Louis Vuitton created a four-piece luggage set that fits like a glove into the trunk of BMW's all-electric BMW i8. The partnership was part of the launch of the i8.
The Partnership Should Be Newsworthy
What two brands decide to do together should be unusual enough to capture the media's attention.
Star Wars and CoverGirl offer a great example. Talk about an odd pairing — what could a science-fiction movie and a makeup company possibly have in common? Well, decades ago, when the Star Wars franchise began, probably nothing, because the movie attracted mainly men and boys in the beginning. But today, the old gender and age categories no longer apply — women and girls like Star Wars, too. To tap into this new reality, CoverGirl designed a new line of makeup with two styles: the "light side" and the "dark side." The unusual promotion helped put Star Wars in front of a demographic it needed more of — females — and allowed CoverGirl to ride the Star Wars marketing machine as it plowed through the internet and television prior to the premiere of the film's 2015 installment, Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
Sometimes, the newsworthiness isn't in how different the two brands are, but in what they decide to do together. Both GoPro and Red Bull are lifestyle brands that are all about an action-packed and usually extreme lifestyle. They have been involved in many mutually beneficial partnerships, but the biggest and most spectacular was Stratos, an event they jointly sponsored in which Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner jumped from space — 24 miles above the surface of the Earth — with a GoPro camera strapped on. Baumgartner set multiple world records and generated huge press for GoPro and Red Bull that bolstered their "extreme living" brands.
There Needs To Be Benefit Parity
Both brands should receive about the same level of benefit. One should not benefit disproportionately, and one should certainly not benefit at the expense of the other.
For example, part of Starbucks' ambiance is the music played in its coffee shops, and people who pay $5 and up for a cup of coffee are pretty good prospects to buy new music. In this partnership, Spotify lets Starbucks baristas use its premium subscription service at no charge, on which the baristas create playlists that provide the musical ambiance Starbucks is known for. Starbucks gets free access to cutting-edge music and Spotify's artists get access to Starbucks' customers, who can tap into the daily playlists through the Starbucks Mobile App.
Brand partnerships can offer benefits that are hard to get any other way — like lots of attention for a relatively small spend, the opportunity to draft off of each other's brand equity and new energy to brands that may have grown a bit long in the tooth. If your company can use these kinds of results, look around for a good partner, come up with an innovative idea and go for it!
Forbes Agency Council is an invitation-only community for executives in successful public relations, media strategy, creative and advertising agencies. Do I qualify?
Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn. Check out my website.


Can Aunt Dot be a "Bleeding Disorder"??? The Better Know You Edit – Women's Gentle Care, Inc.
Women can have bleeding disorders, too. A bleeding disorder results from a flaw in the body's clotting system. Specialized proteins in the blood are called clotting factors. If they are missing or do not work properly, a bleeding disorder can result. Most bleeding disorders are inherited, caused by a genetic mutation, but some can occur spontaneously. People with bleeding disorders bleed longer, not faster, than those who do not.


text:
Q: System Error 0x5: CreateFileMapping() I wish to implement IPC using Named Shared Memory.
To do this, one of the steps is getting a handle to a Mapping Memory Object, using CreateFileMapping().
I do it exactly as MSDN website reccommends: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa366551(v=VS.85).aspx:
hFileMappingHandle = CreateFileMapping
    (
        INVALID_HANDLE_VALUE,      // use paging file
        NULL,                      // default security
        PAGE_READWRITE,            // read/write access
        0,            // maximum object size (high-order DWORD)
        256,            // maximum object size (low-order DWORD)
        "Global\\MyFileMappingObject"          // name of mapping object
    );
DWORD dwError = GetLastError();

However, the handle returned is always 0x0, and the System Error Code returned is: 0x5 (Access Denied.)

*

*Only Named Memory Sharing desired (not file sharing).

*Windows 7 x64 bit OS

*Administrator's user rights available

*Developed Application: 64bit Plug-In application (.dll)
Does anybody have the same experience, and a way to fix it, please? I use MSDN site as my reference, so I to not think, there is problem in the code.

A: Administrators, Services and Network Services have SeCreateGlobalPrivilege by default. You must remember though, that Windows7/Vista does not run everything as admin. So use "Start as administrator" to make "Global\" work for your application. If you're debugging, start Visual Studio as admin also.

A: Looks like you don't have enough privileges.
From MSDN:

Creating a file mapping object in the
  global namespace from a session other
  than session zero requires the
  SeCreateGlobalPrivilege privilege. For
  more information, see Kernel Object
  Namespaces.
...
The creation of a file-mapping object
  in the global namespace, by using
  CreateFileMapping, from a session
  other than session zero is a
  privileged operation. Because of this,
  an application running in an arbitrary
  Remote Desktop Session Host (RD
  Session Host) server session must have
  SeCreateGlobalPrivilege enabled in
  order to create a file-mapping object
  in the global namespace successfully.
  The privilege check is limited to the
  creation of file-mapping objects, and
  does not apply to opening existing
  ones. For example, if a service or the
  system creates a file-mapping object,
  any process running in any session can
  access that file-mapping object
  provided that the user has the
  necessary access.

A: To create global file mappings you need the SeCreateGlobalPrivilege privilege - do you have that?  Access-denied implies this is a permissions problem, for sure.

A: The reference to terminal services in the documentation about global namespace is a bit misleading as it implies you only need to worry about this if you have an unusual situation.
In fact both IIS and system services run in session zero, and the first / only user to log on runs in session 1 - so you have to use Global namespace to communicate between IIS or a service and a normal program.

A: use security attributes and DACL.
Example:
ZeroMemory(&attributes, sizeof(attributes));
attributes.nLength = sizeof(attributes);
ConvertStringSecurityDescriptorToSecurityDescriptorA(
            "D:P(A;OICI;GA;;;SY)(A;OICI;GA;;;BA)(A;OICI;GWGR;;;IU)",
            SDDL_REVISION_1,
            &attributes.lpSecurityDescriptor,
            NULL);
hMapObject = CreateFileMappingA(
            INVALID_HANDLE_VALUE,
            &attributes,
            PAGE_READWRITE,
            0,
            1024,
            "mySMobject");

A: This is a very old question and marked as answered. But going through the same MSDN article and build a sample based on it, I was able to succeed without any special privileges.
One just need to get rid of "Global\" part of the name. Surprisingly, it doens't work this way for Semaphors and Events, you will get "0x2 ERROR_FILE_NOT_FOUND". But for the memory mapped shared memory it works just fine. I was able to Create a read/write shared memory on a server, and Open it on a Client.


text:
Q: Connection to database mySQL failed from android am working on an android project, when i tried to login the application using a php file and easyphp/mySQL, it fails, here's the logcat errors:
    08-03 04:53:20.203: W/System.err(244): org.apache.http.NoHttpResponseException: The     target server failed to respond
    08-03 04:53:20.237: W/System.err(244):  at org.apache.http.impl.conn.DefaultResponseParser.parseHead(DefaultResponseParser.java:85)
    08-03 04:53:20.247: W/System.err(244):  at org.apache.http.impl.io.AbstractMessageParser.parse(AbstractMessageParser.java:174)
    08-03 04:53:20.247: W/System.err(244):  at org.apache.http.impl.AbstractHttpClientConnection.receiveResponseHeader(AbstractHttpClientConnection.java:179)
    08-03 04:53:20.247: W/System.err(244):  at org.apache.http.impl.conn.DefaultClientConnection.receiveResponseHeader(DefaultClientConnection.java:235)
    08-03 04:53:20.260: W/System.err(244):  at org.apache.http.impl.conn.AbstractClientConnAdapter.receiveResponseHeader(AbstractClientConnAdapter.java:259)
    08-03 04:53:20.260: W/System.err(244):  at org.apache.http.protocol.HttpRequestExecutor.doReceiveResponse(HttpRequestExecutor.java:279)
    08-03 04:53:20.260: W/System.err(244):  at org.apache.http.protocol.HttpRequestExecutor.execute(HttpRequestExecutor.java:121)
    08-03 04:53:20.282: W/System.err(244):  at org.apache.http.impl.client.DefaultRequestDirector.execute(DefaultRequestDirector.java:410)
    08-03 04:53:20.288: W/System.err(244):  at org.apache.http.impl.client.AbstractHttpClient.execute(AbstractHttpClient.java:555)
    08-03 04:53:20.300: W/System.err(244):  at org.apache.http.impl.client.AbstractHttpClient.execute(AbstractHttpClient.java:487)
    08-03 04:53:20.307: W/System.err(244):  at org.apache.http.impl.client.AbstractHttpClient.execute(AbstractHttpClient.java:465)
    08-03 04:53:20.320: W/System.err(244):  at com.stage.sondage.Login.onClick(Login.java:109)
    08-03 04:53:20.320: W/System.err(244):  at android.view.View.performClick(View.java:2364)
    08-03 04:53:20.339: W/System.err(244):  at android.view.View.onTouchEvent(View.java:4179)
    08-03 04:53:20.358: W/System.err(244):  at android.widget.TextView.onTouchEvent(TextView.java:6540)
    08-03 04:53:20.358: W/System.err(244):  at android.view.View.dispatchTouchEvent(View.java:3709)
    08-03 04:53:20.367: W/System.err(244):  at android.view.ViewGroup.dispatchTouchEvent(ViewGroup.java:884)
    08-03 04:53:20.379: W/System.err(244):  at android.view.ViewGroup.dispatchTouchEvent(ViewGroup.java:884)
    08-03 04:53:20.387: W/System.err(244):  at android.view.ViewGroup.dispatchTouchEvent(ViewGroup.java:884)
    08-03 04:53:20.401: W/System.err(244):  at android.view.ViewGroup.dispatchTouchEvent(ViewGroup.java:884)
    08-03 04:53:20.401: W/System.err(244):  at android.view.ViewGroup.dispatchTouchEvent(ViewGroup.java:884)
    08-03 04:53:20.401: W/System.err(244):  at android.view.ViewGroup.dispatchTouchEvent(ViewGroup.java:884)
    08-03 04:53:20.407: W/System.err(244):  at com.android.internal.policy.impl.PhoneWindow$DecorView.superDispatchTouchEvent(PhoneWindow.java:1659)
    08-03 04:53:20.420: W/System.err(244):  at com.android.internal.policy.impl.PhoneWindow.superDispatchTouchEvent(PhoneWindow.java:1107)
    08-03 04:53:20.420: W/System.err(244):  at android.app.Activity.dispatchTouchEvent(Activity.java:2061)
    08-03 04:53:20.420: W/System.err(244):  at com.android.internal.policy.impl.PhoneWindow$DecorView.dispatchTouchEvent(PhoneWindow.java:1643)
    08-03 04:53:20.420: W/System.err(244):  at android.view.ViewRoot.handleMessage(ViewRoot.java:1691)
    08-03 04:53:20.427: W/System.err(244):  at android.os.Handler.dispatchMessage(Handler.java:99)
    08-03 04:53:20.438: W/System.err(244):  at android.os.Looper.loop(Looper.java:123)
    08-03 04:53:20.459: W/System.err(244):  at android.app.ActivityThread.main(ActivityThread.java:4363)
    08-03 04:53:20.459: W/System.err(244):  at java.lang.reflect.Method.invokeNative(Native Method)
    08-03 04:53:20.459: W/System.err(244):  at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:521)
    08-03 04:53:20.459: W/System.err(244):  at com.android.internal.os.ZygoteInit$MethodAndArgsCaller.run(ZygoteInit.java:860)
    08-03 04:53:20.467: W/System.err(244):  at com.android.internal.os.ZygoteInit.main(ZygoteInit.java:618)
    08-03 04:53:20.517: W/System.err(244):  at dalvik.system.NativeStart.main(Native Method)

the line 109 in login is response = hhtpclient.execute(httppost);
where response is an instance of HttpResponse; and i have tried with both values
httppost=new HttpPost("http://10.0.2.2/android/connection.php");

and
httppost=new HttpPost("http://127.0.1.1/android/connection.php");

( by the way what's the difference between the two ip adresses?)
thanks,

A: The permission of internet in your manifest file is required.
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.INTERNET"/>

paste this in your manifest file after application tag.


text:
asveikau 38 days ago | parent | favorite | on: Python in the Windows 10 May update
This is weird because "making it easier" seems a bit like screwing over people who want more control and specifics. MS is relatively new at packaging open source and doesn't seem to have much experience in the phenomenon of official packages being not what you want.
asdfman123 38 days ago
I think this is wonderful for people who are interested in learning programming. Right now one of the biggest hurdles to learning programming is just getting the damn environment set up. Why does it have to be so hard? How many people never learn to program because they can't get "hello world" to print out?
This could make it extremely easy. "What programming language should I use?" "Learn Python." "How do I install it?" "Through the Windows installer." Boom, done. They're off to the races.
People who want control and specifics are advanced enough to figure out how to get that themselves.
triMichael 38 days ago
I very much agree and love how the programming language AutoIt does it. When I was starting out, both C and Java took several frustrating hours to set up (don't get me started on requiring environment variables to be manually changed). However, after a basic installation, AutoIt gives its au3 files a right-click context menu option to compile to an exe. It also gives you a shortcut to a help file that contains basic examples, a complete list of language concepts, and a complete list of all first party functions and a page on every single one complete with an example of how to use it.
macspoofing 38 days ago
>This is weird because "making it easier" seems a bit like screwing over people who want more control and specifics.
In what way does it screw over people who want more control? You don't have to get the python distribution from the Windows store.
It does help students/beginners/'people that want to hassle free install' get going with python.
jsgo 38 days ago
I'm not sure. It's not really all that different from any Linux distro (or macOS) having a specific version of the python binaries in their own repositories. Basically, this is for those that either need the hand held manner of doing it, respect Microsoft's vetting, or any other reasons.
For those that want to install the most recently released or a specific version number of the python installer, there's still the obvious channels and those people that would seek it out will know how to find it the normal way already. It's fine.
AndrewDucker 38 days ago
If you want more control and specifics then presumably you are capable of downloading Python from elsewhere and installing it however you want?
dual_basis 38 days ago
I don't see how it screws over experts. I can still install a different version if I want to in exactly the same number of steps as before, right?
asveikau 38 days ago
I could very easily see a scenario in which your own version has a conflict with the official one. For example maybe you need to get really careful about where the install stub is on PATH.
The possibility of a built-in one not being what you want adds a whole category of issues that wouldn't surface before. Maybe also those alternative ways of packaging die out due to lack of interest.
BoiledCabbage 38 days ago
If someone is an expert, and can't re-order path variables, then someone isn't an expert.
Use your imagination. Sometimes the machines are not set up and maintained by you. Sometimes you write scripts and run them far away. Sometimes someone else's script mucks with PATH. Now there is an ambiguity about which python runs.
Ask folks who ran into this with an old release installed by default, as in a Mac. Some of them appear to be on the thread.
mistermann 38 days ago
Those people are free to install it as they so choose.


Every Friday at lunch, from 12:00–1:00, Fuse will live-stream CoMotion from the University of Washington. Tomorrow will be a talk from Vikram Jandhyala, VP for Innovation Strategy at University of Washington, about how compassion improves innovation! Here is the schedule for the next few talks: Friday Fundamentals are free and open to the public!
Tri-Cities Tech Summit is here!