Understanding microbial ecosystems means unlocking the path toward a deeper knowledge of the fundamental mechanisms of life. Engineered microbial communities are also extremely relevant to tackling some of today's grand societal challenges. Advanced meta-omics experimental techniques provide crucial insights into microbial communities, but have been so far mostly used for descriptive, exploratory approaches to answer the initial 'who is there?' question. An ecosystem is a complex network of dynamic spatio-temporal interactions among organisms as well as between organisms and the environment. Mathematical models with their abstraction capability are essential to capture the underlying phenomena and connect the different scales at which these systems act. Differential equation models and constraint-based stoichiometric models are deterministic approaches that can successfully provide a macroscopic description of the outcome from microscopic behaviors. In this mini-review, we present classical and recent applications of these modeling methods and illustrate the potential of their integration. Indeed, approaches that can capture multiple scales are needed in order to understand emergent patterns in ecosystems and their dynamics regulated by different spatio-temporal phenomena. We finally discuss promising examples of methods proposing the integration of differential equations with constraint-based stoichiometric models and argue that more work is needed in this direction.
The relevance of bacteria and microbes for life as we know it cannot be exaggerated: they were the first forms of life that drastically shaped Earth's environment, and animal life evolved in a microbe-dominated landscape. After being considered for decades mostly as pathogens, they are now receiving full credit for the fundamental positive role they often play in ecosystems . Many different biological complexes can fall under the term 'ecosystem', and similar techniques can be employed to study a microbial mat in the Yellowstone National Park and the gut microbiome of the authors of this manuscript. In general terms, an ecosystem consists of an ensemble of organisms, their shared environment and the complex network of resulting interactions, either among the organisms or between organisms and environment. Depending on the particular interest of the observer, different questions can be addressed with different empirical and theoretical methods.
Meta-omics technologies have been so far mostly used for descriptive, exploratory approaches to answer the initial 'who is there?' question. Obtaining this sort of 'stamp collection'  is a necessary but not sufficient condition to build a comprehensive model of how microbial communities assemble, maintain themselves, evolve and function. Once we realize that macroscopic features are the emerging observables of microscopic interactions , the need to obtain a mechanistic understanding of the ecosystem dynamics becomes evident. At the same time, it is clear that the same ecosystem is regulated by phenomena acting at very different scales, both in space and time (Figure 1). Observables like growth rates might be typically associated to one specific scale (say, population-level ecology), but are not independent from others (say, individual metabolic states). Mathematical models with their abstraction capability become an essential tool to capture specific phenomena and connect different scales .
Figure 1. Examples of different levels of complexity acting at different scales.
Ecosystems span very different levels of complexity and of temporal and spatial scales. The biological question sets the importance of each aspect and defines the abstraction needed for a mathematical representation. Experimental observables also strongly influence the design of input and output of a theoretical model.
This mini-review focuses on two major classes of mathematical methods (differential equation models and constraint-based stoichiometric models) and their recent applications to the study of microbial communities. After highlighting the individual strengths and weaknesses of these methods, attention is given to integrative approaches proposed or desirable in view of obtaining a more comprehensive representation of biological systems. For a broader overview of mathematical modeling of microbial communities, the reader is referred to [5,6]. As a general note, it is worth to point out that this mini-review is describing two deterministic modeling techniques. For the sake of brevity and of uniformity of the manuscript, stochastic models are not considered here, but the reader should be aware that stochasticity is an intrinsic property of Nature. However, as previously mentioned, depending on the biological system under study and the question addressed, different methods can be chosen. Deterministic models can be considered as the macroscopic description of the outcome from microscopic behaviors.
The study of emergent patterns in ecosystems and their dynamics on multiple spatio-temporal scales is a central focus in the well-established field of theoretical ecology . Microbial ecological systems biology allows investigating in silico, in vivo and in vitro most of the temporal scales, including evolutionary dynamics. In their recent review, Friedman and Gore  highlight how models implementing simple qualitative interactions (competition, cooperation and exploitation) can still have high predictive power.
Almost two centuries ago, Verhulst defined a single deterministic equation to describe population growth which is also capturing population-level behavior of bacterial cultures . Since Lotka  and Volterra  independently proposed a mathematical model of population dynamics based on ordinary differential equations (ODEs), Lotka–Volterra (LV) models have been widely used to describe the time evolution of ecosystems (Figure 2). In the classical predator–prey LV model, two competing populations directly affect each other's growth, either positively or negatively. The model parameters, including the initial conditions, quantify such direct interactions and will determine the stability of the system. Indeed, these mathematical systems of equations can be numerically solved and the qualitative properties of the steady-state solutions, from periodic oscillations to chaotic attractors, can be evaluated.
Figure 2. Modeling microbial communities with ODE systems.
Microbial growth over time follows the logistic rule defined by Verhulst in 1838. Predator–prey systems show an oscillatory dynamic. gLV models are used today in combination with time series of metagenomics data. Stein et al.  proposed an extension of the gLV model to include susceptibility to an external time-dependent perturbation.
In 1987, Hofbauer et al.  extended the LV equations to an arbitrary number of coexisting populations and studied the mathematical properties of these generalized LV (gLV) models. Figure 2 shows schematically that today a gLV model can be obtained from a time series of metagenomics survey used to infer a co-occurrence network in a rather straightforward way . Owing to the technological advances in sequencing techniques, gLV models have been successfully used over the past few years to study the temporal dynamics of various bacterial communities [14,15]. Their predictive power is, however, still to be demonstrated, especially considering the reductive assumption that the community dynamics is driven by only pairwise interactions and that the environmental conditions are not taken into account.
A promising step forward in gLV model development is the approach by Stein et al. . In a study on colonization of mice gut microbiome by the pathogen Clostridium difficile, they added to the standard gLV formulation (individual growth rates and an interaction matrix) a third term that models individual susceptibility to an environmental perturbation, antibiotic administering, in their case study (Figure 2). Time series of in vivo metagenomics data followed the community composition of the intestinal microbiome of mice under three conditions: unperturbed and infected with C. difficile; perturbed by antibiotic; perturbed and then infected. After discretizing the gLV equations, they could use regularized linear regression to fit the parameters over a training set of data. The obtained gLV model was then used to predict the community behavior in the conditions left out of the training set. Steady-state analysis correctly predicted the infection outcomes in terms of community profiles and composition and allowed for exploration of alternative stable configurations.
To capture spatial effects like diffusion of nutrients and cell motility , partial differential equations (PDEs) are commonly applied. In wastewater treatment, the activated sludge system is a process where the microbial biomass is employed to perform specific biological tasks, like removal of N and P from sewage. In this context, models based on differential equations have been developed since the 1980s aimed at aiding the design of industrial plants . An early example of an ODE and PDE model is from Benefield and Molz , which described the ecosystem composed by an aggregated microbial suspension (floc particles) and soluble metabolites with a system of five PDEs and four ODEs. Under the assumption that organic C, O, N and P are growth-limiting nutrients and that their transfer within a floc particle is controlled by molecular diffusion, they provide a model that can be tested under different operating conditions, such as oxygenation levels, and which allows assessing, e.g. the influence of including a nitrifying microbe on nutrient limitation.
In conclusion of this section, building on time series of metagenomics data, gLV models can potentially address the question 'who will be there?', but their power is generally limited to a data-driven inference of pairwise organism interactions in a certain environment. The reality is far more complex and it is hard to imagine that we will ever answer questions like 'who does what?', or 'what will happen if…?', without sound mathematical models offering mechanistic insights into the various aspects regulating and characterizing the metabolic state of a microbial community. ODE and PDE models can successfully capture biochemical activity and spatial heterogeneity, but rely on a priori assumptions on the mechanisms and on known parameters. Metabolism is well known to be a key driver of community interactions , and differential equation models of large metabolic pathways have been proposed . While technically not impossible, a genome-scale differential equation model of an organism's full metabolism is not practical. Such a model would consist of a system of thousands of equations, each of which requiring empirical knowledge, or inference, of several parameters. This approach cannot keep up with the speed at which new genomes are published and will not help toward a thorough exploration of emerging metabolic properties of ecosystems. As of today, the most convenient method to model genome-scale metabolism is through metabolic network reconstruction and constraint-based stoichiometric models.
Genome sequencing technology has opened the door for understanding the building blocks of life. There is still, however, a significant gap between what we are able to observe in the genome and what genes can be related to known functions. Our current knowledge of enzymatic activity associated to amino acid sequences is far from complete, but also at the same time is constantly expanding and collected into searchable databases, making it easily accessible to automated computational pipelines. The recent years have seen large improvements in the process of reconstructing operational genome-scale metabolic models , also owing to platforms like KBase . An example workflow for the generation and analysis of a genome-scale metabolic model is described in Figure 3. It is important to point out that consensus on a unified standard is highly needed to ensure the reproducibility and reusability of published genome-scale networks .
Figure 3. Example workflow for genome-scale metabolic network reconstruction and analysis with FBA.
The process of reconstructing and analyzing a genome-scale metabolic network model starts with a sequenced genome. Functional annotation of the genome  links genes to enzymatic activity and allows the reconstruction of a draft network of metabolic reactions. Further steps include compartmentalization, the addition of exchange and transport reactions, the definition of a biomass equation and the gap filling procedure. Gap filling is needed to complement pathways where enzymes are missing, usually because of incomplete annotation knowledge . Today automated workflows like the Model SEED  and KBase  allow quick reconstruction of genome-scale metabolic network models, but do not solve yet the eventual need for manual curation. The network of reactions can then be represented mathematically as a stoichiometric matrix and analyzed with CBMs under the steady-state assumption and imposing boundaries on the reaction fluxes. Elementary modes  and FBA  are widely used methods to study the metabolic flux distributions.
Once a network of biochemical reactions is known, it can be mathematically represented as a stoichiometric matrix S of dimension (m, r), where m is the number of metabolites and r is the number of reactions in the model, and the elements of the matrix sij are the stoichiometric coefficients of metabolite i in reaction j . The mass balance of intracellular metabolites translates into the set of differential equations resulting from the product of S and the vector of reaction fluxes v (Figure 3). Constrained-based models (CBMs) assume a steady state and impose constraints on reaction flux values based on thermodynamic considerations (e.g. irreversibility of some reactions) and eventually biological or experimental information [26,27]. Since the dimension m is in general lower than the dimension r, the resulting space of solutions for the vector of reaction fluxes v is a convex polyhedral cone, also called flux cone. The metabolic flux distribution reflects a certain cellular state, possibly observable as a phenotype under the defined boundary conditions. The constraints on the reaction flux of import reactions (i.e. reactions transporting metabolites in the system, r1 and r2 in Figure 3) typically represent nutrient availability.
Different methods have been developed to study the structure and functionality of genome-scale metabolic networks (Figure 3). Elementary mode analysis (EMA) solves the CBM equations to identify the set of all possible unique and minimal pathways that allow steady-state metabolic fluxes in the network [28,29]. EMA performs a computationally expensive calculation, especially on large genome-scale metabolic networks, but brings rigorous insights into the structure of a network. Pathways can then be accurately and systematically compared and their efficiency, e.g. in terms of molar yields of a product, can be easily assessed. It is important to highlight that EMA does not rely on a priori assumptions on the network except for thermodynamics constraints. Since the computed solutions are scalable, environmental conditions like nutrient availability can be subsequently used, e.g. to define an intake flux and normalize the overall flux distribution. A cellular physiological state is then a weighted linear combination of elementary modes.
Flux balance analysis (FBA) is a convenient method to obtain a single flux distribution in fast computation time [30,31]. FBA assumes the previously described CBM constraints and adds the declaration of an objective function which, if linear in the metabolic fluxes, sets the definition of an optimization problem solvable with linear programming (LP). Typical objective functions are, e.g. maximization of growth rate, maximization or minimization of ATP production, minimization of overall fluxes. As a consequence, however, the resulting flux distribution depends on the modeler's subjective choice of the objective function . Furthermore, alternative optima can exist for the same problem, but FBA will return a unique solution. A plethora of extensions to FBA have been proposed in the past decades and ongoing efforts are particularly focused on integrating information from large meta-omics datasets to further constrain the models with biological data. FBA and its variants have been successfully applied to predict phenotypes of biological systems, e.g. resulting from gene knock-outs and product yield optimization, but most of them rely on strict assumptions and often trade the computational lightness typical of FBA for more accurate solutions . A critical review of the underlying assumptions in FBA and related methods is presented, e.g. in .
The so far described approaches have been initially applied, obviously, to single organisms. Scientists are still working on understanding the secrets encoded in an individual genome, but nevertheless it is possible to use metabolic network modeling also to explore the properties of natural and synthetic microbial communities. The first step to take is the definition of the community-level metabolic network model itself, and Henry et al.  recently proposed an effective strategy for a data-driven network reconstruction. In Table 1, we show three commonly chosen configurations: lumped or supra-organism network; compartmentalized network; independent multispecies networks. These approaches build on different assumptions and have specific advantages and disadvantages. It is hence up to the modelers to choose the method most suitable for the biological problem at hand. For example, Khandelwal et al.  proposed an extension of FBA that with the single assumption of balanced growth (biologically justified in controlled environments where cultures are stabilized at logarithmic growth phases) could predict metabolic fluxes, community growth rate and individual biomass abundances of a compartmentalized community metabolic network model. Other approaches introduce additional assumptions, like a community-level objective or specific functional roles for each community member, thus reducing the range of biological systems that can be modeled to those that can be characterized at the required level. This, however, does not imply that such models are not useful; only that there is a need for new approaches based on ideally universal principles. Since, in general, CBMs of communities have been extensively reviewed (see, e.g. [37–39]), we only highlight some properties and examples of the possible model configurations in Table 1.
A community-level metabolic network model can be defined in different ways. Three main approaches are shown here: lumped, compartmentalized and independent networks.
Recently, Beck et al.  studied the ecological acclimation to stresses from high irradiance, O2/CO2 competition and nutrient limitation in the thermophilic cyanobacterium Thermosynechococcus elongatus BP-1 with EMA and resource allocation theory. T. elongatus is often found in nature in association with heterotrophs in bacterial mats and the authors could assess the impact of stress acclimation on the cyanobacterium's community interactions. Indeed, the analysis of the phenotypic space revealed that reduced carbon byproducts are secreted under environmental stress, creating a favorable ecological niche for heterotrophs. Cross-feeding is a possible strategy for stress relief, as aerobic heterotrophs like Meiothermus ruber would consume O2, thus lowering O2/CO2 competition, and organic acids, thus preventing inhibitory effects. The predicted heterotroph–photoautotroph ratio as a function of stress acclimation was found to be in accordance with measured data.
The previous example showed how EMA on a single organism can reveal ecosystem configurations favorable for natural community establishment. Another approach to study microbial consortia is to assemble a multi-organism stoichiometric model (see Table 1) and investigate the interdependencies of the community members with FBA. Koch et al.  used the compartmentalized method to model a bacterial community of three species of industrial interest for biogas production: Desulfovibrio vulgaris, Methanococcus maripaludis and Methanosarcina barkeri. After assessing the performance of single organism metabolic network models, the authors built a community model with a hierarchical objective for FBA: maximal community growth rate and maximal individual biomass yield. By quantifying the degree of optimality as the ratio between the community growth rate and its expected value when all species use substrates optimally for biomass production, they could investigate different community behaviors. Simulations under different substrate utilizations predicted optimal community compositions and related it to methane yield. This information, to be validated experimentally, is an example of how CBMs can be of interest for industrial microbial community design.
Besides the limitations caused by necessary biological assumptions mentioned earlier, in the context of mathematical modeling of ecosystems the main disadvantage of CBMs is the loss, by construction, of dynamic information. To a certain extent, re-integration of dynamic interaction with external (environmental) nutrient availability is straightforward in the dynamic FBA (dFBA) approach . Exchange reactions are included in the metabolic network and their flux values as determined by FBA represent either import or export of a metabolite. By discretizing time in intervals and assuming quasi-steady-state conditions (i.e. metabolism adjusts quickly to external perturbations), it is possible to update at each time step the metabolite levels based on how much has been consumed or secreted. In the next iteration, the flux boundaries for the subsequent FBA problem are accordingly updated and the process continues. In the next section, we discuss approaches expanding this concept and the need for integration of dynamic and structural models to model ecosystems.
Figure 4 shows a schematic representation of how CBMs and dynamic equations can be integrated. Over the last years, promising approaches to extend dFBA to multi-organism and environmental temporal dynamics have been proposed. The early fundamental works have been previously reviewed, e.g. in [37–39]. We will therefore only briefly highlight some important publications in which a considerable methodological advance was presented. First, Zhuang et al.  developed a Dynamic Multi-species Metabolic Modeling framework to couple the CBMs of a Geobacter and a Rhodoferax with a groundwater environment and simulate bacterial competition; then Zomorrodi et al.  proposed a multi-objective framework, d-OptCom, that introduced individual- and community-level fitness principles as inner and outer optimization problems, respectively; going a step further, Harcombe et al.  added spatial dynamics to the temporal evolution of communities by simulating dFBA on a lattice. More recently, Phalak et al.  obtained a temporal and spatial representation with genome-scale resolution of a community of bacteria found in chronic wound biofilm, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus. The FBA problem is formulated as a series of LP problems with different objectives (maximizing growth, minimizing byproduct secretion and maximizing consumption of key nutrients) to match biological observations or assumptions. By implementing PDEs to describe the convective and diffusional processes in the biofilm layer, the authors could predict the spatial partitioning of the two species. The model also allowed assessing the impact of nutrient competition, cross-feeding and inhibition of S. aureus by a small molecule secreted by P. aeruginosa.
Figure 4. Example integration of CBMs and dynamic equations.
Methods like FBA provide a metabolic flux distribution at steady state. Assuming a quasi-steady state, it is possible to interface FBA with ODEs to capture temporal environmental changes (typically, nutrient availability) and growth dynamics. The spatial component, in particular in terms of particle diffusion, can be obtained by integrating FBA with PDEs. Space can be discretized to reduce the computational cost of the simulation.
All the examples cited so far, relying on more or less stringent biological assumptions, are able to capture certain aspects of ecosystem dynamics directly driven by metabolic interactions like cross-feeding or competition. Assuming that automated reconstruction of functional genome-scale CBMs will substantially improve in the near future, major critical points are still to be addressed. Relevant mechanisms of community behavior are lost because of intrinsic limitations of CBMs (e.g. cofactor dependence of enzymatic activities is modeled by hardcoding cofactors in the biomass function). The implementation of bi-level objective functions still forces the microbes to act following subjective assumptions that might be specific for only certain experimental conditions. The phenomena modeled are in general relative to only organism-level scales, and little abstraction is used to simplify the problem under study, which is one of the strengths of mathematical models.
The technical capability to sequence natural microbial communities including strains that are not culturable in the laboratory opens up a fascinating scenario of possible novel discoveries. Furthermore, a deeper understanding of the mechanisms that regulate and stabilize ecosystems is becoming crucial today to address grand societal challenges like food security and bioremediation.
Theoretical ecology has developed sound mathematical methods to understand emergent dynamics of ecosystems. Dynamic models have the advantage of being easily applied to different spatio-temporal scales, but they often require educated guesses on the fundamental processes to be examined. They are therefore not suitable for systematic surveys of the metabolic capabilities of microbial communities. Multi-organism genome-scale metabolic modeling is today still challenging and heavily based on a priori assumptions, but it is also a rapidly developing field. While still in its infancy, it already now offers insights into the structural properties of metabolism and allows to study pathway optimization and strain engineering, and it is becoming a major investigation tool, owing also to the significant efforts from the systems biology community to integrate it with experimental data. However, genome-scale metabolic modeling alone ignores a fundamental aspect of ecosystems: the cellular response to dynamic environmental changes. These include processes with similar local effects but acting at diverse spatio-temporal scales , like changes in nutrient availability caused by global geochemical cycles (e.g. the nitrogen cycle) or man-made perturbations (e.g. artificial fertilizers).
Recently, there has been rising interest in modeling approaches that integrate different methods, and in this manuscript we focused on two of them. We believe that current theoretical tools can achieve a much higher predictive power by following two principles: simplicity and scalability. By recognizing key strengths of specific methods and integrating them to represent multi-scale phenomena, it will be possible to disentangle the complex web of interactions in microbial ecosystem and engineer synthetic communities.
A.S. conceived and wrote the first manuscript version. A.S. and O.E. wrote and approved the final version.
The authors are supported by funding from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (EXC-1028-CEPLAS).


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Liberty Conservative News
Home News The WTF: City of Dallas is Limiting Weekend Access to Popular Trail...
The WTF: City of Dallas is Limiting Weekend Access to Popular Trail by First Letter Of People's Last Name
Jose Nino
The Park and Recreation Department of Dallas is implementing a new strategy to decrease traffic on the city's popular Katy Trail — limiting access by what letter your last name starts with.
The Dallas Park and Recreation Department is rolling out a new strategy to decrease traffic on the city's renowned Katy Trail.
This strategy consists of limiting access to the trail by the first letter of a person's last name.
The general public will be allowed to pass through the Katy Trail on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays.
Trending: President Trump Pardons John Tate and Jesse Benton
Starting on Thursday, April 23, during the rest of the week and on the weekends, users with the lasts names starting with A through L are being urged to use the the Katy Trail only on Thursday and Saturday. For those with the last names beginning with M through Z, they are being asked to use the trail on Friday and Sunday.
"We know that getting outdoors is another way for families to cope with stay-at-home regulations. Overcrowding and congestion on the Katy Trail make it nearly impossible for users to practice adequate physical distancing. Our communities' safety remains our key concern. We are working together to reduce the spread on this pandemic," remarked Dallas Park and Recreation Director John D. Jenkins. "We want our outdoor spaces to be accessible and we want visitors to do their part to protect themselves and others."
On April 20, Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson tweeted about the new policy, "Beginning this Thursday, @DallasParkRec is implementing a new strategy to decrease traffic on the Katy Trail. M-W: Normal access Thursday and Saturday: Open to users with last names starting with letters A-L. Friday and Sunday: Open to users with last names M-Z."
Beginning this Thursday, @DallasParkRec is implementing a new strategy to decrease traffic on the Katy Trail.
M-W: Normal access
Thursday and Saturday: Open to users with last names starting with letters A-L.
Friday and Sunday: Open to users with last names M-Z.
— Office of Mayor Eric Johnson (@DallasMayor) April 20, 2020
Johnson expanded on what Dallas' policy entails in a news release that went out on April 20:
The Katy Trail is an incredible asset to our city, and I love that Dallas residents want to use it to get fresh air and exercise during these difficult and unprecedented times," Johnson stated. "But I support the Park and Recreation Department's approach to creating adequate physical distancing on the Katy Trail. We cannot allow this amenity to become a health hazard. We have to be willing to adjust our practices and behaviors and take personal responsibility to stop the spread of COVID-19 so that we can save lives and get through these challenging times as quickly as possible.
The new policy is part of a plan to implement social distancing and keep the Wuhan Virus from spreading in the Dallas area.
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


How do I use Virtual Disks?
Virtual disks are encrypted containers which provide access through a mapped drive letter to the files contained within. You must specify a maximum size for the encrypted container when it is created.
Ensure you are logged in to ESET Endpoint Encryption (EEE), please see here for details: KB270 - How do I login to or logout of ESET Endpoint Encryption?
Right click on the EEE icon in the notification area.
Select Virtual Disks\Virtual Disk Manager.
Select the style of Virtual Disk to use, either enhanced or compatible.
Click Browse and select the destination path to save the newly created virtual disk.
Select either an Encryption Key or Password to use for encryption then click Next.
Drives can be automatically set to mount or unmount as you login/logout of EEE, configure the options as required then click Next.
An overview of the selected choices will be displayed, click Next to create the Virtual Disk.
A bar will display the progress of the creation process.
Once the process has completed leave the check box Mount Virtual Disk checked if you wish to access the new Virtual Disk straight away, then click Finish.
The drive letter used to access the container is displayed within the Virtual Disk Manager interface, in our example Windows has assigned the letter E: for access.
You will see the mapped drive letter with a EEE icon within Windows Explorer.
All data written into the mapped drive letter is encrypted.
There are two methods to mount / unmount a virtual disk.
1. Open the Virtual Disk Manager, select the Virtual Disk in question in the Virtual Disk Manager list, then click the Mount or Unmount button as appropriate.
2. Use the pop out menu from the EEE icon in the notification area to select the Mount or Unmount option as appropriate without needing to load the Virtual Disk Manager interface.
Each virtual disk has configurable options to mount to a preferred drive letter and mount/unmount automatically as required as you login/logout of EEE.
If you wish to change these settings after a Virtual Disk has been created, simply select the Virtual Disk in question in the Virtual Disk Manager then click the Options button.
Edit the options as required then click OK.
If you have removed a Virtual Disk from the Virtual Disk Manager or if you have introduced a Virtual Disk file from another system there are two methods to add the Virtual Disk to the Virtual Disk Manager list of virtual disks.
1. Double click on the .mnt or .dlpvdisk extension file.
2. Open the Virtual Disk Manager, click Import, select the file in question then click Open.
The limitation of a Virtual Disk in shared environments is that only the first user to mount the Virtual Disk gets read/write access, subsequent users get read access until all users have un-mounted the disk.


To kick off the new year, we'd like to share with you data on markmoder.com's activity in 2012. You may start scrolling!
In 2012, there were 26 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 27 posts. There were 61 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 349 MB. That's about a picture per week.
The busiest day of the year was November 10th with 1,818 views. The most popular post that day was So the election didn't go your way?.
I'm a CEO. Why I volunteer.
These are the posts that got the most views on markmoder.com in 2012.
Some visitors came searching, mostly for what kind of paradigm in outdoor play, kids water balloon launcher, water balloon launcher, and markmoder.com.
The most commented on post in 2012 was So the election didn't go your way?


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Everything Pregnancy
For the First Time Ever, More Women in Their 30s Are Having Babies Than Younger Women
If you are in your 30s and pregnant, it seems you are in very good company. For the first time, these women are having more babies than women in their 20s.
By Melissa Willets
Svetlana Iakusheva/Shutterstock
We know more women are waiting until later in life to start families than previous generations. Because, careers. And marrying older, among other factors. But now, for the first time ever in the U.S., women in their early 30s are having more babies than younger moms. Chew on that for a minute!
I am one of the women who are part of this trend. I'm 38, which doesn't technically qualify as early 30s, but I am pregnant with my fourth baby. My second and third children were born when I was 32 and 34, respectively. My first child was born when I was 29, but I was the first of my friends to become a mom, by a span of several years.
New CDC data reflects the approach to family planning more and more women like me are taking. After three decades of those in their 20s having the highest birth rates, most recently, the birth rate among women ages 30 to 34 was about 103 per 100,000, while the rate for women ages 25 to 29 was 102 per 100,000.
Interestingly, the report found that the average age a woman has her first child is 28. It's worth mentioning the report also cites a dropping teen pregnancy rate, which is clearly good news.
Want the latest parenting news? Sign up for our Parents Daily newsletter
The other good thing? Having a baby later in life isn't as taboo as it used to be, and with better technology and resources for those of us who have struggled with infertility, welcoming a child in your 30s and even 40s is increasingly possible.
Melissa Willets is a writer/blogger and soon-to-be mom of 4. Find her on Facebook where she chronicles her life momming under the influence. Of yoga.
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Tag Archives: witchfinder general
Spell of Fog [1983]
11/11/2018 Storiesevil influence, ghosts, Jake Adams, Mathew Hopkins, possession, Shadow on the Fen, Tammy, Tony Coleman, Witch Hunting, witchfinder generalmistyfan
Published: Tammy 29 October 1983 to 17 December 1983
Artist: Tony Coleman (credited as George Anthony)
Writer: Jake Adams
Translations/reprints: none known
A film crew arrives in the village of Wolfen to make a film about Alice Compton, a victim of witch persecution by none other than Mathew Hopkins, the Witchfinder General. Her so-called crimes included bewitching cattle and an artistic style that was ahead of its time and dubbed "the Devil's likeness". Nobody spoke up for her because they were too scared of Hopkins. Hopkins applied the usual junk witch tests of the day, which were sometimes augmented by fraud, to 'prove' Alice was a witch. After Alice's burning at the stake her ashes were scattered on the marsh. Predictably, her ghost is said to haunt the spot.
Sally Groves, who feels very strongly about Alice's fate, is shocked to hear the film director is going to depict Alice as the "devil's handmaiden" with a "dark, malignant force beneath her almost angelic appearance" who brought evil to the village instead of "the innocent victim of ignorance and superstition" she really was. When Sally protests against this portrayal, the film director has her thrown out. Several people, including the film director, are saying Sally is stupid to get worked up over something that happened centuries ago. Nobody else speaks out against the way the film portrays Alice.
Alice's self-portrait in the vicarage shows that Sally bears a striking resemblance to her – oh dear! That never bodes well for the protagonist in a serial that features witch-hunting. It is never established as to whether the resemblance is due to Sally being a descendant of some sort, which is the usual assumption in other witch-hunting stories. The self-portrait is the only one of Alice's pictures to survive; the rest were burned with her. It shows her looking really sad, but that's all there is. No sign of any malice or evil is present in the portrait.
A mist arises on the marsh where Alice's remains lie. Sally and her friend Jenny immediately notice it is coming towards them when the wind should be blowing it away. Believing this is Alice's angry reaction to how the film depicts her, Sally tries to spread the warning, but the director does not listen and continues with his version of Alice Compton. However, the mist comes into the village, stops the filming cold, and has a lot of people running scared.
The mist soon has the film crew trapped in the inn run by the Groves family – and then breaks a window and makes its way in. And they're not the only ones – the mist has everyone trapped in their homes and nothing keeps it out; it is even breaking down doors to get in.
That's only the beginning, of course. Next, the mist cuts Wolfen off from the outside world and forces it to revert to a 17th century pattern. All modern technology, including running water, stops working. All modern clothes rot while the 17th century costumes from the film remain intact so people have no choice but to wear them, and they have to cook, clean, fetch water etc the way they did in the 17th century.
But the fog is making one conspicuous exception – Sally Groves. Her modern clothes are the only ones to stay intact. This not only makes her stick out like a sore thumb but also makes her a target of the hysteria, panic, confusion and terror the fog has aroused. These are bringing out the primeval instincts that can turn even civilised people into hysterical idiots and witch-hunting mobs. Gradually, people mutter and then scream that Sally has something to do with the fog, she summoned it, that she's a witch, she's Alice Compton returned for revenge etc. Sally becomes the target of persecution, with kids throwing things at her and such. Jenny defends Sally at first, but then goes as nutty as the rest of the villagers when the fog shows up at the attack on Sally. Sally herself has an awful nightmare of the villagers taking her for Alice Compton because of the resemblance they share and burning her at the stake, and is terrified it will become reality.
Sally believes Alice must be behind the fog and what's happening but can't understand why Alice is doing this to her when she was speaking up for her. Was she wrong and Alice was a real witch after all who is out for revenge? The portrait betrays no clues and just continues to show Alice looking sad.
There is no doubt in Sally's mind that the film production is what started it all. When she tells villagers this they try to remove the film crew and equipment in a most violent manner, much to Sally's horror; she did not mean that. In any case, when the villagers try to throw the film crew out of the village, actual figures appear in the fog and block them, saying there is no escape. The figures look like Puritans from Alice's time, but Alice herself is not present at all. However, nobody grasps the significance of this clue (that maybe it is not Alice who is behind the fog?).
Then the fog touches everyone in the village, causing intense pain as it does so. Again, Sally is the exception. After this, the villagers think they are the actual 17th century villagers from Alice's time. They talk, think and act like 17th century people. They can't even see the now-useless 20th century technology whereas Sally can. These Puritan-thinking people react with horror and outrage at her 20th century clothes. They also believe she is Alice Compton the witch, and Sally's efforts to convince them that this is the 20th century are misconstrued as further proof of witchcraft. Sally's parents, which are likewise affected, change her "godless apparel" for 17th century dress, and again try to help her escape, but are blocked again. This time, it is by the possessed villagers and the film director, who now thinks he is Mathew Hopkins the Witchfinder General (it sure is perfect casting!).
The stage is set for the re-enactment of the persecution of Alice Compton and so it ensues (above): sham trial; crazed, ignorant hysterical people on all sides providing testimony; Witchfinder General twisting everything Sally says about this being the 20th century to prove she's a witch and taking advantage of the villagers' hysteria; the junk tests/fraud to prove witchcraft; and only sporadic, token protests (from Jenny). The Witchfinder General declares Sally a witch and she is tied to the stake to be burnt.
At this moment the fog reappears, extinguishes the fire, and returns the villagers and film director to normal. The villagers are shocked and ashamed at what they almost did to Sally.
The figures in the fog reappear. They are the original persecutors of Alice Compton. In death they came to realise what they did to Alice and how Hopkins took advantage of them. They cannot rest because they are so ashamed of their crime. And when the film production started it was too much for them and brought them back. With apologies to Sally, they had the villagers re-enact the Alice Compton persecution, right down to the thinking behind it. This was so they too would emerge from it feeling the same way and understand that witch-hunting is not just something ignorant, superstitious people did in times past. All humans, in any age, are capable of it because they all carry the same primeval instincts that fuel it: unreason, prejudice and fear of what they do not understand. The ghosts also did it because they want to entrust with the villagers with two things: first, consecrate Alice's remains on the marsh so both she and they will find rest; second, a warning not to let a modern witchfinder take advantage of them too.
When Alice's remains are consecrated her own foggy figure finally appears in the story. Alice tells Sally she knows about her sharing the same pain of persecution and hopes they will now share the same joy. She says farewell and departs for the next world.
Within days Wolfen returns to normal and everything modern is back and functioning. The film director (who must have realised the ghosts also did it to teach some people a lesson) scraps the film and makes one about the recent events so as to spread the warning. Sally approves of this film and is sure Alice will too. The vicar finds Alice's portrait has gone from looking sad to all smiles, but reckons Alice will be even happier if the portrait was gifted to Sally.
Tammy started this story in her last Halloween issue because it is a spooky one. It sure is; it's got themes about ghosts, witches, the Devil, possession, a grip of terror and hysteria, persecution, a historical setting, and above all, that mist. No villager from Wolfen would look at mist the same way again after this experience.
As the mist takes hold, it gets creepier and creepier. It is clear that this is no ordinary mist. It is intensifying in thickness and intenseness, and it is taking over the whole village. It can even break down windows and doors. It is forcing people back into the 17thcentury, but its reasons for this are hard to discern. Is it Alice returning for revenge? If so, she seems to be taking a very odd approach, including making the girl defending her a target of persecution. When those figures in the fog appear, it suggests it may not be Alice after all. Or are these figures trying to protect the villagers from the mist? And where is Alice? Nothing has been seen or heard from her at all during all the time the mist is taking over the village. It's all very confusing; we don't know what to think (or have we guessed?). All we know is, it's a time bomb that has been ticking ever since Alice was burned, and the film production has detonated it. The question is: where will the fallout from the blast end up?
This story has been mentioned before on this blog, in the Shadow on the Fen entry, as there are echoes of Fen (Witchfinder General references, girl threatened with burning for witchcraft, modern villagers turning into witch-hunting idiots, strong message against the evils of witch hunting and a fog that cuts a village off from the outside world) in this story that has me wondering if it was the same writer.
There have been plenty of stories of murdered witches, both innocent and guilty, returning from beyond the grave or leaving a curse behind them. Examples are "Secret of the Skulls" (Tammy), "Sharon's Stone", (Bunty) "The Painting" (Bunty), "Witch!" (Bunty), and "Bad Luck Barbara" (Mandy). There have also been stories that condemn superstitious people for persecuting people in this manner and ones portraying witch hunters as the true evil, including "Shadow on the Fen". Misty took delight in complete stories about witch hunters and witch-hunting mobs meeting their downfall at the hands of a protagonist with genuine powers.
But this is the only serial I have seen where former witch persecutors return from the grave because they are remorseful and want to make amends and find peace. Their repentance is far more believable than the repentance of witch-persecuting villagers in stories like Jinty's "Wenna the Witch" and "Mark of the Witch!". The villagers in these stories just change their minds when they see the girl they persecute perform a heroic act, while the ghost villagers learned it in the afterlife where, we presume, were condemned until they had made amends for their act.
It certainly is a twist to have the former persecutors to be the ones behind it all. From the outset we expect Alice to be behind any creepy stuff that ensues in the story, especially when we hear how the film is going to depict her. To our mind it's not who's behind it but what she intends to do and where it's all going to lead. But then, making it Alice is a bit too obvious and clichéd, isn't it?
The way the ghost villagers go about their redemption certainly takes you aback. Forcing modern people to re-enact the witch persecution of long ago? Putting an innocent girl through a terrifying ordeal of being persecuted for witchcraft? Inflicting terror on an entire village and forcing it to revert to the 17th century? Wow! But anyone going through that would emerge never assuming witch hunting is just a thing of the past ever again. It can occur anywhere, anytime, because the mechanisms behind it (hysteria, fear, prejudice, hatred of the other) are part of human nature, regardless of the day and age. When the atmosphere is right (such as the terror the fog induces or fear of the growing threat of Communism) all that is needed is the spark to strip away all common sense and sanity and turn apparently reasonable, civilised people into hysterical, witch-hunting idiots and for someone to rise and take advantage of it. Just look at the examples of the Communist witch-hunts and the Satanic Ritual Abuse scares. Or look at the hysterical villagers. It didn't take much for their common sense, sanity and belief that Alice was just a victim of superstition to be stripped away and for them to become witch-hunting idiots, even before the fog had turned them into complete persecutors.
Shadow on the Fen (1978)
05/08/2015 1978, StoriesDouglas Perry, evil influence, Girl Picture Library, Jake Adams, magic, Matthew Hopkins, Shadow on the Fen, Sorcerer, Spell of Fog, time travel, Tony Coleman, Witch Hunting, witches, Witchfinder, witchfinder generalmistyfan
(Click thru)
Publication: 18 February 1978-13 May 1978
Artist: Douglas Perry
Writer: Unknown (but see thoughts)
Reprint: Girl Picture Library #25 as "The Witchfinder"
Linden James and her family have just moved to the village of Wychley Green, but things aren't off to a good start for her. She misses her old home and isn't making friends because they think she's standoffish. At the Wishing Tree she wishes for a friend, without much hope of getting one.
But then a girl from the 17th century appears. Her name is Rebecca Neville and her evil cousin, Matthew Hobley "The Witchfinder", has accused her of witchcraft. Part of it is Rebecca having her grandmother's 'healing hands' and treating sick people and animals with them. But the real reason is that Hobley is after her inheritance. Hobley was leading a witch-hunting mob against her all the way up to the Wishing Tree, and she suddenly found herself in Linden's time. Linden draws the conclusion that it was the Wishing Tree. She tells Rebecca that she is quite safe here because people here don't believe in witches anymore. Rebecca is upset to find her home in ruins and her grandmother's grave (which does not give the date of her death). However, she moves in with Linden, swapping her 17th century clothes for modern ones and school uniform happily enough.
But soon there are warning signs that Hobley has followed Rebecca into the 20th century. During a thunderstorm, they are terrified when a frightening silhouette that looks like a Puritan appears in a mirror. Soon the same shadow is following them about. And Linden, who is confident that Hobley can't stir up people against Rebecca in this period because people no longer believe in witches, is soon to learn otherwise.
It begins when the school visits an archaeological dig, which Rebecca realises is unearthing an apothecary's shop. The Witchfinder attacks with a pile of bricks, which narrowly misses Rebecca and the Professor in charge of the dig. The classmates blame Rebecca and start to whisper she is a witch. She gets particular trouble from the wayward Smith boys. Meanwhile, the dig uncovers a ring on a trap door that could lead to something.
Linden buys a witchball (an old charm against witches) for her mother's birthday. On the way back from the shop the shadow of the Witchfinder appears. Linden threatens him with the witchball and he retreats. They now have a protection against the Witchfinder, but odd attacks start at Linden's home and seem to be targeting the witchball.
The whispering against Rebecca gets worse when she offers to help Mrs Perks look for her cat while the Smith boys tease Mrs Perks over it. Mrs Perks is also rumoured to be a witch because she is psychic. They help Mrs Perks find her cat and in return Mrs Perks reads Rebecca's palms. She says Rebecca has healing hands and warns her that there is an evil shadow pursuing her.
The dig uncovers a box that contains items from the apothecary. Among them is a gold locket belonging to the apothecary's granddaughter Catherine. Catherine was a friend of Rebecca's, and she and the apothecary stood up to Hobley for her. Then the Professor uncovers a document listing the names of people brought to trial for witchcraft – and Rebecca's name is on the list! This renews the rumours that Rebecca is a witch. Linden covers up by saying the other Rebecca must be an ancestress, which calms things down. But they wonder how the list got there.
That question is answered when the Witchfinder turns up in person at school, posing as Professor Hopkin who has joined the dig. Linden and Rebecca learn that Catherine searched Hobley's room for false evidence against Rebecca and stole the list. But she was discovered, so she, the apothecary and their cat were hanged as friends of a witch. However, Catherine is not quite finished – her ghost appears when the Witchfinder traps them at the fen and gets help for them.
They now realise the Witchfinder must be a wizard in his own right and turn to Mrs Perks for help. The Witchfinder tries to scare them with ghosts, but the ghosts fade when they approach Grandmother Neville's grave, and they figure it must offer protection against the Witchfinder. Mrs Perks helps them figure out the secret of the Witchfinder's power – a box containing a black wand, a black book and a book bound in black leather. If they destroy those items, they destroy the Witchfinder.
They discover that the Witchfinder/Hopkin has gone into hiding. Mrs Perks suggests he may be at Deepdene Cottage and gives Rebecca a cross and rowan flowers for protection. She says the cross was carved by an ancestor, whose wife became one of Hobley victim's – so she has her own score to settle with Hobley.
They find the box at the cottage but are attacked by the Witchfinder's minions – ravens and vicious dogs. They manage to retrieve the wand and destroy it. But the Witchfinder still has the book and knife.
Mrs Perks tracks down the box again, but the Witchfinder attacks in person – and right in front of the Smith boys. Linden repels him with the cross, and they destroy his book. But he gets away with the knife.
Mrs Perks ends up in hospital. The Witchfinder gave the Smith boys such a fright that they have reformed and are looking after Mrs Perks' garden. Mrs Perks warns the girls that the Witchfinder will be even more dangerous now because he is frightened, and they still have to destroy the knife. Their search for him goes nowhere, and now he sends a mist that cuts off the village from the rest of the world.
Rebecca heads back to the Wishing Tree on her own, figuring that is where she will find Hobley and the knife. She finds the knife, but has forgotten her cross. So she is unprotected when he emerges, ready to drag her back to their own time and burn her at the stake.
However, Linden discovers the oversight, heads to the Wishing Tree with the cross, and arrives in the nick of time. As she flourishes the cross, lightning strikes. The Wishing Tree is destroyed and Hobley is reduced to bones, which crumble within the hour, leaving only his hat. But there is no sign of Rebecca.
Then Linden finds a book Rebecca left for her. It contains a reference to a statue in the churchyard that is a tribute to Rebecca. It reveals she survived Hobley's persecution, became Rebecca Bartlett, and died a noble old lady at 77. Linden is relieved to know Rebecca got back safely and goes to put flowers on her grave. She finds the epitaph reflects their whole adventure: "Time and Death are illusions – but Friendship survives forever".
This story is certainly a cut above the formula about evil sorcerers/witches who use their evil magic to wreak havoc while the protagonists try to stop them, and it almost invariably ends with the sorcerer/witch being destroyed. But there is always a lot of dark, spooky, scary stuff along the way, and this can leave panels that resonate with the reader years after she reads the story.
Shadow on the Fen is using the formula to make a serious statement about witch-hunting and where the evil really lies – with the accused or the accuser? Its strongest underscoring in this regard is in the hypocrisy of it all – the Witchfinder accusing people of being evil witches while he is the one who is an evil wizard. There is humour in the irony in that the Witchfinder is the one who is allergic to the things that are supposed to repel witches – witchballs, rowan and crucifixes. It further underlines the hypocrisy. While real witch-finders could hardly have been evil wizards, they were certainly evil people who would go to any lengths, such as heinous torture, to make a bounty and a fortune.
The story also touches on human psychology and how much we have actually outgrown the thinking that sent people to the stake for witches in olden times. And how far has Wychley Green itself outgrown it? For example, are the rumours against Mrs Perks the product of stupid, ignorant people, or could there still be traces of witch-beliefs in Wychley Green? Lingering witch-beliefs in modern villages have formed the basis of several 'persecution' serials such as Wenna the Witch and Mark of the Witch!
The story should be appreciated for taking a few moments to depict witches as they really were – wise women who helped people with charms, folk magic and herbal remedies. They were not agents of the Devil – a myth invented by the Inquisition – but their healing practices made them ready targets for accusations of witchcraft. When Rebecca first meets Linden, she recounts how several people in her time went this way, and her own healing abilities have made her vulnerable to the same accusation.
The name of Matthew Hobley and his alias, Professor Hopkin, are clearly references to Matthew Hopkins, the Witchfinder General. The fact that Hobley turned out to really be a dark wizard may be a reference to the (probably apocryphal) legend that Hopkins was declared a wizard by his own witch-hunting methods and executed.
Several years later the theme of the Witchfinder General resurfaced in Tammy, with Spell of Fog, 29 October 1983 – 17 December 1983. This time, though, it is Hopkins himself. A film crew want to make a film about one of his victims, Alice Compton. Sally Groves, who has been deeply affected by the Compton case, protests when the director announces he is making a sensationalised version that depicts Alice as an actual agent of the Devil, not a hapless victim of superstition and hysteria.
Then a strange fog appears where Alice's remains have been scattered. Its power cuts the village off from the outside world and has the village progressively reverting to a 17th century pattern in technology, dress and people's thinking. Hysteria erupts in the village as the fog takes hold and people think it's Alice's revenge. Sally is the obvious scapegoat because she alone has remained unaffected, so she becomes a target of mob attacks and people calling her a witch. Eventually the fog takes over completely and the persecution of Alice Compton is re-enacted, with Sally as Alice and the film director as Hopkins.
But it turns out the power behind the fog is neither Alice nor Hopkins – it's the villagers who burned Alice at the stake. They acted out shame and guilt over what they did, but also to remind the modern villagers that witch-hunting is not something that belongs in the past. It can erupt in any day and age because the psychology behind it (unreason, prejudice and fear of what you do not understand) is in every human. (Yes, you only have to look at things like the Red Scares and Satanic Ritual Abuse Scares to know what they mean.) They leave the villagers with a warning not to let a modern witchfinder take advantage of their fears.
There are similarities between Fen and Fog – witchfinders, evils of witch-hunting and mass hysteria, and supernatural forces and mists that cut off villages from the outside world and turn modern people into witch-hunting idiots of olden times – that have me wondering if it is the same writer. The mist in Fog sounds like a step up from the fog in Fen – going from what seems a belated last-ditch effort on the part of the Witchfinder to becoming the driving force of the entire plot. The credits for Fog list Jake Adams as the writer and George Anthony (actually, Tony Coleman) as the artist.


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Aqua Puss Vs Carbon Copy: Which is Better? [2022 Edition]
If you're curious about Aqua Puss vs Carbon Copy analog delay pedals and how they compare, you've come to the right post!
Way Huge Aqua-Puss
Way Huge is one of the brands that got famous for its analog pedals. And in this article, I'll be discussing their Aqua-Puss analog delay. Just like almost all of the analog delay pedals, it works with a BBD chip.
The Aqua-Puss pedal has changed over the years. At this point, we have the pedal's third iteration, the MKIII model. Its full name now is Smalls Aqua Puss Analog Delay.
But the basic features remain the same. There's the strong metal casing and only three parameter controls:
delay time knob
feedback control
the blend control adjusting the ratio of wet and dry signals
The blend control is interesting. You usually find the volume level for the repeats. However, the mix approach has a different twist. Sure, it may take some getting used to. However, with the right approach, you can do more interesting things compared to regular delay pedals.
In particular, I'm impressed with how atmospheric it can get. You can make some really ethereal or even spooky-sounding stuff with it.
There are some differences between versions. In particular, the original MK1 Aqua Puss was different But I never got the chance to try it out. It's pretty rare to find these days. Those who have played it claim that it has longer repeats. Additionally, its older circuitries made it sound just slightly warmer.
MXR M169 Carbon Copy Analog Delay
MXR's M169 is another classic analog delay that's still in production. But Carbon Copy is a bit different compared to a conventional delay.
Once again, we have three simple basic controls: delay, regen, and mix. The delay control is the delay time. Regen is feedback while the mix works the same way as I explained above.
Now, what's worth noting is that the pedal supports longer delay times. It goes up to 600ms. This is, in my experience, just enough for all musical styles.
Carbon Copy brings a smooth and warm tone to the repeated signal. This is, in my opinion, really useful for mildly distorted tones on tube-driven amps. It adds a different twist to the clipping.
But what's particularly interesting to me is the modulation button. There's a switch on the top that turns on a chorus-like effect. In practice, it makes the pedal sound a bit like a tape-based delay. Additionally, you can further shape the modulation tone using two internal trim pots. These control the width and speed of the effect.
It's a surprisingly versatile pedal for having only a few controls on the top panel. And sure, adjusting internal pots may feel a bit tedious. However, having the option is certainly welcome.
Aqua Puss Vs Carbon Copy: How Do They Compare?
Way Huge and MXR brands are both parts of Dunlop. And these are both simple analog delays with BBD chips. However, there are a few obvious differences here.
They have different delay times. Aqua-Puss' max time is 300ms. Meanwhile, Carbon Copy goes up to 600ms. Aqua-Puss is more of a classic slapback-style delay. With its short delay time, it's more of a vintage-oriented device.
Additionally, the modern versions of Aqua-Puss have a slightly brighter tone. This isn't that common for analog delays. But it brings that 1950s feel to what you're playing. This is especially useful for clean tones on vintage Fender or Fender-style tube amps.
Meanwhile, MXR Carbon Copy is a warmer one. Despite having three basic controls, it sounds smoother and darker. In addition, it brings longer delay times, up to 600ms. This is more than enough for most modern genres as well.
The difference in the tone also has to do with the delay times. Analog delays that have longer delay times usually lose some fidelity. This brings those mellow-sounding repeats. And that's exactly what we have with MXR's Carbon Copy.
The modulation control makes it even more interesting. It can add some of that tape-like tone. In my opinion, Carbon Copy is a much more versatile device. But some players may not like the darkness of its tone. Here's what it sounds like in action.
I feel like Aqua-Puss is a bit limiting. Don't get me wrong, I don't think that it's a bad pedal. However, it has a narrow use. It's mostly for vintage-oriented stuff. Psychedelic rock and rockabilly guitarists love to use it. It's also great for the '50s and '60s-style country music. Here's a great demo of this pedal's potential.
What Are You Looking for in a Delay Pedal?
Over the years, I found digital delays to be more practical and versatile. These days, you have so many diverse digital effects that can even plenty of analog ones. But that's my experience with the gear that I've been using.
Analog delays still have their following and practical use. However, these days, only the pickiest of audiophiles will notice the difference.
Between Aqua-Puss and Carbon Copy, I'd go with Carbon Copy. But if you want my honest opinion, consider getting a digital delay instead. You'll be able to create longer and shorter delay times and make them sound bright or dark.
Aqua Puss Vs Carbon Copy: Conclusion
I hope this article has helped you think through the differences between these pedals and which might be best for you!
And as usual, feel free to let me know in the comments below if you have questions about this or another guitar-related topic!
Lastly, if you enjoyed this post, you may enjoy checking out some of the other gear comparison posts on this blog like:
Tom Anderson vs Suhr
Mark IV vs Mark V
Fishman Triple Play Vs Roland GR-55
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Strip away every layer of the game, not mindlessly, but by logical thinking. Keep clicking on colorful squares in order to figure out the patterns and relations between them. Your goal is to fill the screen in one color. Can you guess all the hidden patterns and make it to the next level?


Molds are ubiquitous in nature and mold spores are a common component of household and workplace dust. However, when spores are present in large quantities, they are a health hazard to humans, potentially causing allergic reactions and respiratory problems.
At Dry-Tech, the goal of remediation is to remove or clean contaminated materials in a way that prevents the emission of fungi and dust contaminated with fungi from leaving a work area and entering an occupied or non-abatement area, while protecting the health of workers performing the abatement.


text:
Joan E. Bauer: All But Lost
in the small print of NASA history
the story of my father: Harold E. Bauer,
known as Hal, technical director
of that workhorse, the Saturn IV-B.
He's quoted on domes, propulsion,
structural integrity, welding
of the bulkhead. He's not quoted
on misanthropic pigeons, cost overruns,
entertaining 'the brass' or how some rockets
blew to smithereens. His staff called him
'Dr. Bauer' though he only had four years
at LACC.  In an audio recording,
he says:  'Let me be specific.'
His slow, deliberate voice sounds tired.
Missing from the records, his decades
in the Mojave, at Kwajalein, Holloman
& Huntsville, then Bremen for the Space Lab.
Unrecorded: the drag weight of being
'no-margin-for-error' responsible.
The struggle to de-pressurize. He had
that other family. Complications.
He's buried somewhere in Orange County.
I don't know where. I do have
a beer mug kind of trophy:
Eagle Has Landed
First Manned Lunar Landing
Hal Bauer  A3 Mission Control
You can come over & see it anytime.
Copyright 2021 Joan E. Bauer. First published in Chiron Review.
Joan E. Bauer is the author of two full-length poetry collections, The Almost Sound of Drowning (Main Street Rag, 2008) and The Camera Artist (Turning Point, 2021). For some years, she worked as a teacher and counselor and now divides her time between Venice, CA and Pittsburgh, PA where she co-hosts and curates the Hemingway's Summer Poetry Series with Kristofer Collins.
On July 20, 1969, American astronauts Neil Armstrong (1930-2012) and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin (1930-) became the first humans ever to land on the moon.
3 comments on "Joan E. Bauer: All But Lost"
jane hilary
Nothing more fascinating than this poet's history so subtly explored, with volumes expressed in a single phrase or line.
Barbara Huntington
Since I lived near The Jet Propulsion lab of Caltech, many parents in our neighborhood were connected to it. I wonder what stories they never told.
This entry was posted on January 26, 2022 by Vox Populi in Poetry and tagged fathers and daughters, Joan E. Bauer, moon landing, NASA.
https://wp.me/p4xqzG-hpF


text:
Nossa Senhora do Santíssimo Sacramento e Santos Mártires Canadenses (em latim, Dominae Nostrae a SS.mo Sacramento et Sanctorum Martyrum Canadensium) é um título cardinalício instituído em 5 de fevereiro de 1965 pelo Papa Paulo VI, pela constituição apostólica Consuevit Ecclesia. O título é dedicado a cardeais canadenses e à igreja titular, Nostra Signora del Santissimo Sacramento e Santi Martiri Canadesi, é afiliada à Congregação do Santíssimo Sacramento.

Titulares protetores
 Maurice Roy (1965-1985)
 Paul Grégoire (1988-1993)
 Jean-Claude Turcotte (1994-2015)
 Patrick D'Rozario (2016-)

Ligações externas

Títulos cardinalícios

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


The IPO freeze is thawing with solar and greentech helping light the way.
2009 was a bleak year for IPOs. 2010 looks to be the beginning of a recovery.
Solyndra, the VC-funded thin film solar filed its S-1 in December last year in preparation for an IPO of up to $300 million We parsed their filing document here. And we tried to understand their cost per watt here.
China-based solar firm JinkoSolar just filed for an IPO of up to $100 million, according to a Reuters report.
JinkoSolar builds monocrystalline and polycrystalline wafers, cells and modules for the PV market, and intends to use proceeds from the IPO to expand manufacturing, for research and development, and for working capital. JinkoSolar posted revenue of $129 million in the nine months ended Sept. 30, down 42.8 percent from the same period a year ago.
Earlier this month Daqo New Energy, another Chinese solar polysilicon vendor, filed for an IPO of up to $108 million. Daqo had revenues of $116 million for the last twelve months ending 09/30/09.
On the not so positive side, Chinese thin film panel maker Trony Solar Holdings postponed its IPO due to poor market conditions in late 2009.
What other solar firms might we see with IPO aspirations in 2010? Nanosolar usually makes the list but first they have to get to $50 million in revenue. Although they have plenty of backlog, they are still in small-scale or pilot production. Ed Gunther, insightful solar blogger, lists SunRun and SolarCity as potential IPOs -- and those are good picks.
That covers solar. For now.
Don't overlook Codexis which filed their IPO at the end of the year.
Codexis, is a provider of biocatalysts with $58 million in revenue in the first nine months of 2009.
Codexis is funded by venture firms and strategic investors. CMEA is one of their major shareholders along with Shell Oil and CTTV, the investment arm of Chevron. CMEA is also an investor in Solyndra and the recently-public battery vendor A123.
Codexis' biocatalysts are used in the pharmaceutical industry but the greentech angle is the deal that Codexis has with Shell to produce commercially viable biofuels from cellulosic biomass. Other green applications for their product include carbon management, water treatment and "green" chemicals.
You'd be surprised by the revenue being generated by these VC-funded start-up firms.


Business Book Club meetings are lunch meetings where we get together to discuss a business development book. Books are selected as a group, and topics range from basic business skills to more advanced business development. You do not have to read the book to participate.
RSVP's are required for reservation purposes.
Locations vary; we discuss options for the next location and book at each meeting.
Books are decided using Doodle Polls.
Invitations go out through Evite.
Purpose: Informal discussion about the book and ways we can learn from each other about our personal and professional development.
You do not have to read the book to participate.


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Arkul (russisch ) ist der Name folgender Ortschaften in der Oblast Kirow (Russland):
 Arkul (Nolinsk), Siedlung städtischen Typs im Rajon Nolinsk
 Arkul (Kilmes), Dorf im Rajon Kilmes


Leave your plumbing problems behind! Call Expert Plumbing and Rooter at 818-319-4936 for fast help in Los Angeles. Free estimates and top notch results guaranteed.
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You need a plumber with the right solution, but you also need someone who will have your best interests in mind. This means no upselling, no hidden fees, and no unnecessary services pushed your way. We only recommend the most cost efficient solutions that are designed to eliminate your specific problem. This means long term peace of mind for you.
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Our services are tailored to your property's needs as well as your budget. We work with you to arrive at the best decision. No matter the problem, we will help you choose the most cost efficient solution that is guaranteed to result in your greater peace of mind.


We are so thankful for our daughter's kindergarten teacher. She is so nice, kind and patient dealing with 22 students in her class. And the National Teacher Appreciation Day is on May 5th, this is the day set aside specialy for teachers, the day when we can show our appreciation for who they are and what they do for our children.
You can get all the supplies at my CTMH online store.


The calendar says summer's over but this dog running into the sea with all the joy in the entire world says otherwise. SUMMER'S NOT GOING ANYWHERE, DAMN YOU.
The video, via the Daily Dot, is the work of an Italian man who strapped a GoPro camera onto his dog Walter's back. This was genius because like so many dogs, Walter really loves the water. Have you ever taken a dog to the beach? It's like celebrating Christmas with a four-year-old. You just think you're having a good time, until a labrador retriever belly-flops into the surf, dragging you behind.
Please let's not do winter yet. Bring Walter and let's set sail for endless summer.


With the new version of SAP BO Design Studio 1.1 the connection with SAP BW has been added. You are now able to create a Design Studio application directly on the BW system and publish these with the SAP Portal.
Design Studio delivers standard templates you can use to start with, a web version, an Ipad version and a separate template for the Iphone.
Here is an example of an Ipad Design Studio application.
The functionality delivered in this version enables you to use BW queries as a DataSource, and drop these onto a report grid or graph. A nice component is the Dimension filter, where when executed you can now filter on part of the text without wildcards. something we were missing with the Bex tooling.
The first attempt to create a good looking and interactive dashboard is not easy, but do not let this stop you. The end-result can still be great.
But there are major differences and missing options we took for granted with previous tools. For example, we miss the option to fill a list box automatically with master data. In addition, everything must be connected using script, not a big issue as there is a good working script wizard, but still..
The layout changes are more complex as in SAP dashboard designer (Xcelsius).
a simple box can be drawn as background, but only using code in a text item. Here is some oppertunity for improvement.
Connecting to a BW system is extremely simple and has great options. You can use a query or an entire cube as DataSource. These DataSources can be changed in layout, or even filters can be applied. They can be copied to use the same data in different forms.
Summery, it looks to be a great new tool that still needs some developments.


GE Power is pleased to offer selected students the opportunity to join our business for an Internship starting immediately. Students will be exposed to GE's diverse portfolio of businesses, which provides a perfect opportunity for us to learn about you and your interests and for you to learn about GE and a career with us.
GE Power's North America marketing team is seeking a college level intern/temporary worker who is majoring in engineering, marketing, business or a related field for our marketing department. The position will report to the US regional marketing director for GE Power's strategic marketing team and will support the team on internal and external marketing projects and strategies.
The selected candidate will work in areas of marketing support for market segmentation, country and region assessments, market intelligence, value proposition development, customer profiles, scenario planning and regulatory/policy updates.
-Have the ability to be based out of our Exton, PA offices.


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Pottawattamie County in Iowa
Carter Lake in Pottawattamie County
Humberto Cortez
DCI Case # 96-06859
Carter Lake, IA
On June 21, 1996, a partially decomposed male body was discovered in a rail car by a Paxton Verling Steel employee. The body was identified in December 2009 as that of Humberto Cortez.
Very little information is known about this case.
When the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) established a Cold Case Unit in 2009, Cortez's murder was one of approximately 150 cases listed on the Cold Case Unit's new website as those the DCI hoped to solve using latest advancements in DNA technology.
Although federal grant funding for the DCI Cold Case Unit was exhausted in December 2011, the DCI continues to assign agents to investigate cold cases as new leads develop or as technological advances allow for additional forensic testing of original evidence.
The DCI remains committed to the resolution of Iowa's cold cases and will continue to work diligently with local law enforcement partners to bring the perpetrators of these crimes to justice for the victims and their families.
If you have any information about Humberto Cortez's unsolved murder please contact the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation at (515) 725-6010, email dciinfo@dps.state.ia.us, or contact the Carter Lake Police Department at (712) 347-5920.
Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, Iowa Cold Case Unit, January 11, 2010
Find a Grave Memorial for Humberto Cortez
Tagged with: Carter Lake IA • Carter Lake Police Department • Cold Cases • Humberto Cortez • Iowa Cold Cases • Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation • Iowa Unsolved Murders • Paxton Verling Steel • Pottawattamie County • Unsolved Iowa Murders • Unsolved Murders in Iowa
10 Responses to Humberto Cortez
Chris Pierce Moody says:
Why did it take so long to identify the body?
Mike Byrne says:
It probably has something to do with the geography of Cater Lake and which state has jurisdiction.Due to the Missouri river changing course over the years,Carter Lake is now surrounded by Nebraska,not Iowa.I remember reading about this anomaly back in the 1960's.It seems that both Nebraska an Iowa wanted to or didn't want to claim ( I don't remember which) Carter Lake as part of their state.The case finally went to the United States Supreme Court and the court decided that Carter Lake belonged to Iowa even though geographicly it was in Nebraska.If i remember correctly,neither state was happy about the Supreme Court decision but were resigned to live with it since there was no court left to appeal the decision.At any rate,I'm of the opinion that both states were disinclined to pursue the case despite the Supreme Courts deciision of 30+ years before.But,I could be wrong.Or not.
Jody Ewing says:
Mike, thank you for this interesting piece of history! I did a little bit of research on it, and it appears Nebraska wanted to claim it after the 1877 flood, but Iowa wanted to keep it and "cried foul," which led to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling. Here's an article about it published in the Omaha World-Herald last August.
https://www.omaha.com/living/what-s-the-deal-with-carter-lake-aka-the-only/article_f16ae5e0-6a26-11e6-ab73-2b9ac4ed8a67.html
Well,it's been 50 years since I read a different but similar article about Carter Lake,so please excuse me for not getting the facts correct.Don't ask me what I had for breakfast this morning because my short term memory isn't as good as my long term memory~;)
Mike, no apologies necessary! I was quite intrigued by your June 19 comment, especially since I had no idea that Iowa and Nebraska had gone to the U.S. Supreme Court to determine what state actually owned Carter Lake.
I drive down to the Eppley airport at least a couple of times each year, and while waiting for a plane to arrive, frequently park across the street at the Levi Carter Park, where one can walk out on the wooden docks and enjoy viewing all the lily pads floating in the lake (not to mention the beautiful views up and down the lake).
You hadn't gotten any of the facts wrong — you simply pointed out there had once been a fight between the two states over the lake's ownership. It gave me the opportunity to learn more about an area not far from where I live. Thank you for that! :-)
Penny McDonnell says:
That's what I was wondering Chris Pierce Moody.
Iowa Cold Cases says:
I have no idea, Chris. He might have been homeless, but apparently no one had reported him missing.
Thank you, that's really sad.
Nick Schaefer says:
Carter lake is one of many places on both sides of the river where each stage has land in the others boundary. Carter lake is the only full city though. I was there the day Mr Cortez was found. In his state of decomposition there would have been no usable dna. Imo he died when the cars were connected causing the load to shift and Mr Cortez was killed by the ibeams
Jack Jackson says:
Here is some additional information about this case. According to newspaper articles published in 1996, Humberto Cortez was a Mexican citizen who was 31 at the time of his death in the United States. Over his life, Cortez entered the United States numerous times and had a criminal record (though the specifics were not given in the articles). The Associated Press ran an article on September 11, 1996, which quoted Iowa DCI Special Agent Bob Henderson's announcement that the body was identified after a positive match to the victim's fingerprints were obtained through the automated fingerprint identification system operated by the California Department of Justice.
The manner of death and the discovery of the body is as follows in roughly reverse chronology. At approximately 10:15 AM on Friday, June 21, 1996, a load of steel inside an open-roof train car was inspected as it was pulled into a facility operated by the Paxton & Vierling Steel Company. Inside the car, an employee of the steel company discovered Cortez' body in a state of heavy decay. Prior to his death, Cortez had been beaten and then stabbed in the heart. According to Agent Henderson, the victim had been deceased for two to three days at the time the body was discovered. At the time the body was discovered, investigators described the victim as a "white or Hispanic" male between the ages of 25 and 30.
Investigators were able to generate a timeline of the train car's whereabouts, which provided a likely place of death. The train car had originated from Texas, where it was loaded and sent north. Approximately a week and a half prior to the discovery of the body, the car arrived at the railyard in Council Bluffs, Iowa, before crossing into Omaha, Nebraska. It remained stationary at Omaha until the morning of June 20, 1996, when it was moved to the facility at Carter Lake. It arrived at about 9:00 AM but did not receive further processing at that time. The body was discovered when the car was moved into the steel company's facility about 24 hours later. This suggests that Cortez died while the train car was in Omaha, suggesting the same was his place of death. In addition, this suggests that his date of death was approximately between June 18 and June 20 of 1996. Police did not say whether he was killed in the train car or the body placed there at some point afterward.
Paxton & Vierling Steel Company, now called PVS, still operates in Carter Lake and is owned by parent company Owen Industries. I believe that "Humberto Cortez" may not have been the victim's full, legal name, making it difficult to find information about the man in Mexican sources. While his date of birth was not provided, the AP article from September 11, 1996 provides an age which corresponds to a birth year of either 1965 or 1966. Because Cortez' fingerprints were on-file in California, he may have had a criminal record in that state. Agent Henderson did not specify the state in which Humberto had a record, or the nature of that record. Based on the fact that he was known by law enforcement to have been in and out of the United States, it is possible that his record included immigration-related offences.
I have not been able to locate any details on Cortez' personal life, his occupation, or other places of residence.
I hope this information helps answers some of the questions that have been asked, as well as fills in some "blanks" and clarifies some of the facts.
Jack Jackson


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Home » Snowy Evening » Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening
Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening
Robert Frost is America's most beloved poets. Throughout most of his work, we can see his ongoing battle between good and evil. In his works, we see many people who are forced to face challenges that are essential in the course of ones life. Frost exhibits these themes in "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" and in "The Road Not Taken" by capturing the essence of an individual that has encountered and persevered through difficult times in life only if they succeed by the standards they create themselves.
In "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening," we have a man who stops in the woods to watch the snow fall. The speaker finds these woods to escape from the everyday stresses of life. My own interpretation is that the man finds himself at a critical crossroad in his life and he flees to these woods to reflect on his life.
The woods that Frost illustrates are a representation of heaven. Although the man is turning to God for guidance, he is neither in nor near a church. Even still, he believes his location is irrelevant to God, who ultimately listens no matter what.
In the second stanza, the horse is only a figment of his imagination. This "horse" is, in actuality, the speaker's own consciousness, a moment that we create something to relive the stress of our deepest emotions. It acts as an internal censor to keep us close to sanity, the value of life, and maybe even God trying to save his life. When he comes "Between the woods and frozen lake," he finds that he is at a crossroad in life. The speaker ponders what direction to take, whether to live as the moral man that he is, or to take the easy way out by taking his own life. Frost portrays "The darkest evening of the year," as the speaker comes to the end of his road.
In the third stanza, while the speaker is giving "His harness bells a shake," he is really contemplating and asking himself if he should go through with the suicide.
The restful imagery of "lovely, dark and, deep" provides a simple, peaceful, and calm feeling that attracts the speaker to suicide. He realizes that he had "promises to keep," but we can only hope that he decided to fulfill his obligations to God, his family, his friends, and most importantly to himself. However, we will never know because as the poem comes to a close, there is no ending. Instead, the refrains only present a fade out and the poem is left open-ended. It is for us as readers to wonder if the speaker will create the only peacefulness that he knows or will he choose to remain the man that already exists.
Much like a "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening," "The Road….. Not Taken," involves a man who comes to a crossroad in life. "The Road Not Taken" is about a man who has come to a fork in the road and has to decide which path in life he will choose knowing that this decision will be a final one.
"Two roads diverged in a yellow wood," simply says that the speaker has two choices in life and it is something that he has never had to encounter a life changing choice. He then wishes that he could travel each road knowing that he will never have that luxury. Despite all that we desire, dream, and hope for, we are aware that we cannot have it all. The speaker pondered and agonized weighing all the possibilities as he "looked down on e as far as [he] could." He wonders what he will miss and what lies before him.
In the second and third stanzas, the speaker comes to terms that one road is "as just as fair" as the other. Each road was "worn . . . really about the same" and later stating that they were "equally lay." On one hand, he is faced with the more popular of the two, the road of the conformist, and more importantly the road more traveled by. On the other hand, he could choose the path that was "grassy and wanted wear," the road that is certainly "less traveled by." The speaker is frightened of what lurks beyond each turn in the road, in fear of the unknown events that lie ahead. When he talks of "how way leads to way/I doubted if I should ever come back," he really knows that this decision will be the final one and this will change the course of his life.
The final lines of the poem suggest that there are more options than simply walking down a single road, taking only one path. The speaker stands years later reflecting on the choices that he has made not knowing whether the other choice would have been a better one in any way. He indicates that this one decision has affected his entire life. "With a sign," the speaker wonders if he would do it all over again pondering that little "difference" that convinced him to choose "the one less traveled by." The "difference" that he experienced presents an expression of an individuality which separates him from those who choose to follow society.
The two speaker's in each of Frost's poems are apparently in similar situations. Each has a certain decision that must be made. If their decisions were not thought through, the consequences could have proven to be detrimental. These poems show us that one should follow his own passion. Not following the passion that makes one strive could result in a life worth nothing, a life unfulfilled. In conclusion, one should take the longer path and not cheat themselves out of life by shortcuts.
Essay Examples. (February 2019). Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening. Retrieved from https://benjaminbarber.org/stopping-by-woods-on-a-snowy-evening-2/
"Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening." benjaminbarber.org. 02 2019. 02 2023. <https://benjaminbarber.org/stopping-by-woods-on-a-snowy-evening-2/>.
Essay Examples. February 2019. Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening. [online]. Available from: https://benjaminbarber.org/stopping-by-woods-on-a-snowy-evening-2/ [Accessed 01 February 2023].
Essay Examples. Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening [Internet]. February 2019. [Accessed 01 February 2023]; Available from: https://benjaminbarber.org/stopping-by-woods-on-a-snowy-evening-2/.
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