Ekotrope, an energy modeling company focused on the construction industry, launched its HomeSEED solution for architects and builders. The fully automated software solution, created by MIT technologists, performs energy and cost optimization for analysis and certification. It answers the need for a decision-support tool that guides clients, architects and builders in making rational decisions on energy systems in a timely and visual manner. Recently, the sustainable-construction market has grown rapidly due to stricter energy codes, tax and cash incentives, availability of cost-effective, energy-efficient solutions, expected energy cost growth and an overall desire to be more environmentally responsible. HomeSEED not only finds the best set of building components to meet client energy and cost goals, it also visually presents the financial benefits of energy-related capital investments, allowing architects and builders to easily demonstrate the pros and cons of specific energy-related components to their clients.


text:
Spartan Newsroom (https://news.jrn.msu.edu/2013/10/more-farmers-markets-welcoming-food-benefits/)
More farmers markets welcome food benefits
More on Agriculture
Subscribe to Agriculture
By BECKY MCKENDRY
LANSING – Food stamp use at farmers markets is expanding – and soon it may be easier for markets to accept food stamps.
The Allen Street Farmers Market in Lansing is one of almost half of markets in Michigan that accept food benefits. Credit: Becky McKendry.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently requested suggestions to improve service and eligibility requirements for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, also known as SNAP or food benefits. And the East Lansing-based Michigan Farmers Market Association (MIFMA) submitted comments calling for improvements in the way farmers markets seek SNAP eligibility.
Among the suggestions: Simplify the paperwork for markets to apply for SNAP eligibility and provide more assistance with associated costs.
"We have a lot of opportunities for growth here," said Amanda Shreve, manager of programs and partnerships at MIFMA.
Markets across Michigan have started to accept food stamps, from the Allen Street Farmers Market in Lansing to the Downtown Marquette Farmers Market.
Shreve said there are approximately 300 farmers markets in Michigan, with about 130 accepting SNAP benefits as of May and with more applying all the time.
Although SNAP-friendly markets are growing in number, navigating the necessary paperwork and clerical work can be stressful.
That's why the Park Township Farmers Market in Ottawa County doesn't accept SNAP benefits, said Barb Burmeister, the market's director.
"I would love to be able to offer it but the amount of work involved in the paperwork is prohibitive," she said.
However, some larger individual vendors and farms that sell at the market are able to receive SNAP benefits, she said.
Burmeister said unless she finds money to pay for a point-of-sale device and hire someone to process paperwork, she doesn't foresee accepting SNAP benefits.
"If we had a bigger staff or more money, we would love to do this like the Holland Farmers Market downtown," she said. "Unfortunately, smaller markets don't have as many resources and it would be a burden."
Jean Kohler of the Cadillac Area Farmers Market recalls similar stress when her market applied for the program.
"I remember we had to submit an application and wait for approval," she said. "Then something was wrong with the paperwork and we had to apply again. It was back and forth, back and forth."
Kohler said although the market applied last year, it was unable to accept SNAP benefits until this year because it was initially sent a transaction machine that requires electricity – which the Cadillac Market doesn't have.
She also said the market struggled with figuring out how many tokens – used as market currency – to buy and whether they could be reused.
The good news, Kohler said, is that now that everything is up and running, it's a success.
"People have really been thrilled for this program," she said. She said one day this year, 44 customers used their food benefits.
"We're a small market," she said. "That's a ton for this area."
MIFMA does provide technical and financial assistance and advice to markets, but the easier it is for markets to apply, the easier it is for MIFMA as well, its program manager said.
"We would appreciate support for these efforts because we also have limited staff and limited money," Shreve said.
MIFMA aims to have 50 percent of all Michigan farmers markets accepting SNAP benefits by 2015 and at least one SNAP-friendly market in 75 percent of Michigan counties.
Shreve said she feels "absolutely" confident about meeting that goal, but that there's always more work to do.
"We have a lot to celebrate in Michigan in the amount of SNAP redemption we've accomplished, but we also have a way to go," she said.
Mechanization rises with tighter farm labor
By LACEE SHEPARD
LANSING – As workers at Michigan farms and orchards become more scarce, the need for mechanical harvesting is rising. Much of the produce that used to be hand-harvested is now almost completely harvested by machine, said Ken Nye, a commodity specialist for the Farm Bureau.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


At Ilam Florist we purchase top quality fresh flowers and keep them in optimum conditions until they reach you, the customer, ideally to give maximum satisfaction and vase life, always ensuring our flowers are fit for purpose.
However, should you not be completely satisfied with your order we must be notified within 24 hours so a replacement can be arranged, it is critical that we are advised in this period as we are dealing in perishable products, we do not accept liability for a wrong delivery address due to customer error. Should you have queries about delivery please check with us.
We endeavour to make all arrangements true to picture, although due to seasonal changes from time to time we may need to substitute a type of flower for something similar to maintain the Value and look of the arrangement.
With chocolates and gifts, we aim to supply as close as possible to what is shown on the website. This may vary on occasion due to availability, in which case equivalent or better value will always be given.
If there are cultural sensitivities regarding the colour of flowers, or the type of flowers, please let us know in the comments with your order.
An order may be cancelled, and a refund issued up until the time and order has been prepared and dispatched for delivery on the courier.
Ilam Florist takes no responsibility for deliveries made due to customer error and incorrect address details, and redirection may incur added delivery fee, we will not refund in this situation.
Should a situation arise where a refund is deemed necessary it will be as follows, orders that are placed using a credit card will be refunded to the credit card which the purchase was made from, bank deposits refunded to same account and where cash has been paid a voucher for the same amount will be issued. No refunds will be issued if we are not advised of an issue within the 24 hour period after delivery due to the perishable nature of the product.
Orders are dispatched as per requested by the customer at the time of ordering to their supplied instructions.
For more details on delivery timeframes, see our Delivery page.
No information of any customers credit cards are held either on our system or manually, transactions are completed immediately and any details destroyed.


text:
Pop Culture News, Reviews, and Opinions
Posted on 18 August 2014 18 May 2017 by Matthew
Quick Reviews: 'Expendables 3' and 'About Alex'
I saw two movies whilst on vacation and while they're both trying to be something they aren't (a guilty pleasure and a shiny new The Big Chill respectively) only one kinda succeeds.
The Expendables took itself way too seriously and The Expendables 2 didn't quite take itself seriously enough (but it still worked). The Expendables 3 is somewhere in the middle of that and if it weren't for a few problem it'd be a great guilty pleasure movie.
What's really holding it back seems to just be it's rating. With a PG-13 (vs. the R rating of the first two) it can't really get into the over the top action in a way that would distract from sorta lame script and boring new young expendables.
That being said Wesley Snipes completely steals the first act as the just-out-of-prison-possibly-completely-nuts old team member and Antonio Banderas steals the second and third act as the young-at-heart-possibly-unhinged-and-a-little-too-friendly new old team member. They both make their action work and their delivery of the winking references to their other action franchises (and persona lives) is more fun than anyone else plus Banderas trying to woo Rhona Rousey mid-action sequence is kind of hilarious.
The new young team members are generic and boring versions of generic and boring young action hero archetypes but at least Rhonda Rousey's fight scenes look good (but her "signature line" is terrible). Mel Gibson has a fun turn as the definitely crazy asshole bad guy though which is nice because no one quite plays crazy like Mel Gibson.
Expendables 3 isn't a good film but the third act is, which delivers the new young stars teaming up with the old stars to literally fight off an eastern european army, pretty much what we've always wanted from these movies. Again the softer rating means it's not as over the top as it could have been making it less memorable than it could have been but it's still fun. The movie has an actual sense of humour too. it still has the winking jokes referencing everyone's other franchises but it has stand alone jokes too which is nice. The again I laughed hardest at one of Stallone's reference jokes, so your mileage may vary.
All in all it's fun. You could definitely do worse than seeing this.
This movie tries to pay homage to The Big Chill but it ends up just being a cheap knockoff. That's not to say it's all bad. It has a number of great performances (Aubrey Plaza and Max Greenfield in particular) and there is some real heart.
At the same time though the movie literally has a scene where one character says "this is just like one of those 80s movies!" and another where they name drop Jeff Goldblum and the event that gets the story rolling, the attempted suicide of a man named Alex, is a clear callback to the suicide of a man named Alex in The Big Chill.
Each character in About Alex falls into an archetype that a character from The Big Chill did also, and if you pay attention in the first act you won't be surprised which one is the one to stay and the house after the weekend, which ones go their separate ways, and so on.
That's not to say that that About Alex is a bad film but rather that it's just not a very good one and that strong performances are not enough to elevate this from it's formulaic set up and script.
Maybe if you haven't seen The Big Chill then this film would be more enjoyable but then again my honest advice if you haven't seen The Big Chill is to skip this one and see The Big Chill.
CategoriesMovies, Reviews TagsAbout Alex, Antonio Banderas, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Aubrey Plaza, Dolph Lundgren, Glen Powell, Harrison Ford, Jane Levy, Jason Ritterle, Jason Statham, Jesse Zwick, Jet Li, Kellen Lutz, Kelsey Grammer, Maggie Grace, Max Greenfield, Max Minghella, Mel Gibson, Nate Parker, Patrick Hughes, Randy Couture, Ronda Rousey, Sylvester Stallone, Terry Crews, The Expendables, The Expendables 3, Victor Ortiz, Wesley Snipes
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All 93 Simpsons Treehouse of Horror Segments, Ranked
Recap & Review: 'WandaVision' Episode 2: the 1960s start to open up some possibilities
Recap & Review: 'WandaVision' Episode 1: 1950s sitcoms are a perfect vehicle for awkwardness
Review: 'WandaVision' is delightfully weird and intriguing
Review: 'Outside the Wire' is a bit derivative but has some cool action
Review: 'Love Sarah' is sweet, but underbaked
Awesome: 120 Behind The Scenes Photos from 'The Dark Knight' Trilogy
Review: 'A Perfect Planet' Episode 2: 'The Sun' looks at how energy arrives on, and powers, life on the planet
VIFF Review: 'Babysplitters' has some great moments but overstays its welcome
Let's Take a Closer Look at the 'Star Trek: Discovery' Season 3 Credits Sequence
Recap & Review: 'WandaVision' Episode 2: the 1960s start to open up some possibilities
Review: 'Love Sarah' is sweet, but underbaked
Recap & Review: 'WandaVision' Episode 1: 1950s sitcoms are a perfect vehicle for awkwardness
Review: 'WandaVision' is delightfully weird and intriguing
Review: 'Outside the Wire' is a bit derivative but has some cool action


Social media giveaways provide a great opportunity for attracting new customers.
For a minimal amount of money, you can promote your products and increase your brand recognition.
The process is simple. Anyone can create a giveaway. If you're interested in creating your own giveaway to attract new customers, then look over the following tips.
Choose your goal. What is your reason for creating a giveaway? Do you simply want to gain new customers or do you want to promote a particular product or service? Think of the reason for the giveaway, as this will help you choose a prize.
Next, choose a prize for your giveaway. It needs to be something of value. You cannot simply offer a discount on your products or services. Discounts are great for building an email list, but not for a giveaway where you're trying to attract new customers.
Examples include a sample product or service. This could be something that relates to your primary products or services. If you offer services, you could offer several months of your service for free.
If you're at a complete loss, you could choose something simple. This could include a Visa gift card, a cheap tablet, or a gadget. The bottom line is that it needs to be something that people actually want.
You'll also need to decide when to start your giveaway and when you want it to end. You could tie this into the release of a new product or service.
For example, you could have the end of the giveaway coincide with the release date of your new item. Create your giveaway around this release. Discuss your new product or service in your marketing material for your giveaway.
After choosing a goal and a prize, you can create your giveaway. There are many sites available that allow you to easily setup your own giveaway. They work in conjunction with your social media accounts or website.
With some of these sites, such as Raffle-copter, you can even add a plugin to your website. They'll provide you with multiple options for accepting entries.
Before you actually start your giveaway, you should write down your benchmarks. These are statistics that will hopefully change after you start your giveaway.
Next, send an email to your subscribers. Let them know about your giveaway. This will help spread the word about your giveaway. Some of your subscribers may end up sharing details of your giveaway on social media, helping to spread the word.
That covers the basics of creating a social media giveaway. It's not a complicated process, but it will require some planning.
If you need to attract new customers, start preparing your next social media giveaway. Come up with a suitable prize and begin promoting your giveaway.
In addition to these tips, if you'd like to learn how to receive conversion-ready internet marketing prospects, then click here to learn more about my done-for-you system.
PS Take a look at my post about 5 things uber successful people do.


text:
PMP Exam Reference List
Wed 6/01/2021
This list of references is for the Project Management Professional (PMP)® examination launching on 2 January 2021
Smart cities will be cleaner, accessible, even more democratic, proponents say. But governments adopting new tech must contend with risks, too
Mon 4/01/2021
BARCELONA-On an overcast day in November 2019, thousands of people from all over the globe streamed in to Barcelona's cavernous suburban convention centre to partake in what's become an annual celebration of a utopian vision for 21st-century cities - a vision fuelled by the potent confection of cutting-edge digital technology, urbanist idealism and an enormous amount of money.
Donors back WHO's diverse fight against the shifting COVID-19 pandemic all over the world
Thanks to generous contributions from member states and other donors, WHO has been supporting countries in all regions with a multi-faceted approach to responding to the pandemic.
Funds provided to WHO are helping stop the spread of COVID-19 in countries all over the world. The support has enabled WHO, amongst others, to ship nearly 300 million items of personal protective equipment to close to 200 countries; strengthen hundreds of national and subnational laboratories with technical support and more than 250 million tests; coordinate the deployment of more than 180 teams and missions to strengthen critical response functions at national and subnational level; deliver 27 million respirators, and support more than 12 000 intensive care beds.
BARCELONA-On an overcast day in November 2019, thousands of people from all over the globe streamed in to Barcelona's cavernous suburban convention centre to partake in what's become an annual celebration of a utopian vision for 21st-century cities - a vision fuelled by the potent confection of cutting-edge...
Thanks to generous contributions from member states and other donors, WHO has been supporting countries in all regions with a multi-faceted approach to responding to the pandemic.Funds provided to WHO are helping stop the spread of COVID-19 in countries all over the world. The support has enabled WHO,...
COVID-19: The Downside To More Testing Could Be Overflowing Hospitals
You can't fight a virus if you don't know where it is.These were the words of Director General of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, at his briefing on the COVID-19 pandemic in mid-March.
George Monbiot Q + A - How rejuvenating nature could help fight climate change
Natural climate solutions let nature do the hard work in the fight against climate change by restoring habitats such as forests and wetlands. This could absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and help biodiversity thrive. Stephen Woroniecki - a PhD Researcher in Climate Change Adaptation from Lund...
Should A Doctor Prescribe A Walk In The Park?
Has your doctor recommended you go for regular jogs in the park, countryside walks, community food growing sessions, or some other nature-based activity? These so-called "green prescriptions" are typically given alongside conventional therapies and have existed in various forms for a number of years.
Iranian footballer Salimi optimistic about women's progress
Her technical skills caught the Iranian football coaches eyes, and she opted to continue as a footballer and it changed her career.By joining FC Marxal from Azerbaijan, Saba wrote her name in Iranian footballs history book as the first Iranian woman to play football abroad in a European country.
BARCELONA-On an overcast day in November 2019, thousands of people from all over the globe streamed in to Barcelona's cavernous suburban convention centre to partake in what's become an annual celebration of a utopian vision for 21st-century cities...
Thanks to generous contributions from member states and other donors, WHO has been supporting countries in all regions with a multi-faceted approach to responding to the pandemic.Funds provided to WHO are helping stop the spread of COVID-19 in countries...
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OUR GOAL ......to make planning your event as effortless as possible.
YOUR EVENT and how you've pictured it.....and then it happens.
SIT BACK, let our professional staff take care of every detail.
THE CATERING COMPANY will customize and tailor your cocktail party from decor to cuisine.


text:
"Amendments to Amendments": What has been in Force since 1 January 2014
In the post of 3 December 2013, it was already talked of the tax novelties taking effect from 1 January 2014.
The Parliament of Ukraine did not avoid the temptation of changing many of them by its Act of 19 December 2013 "On Amending Tax Code of Ukraine in Relation to Some Tax Rates". What follows is a brief account of the pivotal changes brought by the said Act:
- The VAT rate in 2014 remains at 20%, the rate reduction to 17% was postponed to 2015;
- The corporate income tax rate in 2014 is reduced to 18%, rather than to 16%, as was previously set out. In 2016 the tax rate will amount to 17% and finally in 2017 will constitute 16%;
- The VAT exemption for scrap metals and wood (certain items) was extended until the end of 2014;
- The VAT exemption in respect of supplies and exports of certain cereals (save for those made by producers and first-tier intermediaries) which was intended to cease on 1 January 2014, became permanent;
- А ban for 2014 on the utilization of securities-related losses accounted for as at 1 January of this year;
- Outlawing an excise duty avoidance scheme involving the import of exempt cargo vans into Ukraine with their further rearrangement into the cars.
* - Photo from http://weatherpeace.blogspot.com
Опубліковано Roman Blazhko о 6:16 PM
Мітки: Others, Ukrainian corporate income tax rate 2014, Ukrainian VAT rate 2014
Розташування: Ukraine


text:
package de.ehmkah.projects.service_example.soap_service.domain;

import org.junit.Assert;
import org.junit.Test;

/**
 * @author Michael Krausse (ehmkah)
 */
public class NeigbhbourCheckServiceTest {

  @Test
  public void testGoodNeighbour1() throws Exception {
    NeigbhbourCheckService sut = new NeigbhbourCheckService();
    Assert.assertEquals("YES", sut.areGood("TOMATO", "SPINACH"));
  }

  @Test
  public void testGoodNeighbour2() throws Exception {
    NeigbhbourCheckService sut = new NeigbhbourCheckService();
    Assert.assertEquals("NO", sut.areGood("TOMATO", "POTATO"));
  }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


One reason why many people dread interviews is due to the toughest interview questions that could be asked. When you're caught off guard with these difficult questions that you were not expecting to be asked, it can create a real problem for you. Some people stutter or stammer, try to answer too quickly and say something they wish they could take back or just don't have any answer at all.
You can avoid this problem once you learn how to properly prepare for the interview. One way to do this is to learn about the toughest interview questions that might be asked and then prepare yourself to answer them accordingly. Some of these interview questions are tough because they are not meant to be answered literally. Sometimes the tough questions are asked simply because the interviewer wants to see how you will answer the question and how you will respond when asked.
It's tricky business sometimes with interviews but with the right preparation, you can feel confident no matter what you are asked.
This question is commonly asked by interviewers and it's one that people mess up regularly. While honestly is preferred in interviews, you don't want to be blatantly honest about your faults. A better approach might be to take a weakness and put a positive spin on it to show the company how this particular trait of yours can be useful to them.
This can be another tough question. Obviously there is a good reason you left your last job but you always want to put everything in a positive light. No company wants to hire someone who brings drama with them and if there are indications you may leave and then talk badly about them, you're not going to get the job.
When these types of hypothetical questions are asked, it can be risky for the interviewee. You don't want to give up too many ideas in case you don't get picked for the job but you also want to show that you have good ideas so that you are considered for the job. A good way to answer is to tell in general how you might approach the problem but don't lay out everything in word for word detail just yet.
This is a great opportunity for you to really shine and show why you are good for the company. This is not the time to share every hobby, hope or dream you have ever had or what you like to eat on your pizza. The company is asking for things about you that relate to the company in a beneficial way.
Now that you know these examples of the toughest interview questions, you can begin preparing for your interview. If you are asked these questions, you'll be right on track with how to answer and still come off with a smooth interview process.


Long ji is about 100 kilometers away from Guilin City, about two hours by car , you can directly go to the Long shen country town from the Guilin Bus Station every 30 minutes for a bus, and go to the scenic spot from Long shen every two hours for a bus.
Villa is located in terraced landscape of the Long ji, it's only a hundred paces away from" the seven stars around the moon", whick is a famous scenic spots. Xinyuan Villa is a 5 --floor building, the guest rooms are located in the 1--4 floor, desk, dining, DIY kitchen, and reading bar are on the first floor, roof beer garden is on the 4th floor, and the basement for the beverage station. Villa has 21 rooms in total, including 19 sets of the viewing rooms, 14 suites with separate balcony or garden.
Very good food but it would be better to have a softer bed.


Item # S.S. LB-80 (H), 75 Kilowatt (kW) Electrical Power Rating High Pressure Electric Steam Generator On Electro-Steam Generator Corp.
N/A Supplied standard on any steam generator with an operating pressure higher than 15 psi. The Water Feed Booster Pump increases your incoming water pressure to overcome the operating pressure of the steam generator. The Pump requires a 5-150 psi water supply with a minimum flow rate of 2 gpm.


Welcome to our July 4th Independence Day Invitations page. Here you'll find many great invitation templates for your July 4th Invitation designs. Choose from July 4th BBQ Invitation, 4th of July Patriotic Fireworks Invitation, Fourth Of July Cookout Invitation and more. If none of the existing designs catch your eye you can also Create Your Own by adding your own picture, text or design! Each invitation card is printed in full color so your photos & wording will look great in any design. Best of all most of invitation and announcement orders ship out within 24 hours of being placed. We promise 100% satisfaction. If you don't absolutely love it, we'll take it back!


text:
Q: Pattern is not matching when it contains a new line Here is my code
 Pattern pbold = Pattern.compile(".*\\* *(.*?) *\\*.*");
 Matcher mbold = pbold.matcher(s);
 mbold.find();

A: What you need is the metacharacter that matches whitespaces charaters: (?s)
This whitespace metacharacter matches:

*

*A space character

*A tab character

*A carriage return character

*A new line character

*A vertical tab character

For more info about this special characters, please consult The Java Tutorials - Regular Expressions - Predefined Character Classes.
The code belows matches the case you need:
String s = "abc021\n" +
            "34-+\n" +
            "*\n" +
            "a\n" +
            "p\n" +
            "p\n" +
            "l\n" +
            "e\n" +
            "*\n" +
            "fga32\n" +
            "49";
    Pattern pbold = Pattern.compile(".*\\* *((?s).*?) *\\*.*");
    Matcher mbold = pbold.matcher(s);
    mbold.find();

There is also a similar question here:
Regular expression does not match newline obtained from Formatter object

A: Use flags igm like below:
Pattern pbold = Pattern.compile(".*\\* *(.*?) *\\*.*");
 Matcher mbold = pbold.matcher(s, Pattern.MULTILINE|Pattern.CASE_INSENSITIVE|Pattern.DOTALL);
 mbold.find();

A: This regular  expression might solve your problem...
 Pattern pbold = Pattern.compile(".*\\*[ \n]*(.*?)[ \n]*\\*.*");
 Matcher mbold = pbold.matcher(s);
 mbold.find();

If this doesn't solve it..please elaborate what you are trying to get through this expression.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


*Free Japan Rail Pass information booklet per order is included.
*Pick up or Next business day delivery by Express Post to MAILBOX or PO BOX in Australia.
*USJ 1 Day Studio pass is non changeable and non refundable.
*Not allowed to re-enter the park after exiting. Japan Rail Pass information booklet per order is included.
Process all orders on booking day! Your JR Pass is ready for pick up in 30 mins !
You can pick up your exchange order for JR Pass within 30 mins after completing online booking.


To receive any information about what we are up to you need to first sign up. In doing so Youth Zone / Rock Solid clubs will send you email updates and the odd thing via snail mail to you. We call it ConnectMe.


text:
A lármás lóri, más néven sárgaköpenyes lóri vagy sárgadolmányos lóri (Lorius garrulus) a madarak (Aves) osztályának a papagájalakúak (Psittaciformes) rendjéhez, és a szakállaspapagáj-félék (Psittaculidae) családjába, azon belül a lóriformák (Loriinae) alcsaládjába tartozó faj.

Származása, elterjedése

Az Indonéziához tartozó Maluku-szigetek (Seram, Halmahera stb.) érintetlen esőerdeiben él.

Alfajai

 Lorius garrulus flavopalliatus  (Salvadori 1877) - Kasiruta, Bacan, Obi és Mandiole szigetek
 Lorius garrulus garrulus (Linnaeus, 1758) - Halmahera, Widi és Ternate szigetek
 Lorius garrulus morotaianus (van Bemmel, 1940) – Morotai és Rau szigetek

Megjelenése, felépítése

Testhossza 29–30 centiméter, szárnyának hossza mintegy 18 cm; fesztávolsága elérheti az 55 cm-t. Tömege 150-200 g.

A két nem tollazata nem különbözik. Alapszíne skarlátvörös, a válltájékon sötétebb árnyalatú, a hátán változó méretű, háromszögletű sárga folttal. Combja zöld. Szárnyának fedőtollai olajzöldek, a kézevezők alsó felületén széles, vörös sáv húzódik. Az alsó szárnyfedők sárgák.

Vörös farka rövid és lekerekített, tollainak csúcsa sötétzöld. Írisze mélysárga, csőre narancsvörös, lábai piszkosszürkék.

Életmódja, élőhelye

Többnyire párban, más párokat elűzve lakmározik a  virágzó fákon; a földre csak elvétve száll le. Virágokat, gyümölcsöket, rovarokat, nektárt, virágport és magvakat eszik; ezeket gyakran a lábával veszi fel és viszi csőréhez. A gyümölcsök levét és a virágok nektárját ecsethez hasonló, rojtos nyelvével veszi fel.

Repülés közben éles, átható hangon gyakran rikoltozik, evés közben furcsán gurgulázik.

A bennszülöttek szívesen tartják kunyhóikban.

Szaporodása

Az ivarérettséget 2-3 évesen éri el. Szaporodását csak fogságban figyelték meg. A költési időszak május és november között van. A költések száma 1-2; egy fészekalj 2 tojás. Körülbelül 26 napig költ.

Képek

Források

 Parrotland.hu - magyar neve
  Romhányi: Romhányi Attila, 1987: Papagájok. Natura, 77. old.
 Hivatalos magyar neve

További információk

 Képek az interneten a fajról

Lorius
Madárfajok
Indonézia endemikus madarai

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Agents of Atlas (2009)
Rating: Rated T+
Gabriel Hardman Greg Land Guru-eFX Jana Schirmer Jason Paz Jeff Parker John Rauch Justin Ponsor Laura Martin Leinil Francis Yu Nate Piekos Paul Rivoche Stuart Immonen Tom Orzechowski
Save Published Format
Save Age Rating
All Specified Date
FROM BEFORE AFTER
January February March April May June July August September October November December 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997 1996 1995 1994 1993 1992 1991 1990 1989 1988 1987 1986 1985 1984 1983 1982 1981 1980 1979 1978 1977 1976 1975 1974 1973 1972 1971 1970 1969 1968 1967 1966 1965 1964 1963 1962 1961 1960 1959 1958 1957 1956 1955 1954 1953 1952 1951 1950 1949 1948 1947 1946 1945 1944 1943 1942 1941 1940 1939
Close Reset All
Agents of Atlas #11
Parker, Hardman
Agents of Atlas #9
Parker, Panosian
Parker, Pagulayan
Parker, Henry
War of the Realms: New Agents of Atlas
Agents of Atlas: The Complete Collection Vol. 1
Agents of Atlas


text:
Meropidae
Green bee-eater Merops orientalis
Key features Green birds with blue chin, black eye stripe and neck band. The head is tinged with orange-brown. They have wire-like elongated tail feathers. Range Throughout India.
Typical Sound
http://atozbirds.butterdaisy.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/little-green-bee-eater.mp3
Similar Birds India
World Bee-eaters
Photo1 Courtesy of JJ Harrison, Photo2 Courtesy of Jason Thompson
Sound Courtesy of Vir Joshi, XC122982. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/174979.
Blue-tailed bee-eater Merops philippinus
Key features Green birds with brown neck and black eye stripe. The bluish tail has wire-like elongated feathers. Range Throughout India with breeding range falling in Northern India and North-Eastern India, found in South India during non-breeding season.Seen near farmland, parks or ricefields. It is most often seen near large waterbodies.
http://atozbirds.butterdaisy.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Blue-tailed-Bee-eater-call.mp3
Sound Courtesy of Paul I. Holt, AV#4024. Accessible at Avocet Avian Vocalizations Center.
Referred from: 1. Wikipedia 2.BirdLife International (2015) Species factsheet: Merops philippinus. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 12/01/2015
Blue-cheeked bee-eater Merops persicus
Key features Green birds with a broad blue "eyebrow" and a blue cheek. The neck has yellow above and brown below. The greenish tail has wire-like elongated feathers.Range North western and Northern India.It is found in semi-desert areas and open grassland.
http://atozbirds.butterdaisy.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Blue-cheeked-Bee-eater.mp3
Photo1 Courtesy of Yuriy75, Photo2 Courtesy of Werner Witte
Sound Courtesy of Thijs Fijen, XC118138, Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/118138
Indian Range Referred from: .BirdLife International (2015) Species factsheet: Merops persicus. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 13/01/2015
Chestnut-headed bee-eater Merops leschenaulti
Key features Green birds with a brown cap extending to the back of the neck. Yellow chin with a black neck band. This bee-eater has a regular bird tail i.e. it has no fancy wire-like extensions in its tail. Range South India barring the the plateau region, in North-eastern India and in Northern India parallel to Himalayas and down into Bengal.The bird is found near water,open woodlands.It is most common in highland areas.
http://atozbirds.butterdaisy.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Chestnut-headed-Bee-eater-call.mp3
Photo1 Courtesy of Xavier Sandel, Photo2 Courtesy of Vijay Anand Ismavel
Sound Courtesy of Patrik Åberg, XC125373. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/125373.


text:
\subsection{Brief overview of the hybrid model}

During the SS phase the biped has 3 degrees of freedom (DOF) and 2 degrees of actuation (DoA), which yields 1 degree of underactuation (DoU). It is assumed that the stance leg acts as an ideal pivot throughout the phase, i.e., it is fixed to the ground with no slippage. The kinetic $\mathcal{K}(q_s,\dot{q_s})$ and potential $\mathcal{V}(q_s)$ energies are derived to formulate the Lagrangian, $\mathcal{L}(q_s,\dot{q_s}) = \mathcal{K}(q_s,\dot{q_s}) - \mathcal{V}(q_s)$, and form the equation of motion \citet{westervelt2007feedback}:
\begin{equation} \label{eqn:swing}
    D_s(q_s)\Ddot{q_s} + H_s(q_s,\dot{q}_s) = B_s(q_s)u
\end{equation}

\noindent where $D_s$ is the inertial matrix independent of the underactuated coordinate, $H_s$ matrix contains the Coriolis and gravity terms, and $B_s$ maps the input torques to the generalized coordinates $q_s$. The choice of configuration variables used are as follows: $q_1$ is the absolute stance leg angle which is also the under-actuated coordinate; $q_{2}$ is the angle of the swing leg relative to stance leg; and $q_{3}$ is the angle of torso relative to swing leg as shown in Fig. \ref{fig:stick:SS}. The configuration variable vector is denoted by $q_s = [q_{1}, q_{2}, q_{3}]^T \in \mathcal{Q}_s$.

\begin{figure}
\begin{minipage}{.46\linewidth}
\centering
    \subfloat[\label{fig:stick:SS}]{
        \includegraphics[width=0.7\linewidth]{figures/infographics/3link_SS.png}
        }
\end{minipage}%
\begin{minipage}{.46\linewidth}
\centering
    \subfloat[\label{fig:stick:DS}]{
        \includegraphics[width=0.7\linewidth]{figures/infographics/3link_DS.png}
        }
\end{minipage}
\caption{Stick diagram of pinned model (a), and unpinned (unconstrained) model (b)}
\label{fig:stick}
\end{figure}

The transition between the end of SS phase and the beginning of DS phase is caused by an impulsive impact event when the end of the swing feet $p_2$ makes contact with the ground. This is denoted by a switching surface $\mathcal{S}_s^d = \{x \in \mathcal{TQ} | p_2^V = 0, \dot{p}_2^V < 0\}$. The impact map is modeled as in \citet{impact}, which solves for post impact states and ground reaction forces (GRF). In order to formulate this impact map, the planar model from SS phase is now considered to be unpinned by augmenting $q_s$ to include the hip position, $q_e = [q_s, p_h]^T$. The Lagrangian is reformulated and the impulsive GRF $\delta F_{ext}$ is added on
\begin{equation} \label{eqn:impact}
    D_e(q_e)\Ddot{q_e} + H_e(q_e,\dot{q}_e) = B_e(q_e)u + \delta F_{ext}
\end{equation}

\noindent where $F_{ext}$ acts on the end of each feet $p=[p_1, p_2]^T$ and is expressed as
\begin{equation*}
    F_{ext} = J^T \lambda = \begin{bmatrix}
    \partial p_1 / \partial q_e \\
    \partial p_2 / \partial q_e \\
    \end{bmatrix}^T
    \begin{bmatrix}
    \lambda_1 \\
    \lambda_2 \\
    \end{bmatrix}
\end{equation*}

\noindent here $\lambda$, is a Lagrange multiplier that assumes both legs are fixated to the ground at the moment of impact impact and the Jacobian matrix is given by $J = \partial p(q_e) / \partial q_e$. It is assumed that the impact is inelastic, the angular momentum is conserved and both legs ends are fixed to the ground.

The last assumption is $\dot{p}^- = J \dot{q}^-_e = 0$, which means that the feet end are fixed to the ground at the time of impact and post impact. Combining this with the conservation of angular momentum allows for the effect of impact to be solved:

\begin{equation}  \label{eqn:impact_matrix_ds}
    \begin{bmatrix}
    \dot{q}_e^+ \\
    \lambda
    \end{bmatrix}    =
    \begin{bmatrix}
    D_e(q_e^-) & -J(q_e^-)^T \\
    J(q_e^-) & 0_{4 \times 4}
    \end{bmatrix} ^{-1}
    \begin{bmatrix}
    D_e(q_e^-)\dot{q}_e^- \\
    0_{4 \times 1}
    \end{bmatrix}
\end{equation}

\noindent where the superscript $+$ denotes post-impact and $-$ denotes pre-impact states. The inertial matrix $D_e$ is square, symmetric and positive definite, and the Jacobian $\partial (p(q_s)+p_h)/\partial q_e$ is always full rank, allowing for the matrix inversion shown on the right hand side.

The impact event also marks the beginning of the next gait, so the roles of legs are swapped post impact yielding
\begin{align}
    \begin{bmatrix}
    q_{1}^+ \\
    q_{2}^+ \\
    q_{3}^+
    \end{bmatrix}
    =
    \begin{bmatrix}
    q_{2}^{-} - q_{1}^{-} \\
    -q_{2}^{-} \\
    q_{3}^{-} - q_{2}^{-}
    \end{bmatrix}
\end{align}

\noindent which can be captured by a matrix $R_s^d$ as $x_e^+ = [q_{e}^+, \dot{q}_{e}^+]^T = R_s^d[q_e^-, \Delta (\dot{q}_e^-)]^T$. Where $\Delta: q_e^- \mapsto q_e^+$ maps pre-impact to post-impact velocities obtained from (\ref{eqn:impact}).

\subsection{DS phase with thrusters}
After impact as both feet stay fixed to the ground, this results in a non-instantaneous DS phase, which we assume to occur for a significantly shorter duration than that of the SS phase. The unconstrained dynamics with the ground reaction forces $\lambda$ and the thrusters' action $F_{th}$ as shown in Fig. \ref{fig:stick:DS} are given by
\begin{equation} \label{eqn:double_support}
    D_{d}(q_{d})\Ddot{q_{d}} + H_{d}(q_{d},\dot{q_{d}}) = B_{d}(q_{d})\eta + J^T \lambda
\end{equation}

\noindent where the control input is augmented to incorporate the effect of thrusters $\eta = [u, F_{th}]^T$, which was inactive during SS phase. The orientation of the thrust vector with respect to the body is assumed to be fixed along the torso link and only changes in the magnitude are considered. A damping term (viscous damping) is considered for numerical stability and ease of integration. The kinematics of leg ends are resolved by

\begin{equation} \label{eqn:no_acc}
    J \Ddot{q}_{d} + \frac{\partial J}{\partial q_{d}} \dot{q}_{d}^2 + d J \dot{q}_{d}= 0
\end{equation}
\noindent where $d$ is the damping coefficient. The DS phase dynamical model can then be written as:

\begin{equation} \label{eqn:DS_DAE}
    \begin{bmatrix}
    \Ddot{q}_{d} \\
    \lambda
    \end{bmatrix} =
    \begin{bmatrix}
    D_{d}(q_{d}) & -J(q_{d})^T\\
    J(q_{d}) &  0_{7 \times 7}
    \end{bmatrix}^{-1}
    \begin{bmatrix}
    B_{d} \eta -  H_{d}(q_{d},\dot{q}_{d}) \\
    -\frac{\partial J(q_{d})}{\partial q_{d}} \dot{q}_{d}^2 - d J \dot{q}_{d}
    \end{bmatrix}
\end{equation}

The end of the DS phase leads to next SS phase and is initiated by the end of swing foot breaking contact with the ground, which is defined as $\mathcal{S}_d^s = \{x \in \mathcal{TQ} | p_2^V > 0, \dot{p}_2^V > 0\}$. The initial SS states are simply the final DS states when the swing leg lifts off.

\subsection{Motion control}
The trajectories for the actuated coordinates are designed by imposing virtual constraints as in \citet{westervelt2007feedback}. The restricted dynamics $f_z=f(x_s)+g(x_s)u^*$ on the zero dynamics manifold $\mathcal{Z}$ are prescribed by the feedback linearizing controller $u^*(x) = - L_g L_f h(x)^{-1} (L^2_f h(x))$ and are invariant of the SS dynamics. This idea is key to HZD-based motion design widely applied to gait design and closed-loop motion control by enforcing holonomic constraint $y = h(x) = q_a - h_d \circ \theta(q)=0$. Where, $q_a = [q_{2}, q_{3}]^T$ is the vector of actuated coordinates, and $h_d$ is parametrized over the zero dynamics state $\theta(q)$. During the SS phase, the HZD method was used to obtain desired trajectories for $q_a$ and an ERG-based framework was then used to respect limits on inputs; during DS phase a NMPC scheme is used to ensure impact invariance by leveraging the thrusters.

\subsection{SS phase control}

To ensure the actuated coordinates follow the virtual constraints, a variety of finite time convergence controller can be utilized. In our case, with a relative-degree 2 the feedback linearizing control law is $u = -L_g L_f h(x)^{-1} (L_f^2 h(x) + v)$ as in \citet{khalil2002nonlinear}, where $v = K_P y + K_D \dot{y}$ is one of the simplest form of controllers available. In order to ensure that the physical limits on states and inputs are satisfied the idea of reference governor described in \citet{gilbert2002nonlinear} is taken. However, their work involves optimization and to avoid that we took an optimization-free approach based on explicit reference governor (ERG) idea described in \citet{garone2015explicit}.

The ERG acts as a supervisory controller which in our case will manipulate velocity trajectories The main idea here is that constraints on inputs and states can be satisfied by adding dynamics to the reference trajectories rather than assuming them to be pre-defined. This changes the original output functions to:
\begin{align}\label{eqn:y}
\begin{split}
    \dot{y} &= \dot{q}_a - w
\end{split}
\end{align}

\noindent where $w$ is the manipulated reference that estimates $\dot{h}_d$ while ensuring constraint satisfaction described below. The relative degree of 2 is still preserved even with this change.

\noindent An approach based on Lyapunov argument is taken to formulate the manipulated reference dynamics $\dot{w}$. This is achieved through setting an upper bound on a Lyapunov function of the actuated coordinates such that state and control limits specified in the vector $C(x_a,w)$ are always satisfied. This vector is defined as following
\begin{align}\label{eqn:c_ERG}
    C(x_a,w) &:= C_{x} x_{a} + C_{w} x_w + C_{limit} \geq 0
\end{align}
\noindent where $x_{a} = [q_a, \dot{q}_a]^T$, $x_w = [0, w]^T$ and $C_{x}$, $\ C_{w}$ and $\ C_{limit}$ arise from the limits applied to the states and inputs, that is, $|x| \leq x_{max}$ and $|u| \leq u_{max}$. These limits can be expanded as following:
\begin{align}
\begin{split}
    -q_{max} \leq q &\leq q_{max} \\
    -\dot{q}_{max} \leq \dot{q} &\leq \dot{q}_{max} \\
    -L_g L_f h^{-1}(L_f^2 h + v) &\leq u_{max} \\
    -L_g L_f h^{-1}(L_f^2 h + v) &\geq -u_{max} \\
\end{split}
\end{align}

\noindent where, $v = K_P (q - h_d) + K_D (\dot{q} - w)$. These inequalities can then be rearranged to fit the form in (\ref{eqn:c_ERG}) as following:

\begin{align}
    \begin{split}
    & C_x =
        \begin{bmatrix}
        I_{4 \times 4} \\
        -I_{4 \times 4} \\
            \begin{matrix}
            K_{P} & K_{D} \\
            -K_{P} & -K_{D}
            \end{matrix}
        \end{bmatrix}
     \quad C_w =
        \begin{bmatrix}
        0_{8 \times 4} \\
            \begin{matrix}
            0 & K_{D} \\
            0 & -K_{D}
            \end{matrix}
        \end{bmatrix}
    \\
    & C_{limit} =
        \begin{bmatrix}
        x_{max} \\
        x_{max} \\
        L_g L_f h(x) u_{max} - L^2_f h(x) + K_P h_d\\
        L_g L_f h(x) u_{max} - L^2_f h(x) + K_P h_d \\
        \end{bmatrix}
    \end{split}
\end{align}

The following Lyapunov function $V(x_{a}, x_w)$ is considered
\begin{align}
    V(x_{a},x_w) = (x_{a} - x_w)^T P (x_{a} - x_w)
\end{align}
\noindent where $P$ is a positive definite matrix consisting of controller gains $K_P$ and $K_D$ ($P = \frac{1}{2} diag(K_p, K_d) >0$). The dynamics of the manipulated reference is defined such that the Lyapunov function is bounded by a smooth positive definite function $\Gamma(w)$, as following
\begin{align} \label{eqn:V}
    V(x_{a},x_w) \leq \Gamma (w)
\end{align}

Through a change of coordinates $\Tilde{x} = P^{1/2}(x_a - x_w)$, (\ref{eqn:c_ERG}) takes the form $C_{x} P^{-1/2}\Tilde{x} + C_{x}x_w+ C_{w} x_w + C_{limit} \geq 0$. By solving for $\Tilde{x}$ at the boundary of the constraint $C_(x_a,w) = 0$, we obtain
\begin{align}
    \Tilde{x} = -\frac{P^{-1/2}C_{x}^T}{C_{x} P^{-1} C_{x}^T}(C_{x}x_w+ C_{w}x_w + C_{limit})
\end{align}
\noindent Then the upper bound can be defined as $\Gamma(w) = \Tilde{x}^T \Tilde{x}$, which is the distance from $x_w$ to the boundary of $C(x_{a},x_w)$.

The time derivative of the manipulated reference $w$ given by
\begin{align} \label{eqn:dot_w}
    \dot{w} &:= \kappa (\Gamma(w) - V(x_a, w)) sign(\dot{h}_d - w)
\end{align}
\noindent yields $\dot{\Gamma} (w, \dot{w}) \leq 0$ where $\kappa > 0$ is an arbitrary large scalar. This choice ensures that an attractive vector field is generated pointing towards $\dot{h}_d$. Looking at the time derivative of (\ref{eqn:V}), which yields the following
\begin{align}\label{eqn:V_dot}
    \dot{V}(x_{a},w,\dot{w}) \leq \dot{\Gamma} (w, \dot{w})
\end{align}

\noindent we see that $\dot{V}(x_{a},w,\dot{w})$ is negative semi-definite. Therefore, asymptotic convergence to $\dot{h}_d$ must be verified through LaSalle's principle by showing $V(x_a, w)=0$ holds true only for a finite time. The time derivative of $\Gamma (w)$ is found to be
\begin{equation}
    \dot{\Gamma} (w, \dot{w}) = 2 \Tilde{x}^T \frac{P^{-1/2}C_{x}^T}{C_x P^{-1} C_x^T} (C_x + C_w)\dot{x}_w
\end{equation}

\noindent From (\ref{eqn:dot_w}) and (\ref{eqn:V_dot}) $\dot{V}(x_{a},w,\dot{w}) = 0$ is only possible when $\dot{w} = 0$.  This happens if $w = \dot{h}_d$, i.e. when convergence is achieved, or when $\Gamma(w) = V(x_a, w)$. In the latter case, when $\dot{w} = 0$, $\Gamma(w)$ as well as $w$ remain constant. For a constant reference $V(x_a, w)$ will decrease after a finite time and convergence is resumed.

The controller must then be altered to account for this change:
\begin{equation}
    u = \beta_1 (\dot{w} + v) + \beta_2
\end{equation}

\noindent where $\beta_1 = -D_3 D_1^{-1} D_2 + D_4$ and $\beta_2 = -D_3 D_1^{-1} H_1 + H_2$ are obtained by partitioning the dynamics in (\ref{eqn:swing}) and solving for $\ddot{q}_b$ in $\ddot{y}$. The dynamics are partitioned as follows:
\begin{equation}
    \begin{bmatrix}
    D_1 & D_2 \\
    D_3 & D_4
    \end{bmatrix}
    \begin{bmatrix}
    \ddot{q}_1 \\
    \ddot{q}_a
    \end{bmatrix}
    +
    \begin{bmatrix}
    H_1 \\
    H_2
    \end{bmatrix}
    =
    \begin{bmatrix}
    0 \\
    u
    \end{bmatrix}
\end{equation}

\subsection{Impact invariance}
The two-point impact renders all joints except the torso to be fixed, causing a large deviation in velocities from the reference trajectory and subsequently deviation from the zero-dynamics manifold as well.
For periodic gaits to be achieved, the SS phase dynamics must be invariant to such deviations. Since the joint actuators are not able to make corrections needed to steer the states back to the zero dynamics manifold ($\mathcal{Z}$), the thrusters are now leveraged in the DS phase to achieve hybrid invariance. Impact invariance such that $\Pi(\Delta(\mathcal{S} \cap \mathcal{Z})) \subset \mathcal{Z}$ is sought, where $\Pi: x_{d,0} \mapsto x_{d,f}$ maps the initial states of DS phase $x_{d,0}$ to initial states of SS phase $x_{s,0}$. With this condition satisfied hybrid invariance will ensure that each gait starts with the same initial condition despite the impulsive effects of impact and deviation from designed trajectories. When DS phase is absent, hybrid invariance takes the from $\Delta(\mathcal{S} \cap \mathcal{Z}) \subset Z$ as in \citet{westervelt2003hybrid}.

As opposed to the SS phase, the constraints in the DS phase take a more complex form where the ground reaction forces need to be satisfied, $x_{d,f}$ must match the initial states at the SS phase ($x_{s,0}$) to ensure hybrid invariance. We apply a NMPC-based design scheme to steer the post-DS states back to the zero-dynamics manifold. This scheme is known for being costly, however, the duration of the DS phase is significantly shorter than SS.

Note that a reference for each DS state $r_d[k]$ is generated at every k-th sample over the duration of the double support phase. The reference can be a simple linear trajectory between the post-impact states $x_{d,0}$ and the initial SS phase state $x_{s,0}$.

The continuous DS phase model in state space form is given by $\dot{x}_d= f(x_{d}) + g(x_{d})\eta$, this model is discretized and linearized at each each sample time. The following optimization problem is then solved, by minimizing the cost function $\phi (x_d,\eta)$:
\begin{align} \label{eqn:cost}
    \begin{split}
    \quad & \underset{\eta[k]}{\text{min}}~  \phi (x_d,\eta)   = \sum_{k=1}^{N}  \sum_{i=1}^{p} w_{x,i} ( x_{d,i}[k] - r_{d,i}[k] ) + \\ & \qquad \qquad \qquad \ \ \sum_{k=1}^{N-1} \sum_{j=1}^{m} w_{\eta,j} \Delta \eta_j[k] \\
    & \text{subj. to:} \\
    & x_{d}[1] = R_s^d x_e^+\\
    & x_{d}[k+1] = f(x_d[k]) + g(x_d[k])\eta[k] + A(x_d[k], \eta[k])\\
    & | \eta[k] | < \eta_{max} \\
    & | x_{d}[k] | < x_{d \ max} \\
    & \lvert \lambda_T[k] \rvert  < \mu_s \lvert \lambda_N[k] \rvert \\
    & \lambda_N[k] > 0\\
    \end{split}
\end{align}
\noindent where the initial state of DS phase $x_{d}[1]$ comes directly from the post impact state $x_e^+$, after the roles of the legs have been swapped which is denoted by $R_s^d$ matrix. The subsequent constraint $x_d[k+1]$ ensures that the discrete linearized states belong to the DS phase, where the $A$ matrix contains the linear terms of $\dot{x}_d$ from (\ref{eqn:double_support}). Limits are imposed on both states and control actions through $\eta_{max}$ and $x_{d, \ max}$, respectively. And finally, the ground contact condition must be satisfied for the DS phase i.e., the ratio of tangential $\lambda_T$  to normal forces $\lambda_N$ is less than the static coefficient of friction $\mu_s$ and normal force is always positive.

With these constrained satisfied, the NMPC guides the DS states towards the initial condition of SS phase, resulting in impact and DS phase invariance.

\section{Introduction}
Raibert's hopping robots \citet{raibert1984experiments} and Boston Dynamic's BigDog \citet{raibert2008bigdog} are amongst the most successful examples of legged robots, as they can hop or trot robustly even in the presence of significant unplanned disturbances. Other than these successful examples, a large number of humanoid robots have also been introduced. Honda's ASIMO \citep{hirose2006honda} and Samsung's Mahru III \citep{kwon2007biped} are capable of walking, running, dancing and
going up and down stairs, and the Yobotics-IHMC \citep{5354430} biped can recover from pushes.

Despite these accomplishments, all of these systems are prone to falling over. Even humans, known for natural and dynamic gaits, whose performance easily outperform that of today's bipedal robot cannot recover from severe pushes or slippage on icy surfaces. Our goal is to enhance the robustness of these systems through a distributed array of thrusters.

Here, in this paper, we report our efforts in designing closed-loop feedback for the thruster-assisted walking of legged systems, currently being developed at Northeastern University. These bipeds are equipped with a total of six actuators, and two pairs of coaxial thrusters fixed to their torso. An example is shown in figure \ref{fig:Leo}.

These platforms combine aerial and legged modality in a single platform and can provide rich and challenging dynamics and control problems. The thrusters add to the array of control inputs in the system (i.e., adds to redundancy and leads to overactuation) which can be beneficial from a practical standpoint and challenging from a feedback design standpoint. Overactuation demands an efficient allocation of control inputs and, on the other hand, can safeguard robustness by providing more resources.

\begin{figure}
    \centering
    \includegraphics[width=0.5\linewidth]{figures/infographics/midget.png}
    \caption{CAD model for a thruster-assisted bipedal robot designed by the authors}
    \label{fig:Leo}
\end{figure}

The challenge of simultaneously providing asymptotic stability and constraint satisfaction in legged system has been extensively addressed \citet{westervelt2007feedback}. The method of hybrid zero dynamics (HZD) has provided a rigorous model-based approach to assign attributes such as efficiency of locomotion in an off-line fashion. Other attempts entail optimization-based approaches to secure safety and performance of legged locomotion, see \citet{CLFQP}, \citet{7803333}, and \citet{7041347}.

Instead of investing on costly optimization-based schemes in single support (SS) phase, we will assume for well-tuned supervisory controllers found in \citet{sontag1983lyapunov}, \citet{371031}, and \citet{bhat1998continuous}. Instead will focus on fine-tuning the joints desired trajectories to satisfy the performance being sought. In doing this, we will devise an intermediary filter based on the emerging idea of reference governors, see \citet{411031}, \citet{bemporad1998reference}, and \citet{gilbert2002nonlinear}. Since these modifications and impact events lead to deviations from the desired periodic orbits, we will guarantee hybrid invariance in a robust fashion by applying predictive schemes withing a very short time envelope during the gait cycle, i.e. double support (DS) phase. To achieve hybrid invariance, we will leverage the unique features in our robot, i.e., the thruster. As a result, the merit of our approach is that unlike existing methods satisfying performance-related constraints during the single support phase does not rely on expensive optimization approaches. In addition, the proposed design approach allows to enhance performance and robustness beyond the limits manifested by existing state-of-the-art dynamic walkers.

This work is organized as follows. In section \ref{section:method}, the dynamics for a planar three link biped is developed. The SS phase is modeled following standard conventions, then a two-point impact map and a non-instantaneous DS phase are introduced. In SS phase gaits are first designed based on HZD method, constraints are imposed on the states and inputs through an explicit reference governor (ERG). During DS phase a nonlinear model predictive control (NMPC) scheme is utilized to steer states back to zero dynamics manifold ensuring hybrid invariance. Results are shown in section \ref{section:results}, and the paper is concluded in section \ref{section:conclusion}.

\section{Methodology} \label{section:method}
\input{2_methodology.tex}

\section{Results} \label{section:results}
\input{3_results.tex}

\section{Conclusion} \label{section:conclusion}
\input{4_conclusion.tex}

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text:
Home / News / Today in Car News
2016 Smart ForTwo Driven, 2016 Chevy Volt In Pre-Production, Tesla Model S Love: Today's Car News
Stephen Edelstein March 31, 2015 Comment Now!
Today, we've got a first drive of the European-spec version of the 2016 Smart ForTwo, a report that the 2016 Chevrolet Volt is already in pre-production, and a consumer survey that says Tesla Model S owners love their cars more than anyone else. All this and more on Green Car Reports.
The 2016 Chevrolet Volt is already in pre-production, with pricing information to come next month, a new report says.
Two new studies return two important conclusions: U.S. miles driven are rising, but fuel consumption is falling.
Tesla Model S owners love their cars more than any other vehicle owners, a new consumer survey finds.
"Dude, where's my hydrogen car?" is question advocates have been asking for years. Find out why it's taken so long for carmakers to develop production-feasible fuel-cell vehicles.
Beijing smog is so bad that a new emergency plan calls for banning half of the cars on its roads on alternate days.
Can the 2016 Smart ForTwo find success in the U.S. the second time around? We preview it with a first drive of the European-market version.
Find out why shopping for a car can put a dent in your credit score.
Finally, the updated 2016 GMC Terrain debuts just ahead of the 2015 New York Auto Show.
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C. SPENCER YEH PRESENTS HIS OWN RENDITION OF CONRAD ROOK'S CHAPPAQUA WITH ORNETTE COLEMAN'S ORIGINAL SCORE THE CHAPPAQUA SUITE.
Conrad Rooks wrote, directed and starred in this psychedelic cult film based on his own experiences with drug and alchohol addiction and his therapeutic use of psychedelic drugs to treat that addiction. CHAPPAQUA features appearances by Ornette Coleman (credited as "Peyote Eater"), William S. Burroughs, Jean-Louis Barrault, guru Swami Satchidananda, The Fugs, Allen Ginsberg, Moondog and Ravi Shankar.
Conrad Rooks originally commissioned Ornette Coleman to score CHAPPAQUA, resulting in Coleman's Chappaqua Suite. Upon hearing it, Rooks allegedly decided that the piece would overshadow his film and decided not to use it. In a tribute to Ornette Coleman, Spectacle presents its own rendition of CHAPPAQUA with Ornette Coleman's original composition in place.


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Hungarian National Day-A National Day Reception to celebrate the 50th anniversary(Golden Jubilee) of the diplomatic relations between Hungary and Pakistan was held at a local hotel in Islamabad under auspicies of Hungarian Embassy in Pakistan.


KUALA LUMPUR, April 1 — The federal government said today it has no plans to introduce lèse majesté laws to curb insults against Malay rulers and the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on social media, saying existing laws are sufficient.
Home Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said the Pakatan Harapan (PH) administration has not discussed the need for such laws as practised in neighbouring Thailand.
"We think that is not suitable to introduce lèse majesté for now but we will study the provisions under the Sedition Act further.
"There is also suggestions for such laws to be included under the Penal Code but the matter will be brought up to the Cabinet meeting later to decide whether it is sensible to amend or strengthen the law," he told Dewan Rakyat during Question Time here.
He was responding to Ramli Mohd Nor (BN-Cameron Highlands) who asked the ministry on the actions taken by the authorities against those who insult or vilify the monarchy.
Muhyiddin pointed out that the police have investigated a total of 97 cases involving social media users allegedly insulting Malay rulers and the Agong in the last seven years.
Out of the 97, 11 of the cases were charged in court after investigations papers were opened under either the Sedition Act 1948, Penal Code, or the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998.
The government has also taken steps to educate the public about the need for sensitivity when making remarks touching on religion, race, and the royalty, he added.
"Monitoring and investigative units were also established at the contingent and district level to curb social media abuse.
"To ensure national security and public harmony is always preserved, the ministry will not compromise on any forms of threats perpetrated by any parties seeking to disrupt peace enjoyed by the people," he said.
Responding to a supplementary question from Fahmi Fadzil (PH-Lembah Pantai) about steps the government has taken on those accusing the administration of being anti-Islam and anti-Malay, Muhyiddin said the government will monitor and act on extreme allegations if they might threaten the peace.
"Strict actions will be taken against parties attempting to create chaos and provocation in any form be it verbal, written or dissemination," he said.


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text:
PRIVACY / TERMS OF SERVICE
Main Street Music
4444 Main St, Philadelphia, PA 19127
Limited orange and black colored vinyl LP pressing. Forget What You Know is the third and final studio album by American rock band Midtown. Following the release of Living Well Is the Best Revenge (2002), Midtown was moved from MCA to Geffen Records as a result of a merger between the two labels. The group spent time writing on their next album and following a meeting with Butch Walker, moved to Atlanta, Georgia, to start recording the new material. Walker headed the producing helm and Forget What You Know was recorded in late 2003 at Ruby Red Studios. The album is classified as an emo and pop punk release; it's songs were compared with those of Division of Laura Lee, Recover and Jimmy Eat World.
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Forget What You Know [Limited Edition Translucent Orange W/ Black Swirl LP]
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1. Armageddon
2. To Our Savior
3. Give It Up
4. Is It Me? Is It True?
5. God Is Dead
6. Whole New World
7. Empty Like the Ocean
8. Nothing Is Ever What It Seems
9. Tragedy of the Human Condition, The
10. Waiting for the News
11. Until It Kills
12. Hey Baby, Don't You Know That We're All Whores
13. Help Me Sleep
14. Manhattan
15. So Long as We Keep Our Bodies Numb We're Safe
Copyright © Main Street Music


text:
Obama Jumped Into GA Special Election Race To Slam 'Shameful' GOP Voter Suppression Tactics
Democrat Ossoff lost the most expensive congressional race ever
Based on reporting By Sean Colarossi
Just a day before voters in Georgia's sixth congressional district voted to choose between underdog Democrat Jon Ossoff and Trump-supported Republican Karen Handel, former President Barack Obama jumped into the race to slam GOP efforts to suppress the vote.
Responding to an ad being run in Georgia by pro-Trump group Great America Alliance, which "fraudulently" uses Obama's voice from the audio version of his book "Dreams From My Father," a spokesman for the 44th president said the radio spot "is a shameful, indefensible tactic that should never be heard on the public airwaves."
The response from Obama's spokesman comes a day after it was reported that the former president's voice was being used out of context to keep Democrats from voting.
Despite the misleading commercial, the audio of Obama was actually the former president quoting somebody else – they weren't his own words, despite the ad presenting them as such.
Voter suppression from Republicans is nothing new, of course. Without such tactics, whether it's discouraging Democrats from turning out or simply forbidding them from doing so via state laws, Donald Trump probably wouldn't be in the White House today.
The latest example in Georgia, in a district that Trump carried and that Republicans have controlled for decades, shows that the GOP were deeply concerned about losing what should be a guaranteed win for them.


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My truth, my story and being #metoo'd by Vlogger Katie Joy Paulson
Steve McRae - May 21, 2020 August 16, 2022
This is my story. It is not the type of story that we have unfortunately heard far too many times from victims of sexual assault or harassment, but the story of a victim who was falsely accused of sexual harassment. This story is not in any way to even remotely attempt to compare what I have been through to what many women have been personally affected by sexual abuse or harassment have been through, but it is personal to me…because it happened to me personally.
In Dec 2017 I started a YouTube channel with my then business partner Kyle Curtis called TheNonSequitur Show. This show was predicated upon the motto that opinions were sacred and that we would allow voices of differing opinions to have discussions and dialogs. To say that this show was lightning in a bottle would be a bit of an understatement. Within a year and a half the show had amassed millions of views, tens of thousands of followers, netted tens of thousands of dollars, reaching a fair market value of around $98,000.¹
During the run of the show Mr. Curtis had a vlogger named Katie Joy Paulson join him to discuss an potentially extremely dangerous fermented drink called "Jilly Juice".² Not long after Mr. Curtis unilaterally made a decision to make Mrs. Paulson a regular "co-host" to the show in a separate segment called "The Smoking Nun". While at the time I was not a fan of Mrs.Paulson, I didn't have any outspoken objections to Mr. Curtis and Mrs. Paulson doing their own show together on the channel as I was under the impression that eventually they would have a spin off channel of their own. During the entire run of "The Smoking Nun", I had only appeared with Mrs. Paulson three times, each time produced by our producer David Fulton, professionally known as Booleanenator. This will be of relevant importance soon.
On June 11th, 2019 Mr. Curtis made another unilateral decision. This time it was to try to kick both me and Booleanenator off the channel by removing our access to the channel and abscond with approximately $60,000, half of which was mine. Money earned by ad revenue and by gracious donations from fans of the show.³ Mr Curtis attempted to continue the show without me and the producer resulting in enormous backlash by our fans, leaving Mrs. Paulson as a "co-host" and as a moderator to the channel. On June 15th, 2019 just days after Mr. Curtis had stolen the show and all the revenue, Mrs. Paulson in the live chat made accusations that I had at some point sexually harassed her by "making suggestive comments" to her.⁴ Following this accusation Mrs. Paulson then accused me of committing fraud by failing to report income that I never received because Mr. Curtis never paid me anything. On August 23, 2019 I initiated a lawsuit against Mr. Curtis and filed a complaint in N.C. Guilford County Business court case #2019CVS8163. During this lawsuit Mrs. Paulson made numerous false statements in regards to my legal case in order to try to defend Mr. Curtis's actions by removing me and the producer from the show and fraudulently appropriating all the revenue streams from the show. She incorrectly claimed that I was on disability and that I wanted the money "under the table" and egregiously claimed that I was engaging in "criminal activities'.
She further claimed that I was on "social security" and wanted the money in cash then later tried to claim that I never even wanted the money at all. I don't know about you, but I don't know too many people who would not want to be paid $30,000 for 1.5 years of work. It is the whole reason I took Mr. Curtis to court. Why would I sue someone for $30,000 if I didn't want the money?
I have never been on disability, nor have I ever been on social security…nor did I say I wanted to be paid "under the table" or that I wanted to be paid in cash. In numerous discussions with Mr. Curtis about being paid. I was unable to have him give me the name of the CPA he claimed to be using for us to control the show's finances, and he refused to provide me with the financial records. The producer of the show and myself were concerned about Mr. Curtis having fiscal malfeasance for months leading to Mr. Curtis removal of us both from the show. I had informed Mr. Curtis that I wanted to be paid by drawing out against the business and once rather flippantly said that I didn't care how he paid me…deposit to my bank account, cashier check, or cash…just so long as I got paid. A cashier's check drawn against the business is a form of cash. It is accountable. It is not being paid "under the table".
In addition a draw is taxable income a business owner takes which is comparable to having a salary where the owner pays himself from the business. A draw would have been recorded in the books and at that point any tax liability would be mine and mine alone. Mrs. Paulson continued however to falsely accuse me of medical fraud merely days after Mr. Curtis removed me and our producer from the show.
Let me be clear on this…my medical is no one's business but my own. However, for transparency I have been very open about my medical because of Mr. Paulson's false allegations. I have VA benefits. Benefits I have earned by serving my country for 6 years in the United States Navy as a Navy Nuke during Operations Desert Storm and Desert Shield, which are not contingent upon any income that I make. I also have secondary medical which was available to me which is closer to my residency than the VA hospital, neither of which was Mrs. Paulson's business. Neither of which are nor were ever based upon any disability rating. I have a 0% rating from the military. I get zero cash benefits from the military. I get zero social security benefits. Mrs. Paulson was willfully trying to defame my character to cover up Mr. Curtis actually committing fraud.
Mrs. Paulson also continued to willfully mislead people by telling them that Mr. Curtis and I had reached some sort of agreement on "terms and payments" and that we had "settled". This was blatantly untrue as our producer Bool had explicitly informed Mrs. Paulson that nothing was ever settled and Mr. Curtis never gave us any terms nor offered to pay us in any type of payment plan.
It wasn't until the following year on Jan 23, 2020 that the honorable James L. Gale issued a entry of Partial Judgment by Default against Mr. Curtis and found him liable for fraud, fraudulent conversion, unfair and deceptive trade practices, breach of fiduciary duty and breach of contract and I was awarded treble damages once we can establish the proper financial records. I was legally vindicated completely, and I will be asking for around a $100,000+ settlement.
Mrs. Paulson just prior had reached out to me to apologize after finding out that Mr. Curtis had in fact lied about many things and even admitting she knew that he had lied. He lied about me committing fraud, he lied about having a lawyer, he lied about having a CPA and he lied about not asking other people to lie on his behalf to cover up his stealing $60,000+ and the show.
She however, would not apologize for her false allegations that I somehow sexually harassed her. Instead, she played as if she was the victim in all this and that I somehow was "harassing" her and "bullying" her merely because I continued to point out her inaccurate and false statements against me and my character.
Mrs. Paulson even made a video apology to me then removed it after I would not settle for anything less than full vindication by her recinding her claim that I somehow had sexually harassed her.
Over several months her story had changed from me mentioning the word "penis" at some point, she never has said when, to claiming that I was making reference to her "hotness" in a Tweet which was actually a Tweet about a pornstar guest that we had interviewed on the show by the name of Mercedes Carrerra…to which Mrs. Paulson replied "Wow she's got some boobs tho". I doubt very much Mrs. Carrerra who was a very entertaining and engaging guest would be too appalled by me saying she was "Amazing! Brilliant, funny, personable, HOT AS FUCK", but Mrs. Paulson claimed this somehow made her "uncomfortable"…and that other women had had "experiences like that".
None of which have ever once came forward or in any way claimed that I have ever sexually harassed them. Over several months her story changed from being "uncomfortable" to directly accusing me of "sexual harassment" and various crimes.
She says "because that is my truth", or more specifically her version of truth, none of which seems to actually comport to reality. This is where it is important where I remind people that our producer Booleanenator was in every show that I had been on air with Mrs. Paulson. Booleanenator never witness any harassment that Mrs. Paulson claimed during multiple iterations of her story. First it was I had mentioned the word "penis" in a Vmix call prior to one of our shows and making her feel "uncomfortable" and making her feel "uncomfortable" by saying a pornstar was "Hot" to occurring a private phone call with her when people asked her for details of this event. I have never called nor have been called by Mrs. Paulson and to the best of my knowledge we have only ever communicated via Twitter DM and Facebook. Mr. Curtis didn't even support Mrs. Paulson's claims that I had sexually harassed her. Never once did he say he had ever heard at any time me being inappropriate with her nor any other guest that we have ever had on the show. Booleanenator wrote on Facebook to Mrs. Paulson about her willfully spreading misleading information to help cover up Mr. Curtis's fraudulent activities by not keeping accurate accounting of financial records, conversion of funds into personal property for himself, and stealing the NonSequitur Show YouTube Channel and related assets.
Mrs. Paulson used the horrible accusation of "sexual harassment" with absolutely no evidence of any kind to support it. Most who have ever asked Mrs. Paulson for evidence have been blocked by her as she refuses to ever provide a single shred of evidence of any sexual harassment. She weaponized "sexual harassment" as her own person cudgel to try to attack my character to try to impugn my character. This type of weaponization hurts actual victims of sexual harassment, such as the many women in my life who I care about who have actually been victims of sexual harassment and assault. This makes it inordinately more difficult for victims such as them to come forward to speak out against those who do actually sexually harass others. I wrote this not to play the victim, not to elicit any form of sympathy that I was falsely accused of and lied about by Katie Joy Paulson…but simply to warn others about any future dealings with her come with inherent chances that she can lie about you with what she thinks is impunity.
This is my story. This is the truth.
PART II: https://greatdebatecommunity.com/2021/06/27/youtuber-katie-joy-paulson-woacb-my-truth-part-ii/
¹ Author Nicholas Soutter, (2019, June 17). The Humanist Codex "Nonsequitur Nightmare" https://web.archive.org/web/20210208190030/https://www.theatheistcodex.com/blogs/NicholasLamarSoutter/nonsequitur-nightmares
https://www.theatheistcodex.com/blogs/NicholasLamarSoutter/the-fire-and-the-furys
² The NonSequitur Show (2018, Sep 23). SNAKE OIL EXPOSED: Jilly Juice, MMS & Other Pseudoscience Cures. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_AQVr73W-o
³ Steve McRae (2019, Jun 13). The Death of NonSequitur Show. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ghsch7_cqEQ
⁴ TheNonSequitur Show (2019, Jun 15). Resurrection. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_w2_7ZiakT8&t=2871s
APPENDED 5.25.2020
Katie joy footage of her admitting it was not sexual harassment, even though she did in fact lie and claim at one point that it was.
https://greatdebatecommunity.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Katie-Joy-not-SH.mp4
Her claims that it was sexual harrasment on Jun 15, 2019 and again on Jan 25, 2020:
The Basics of the Laws of Logic
I may be the first YouTuber in history to ever be falsely DMCA'd from my own channel!
YouTuber Katie Joy Paulson (WOACB)- My truth: Part II – Great Debate Community™ June 27, 2021 at 11:28 am
[…] I: My truth, my story and being #metoo'd by Vlogger Katie Joy Paulson https://greatdebatecommunity.com/2020/05/21/my-truth-my-story-and-being-metood-by-vlogger-katie-joy-… Links to my document with links to the responses I sent to my lawyer that supports everything […]
TheNonSequitur Show: Steve McRea Joins The List Of Katie Joy Lawsuits - Soap Opera Spy April 28, 2022 at 6:26 pm
[…] Image supplied by Steve McRae / Great DebateCommunity blogherads.adq.push(['banner','skm-ad-banner-1']); (adsbygoogle=window.adsbygoogle||[]).push({}); […]


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